Madden NFL 09 Review

[foreversport]

Excellent review, Terry!

[asu666]

Quote: Originally Posted by TCrouch

Sorry about that...knew there would be some things missed. As for 09 being lower than 08, I didn't review 08, sorry. Owner mode is there. At the end of the offseason before advancing you are put in owner mode where you can upgrade the stadium, hire and fire staff, relocate, etc. I've never been big on setting ticket prices and whatnot, but there were graphs and charts and all kinds of financial data. Not sure if that's "full on owner mode" for you or not, but that's pretty much what it entails.

Thanks for responding so quickly. Last year's version didn't let the user set prices. The CPU did it, but it still showed the data. I'm hoping they got that feature working this year as managing a teams finances and cap figure to me is a fun aspect of running a Franchise. I love the hard cap and not knowing who is going to win it all every year. The tough decisions that are needed to maintain a high level of performance really seperate out the best from the rest too.

[walliworld]

Thanks for the in-depth review. I would not buy it if there were other options. But I will wait for a patch and used game. There will be plenty of used games after the first week.

[adfletch71]

Getting better EA, but u have to get the presentation up too 2k5 standards and have more life to the game. There is no "soul" still!! Once u get the sidelines and atmosphere with 2k5 presentation, u will be KING. Until then u still behind 2k5 in presentation. Gameplay is good. PLEASE have tv-style broadcast in cpu-vs-cpu games, this behind the qb is killing the gaming experience.

[N51_rob]

That was a very well written review. Terry great job with it! I played the game with a friend and he is one of those speed burst the whole time guys. He had 26 yards rushing on 25 carries. I was abusing him rushing the ball. Unfortunately I was spoiled by NCAA and having all day in the pocket to throw the ball and my passing game suffered. It was fun to play with him, but I am one of those who is passing on Madden this year. But I do agree with a lot of the things that you wrote in this review.

[vegaas]

Lets see in two weeks if the 8.5 is legit or as laughable as the NCAA 8.5 sc ore. I used to trust OS's review scores but after the EA love fest that started with the partnership MM I know am very skeptical of the reviews. It is a shame, I used to be able to know that an OS review was the definitve word on a game.

[asu666]

I think the presentation neeeds to be dialed up next year to include the same elements as an ESPN broadcast. I would like to see the Owner Mode fleshed out like MLB 08: The Show's too.

[Redskins Pride]

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.

I honestly think EA should consider putting Madden out every two years, with a large update patch for the tween year. Dishing up a game every year, and they don't even really have a full year to work on it is just too much pressure.

Good business plan, though.