Madden 2010 News Post

Madden NFL 10 Hands-On Preview

04:23 PM - July 27, 2009 by RaychelSnr

EA Sports is taking a little bit of a different approach to their beta "code" these days. Well, maybe not different, but more strict I guess you could say. Instead of sharing oodles of videos and screenshots, which you all have become accustomed to over the years here at OS, we are under a huge embargo and cannot release anything -- that is until today. But we still can't release much in terms of screenshots and videos, so most of the information will be in written form.

I will try to cover as much as possible leading up to Madden's release date -- or at least until the hardcore guys get their sweaty little hands on an early copy from the mom and pop stores, which seem to just pop up everywhere at this time of year.

Let me also preface this hands-on preview by writing this: This is beta Xbox 360 code, so a few things may be slightly different when you pop your game into your console of choice.

I'll probably be coming from everywhere in this preview, as I have much to say about it. So as things pop into my head, I'll just write about it. With that said, let me bring you your Madden NFL 10 fix.

-Preview written by Steve Noah

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Member Comments

# 41 BroMontana82 @ 07/27/09 08:11 PM

thanks for the fair assessment...since this is the beta build, hopefully some of the hiccups will be gone on retail. do you know how far back the build is from? same as the demo?

# 42 SouthernBrick @ 07/27/09 08:21 PM

Very good read.

# 43 maddenps2 @ 07/27/09 08:31 PM

I was believing this was a good hands on preview until I got to the section when the reviewer said the commentary isn't too bad? After reading that I don't know how much I can trust the rest of the review. In my 20 years of gaming, tom hammond has to be one of the worst play by play announcers ever, it detracts from the game and is immediately noticible as artificial, and the lines itself it sucks.

# 44 bowdown2shadi @ 07/27/09 08:43 PM

Great read, thanks Steve.

Looking forward to Madden 10.

# 45 Buckeyes_Doc @ 07/27/09 09:24 PM

Is there anyway we could get the version of the game you got early? How do you get it are we suppose to contact EA?

# 46 Pete1210 @ 07/27/09 09:34 PM

Thanks Steve.
Could you please give more info on Online Franchise? Its odd that something as fundamental as QB rating is not stat tracked. Anything else missng to note? Are you viewing the online franhcise on the PC?

# 47 HealyMonster @ 07/27/09 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maddenps2


	I was believing this was a good hands on preview until I got to the section when the reviewer said the commentary isn't too bad? After reading that I don't know how much I can trust the rest of the review. In my 20 years of gaming, tom hammond has to be one of the worst play by play announcers ever, it detracts from the game and is immediately noticible as artificial, and the lines itself it sucks.

I beleive he was talking about the "content" of the commentary as opposed to seriously reviewing the implementation of hammond as a voice actor.

# 48 Jays20593 @ 07/27/09 09:39 PM

I'd agree with that. I dont like Tom Hammond but I do like some of the voice content that has been added this year

# 49 Tyrant8RDFL @ 07/27/09 10:10 PM

Sounds cool, and the issues you mentioned sound like a simple fix for Ian and his team. Hopefully some of these issues can be repaired with a patch for this version of Madden.

Im loving NCAA with the sliders now working. Hoping the same can happen with Madden.

Thx for the preview.

# 50 bonannogiovanni @ 07/27/09 10:17 PM

Is accelerated clock still in effect in the last 2 minutes of the halves? Thanks

# 51 Scott @ 07/27/09 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bonannogiovanni


	Is accelerated clock still in effect in the last 2 minutes of the halves? Thanks

No.

# 52 bonannogiovanni @ 07/27/09 10:20 PM

wow, great disappointment, I had explained Ian why it should have been on all time, but whatever, peace.

# 53 ItzH3r0 @ 07/27/09 11:03 PM

That is an awesome PREVIEW!!! It looks like Madden is back on track to being an awesome football game..

# 54 roadman @ 07/27/09 11:22 PM

Very good detailed preview, Steve.

Thanks for the write-up.

# 55 CreatineKasey @ 07/27/09 11:30 PM

I like what I read. Keep up the great reports! They are fun to read.

# 56 Moegames @ 07/27/09 11:35 PM

So much for the blatant bashers ...

