Madden 09 and Facebreaker Demos Now Available
by 
The demos for EA Sports Madden NFL 09 and Facebreaker are now available for download for the 360 and should both be coming this afternoon for the PS3. Generally the PSN is updated around 3pm PT. It turns out Madden came one day earlier than expected as it had been advertised for August 1st.
The Madden 09 demo features a run through of the virtual trainer and then the “Madden Moment” controlling the Giants on a last minute drive in the Super Bowl. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments or in this forum thread.
The Facebreaker demo offers a minute of action with the choice of three different characters as well as the ability to upload your face into the game for placement on them. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments or in this forum thread.
Check back this evening for videos and impressions on the two demos. I’ll be doing a breakdown of the old demo vs the new demo vs the community event build from late May for Madden.
July 31, 2008 at 4:42 am
Wow this is awesome. I beat won the superbowl on my first try and now I can’t do it anymore.
July 31, 2008 at 5:03 am
What happened to redemption to the ps3 owners EA???
July 31, 2008 at 5:17 am
So much for the updated build of the game. At least it will get me by for two weeks. Still very much looking forward to this year’s game. When should I tell my wife that it’s Madden season? Should she get a warning or just let her know Aug 12th??? Some help here fellas!
July 31, 2008 at 5:35 am
This is supposedly near final build compared to the months old DVD demo. There are a lot of noticeable differences, but in the short period you get to play the game and having no commentary it doesn’t match up to my memories from the community event.
BTW you only get one timeout in this demo as opposed to three in the older one. Also now experience the camera flashes first hand!
Facebreaker wise obviously I’m just learning the game but even on easy I’ve been getting my ass kicked!
July 31, 2008 at 5:35 am
Dude ^ there, its August 1st. Its already Madden Season.
July 31, 2008 at 6:24 am
ughhhhhhh why isnt the demo on PS3 ALREADY!!
July 31, 2008 at 6:36 am
Man Madden looks and plays great Aug 12 can’t come soon enough
July 31, 2008 at 6:44 am
Pasta, why does EA always kick PS3 users in the nuts when it deals with Madden?
We’ve always had the worse of every outcome, I don’t understand.
July 31, 2008 at 6:48 am
“Pasta, why does EA always kick PS3 users in the nuts when it deals with Madden?”
It’s not EA, the PSN store update happens at the same time every week. You should be used to it if you’ve had a PS3 for any length of time!
July 31, 2008 at 6:50 am
PS3 Owners Listen:
Sony realeases their Demos/Updates to the PSN in the afternoons. Feel free to comment after you have had a chance to play the demo. I’ll be playing it late tonight.
July 31, 2008 at 6:53 am
I know, I know, I just hate waiting.
It’ll be about seven hours until the demo releases for PS3.
July 31, 2008 at 7:03 am
Just finished the demo, It’s good! Plays similar to NCAA, so it isnt all that different, but that also means that it is a solid game!
July 31, 2008 at 7:13 am
Just played through it a few times…
Game looks great and plays much better than NCAA from what I could tell. Not sure what difficulty level it defaults to when you skip the VT, but I was able to move the ball consistently. I didn’t really notice the camera flashes. Controls feel good. Had a few instances of the ball warping to receivers hands–sorta like the magnet catches from NCAA.
Overall it seems pretty good. I am getting frustrated with NCAA because the more I play it, the more flaws I find. Especially the psychic cpu defense and cpu qb. This doesn’t seem to be as much a problem in Madden and for that I am thankful.
I wlll wait for more impressions from demo and full release before I decide to buy…but at this point I am pretty sure that NCAA is going back to the store.
July 31, 2008 at 8:15 am
the thing that really annoys me is a big deal to me but maybe not to other people is that ea doesnt get helmets right and its so clear its like there rearted they continue to give eli that revolution helmet like peyton eli wore that helmet for his rookie year only
July 31, 2008 at 8:34 am
im surprised how much fun facebreaker is. plus peter moore and kim kardashian are in the demo lol!
July 31, 2008 at 8:43 am
Why can’t you user strafe catch on offense?
July 31, 2008 at 8:54 am
[quote comment="30412"]the thing that really annoys me is a big deal to me but maybe not to other people is that ea doesnt get helmets right and its so clear its like there rearted they continue to give eli that revolution helmet like peyton eli wore that helmet for his rookie year only[/quote]
agreed, I am a equipment freak and alwasy edit the players..and I too hate Eliu’s facemask..and they better have clear visors..
July 31, 2008 at 9:02 am
[quote comment="30415"][quote comment="30412"]the thing that really annoys me is a big deal to me but maybe not to other people is that ea doesnt get helmets right and its so clear its like there rearted they continue to give eli that revolution helmet like peyton eli wore that helmet for his rookie year only[/quote]
agreed, I am a equipment freak and alwasy edit the players..and I too hate Eliu’s facemask..and they better have clear visors..[/quote]
im pretty sure clear visors are in the game dark visors only was soooooo annyoing i couldnt stand playing everyone who was supposed to have a clear visor had a drak one like i removed so many facemasks like phillip rivers and ray lewis
July 31, 2008 at 9:31 am
YEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSssssssssssssssss
July 31, 2008 at 9:35 am
so this isnt 2 player either, man, ncaa demo was 2 player
July 31, 2008 at 9:40 am
the game looks good but this demo sucks its to short but i cant wait to get madden
July 31, 2008 at 9:45 am
i want strafe catching back
July 31, 2008 at 9:45 am
i thought this was supposed to come out tomorrow. even my 360 dashboard it has an ad that says 1 day till madden 09 demo. o well idk i have it downloading now
July 31, 2008 at 9:58 am
I LOVED THIS DEMO, I CAN’T WAIT TILL AUG. 12TH.
