I’m going to start this out by going out on a limb with a prediction.  Madden NFL 09 for XBOX 360 and PS3 will be the most critically acclaimed version of the game in the last decade.    

Yes, it’s that good, and there’s that much polish to it. 

I am also going to say that this is the year that both the casuals and the hardcore players can rejoice, because there’s settings that accommodate both types of gamer…but more on that later.

When you first start out the game, you have the option to be “tested” by what is called the “Madden Test”.  At first, it sounds kind of contrived, but what you need to realize is that by using this “test”, the results will determine custom crafted “settings” based on your skill level.   First, you’ll enter into this “virtual arena” with computer generated players, and you start off with ball-carrier move drills where you are prompted to use certain moves against a given defender.  The defenders will increase with frequency and number as the drill continues.  What’s going on “under the hood” is that the game is using these tests to determine the settings for the AI’s run defense based on your skills.  The first time out, my score set the AI’s run defense to “All Madden” level.

Then you move onto the passing drills.  You’ll be asked to complete passes to various receivers against various coverages. The difficulty increases with each snap.  As you might suspect, the game is calculating the AI’s pass defense to your skills (or lack thereof).   As you can imagine, it was a slight shock to my ego to see that I had enough incompletions and bad-reads during my drills that the game set the AI’s pass defense to “Pro” level based on the “skills” I showed.

After that, your run defense skills are tested, followed by your pass defense skills.  After it is all said and done, the game rates your skills, and sets your “skill” level for each of the four facets of the game based on those results.  For me, the game set the AI run defense to “Madden”, the AI pass defense to “Pro”, the AI running game to All Pro, and the AI passing game to All Pro.  This “Madden IQ” test might seem like nothing to us vets who’s pride will make us set our settings to All Madden across the board, but it will give the option to customize the entire experience to new and casual players who are just jumping in to EA’s football game.   You can also always opt to be re-tested, or not tested at all.  Personally, I think it’s a fantastic idea that EA found a way to let the game adapt itself to casuals and players of varying skill levels without “dumbing it down” as many of us feared. The “Madden IQ” tests are a clever and innovative way to craft an experience around the varying skills of the player with the controls.

And, again, you can opt to skip the whole Madden I.Q. test if you are more interested in jumping in and playing and setting the standard “across the board” settings of Rookie, Pro, All Pro, and All Madden. 

Okay- so now you know about the I.Q. test.

Also of note, there’s “hardcore” settings within the higher difficulty settings whereby you are not “prompted” so readily by the AI to do certain tasks, and this setting also cuts down the whole “spectacular catch” receiver dynamic down to a very VERY rare event.  Bravo, EA. 

Now, on to the “meat” of the game.

The first thing you will notice when you fire up your first game, is that EA is REALLY turning on the presentation this year.  Yes, we’ve asked for it for some time, and EA has delivered in a big way.  EA is pushing broadcast quality presentation this year, with players on the field at pre-game warm ups, and big time pomp and panache’ as you enter into your game.  You’ll see the players warming up, fireworks, fans going nuts in the stands, and EA’s own brand of logos, presentation screens, and TV-like broadcast quality.

And then there’s the players.

The depth and detail of this year’s Madden athletes as depicted in the game is absolutely phenomenal.  Remember the “big step” between the graphics of old-gen XBOX 1 basketball titles and that of more recent efforts by 2K and EA in terms of rendering the NBA basketball players?  Well, the jump between last year’s Madden 08 and the exceptionally shaded and detailed Madden players is just as big.  Heck, seeing the NCAA 09 player graphics the day before made me think the player graphics couldn’t get much better.  Madden 09 proved me wrong.  It does get better.  Madden 09 player graphics are a sight to behold.  The shading of the arms to indicate sweat, and sometimes wetness in the rain, the sometimes mud-caked uniforms where you can barely see the player’s number, its all there, and its never been done like this before. 

