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Madden 09 News Post

Pasta Padre has posted his hands-on Madden NFL 09 impressions.

Quote:
"The pass defense does a great job defending the deep ball, and more so specifically the “jump” catches. Those spectacular catches from last year and the ones where a receiver sets and jumps straight up are usually negated by the defensive back swatting the ball, picking it off, or jarring the ball loose with a hit. The DB’s get high into the air to make plays and keep good position. Despite that I was able to complete a couple deep balls over the top when the receiver had a step or two advantage. It felt very fair when a deep pass was completed and I didn’t feel cheated one way or the other. Something neat is you’ll see the QB really get into a deep throw, lean back and throw it up higher than we have been used to. Looks much more natural in getting the power behind it and requires the QB have the time to do it."

Game: Madden NFL 09Reader Score: 7/10 - Vote Now
Platform: NDS / PS2 / PS3 / PSP / Wii / Xbox 360Votes for game: 88 - View All
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Member Comments
# 61 countryboy @ 06/01/08 10:45 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moostache
I will be posting full impressions later today at maddenwars, but I can say that the commentary of Tom Hammond in the builds I played at EA (Alpha-23 and Alpha-24) last week were TONS better than the Eagles-Cowboys clip of play-by-play.

Hammonds did not sound nearly as badly stitched in the game as he does in the early clips..its still far from perfect, but it is not jarringly bad either. And in terms of year-over-year improvement, the Hammonds/Collinsworth combo is LIGHT YEARS ahead of the radio guy. I am a big ND fan and I can't stand Hammonds in real life, but he did not make me want to punch kittens in Madden either.

The crowd reactions did not seem to be very dynamic in pitch and tone and volume or properly tuned to the on-field situation from what I recall, but I did not specifically focus on it either.

All I will say for certain is that guys who want gameplay and player control improvements above presentation and fluff will be ECSTATIC with this game. Madden NFL 2009 absolutely DESTROYS Madden NFL 2008 and it still has over a month of tuning and tweaking to get better still.

One of the great things that I learned during this past Community Day was the information from Pasta and cdj and their impressions of how NCAA 2009 was changed from their first hands-on time (in NYC in April) to their second hands-on time (in Orlando at the end of May). They both confirmed that the game was significantly tweaked and toned down and that the producers had implemented some of their very specific suggestions as well.

Why is that important?

Because all of us at the Community Day event last week made some very specific suggestion for gameplay tweaks and AI tweaks to the producers of Madden in Orlando...if they are able to implement these suggestions and continue to fine tune the game, then Madden NFL 2009 is looking very, very strong and is already a better game than NCAA 2009 as it was presented in its late-Alpha stage! I am more pumped for Madden to release than I have been in years...I felt it was that good.
YES!! YES!! YES!!

 
# 62 countryboy @ 06/01/08 11:00 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moostache

Honestly, my advice remains the same to everyone - if you feel you have been burned by EA games and been unable to get your $60 worth of entertainment from them (in other words, if you played them less than 8 hours - or about 3 Hollywood feature films with popcorn and a drink), then DO NOT BUY the game again and stop whining about it at every given opportunity. Speak with your wallet first and your keyboard second. Its my opinion that you will miss a potentially great game this year; but possibly all you will do is save your $60, and the rest of us the chance to re-read another "EA sucks and 2K rulez" post or the more generic boiler plate version of "EA sucks and everyone there is lazy" in the future...
 
# 63 SteelerSpartan @ 06/01/08 11:09 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moostache
I will be posting full impressions later today at maddenwars, but I can say that the commentary of Tom Hammond in the builds I played at EA (Alpha-23 and Alpha-24) last week were TONS better than the Eagles-Cowboys clip of play-by-play.

Hammonds did not sound nearly as badly stitched in the game as he does in the early clips..its still far from perfect, but it is not jarringly bad either. And in terms of year-over-year improvement, the Hammonds/Collinsworth combo is LIGHT YEARS ahead of the radio guy. I am a big ND fan and I can't stand Hammonds in real life, but he did not make me want to punch kittens in Madden either.
Well I hope so, because hes been sounding very Sega Genesis to me...especially that "and they get em" line
 
# 64 PVarck31 @ 06/01/08 12:04 PM
The thing that strikes me is that the version you guys played is late-alpha. Its not even to beta yet and alot of people are saying its light years ahead of 08., and that it could be released now. This is great news. I don't think I have been this pumped for madden in years. If they use the remaining month plus to fine tune and implement suggestions from the community, I think EA could be back on top of the world.

Think about it. NHL 08 is amazing. Live took big steps, The NASCAR demo is recieving a ton of praise, and now NCAA and MADDEN are back. WOW.
 
