Madden NFL 09 Review

[stateprop]

Re: Madden NFL 09 Review

Well my friend told me its almost like playing madden 05 again which is good news to hear. Collinsworth is great in the booth but the otehr guy forgot his name i called him robot dude is horrible. Since this is finally going to be my first madden on the next gen era im am excited.

[colley_05]

Re: Madden NFL 09 Review

I have heard that the 360 version runs in 1080, while the PS3 version only runs at 720p. Is this true? And why did they make them different?

[asu666]

Likes: Animations, some presentation elements, the feel of throwing a pass, Madden Moments

Dislikes:

The CPU has no sense of timing with the snap. It snaps the ball after a couple of seconds have run on the play clock even if you are trying to play 15 minute quarters. It should know the difference between someone playing a rushed 5 minute quarter and someone playing a sim like 15 minute quarter game and adjust the amount of time it takes at the line.

No rapid clock advancement. This option was in the last gen versions and helped eliminate the problem I mentioned above by rapidly runningly the play clock down to 20 seconds after a play is selected.

No Owner Mode. I know a lot of play just want to sit on the couch and mess around, but I like being able to run a franchise and its finances over multiple seasons.

Limit on how many players can be released to the Free Agent List. I try to cut extra players off the teams before I start my Franchise so they are not burdenened with extra Cap money on playiers that are barried so deep in the depth chart that they will never see the field. This gives the AI teams a better chance of giving me a run for my money because they can use the cap space to pick up good players in areas they are weak.

The lack of adjustable game style sliders. Let's face it, not every one enjoys playing the game the same way. Advances in a series should add options, not remove them.

Limited Edition:

Head Coach appears to be a waste of my money. Madden Classic is funny for about two seconds and then done.

[StormJH1]

Re: Madden NFL 09 Review

Likes: Animations, some presentation elements, the feel of throwing a pass, Madden Moments

Dislikes:

The CPU has no sense of timing with the snap. It snaps the ball after a couple of seconds have run on the play clock even if you are trying to play 15 minute quarters. It should know the difference between someone playing a rushed 5 minute quarter and someone playing a sim like 15 minute quarter game and adjust the amount of time it takes at the line.

I noticed this too! Experienced Madden players are always saying that if you suck at defense, it's probably because you don't make the right adjustments at the line. But how can you do that when you literally have 2 or 3 seconds to even see what the offense is doing? There's a bunch of cinematics where the camera sweeps down, they show the line briefly, then the ball is snapped.

[BlyGilmore]

Re: Madden NFL 09 Review

Well my friend told me its almost like playing madden 05 again which is good news to hear. Collinsworth is great in the booth but the otehr guy forgot his name i called him robot dude is horrible. Since this is finally going to be my first madden on the next gen era im am excited.

I have heard more than a few people compare this year's game to Madden 05.

and yes. as good as collinsworth is, hammond is that bad. the guy just doesn't have the right kind of voice to be doing video game play by play.

there's a reason Summerall was the play by play master. he sounded the same whether he was saying "and there's a player down" or "touchdown ... giants." things would easily be pieced together.

hammond sounds choppy and unnatural.

[swanlee]

Re: Madden NFL 09 Review

Terrible point of view, IMO. Because companies now have the ability to patch, they are more apt to release games with clear flaws in them because they would rather meet a deadline than release a quality game. I like they ability to patch, but it's become clear that developers rely on them rather than use them as a last resort. Madden is the perfect example of this..a patch was being planned as soon as the game went gold.

Before the internet lots of PC games were released with VERY critical bugs and flaws.

Back then you would have to call the company, they would take your name phone number and address and maybe you would get some floppy discs in the mail with a fix or a new build of the game 8-24 months after you bought the game.

Instant patches are a much better solution. Games were buggy and had issues long before game developers started deliving patches online.

[Vikes1]

Re: Madden NFL 09 Review

I have heard more than a few people compare this year's game to Madden 05.

Add one more to the list Bly.

'09' does remind me of '05' in some ways.

