Madden 09 IGN hands-on preview

by pastapadre
Posted May 21st, 2008 at 4:50 pm

IGN has posted up their hands-on report for Madden 09 and also added some new screenshots. Overall it recaps most of what is already known about the game without much in the way of first-hand opinion, which is what we’ll be able to provide next week out of the community event. You can read the full preview here, while a new gameplay video which includes an instance of the Rewind/Backtrack feature and the first time hearing the new commentators has been added and can be watched here (make sure to switch over to high-res).

As I’ve stated before, I really hope they not only reduce constant camera flashes from the crowd (should only be at specific moments) but also adjust the kickoff cut scene so that it won’t prevent teams from having a chance to get their premiere returner in place to field it. Either that or they absolutely need to add a return play that has just one player back instead of two. Also the addition of rivalries affecting the games is a positive step forward, however a true home field advantage is sorely needed to add to the realism and atmosphere. Graphically though it is looking fantastic, obviously the gameplay is going to require hands-on time with to really evaluate.

I don’t think there is much question that new feature wise NCAA Football 09 has the edge this year, but the overall package may still fall with Madden.

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jayrock52 (JB)

Pasta once again great work man love your site!
jayrock52 (JB)

Pasta once again great work man love your site!
supanova10

Hey Pasta, Can U Find Out If Were going to finally get all the alternate and throwback jerseys for both home and away, and if so will they be avalible for online use?
supanova10

Hey Pasta, Can U Find Out If Were going to finally get all the alternate and throwback jerseys for both home and away, and if so will they be avalible for online use?
ted- money

NCAA looks like its going to out do Madden. Most of the madden additions seem to be geard towards casual players or just plain useless fluff.
ted- money

NCAA looks like its going to out do Madden. Most of the madden additions seem to be geard towards casual players or just plain useless fluff.
blackngoldfan

Did I miss something? On the back track play (1:35), Collinsworth says something similar to “Turns out, the running back was the perfect option against the blitz on that play as he was roaming in the secondary pretty much uncovered”. Although LT was open, he was the single back going into the flats nowhere near the focal point.
blackngoldfan

Did I miss something? On the back track play (1:35), Collinsworth says something similar to “Turns out, the running back was the perfect option against the blitz on that play as he was roaming in the secondary pretty much uncovered”. Although LT was open, he was the single back going into the flats nowhere near the focal point.
r00tabaga

Wowzers!!!!!!!! Is there any Bills vid’s out there yet Pasta? The pix of Marshawn in the “all blues” made me wish I had a time warp…

…good post Pa’
r00tabaga

Wowzers!!!!!!!! Is there any Bills vid’s out there yet Pasta? The pix of Marshawn in the “all blues” made me wish I had a time warp…

…good post Pa’
boisedude

Wow, was that crowd dead or what. And that home team was on D. I would be pissed off as a defensive player if that was the only noise my crowd made the whole game. The gameplay is still boring but it is a huge improvement over last year. EA…act like you are a fan at the game and figure out what is missing. When I go to a real game I usually go home without a voice because I was yelling like crazy when my team was on D or made a huge play. Get some ENERGY into this thing please!
boisedude

Wow, was that crowd dead or what. And that home team was on D. I would be pissed off as a defensive player if that was the only noise my crowd made the whole game. The gameplay is still boring but it is a huge improvement over last year. EA…act like you are a fan at the game and figure out what is missing. When I go to a real game I usually go home without a voice because I was yelling like crazy when my team was on D or made a huge play. Get some ENERGY into this thing please!
boisedude

Ok for instance…on the play where he did the new rewind feature and tried the play all over again and threw it to the reciever Collinsworth pointed out…When the reciever was decked and dropped the ball there should have been some crazy crowd noise and some cool, LOUD, stadium music. Im sure EA is holding off on what music will be in the game so they didnt play any stadium music. But a home game crowd should be MADNESS during a game. The first down celebrations and TD celebrations, the crowd should go ape shi! over big plays on offense. Im just not FEELING like I do on NCAA.
boisedude

Ok for instance…on the play where he did the new rewind feature and tried the play all over again and threw it to the reciever Collinsworth pointed out…When the reciever was decked and dropped the ball there should have been some crazy crowd noise and some cool, LOUD, stadium music. Im sure EA is holding off on what music will be in the game so they didnt play any stadium music. But a home game crowd should be MADNESS during a game. The first down celebrations and TD celebrations, the crowd should go ape shi! over big plays on offense. Im just not FEELING like I do on NCAA.
Eric

Meh…..still not terribly impressed.