I love it, I love it!! IF its anyone's opinion i take seriously..its MMChrisS... not Apex, not Rmoody, not the plethora of constant haters around here..or the big name review sites... There's a reason why OS has MMChris give his preview and reviews of these big games each year.

Im so stoked to hear all the good news!! I also felt the same pretty much since playing the gamestop demo.

Im glad he pointed out ProTak is NOT a gimmick which i already knew myself but....this should put to rest a nice big handful of ProTak bashers as well.

Very glad to hear it wasnt just me realizing that the cpu does go long ball on you, I had the cpu/steelers catch me off guard a few times with some long ball against me..i was scratching my head as i was playing the cpu..not a human controller team, nice!

This is a GOOD example of someone giving the game a fair chance and appreciating the improvements made over this 1 year instead of others like Rmoody,etc,etc just constantly crying about the game for really no real good reason, honestly you never seen any positive remarks from such people..what does that tell you? Then compare that to MMChris preview and it really shows how off some of these complainers really are...

I also love the sound of the running game bro's.. seems he has had a chance to play with other teams unlike the rest of us with the gamestop demo so hearing him say the running game is a nice improvement is a nice welcome...although i already knew this myself just from the demo but having it confirmed is appreciated.

Also i appreciate the fact that playing different Defensive teams gives you a different feel..i love it, i love it!! I even noticed this with the two demo's..infact i even mentioned that i noticed each team played diffrently then other teams..before in past maddens every game felt like you were playing the same god damn team..now from what i gathered from the demo's and this preview confirms exactly that

Im also glad to hear MMChris also appreciate the new presentation..it sure makes the game feel so much more ALIVE! ...im so hyped now after reading this preview...well heck, i been pretty hyped since playing the demo's and im really liking what i see in the demo's...

Now on top of all this..we still have the 3 weeks or so of final tweaking that none of us have seen yet...so even with the few issues in this preview..who's to say that some of these wont be addressed with the 3 weeks of tuning that is not present in these beta builds...overall things are looking GREAT!!!

# 57 StormJH1 @ 07/27/09 11:52 PM

Pro-Tak, as a pure concept, is the least "gimmicky" thing Madden has done in years. When you reinvent a core element of gameplay and try to make it more like real NFL play, how is that a gimmick?

That said, it's still fair to critique how well it is done. After playing the demo, I thought it was better having Pro-Tak than not having it, but I also wished it could have been more. The physics don't respond to players coming in late to the pile, and there is a noticeable "jumpiness" going in and out of all these new animations. But there's also hope that the retail version might have a few more weeks of polish than either of the demos we saw.

# 58 Spanky @ 07/28/09 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boooey


	i agree with ya here.. and the "official" OS review of Madden 09 was also stellar..

You are right about last year's OS review. It was written by Terry Crouch, who gave it an 8.5 and stated "... Madden NFL 2009 is the best version of Madden that I�ve played in a long time.''

Freaking cost me $60 for that pile of rubbish. He listed CPU QB being deadly accurate as a negative. It would have been nice to know before purchasing that EA, in a mind-bogglingly brilliant move, removed CPU sliders.

Overall, OS was gushing all over the place about Madden 09 and I credit a lot of members here for taking them to task after playing that P.O.S.

That said, luckily, Mr. Crouch did not write the preview here, and hopefully he will not be assigned to the review. For all we know, he might have been hired to head up EA's PR department.

It is my sense that this preview has far more credibility than last year's review and the all-out OS love-in with EA.

# 59 Moegames @ 07/28/09 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yeah...THAT Guy


	If you turn fight for the fumble off, do you still get the pileups? And my other question, is the "normal" game speed like last years or is it the slowed down one? I'm guessing its the slowed down one

Thats a good question ..about the pileups...as i absolutely hate the "dance dance revolution" button smashing scheme going on here with the pileups... my own commen sense tells me it'll still be there even if you turn off the button pressing stuff..but i'd love a confirmation on this regardless

# 60 Yeah...THAT Guy @ 07/28/09 12:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moegames


	Thats a good question ..about the pileups...as i absolutely hate the "dance dance revolution" button smashing scheme going on here with the pileups... my own commen sense tells me it'll still be there even if you turn off the button pressing stuff..but i'd love a confirmation on this regardless

Yeah I think Ian said it would just have the fumble pileups and it would give it to one of the teams, but I would like confirmation.

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