# 65 countryboy @ 06/01/08 12:15 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by pjv31
The thing that strikes me is that the version you guys played is late-alpha. Its not even to beta yet and alot of people are saying its light years ahead of 08., and that it could be released now. This is great news. I don't think I have been this pumped for madden in years. If they use the remaining month plus to fine tune and implement suggestions from the community, I think EA could be back on top of the world.

Think about it. NHL 08 is amazing. Live took big steps, The NASCAR demo is recieving a ton of praise, and now NCAA and MADDEN are back. WOW.
I am very excited about Madden this year(though I am every year), but this year there seems to be a different feeling surrounding it.
 
# 66 SageInfinite @ 06/01/08 12:15 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by pjv31
The thing that strikes me is that the version you guys played is late-alpha. Its not even to beta yet and alot of people are saying its light years ahead of 08., and that it could be released now. This is great news. I don't think I have been this pumped for madden in years. If they use the remaining month plus to fine tune and implement suggestions from the community, I think EA could be back on top of the world.

Think about it. NHL 08 is amazing. Live took big steps, The NASCAR demo is recieving a ton of praise, and now NCAA and MADDEN are back. WOW.
Co-Sign everything except the Live part, lol.
 
# 67 countryboy @ 06/01/08 12:24 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by SageTheInfinite
Co-Sign everything except the Live part, lol.
After our discussion earlier, I was waiting for you to come in and say something his quote on Live
 
# 68 Pepenfl @ 06/01/08 12:34 PM
And don´t Forget soccer games. The last eight years Pro Evolution Soccer was the King and Fifa a poor (very poor) runner-up. The last PES (07 and 08) are a joke and Fifa grow... now, Euro Cup 08 finally is BETTER than PES. Most of European sports games' lovers still don´t believe at all, but is the thruth. Fifa 09 promise to be far better than PES09. Annonying.

pd. excuse my poor english.
 
# 69 PVarck31 @ 06/01/08 12:37 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pepenfl
And don´t Forget soccer games. The last eight years Pro Evolution Soccer was the King and Fifa a poor (very poor) runner-up. The last PES (07 and 08) are a joke and Fifa grow... now, Euro Cup 08 finally is BETTER than PES. Most of European sports games' lovers still don´t believe at all, but is the thruth. Fifa 09 promise to be far better than PES09. Annonying.

pd. excuse my poor english.
Thats true, I have heard great things about FIFA, Thats another one to the list.

And come on Sage, Live wasn't that bad, compared to 07 it was the greatest game ever
 
# 70 SageInfinite @ 06/01/08 01:25 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by pjv31

And come on Sage, Live wasn't that bad, compared to 07 it was the greatest game ever
Yea Live is pretty good when comparing it to 07, but that's like 1st getting kicked in the jewels and then getting kicked in the leg. Makes that second kick seem much better, lmao. Live 07 should've never been released to the public. Back to football tho, Madden has me pretty excited this year .
 
# 71 Scott @ 06/01/08 01:26 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by SageTheInfinite
Yea Live is pretty good when comparing it to 07, but that's like 1st getting kicked in the jewels and then getting kicked in the leg. Makes that second kick seem much better, lmao. Live 07 should've never been released to the public. Back to football tho, Madden has me pretty excited this year .
me as well I'm really hoping they have time to get in the Accelerated Clock
 
# 72 blackngoldfan @ 06/01/08 04:30 PM
I don't ever remember being this pumped for a Madden game. Nobody can HONESTLY say that Madden 09 looks like Madden 08 after seeing the graphics and lighting in this very short video.



http://www.vimeo.com/1094617?pg=embed&sec=1094617
 
# 73 JagerMichael @ 06/01/08 05:03 PM
The people that say it's the same game are simply haters that just want to say something. Anyone who does 15 minutes of searching on Madden 09 will instantly see the differences between 08 and 09.

I know 09 isn't going to be the perfect game, but if the glitches are gone and the gameplay is even better than last year I know I'll have a blast with it. It's things like glitches and the issues in franchise mode that killed 08 for me.
 
# 74 BrianFifaFan @ 06/01/08 05:10 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by pjv31
Thats true, I have heard great things about FIFA, Thats another one to the list.

And come on Sage, Live wasn't that bad, compared to 07 it was the greatest game ever
Live is dung so far next-gen. And it is kinda sad that the best "football" game doesn't have an N,F or L in it.......But Ian and company will catch up.
 
# 75 JagerMichael @ 06/01/08 05:38 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Details
I know I've never been this excited for a Madden game.

Because of that excitement, I played a game of Madden 08 the other night. Oh, boy. It brought back a lot of sour memories of having the only NFL game be a massive disappointment. (I spent last year playing All-Pro Football 2K8.)