The commentary still needs lots of work. I’m sure Collinsworth will say that same line about LT after he makes 2 or 3 plays to start every single game. That will get old fast. Hammond sounds like the old Sports Talk Football announcer. He has no personality what so ever.

I guess it looked nice, but it is still lacking in many areas. Crowd still sucks. Players still animate pretty much the same way they did for the last 3 years.

Also, the IGN guy is an idiot. The sidelines/crowd still look like total trash. I have no idea what he was looking at.
Eric

Meh…..still not terribly impressed.

The commentary still needs lots of work. I’m sure Collinsworth will say that same line about LT after he makes 2 or 3 plays to start every single game. That will get old fast. Hammond sounds like the old Sports Talk Football announcer. He has no personality what so ever.

I guess it looked nice, but it is still lacking in many areas. Crowd still sucks. Players still animate pretty much the same way they did for the last 3 years.

Also, the IGN guy is an idiot. The sidelines/crowd still look like total trash. I have no idea what he was looking at.
Eric

Oh yeah, the Backtrack feature would be a lot more useful if the commentary actually matched what he was showing on the screen. Nice job talking about how open the RB was when you are showing the WR. That will help all the Madden noobs a ton.

Pasta –

Can we turn off the stuff below the players that tells you what buttons to press? I’d much rather have player names.
Eric

Oh yeah, the Backtrack feature would be a lot more useful if the commentary actually matched what he was showing on the screen. Nice job talking about how open the RB was when you are showing the WR. That will help all the Madden noobs a ton.

Pasta –

Can we turn off the stuff below the players that tells you what buttons to press? I’d much rather have player names.
twsn88

being a 2k person..and having apf 2k8 and nfl 2k5 i saw more 2k implemented in this one drive here then the whole game..any one who has played those two titles know what i am talking about so i dont have to go into detail..but there is alot of 2k influence in this..very impressive.
twsn88

being a 2k person..and having apf 2k8 and nfl 2k5 i saw more 2k implemented in this one drive here then the whole game..any one who has played those two titles know what i am talking about so i dont have to go into detail..but there is alot of 2k influence in this..very impressive.
Jonathon

wow…the commentary was ok…but certainly robotic at times…Hammond sounded like the commentator in Joe Montana Sports Talk Football…that being said…i though Collinsworth was magnificent…insightful and on the money…
Jonathon

wow…the commentary was ok…but certainly robotic at times…Hammond sounded like the commentator in Joe Montana Sports Talk Football…that being said…i though Collinsworth was magnificent…insightful and on the money…
Eric

[quote comment="21820"]wow…the commentary was ok…but certainly robotic at times…Hammond sounded like the commentator in Joe Montana Sports Talk Football…that being said…i though Collinsworth was magnificent…insightful and on the money…[/quote]

HAHAHAHAHA…..I said the exact same thing about Hammond. Honestly, it was bordering on terrible in comparison to what we typically get in sports games.
Eric

[quote comment="21820"]wow…the commentary was ok…but certainly robotic at times…Hammond sounded like the commentator in Joe Montana Sports Talk Football…that being said…i though Collinsworth was magnificent…insightful and on the money…[/quote]

HAHAHAHAHA…..I said the exact same thing about Hammond. Honestly, it was bordering on terrible in comparison to what we typically get in sports games.
Zack

The commentating sounds pretty good.
Zack

The commentating sounds pretty good.
MattMVPStroehms

[quote comment="21831"]The commentating sounds pretty good.[/quote]

i agree, compared to the radio guy, these are 100% better. You have to understand that Hammond and Collinsworth only had one year to do the voice overs. Yeah that seems like a lot of time but it’s not, with all of the games and shows they do for the NFL Network. I’d understand completely if the announcing started to get repetitive. Just think, the radio guy was probably some producer on the game anyway, so he had butt loads of time to record audio.
MattMVPStroehms