And, oh by the way, there’s new commentary, and its very well done.  Chris Collinsworth and Tom Hammond have been tasked with providing the color commentary as EA finally did away with the terribly mundane “radio announcer”.  Lets all give a cheer!  Still, I’ve never been a Collinsworth fan- due in no small part to his Bengal fanboyness and often apparent dislike of my Pittsburgh Steelers.  However, Collinsworth provides some very insightful color commentary, and quite often makes some very astute observations about individual players involved with each play.  Hammond also does a fine job of giving believable broadcast quality announcing, but its overshadowed by my awe at the job Collinsworth does despite my bias against him.  I’m told he put about 40 hours of voice-work into the game to get it where it is.   I’m going to say that from what I’ve heard, I think that Collinsworth and Hammond now have overtaken 2K’s “Dan and Peter” as the “best” football broadcasters in the virtual game. 

Even better, Collinsworth breaks down big plays in the game as they happen with EA’s new “EA Sports Back-Track”.  Collinsworth uses the telestrator to show you your big mistakes and big plays.  It usually kicks-in after INTs and mis-reads in the passing game, and it works really well.  Its not just a cool “broadcast” feature, but its also a subtle teaching tool.

EA is also pushing its own “brand identity” to the broadcast overlays.  You’ll see defensive and offensive team introduction portraits during each unit’s first series, much like you would on Monday Night Football.  That same broadcast style is consistent throughout the game.  We’ve been waiting for this for years.

There’s also more atmosphere that ever before.  Crowds react dynamically, especially in “rivalry” games, usually within your division.  Even my beloved Pittsburgh faithful at Heinz Field weren’t so “faithful” when I was down 3 scores to the Browns when I was “trying some things out”.  The boo-birds came out in a big way, as well they should.  You’ll want to crank up your surround sound for this one, folks.  You want atmosphere, you got it.

I’m also happy to report that, like with NCAA 09, QB release speeds have increased, and the animation is more compact and realistic.  This makes the passing game far more crisp and realistic.  Left stick jukes and breakable animations are new to the game, just like in NCAA 09, and you’ll love ‘em….especially when you use a back like Adrian Peterson of the Vikings.

Ball carriers now have the appropriate body lean on cuts and jukes.  Defenders wrap-up realistically and with gang-tackling, cornerbacks play good technique on their man assignments, and cover their zones well.  Offensive linemen block realistically and are less prone to “go dumb” like in years past.  In short, everything about Madden 09 shows the culmination of years of lessons learned by the designers of the game.

Also, EA seems to have borrowed an idea from 2K football.  QB’s who are throwing deep bombs now take longer to wind-up for those kind of throws.  The animation for the deep, 40 yard through the air pass now is a bit longer than in the past to account for the shoulder drop and the animation for the “big heave”.  You are more likely to get sacked due to that big wind up (and the extra second it takes) so it deters the over-use of the “bomb”, as well it should.  Well done.

Despite all that, I know gamers are going to point to the “no refs on the field” dynamic.  I understand that this omission – after 4 releases on next-gen- is rather odd, and there’s no question about that.  However, I find that there’s so much good going on in Madden 09 that I’m willing to let it slide and barely think twice about it. 

Also, like with NCAA 09, slide protection audibles for your offensive line make their first appearance in a next-gen Madden game.  Thank you EA.  They are in there, and they work.  Learn them, love them, use them.  Welcome back old friend.

Also among the new additions is the new “Dynamic Camera System” for the passing game.  The camera pans in such a way that all of your 5 eligible receivers will be in view with your pass plays.  Gone are the days when you have to throw “leap of faith” patterns in the flats and the short outs where you’d “hope” there’s no coverage on that receiver that you incidentally could not see on the screen.  This has been a gripe of mine for several years, but it has been completely addressed by this new addition.  Good job EA Tiburon.

