Madden NFL 09

The undisputed king of football returns with Madden NFL 09, including the rosters and stats of every player for the 2009 season. EA Games has a monopoly when it comes to realistic sports titles, and NFL 09 isn’t any different. This year, EA Tiburon, a subdivision located in Florida, is behind the game’s development.

The twentieth entry in the Madden series, Madden NFL 09 includes some welcome quality of life improvements, alongside some revamped visuals. However, some repetition remains, and this might leave some players with a sense of deja vu, especially if you’ve played another entry in the franchise.

Football for Everyone

Like many other EA sports franchises, Madden NFL 09 offers little variation compared to previous Madden games. Just like FIFA 09 isn’t that much different from FIFA 08, don’t expect a radically different game to come in Madden NFL 09. That said, some work has been done in making the game more accessible to a larger audience.

Let’s face it: football can be a complicated sport, especially if you’re not too familiar with the game’s intricacies. That’s why Madden NFL 09 includes a “Madden IQ,” a scale that gauges your football knowledge and adapts your difficulty accordingly.

This customizable difficulty is the biggest addition to the Madden formula. Both veterans and amateurs will surely find this a welcome addition to make their game experience all the more pleasurable.

Attention to Detail

Returning players will be looking at what’s different here that wasn’t available in Madden NFL 08. The truth is that there’s very little in the way of new content, other than the already mentioned difficulty adjustments.

However, there have been some improvements to the game’s presentation that make it feel even more realistic than before. A revamped animation system makes every pass and every kickoff feel just like the real deal. That said, there are some oddities that come with the new animations: rarely, players can glitch out mid-animation, forcing you to mess up your plays.

Besides the newly textured grass, the game also includes some new camera angles that mimic the action as it’s seen on TV. Additionally, new camera effects have been included to add some much-needed impact to tackles and big runs.

Be Kind, Rewind

Another new feature we should mention in Madden NFL 09 is the Rewind. Similar to how it functions in games like Dirt 3, Rewind lets you turn back time a bit to fix whatever mistake you might have made during a play.

If one of your plays is suddenly cut short by a mistake made by the AI or any other unwanted shenanigans, you can simply wind back the clock a few seconds and score that touchdown that the AI stole from you.

Of course, Rewinds are disabled in online multiplayer modes. However, they’re still completely functional in local multiplayer, so you can frustrate your friends replaying plays whenever it suits you.

Madden Moments

Madden NFL 09 commitment to realism culminates with the new gameplay mode Madden Moments. Here, players can recreate an iconic moment from the last football season to revisit turning points in their respective games.

While undoubtedly fun, the mode might prove a bit too bare-bones for some. Additional moments or more gameplay options would greatly benefit this novel mode.

Pros:

• Fluid animations
• Crisp visuals
• Accessible difficulty

Cons:

• Quite similar to the previous game
• Some janky animations here and there