[quote comment="21831"]The commentating sounds pretty good.[/quote]

i agree, compared to the radio guy, these are 100% better. You have to understand that Hammond and Collinsworth only had one year to do the voice overs. Yeah that seems like a lot of time but it’s not, with all of the games and shows they do for the NFL Network. I’d understand completely if the announcing started to get repetitive. Just think, the radio guy was probably some producer on the game anyway, so he had butt loads of time to record audio.
Eric

[quote comment="21831"]The commentating sounds pretty good.[/quote]

The commentary in……THIS GAME…..is pretty good for…..a game…..that was made in…19…96.
Eric

[quote comment="21831"]The commentating sounds pretty good.[/quote]

The commentary in……THIS GAME…..is pretty good for…..a game…..that was made in…19…96.
Eski

[quote comment="21842"][quote comment="21831"]The commentating sounds pretty good.[/quote]

The commentary in……THIS GAME…..is pretty good for…..a game…..that was made in…19…96.[/quote]

Try….19…92
Eski

[quote comment="21842"][quote comment="21831"]The commentating sounds pretty good.[/quote]

The commentary in……THIS GAME…..is pretty good for…..a game…..that was made in…19…96.[/quote]

Try….19…92
pat

[quote comment="21779"][quote comment="21760"]im not seeing this in other comments but is it me or do the player models look so terrible i think this is like 06 just the opposite in 06 they focused on graphics and not gameplay in 09 they focuse on game play and not graphics[/quote]

Do you ever stop complaining or have anything nice to say? Every reply I read from you its nothing but negative replies and complaining.[/quote]

actually well im compalining because this game looks HORRIBLE
pat

[quote comment="21779"][quote comment="21760"]im not seeing this in other comments but is it me or do the player models look so terrible i think this is like 06 just the opposite in 06 they focused on graphics and not gameplay in 09 they focuse on game play and not graphics[/quote]

Do you ever stop complaining or have anything nice to say? Every reply I read from you its nothing but negative replies and complaining.[/quote]

actually well im compalining because this game looks HORRIBLE
pat

and actually think again i NEVER compalin i wrote mad comments against kids who diss ea and say their horrible but honestly this is not a madden i wouldnt expect although, there is a lot of time left for this game
pat

and actually think again i NEVER compalin i wrote mad comments against kids who diss ea and say their horrible but honestly this is not a madden i wouldnt expect although, there is a lot of time left for this game
PSMD410

[quote comment="21848"][quote comment="21779"][quote comment="21760"]im not seeing this in other comments but is it me or do the player models look so terrible i think this is like 06 just the opposite in 06 they focused on graphics and not gameplay in 09 they focuse on game play and not graphics[/quote]

Do you ever stop complaining or have anything nice to say? Every reply I read from you its nothing but negative replies and complaining.[/quote]

actually well im compalining because this game looks HORRIBLE[/quote]

Everything i’ve seen so far looks amazing. You must be looking at different stuff then us.
PSMD410

[quote comment="21848"][quote comment="21779"][quote comment="21760"]im not seeing this in other comments but is it me or do the player models look so terrible i think this is like 06 just the opposite in 06 they focused on graphics and not gameplay in 09 they focuse on game play and not graphics[/quote]

Do you ever stop complaining or have anything nice to say? Every reply I read from you its nothing but negative replies and complaining.[/quote]

actually well im compalining because this game looks HORRIBLE[/quote]

Everything i’ve seen so far looks amazing. You must be looking at different stuff then us.
http://www.youtube.com/kboogie2323 kev

Pasta do you know if they are going to finally put the quick audibles in the game. it was one of the best features in the game on the ps2. i like when i can change my play and my formation stays the same, plus it was like 4 extra audibles!
http://www.youtube.com/kboogie2323 kev

