I have/had high hopes for this game, because I "madly" want an excellent NFL game during my generation...
My impressions are as follows:
If you enjoyed CG version of Madden, you'll absolutely love it - it's definitely a smoother, more-polished version of CG...but nothing noticeably different to the casual "sim" gamer.
Pros:
*Lifelike grass (it really DOES make a difference to the overall atmosphere - it's great)
*Crowd involvement (upgraded but there's room for improvement)
*Footplanting
*Replays (the replays look stellar - gone is the annoying 'pick-a-play' screen)
*The smoothness feel from CG to NG feels great!
Cons:
*very similar presentation-style/commentary/animations as CG
*sidelines still "somewhat" react (but not as I had hoped)
*TD celebrations are still "canned" (wish everything was real-time)
*Some of the next-gen players' faces look worse than in current gen (wtf)
All in all, if you are warranted the $10 update and are currently enjoying CG Madden (like myself), you'll love the polished look.
Is it an entirely brand new game? No...
I'm having an absolute BLAST with this game regardless - I just love sports games - PERIOD!
It's VERY similar to CG, but I can't wait for next year to see what EA can do next.