Thats a very good thing for me...Madden '05' was my favorite OG Madden game.

[asu666]

Good review, and I like Collinsworth, but the comms still don't come anywhere close to those in MLB 08: The Show.

MLB: The Show is the best sports series running. I think it actually even surpasses NFL 2K5 for presentation, options, and gameplay.

[bukktown]

Thorough Review. Well done. On Point. You cracked me up with the Tom Hammond/Speak and Spell reference. lol

[SDwinder]

How about a comparison between the PS3 and 360 versions?

[baebllr408]

For me, the player models, were very weak when playing the game. Again emphasis on playing! The pre-snap and replays show the best player models in a football game to date; yet even then T.O. is skinny, LT is skinny, Brain Westbrook is not a short/ stout little man. Still needs some work, but I am willing to accept it for now becuase there is a new team working on the game now and I can see they are planning on moving forward. When you are running plays however its horrible!!! It looks like PS2, and the name plates completely fade! There isnt even a little blur where the name should be! The presentation also blows. Hammond sounds like the radio announcer with more lines; when he was reading for his recordings did EA really go " wow that sounds natural! Not robotic at all!" The in game stats overlay...CRAP! The scoreboard is alright, but the damn overlay is ugly and an eye sore for me! Its massive and that futuristic **** got played out with sports games in the 90's. They have a license with ESPN... USE IT! Clean up the presentation, bring back madden and michaels, and fix the appropriate players to look like, well, themselves, and we have a great game! And please give us something to play for come Playoffs, Superbowl!!

[black jedi]

Re: Madden NFL 09 Review

Hate to break it to ya but Ea aint using the ESPN license. In one the threads someone postes a quote from an EA rep sayings that they wont use it (ESPN) because they feel the they can do a better job. Nothing against Cris Collingsworth but how do you turn down Chris Berman, Trey wingo, and the NFL Live/Countdown crew. Anyways to all you who have the game and enjoy it Im happy for you. I am happy with NFL2k5. Maybe one day before we're all old and grey we will see competiton again in the football genre. (yeah right)

[blackngoldfan]

IMO the demo played and looked better than the retail/final build. The game speed per the demo was just right and the camera angle was closer to the field than the retail version. The running game in the demo seemed realistic where as in the retial version the speed is wayyyy to fast and doesn't allow you to really see what is going on running game wise. The retail version actually plays very close to the NCAA (which was terrible IMO). Oh well, it is what it is.

I am in complete agreement with you DONF. The demo plays very different from the released game. When I played the game it felt like an early build. I'm still seeing the same hated animation of the 2 defenders flying in like rockets to take out the ball carrier, then all 3 players fall backwards like a bomb was planted between them (from Ians "Low-light" tackling animation video) I liked the smoothness and toned down speed of the demo. The demo is what sold me. It's funny that that the reviewer notes "Speedy gameplay brings pro feeling to life." as a positive. I do like the game, but there needs to be a gamespeed slider in the game.

[TCrouch]

Re: Madden NFL 09 Review

It's funny that that the reviewer notes "Speedy gameplay brings pro feeling to life." as a positive. I do like the game, but there needs to be a gamespeed slider in the game.

Personal preference. I love the speed and the feeling that you don't have as much time to do things as before. That's why opinions are great, everybody is entitled to their own view.

I agree that a slider would help please a larger audience, though.

[beardofspock]

Re: Madden NFL 09 Review

I am in complete agreement with you DONF. The demo plays very different from the released game. When I played the game it felt like an early build. I'm still seeing the same hated animation of the 2 defenders flying in like rockets to take out the ball carrier, then all 3 players fall backwards like a bomb was planted between them (from Ians "Low-light" tackling animation video) I liked the smoothness and toned down speed of the demo. The demo is what sold me. It's funny that that the reviewer notes "Speedy gameplay brings pro feeling to life." as a positive. I do like the game, but there needs to be a gamespeed slider in the game.

Ha, man, some people really are drinking the anti EA kool aid, eh? The demo was from an older build, and it pales in comparison to the retail game, imo.