Pasta do you know if they are going to finally put the quick audibles in the game. it was one of the best features in the game on the ps2. i like when i can change my play and my formation stays the same, plus it was like 4 extra audibles!
the n9n3rs

Why is everybody excited about commentators coming back. It never should of left in the first place. EA has you by the balls with their HYPE. What they do every year is take away a feature that no one complains about to get them mad and put it back in when people start complaining and call it a new feature. Are commentary and improved sideline and/or field goal net some of their 85 new feature? If most of us would just skip a year and not buy Madden, we would have an awesome game in 2010.
the n9n3rs

Why is everybody excited about commentators coming back. It never should of left in the first place. EA has you by the balls with their HYPE. What they do every year is take away a feature that no one complains about to get them mad and put it back in when people start complaining and call it a new feature. Are commentary and improved sideline and/or field goal net some of their 85 new feature? If most of us would just skip a year and not buy Madden, we would have an awesome game in 2010.
the n9n3rs

Why is everybody excited about commentators coming back. It never should of left in the first place. EA has you by the balls with their HYPE. What they do every year is take away a feature that no one complains about to get them mad and put it back in when people start complaining and call it a new feature. Are commentary and improved sideline and/or field goal net some of their 85 new feature? If most of us would just skip a year and not buy Madden, we would have an awesome game in 2010. I want my money back for the past 3 years!!
the n9n3rs

Why is everybody excited about commentators coming back. It never should of left in the first place. EA has you by the balls with their HYPE. What they do every year is take away a feature that no one complains about to get them mad and put it back in when people start complaining and call it a new feature. Are commentary and improved sideline and/or field goal net some of their 85 new feature? If most of us would just skip a year and not buy Madden, we would have an awesome game in 2010. I want my money back for the past 3 years!!
pat

[quote comment="22032"]Why is everybody excited about commentators coming back. It never should of left in the first place. EA has you by the balls with their HYPE. What they do every year is take away a feature that no one complains about to get them mad and put it back in when people start complaining and call it a new feature. Are commentary and improved sideline and/or field goal net some of their 85 new feature? If most of us would just skip a year and not buy Madden, we would have an awesome game in 2010.[/quote]

i know everyone is like o man commentators ok last gen had that and the new commentators sound HORRIBLE
pat

[quote comment="22032"]Why is everybody excited about commentators coming back. It never should of left in the first place. EA has you by the balls with their HYPE. What they do every year is take away a feature that no one complains about to get them mad and put it back in when people start complaining and call it a new feature. Are commentary and improved sideline and/or field goal net some of their 85 new feature? If most of us would just skip a year and not buy Madden, we would have an awesome game in 2010.[/quote]

i know everyone is like o man commentators ok last gen had that and the new commentators sound HORRIBLE
pat

[quote comment="21895"][quote comment="21848"][quote comment="21779"][quote comment="21760"]im not seeing this in other comments but is it me or do the player models look so terrible i think this is like 06 just the opposite in 06 they focused on graphics and not gameplay in 09 they focuse on game play and not graphics[/quote]

Do you ever stop complaining or have anything nice to say? Every reply I read from you its nothing but negative replies and complaining.[/quote]

actually well im compalining because this game looks HORRIBLE[/quote]

Everything i’ve seen so far looks amazing. You must be looking at different stuff then us.[/quote]

in what way this game is not gonna suck just wait till the release yo these graphics look like ps1 i think nfl 2k5 is better than madden 09 already
pat

[quote comment="21895"][quote comment="21848"][quote comment="21779"][quote comment="21760"]im not seeing this in other comments but is it me or do the player models look so terrible i think this is like 06 just the opposite in 06 they focused on graphics and not gameplay in 09 they focuse on game play and not graphics[/quote]

Do you ever stop complaining or have anything nice to say? Every reply I read from you its nothing but negative replies and complaining.[/quote]

actually well im compalining because this game looks HORRIBLE[/quote]

Everything i’ve seen so far looks amazing. You must be looking at different stuff then us.[/quote]

in what way this game is not gonna suck just wait till the release yo these graphics look like ps1 i think nfl 2k5 is better than madden 09 already