After watching so many encouraging Madden 09 videos, I don't think I can tolerate 08 ever again.
I know that feeling. The last few years (ever since next gen basically) I get pumped when I see the new videos and read the news on the next version, and I end up going back to last years because I just want to play an NFL game.

About 5 minutes in I start to realize why I didn't really play the game all that much.
 
# 76 countryboy @ 06/01/08 06:08 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Briankingsfan
Live is dung so far next-gen. And it is kinda sad that the best "football" game doesn't have an N,F or L in it.......But Ian and company will catch up.
FIFA

That has an F.
 
# 77 BrianFifaFan @ 06/01/08 07:17 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by countryboy
FIFA

That has an F.
I guess you're right. I'm ********, but you get my point.
 
# 78 CFav @ 06/01/08 07:47 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by maddenps2
I'm curious read pasta's Madden NFL 09 impressions. Because each year it seems we get a positive report and people get excited. The game comes out and after playing it more extensively we see all that excitement turn to dissapointment.
Just dig up Pasta Padres impressions from Madden 08 and see what was said there...Seems like EA is in the pockets...like Halliburton and our politicians... 1
 
# 79 Scott @ 06/01/08 07:52 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by CFav
Just dig up Pasta Padres impressions from Madden 08 and see what was said there...Seems like EA is in the pockets...like Halliburton and our politicians... 1
If you were to actually look it up, Pasta wasn't too happy with Madden 08...
 
# 80 maddenps2 @ 06/01/08 07:58 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scott
If you were to actually look it up, Pasta wasn't too happy with Madden 08...
I know Pasta Padres isn't getting paid off by EA, thats stupid to say. I'm also not saying the game isn't improved. But Pasta's positive impressions from this years community day sounds similarly positive to this years.

The only significant negative he mentions is the amount of fumbles. The rest of the game is raved about.
http://www.pastapadre.com/1325/madde...ay-impressions


Quote:
Originally Posted by Pasta Padre madden 08 Hand-On Immpressions
Overall I feel that most people are going to be at the very least satisfied if not thrilled with how well the game turned out. Although not perfect, I think it is safe to say it is one of if not the best sports game released on the 360/PS3 to date.

The game is very fun, and that is something that shouldn't be overlooked (even though I'll go on to list out different frustrations of mine). It runs very fluidly and the graphics are great. The controls are very responsive and tighter than NCAA Football 08's. It is an adjusment going from playing that game to this one.

There are so many "wow" moments. You see new things each time playing. In every game there were several occurances that drew strong reactions from whoever was watching at the time. That is something that has been sorely lacking for a long while and it made for a really fun experience.

The biggest surprise for me was how much better the gang tackling is in Madden vs NCAA Football. There is a signficant difference between the two games in that respect. It was one of the first things I noticed because it has a huge effect on the game.

I preferred All-Pro difficulty over All-Madden. It felt more wide open and enjoyable, but without completely sacrificing the AI. There is more the feeling of "anything can happen" when on that difficulty, although there is still a sense of it on All-Madden. AM is very tough especially to throw on, and in some areas such as blocking I felt it actually presented a downgrade.

There is more of a difference between teams than ever before. That is due in part to the weapons and ratings but also the styles really come through. The good teams are that much better than the poor teams. Good luck beating the Chargers with anyone but a top-tier team. Good luck moving the ball on the Ravens with a weak offensive team.

There has been some improvements to presentation. After big plays there is a newly designed auto-replay display. Also there are halftime and post-game highlights. It grabs the five plays it deems were the most important and you can choose to watch them.

Kicking is still over-powered, if not even more so than in the past. Last year it was kickoffs going 8 yards deep into the endzone consistently. This year it's kickoffs going out the back of the endzone consistently. This only happens vs other users. The CPU kickoffs seem to end up closer to the goal line.

The pass defense has taken a leap forward. It is very difficult to pass consistently, and more passes are intercepted than ever before. You won't see many of the throws from years past that hit defenders and dropped to the ground. Those are picked off now. So there were many more turnovers in each game than in the past. Some people may feel there are too many, while others will feel it is now more realistic. Personally I always felt it was ridiculous that so many potential INTs were dropped. Put the responsibility on the QB to make good throws and don't let them get away with poor ones. People will have to adjust to this because I have a feeling at first they're going to be somewhat frustrated with the number of INTs they throw.

Moving on to fumbles, there are a lot of them. This is another thing I expect to see people talking about. This is a little more out of your control and something that I felt was happening too often. I played a game in the rain that had 8 fumbles (although 2 were reversed). In normal games I'd say the average was probably 4. Shaun Alexander fumbled on the first run of the first two games I played.
 


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