Madden 09 News Post

Madden NFL 09 Review

12:49 AM - August 12, 2008 by RaychelSnr

We have posted what is the most comprehensive and in-depth review you will find on Madden NFL 09, written by OS veteran Terry Crouch. Check out his thoughts on the game and be sure to add your own by reading the Madden NFL 09 Review!

Quote:


	"In terms of sports game sales in the United States, there is Madden, and then there is everything else. Every year a new version is released, and routinely it outsells practically everything else sports wise in America. Every year people debate the quality of Madden on Internet forums and around water coolers across the country. Madden is more than a game to many people, and the frenzied mobs that either condemn or curse the game annually are evidence to this. So when you�re asked to review Madden for Operation Sports, you can be assured of two things: that you�ll be told you are the biggest idiot on the planet for your opinion, and that Madden is "arcade" while NFL 2K is/was 'sim'."

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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

# 81 BlyGilmore @ 08/13/08 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stateprop


	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.

# 82 swanlee @ 08/13/08 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bahnzo


	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.

# 83 Vikes1 @ 08/13/08 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlyGilmore


	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.

# 84 asu666 @ 08/13/08 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benzhiyi


	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.

# 85 bukktown @ 08/13/08 05:47 PM

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

# 86 SDwinder @ 08/13/08 08:25 PM

How about a comparison between the PS3 and 360 versions?

# 87 baebllr408 @ 08/13/08 09:53 PM

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!!

# 88 black jedi @ 08/14/08 12:05 PM

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)

# 89 blackngoldfan @ 08/14/08 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DONF


	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.

# 90 TCrouch @ 08/14/08 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackngoldfan


	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.

# 91 Rbk @ 08/14/08 04:03 PM

That's about what I'd give it.

# 92 blackngoldfan @ 08/14/08 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beardofspock


	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.

I know the demo was from an earlier build. How does the demo pale in comparison to the retail version? I've played the demo a TON and have seen those bad tackling animations less times than I have in the short while I've played the full version. Why when in the playcall screen, the screen on the right is going crazy as if I had my thumb on the right stick? Excluding the hiccups after snap (In just 1 play DVD), I just prefer the overall speed and smoothness of the demo over the retail version. Feeling that way doesn't make me anti-EA.

# 93 Chitown1211 @ 08/18/08 08:33 PM

Come on dude. How can you shrug off the CPU qb issues like its nothing? You didnt even mention how CPU qb's fire the ball perfectly at any hint of pressure. Often in rediculous and impossible ways. Thats why CPU passing is so effiecient. Yet you chalk it up to being "realistic" ?!?!?!

I dont get it. In many of your reviews you list MAJOR problems yet in the end you say its a great game ??? Something as important and fundamental as passing in a football game cant be shrugged off.

# 94 Swingking77 @ 08/30/08 05:53 PM

There is no mention of the speech. It repeats more then any other Madden I've played and the voice sounds terrible... It doesn't sound like it flows... What it sounds like is Waylon Smithers' computer start up "Hello.. Smithers... You are.. Quite... Good at... Turning... Me... On". If you listed through a good system, you can so tell that it's choppy... And I must hear "He's been de-cleated" at least a hundred times in a game, which in itelf is a terrible clip to begin with... As though some one held him down and cut off his cleats... I know they mean taken off his feat, but it's a stupid comment non the less...

# 95 MrNFL_FanIQ @ 10/21/08 05:35 PM

Haven't bought it, and probably won't for the first time in years. The thing I see off the bat on the review is positives for Collinsworth. In reality, he is incredibly annoying, and personally, I mute the TV anytime he talks. And in video game form, it's WORSE than the real thing. I know many will be glad not to have Madden's redundancy, but if I get this Madden, I certainly will mute the announcers.

I've only played it a few times with friends, and personally, I found the gameplay a bit lackluster. And playing my friends 360 version (I'm a PS2 guy) Franchise mode seems to be VERY scaled down and disappointing. They should improve this instead of giving us a completely useless feature like I believe "Madden IQ" is

Overall, I imagine if I got it I'd play it. But Madden in my opinion hasn't been getting better for a few years, which is why I haven't, and likely won't get it. Shiny graphics doesn't sell me. Head Coach definitely seems better in my opinion.

# 96 b psycho @ 11/22/08 04:45 PM

Hmm. And all this time I thought the reason they didn't use Madden in the game anymore was because Madden now works for NBC (and thus would be awkward in an ESPN-licensed game).

I may rent Madden just to see if it's finally worth it after all this time. My hopes aren't up, but the only way to truly know is to play it. I got All-Pro for 10 bucks and while the gameplay itself is nice, I can't have a decent strategy in games when I don't know who the hell is on the other team (I'm an 80's dude, if your era was pre-Montana you draw a blank, I'm sorry). Can't afford the wireless adapter and Xbox live yet, so no online play for now.

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