The playcalling interface has been completely re-done.  No more menu lag where the plays are still lagging a second or two behind your last button press to get to the next playcalling page.  Like with NCAA 09, the playcalling interface is as fast- if not faster- than current gen was.  Some may think this is no big deal, but to a defense, these saved seconds are instrumental, particularly if the offense broke the huddle after only a few seconds.  You need that time to get your call in, and you don’t want to be fighting some laggy menu from Madden 06 through 08.  Well, you won’t have to worry about that anymore.

To me, the game just feels remarkably balanced.  The closest thing I can liken it to is Madden 2005 (with Ray Lewis on the cover.)  I’m a big defensive guy, so I tend to prefer a game with balance.  I want to play against an offense that has skill, and not an offense (or a human player) who can rely on “exploit football” such as the over-use of the whole “spectacular catch” and “jet-pack” dynamic that allowed big scoring in previous years.  This year’s Madden makes both sides of the ball have to play smart, and not “gimmicky”.  Heck, with the “hardcore” setting, that crazy stuff simply will rarely (if ever) happen.  I flat-out smiled when I saw VG Sports’ Kobra absolutely struggle with the “throw to the spectacular catch receiver” game-plan that he simply dominated with when playing NCAA 09.  He had to throw to the most open receiver, and not force it to star guy every play…simply because the defensive AI of the secondary will eat you alive with interceptions if you try to play that arcade style stuff on the higher difficulty settings.

Again, the on-field game simply has matured to an impressive point, and the jump between Madden 08 and Madden 09 is simply impressive.  I’d say it’s the biggest jump ever for an EA football product.  The on-field balance was actually tangible when us Madden vets had our tourney.  Many of the usual finalists lost early.  Many of the usual guys knocked out in the first round of previous versions advanced well into the tourney.

Superstar mode has been tweaked too, with better cameras and better “skill evaluation” of your custom made player.  For example, although I loved trying to build a player through the ranks of Madden 08, I couldn’t stand the fact that you were “penalized” for not being part of a play, even if you were doing you job.  Lets say you play the role of a left outside linebacker on a right-sweep.  In last year’s game, you got a hit on plays where you weren’t involved and didn’t make a tackle.  So, lets say the runner is tackled by the defensive end on the other side of the field.  Even though your “team” played it perfect, you- being on the other side of the field and not involved- would be registered as not doing your job, and you’d get no points despite actually doing your job. Often, the coaches would totally discount your performance if the team didn’t run to your side (on defense) or throw to you (on offense). That’s changed in Madden 09. If the team practices well and you do your job, you don’t get “penalized” like before.  Your player “improves”.  Sure, he will get more credit if he makes the plays himself, but he won’t get chastised for the “bad luck” not being involved in the play that the AI called.

Madden Moments make their return to the next gen experience this year too.  You can now re-live NFL moments from recent years through this mode, though there are no classic teams to use.  The moments are re-lived through current teams using current rosters. 

Now, I know there’s been some concern about the new “Madden Rewind” feature.  The feature allows you to “rewind” any play you want and do it over.  First of all, you can set the number of “Rewinds” you can take before the game starts, and you can turn it off altogether.  Its also is not enabled online.  I personally have no problem with the feature, and I realize it can be a very powerful learning tool for new players.  But…don’t worry folks, you can turn it off, and you won’t have to worry about it online. 

As you can tell, I’m very impressed with Madden 09.  It plays that responsive, user controlled game of football we’ve been longing for and has been absent from next-gen.  it also plays an incredibly solid and balanced game of football where its settings and novel “Madden IQ” system will set the difficulty based on the skill of each individual gamer for a custom crafted experience.  It can be as casual, or as hardcore, as you might want it.  Also, you will be substantially impressed with the graphics and brand-new broadcast presentation.

The only thing we didn’t get to check-out was the online play and the new online seasons.  We’ll have to reserve judgment on that until we try it out personally once the game is released, but we are told that EA did significant work to the online gameplay and its stability.  On another technical note, the PS3 version played just as fast as the XBOX 360 version, and the graphics were just as crisp.

One thing is for sure, this is game is a must-have for anyone who likes NFL football.

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