July 31, 2008 at 10:32 am
in the virtual thing, its impossible to tackle. the running back always breaks the tackles
July 31, 2008 at 10:43 am
THANK U EA SPORTS!!!
This demo blew me away, I am looking forward more than ever to Madden for the first time in years.
THANK YOU PHIL FRAZIER!!!!
July 31, 2008 at 10:52 am
Clear visors are in the demo! The Patriots rookie linebacker from USC Mayo is wearing one. Looks great!
July 31, 2008 at 10:57 am
good lord…
4th and 1 with like a min and a half left and 1 timeout and the clock is moving?
get in there rookie, try to experience the subtle game changes from last year, and make somethin happen…..
July 31, 2008 at 11:14 am
[quote comment="30403"]“Pasta, why does EA always kick PS3 users in the nuts when it deals with Madden?”
It’s not EA, the PSN store update happens at the same time every week. You should be used to it if you’ve had a PS3 for any length of time![/quote]
Dude if you haven’t figuered it out by now, the 360 is EA’s 1st priority. They do this every year. Not only does the 360 normally get the demos 1st but for the most part the sports games are better on 360 compared to PS3. This is the 1st year that Madden will run at 60fps on both systems. Right now the 360 is a better system, better online, & it’s cheaper. Eventually the PS3 will take over but by the time they do it will be too late.
July 31, 2008 at 11:20 am
they do have clear visors i just found a screenshot with one in it.
http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/14229536/madden-nfl-09/images/madden-nfl-09-20080428005851682.html?page=mediaFull
July 31, 2008 at 11:32 am
By the way, Mayo played for Tenn. not USC but great to hear clear visors are there. Probably shouldn’t ask about mouthpieces and nasal strips cause I bet they aren’t in like usual the last 4 maddens on next gen.
July 31, 2008 at 11:35 am
pasta can you tell me if strafe catching is in the final version?
July 31, 2008 at 11:37 am
The demo is is good. I like it better than last year, but the flashing lights really get annoying. Maybe I just have to get used to it.
July 31, 2008 at 11:45 am
sorry, this question isn’t about the demo but i’m a bit curious. was there any word on position battles in superstar mode for the next gen consoles? i heard it was in for ps2 and xbox, along with other potentially cool sounding features for superstar mode, but not for the next gen consoles…
July 31, 2008 at 11:46 am
im enjoying the facebreaker demo but havent tried uploading anything yet, the game is fun and tougher than i expected.
madden is good like it looked like it was going to be i just need more time actually playing a full game to know if this is the year
July 31, 2008 at 11:51 am
[quote comment="30438"]The demo is is good. I like it better than last year, but the flashing lights really get annoying. Maybe I just have to get used to it.[/quote]
It amazes me how a multi billion dollar company in EA came make a game a great & as detailed as Madden but when it comes to something as obvious as excessive camera flashes they can’t get that right. I mean it’s common sense that these camera flashes are excessive. Even my 4 year old son saw the game and said “Daddy how come there’s so many flashes?” I really don’t want to nitpick & I wouldn’t mind a few flashes here & there, but these excessive camera flashes are really gonna put a damper on otherwise would be a great game.
July 31, 2008 at 11:59 am
If I remember correctly, Pasta mentioned the input given to EA during the last community event was to tone down the camera flashes. I thought he said you’d see them on TD’s and things of that nature but not as much during the course of the game.
July 31, 2008 at 12:12 pm
people were giving good reviews for ncaa too, but look what happened. ncaa was crap. madden is hiding something by giving u limited gameplay. they’re hoping you’ll play it once and not find out any bugs in a full quarter. rent b4 buy people. the ones giving good feedback prolly on ea’s payroll.
July 31, 2008 at 12:17 pm
The demo is way to short , the madden IQ is funner than playing the NFL moment thing
July 31, 2008 at 12:18 pm
I’m not on EA’s payroll, have hated EA in the past, was a 2k fanboy…need I go any further?
Phil Frazier is turning this series around, and I can’t put this demo away yet, I am having a blast, and in awe each play i see a new animation.
July 31, 2008 at 12:36 pm
wow coming into this demo i really was angry about the camera flashes but i really did not notice them much and if they bother you u will probably get used to them
July 31, 2008 at 1:00 pm
have you guys ever heard of the slogan: if its in the game its in the game. You don’t think there are cameras flashing like that at a NFL game? well i guess ea is making this game real
July 31, 2008 at 1:00 pm
pasta do you think madden could be different if david ortiz never left
July 31, 2008 at 1:29 pm
the iq thing is wacked. got a 100% on passing so what does this do. instead of making it harder for me to pass, it makes my receiver drop passes even tho they are wide open. the a.i. does not adapt to you, it just dumb things down.
July 31, 2008 at 1:30 pm
[quote comment="30451"]pasta do you think madden could be different if david ortiz never left[/quote]
I personally think it woould have continued to be that tourney based rehash that it has been since it hit next-gen. Ortiz didn’t do much in these past few that’s for sure.
July 31, 2008 at 1:30 pm
you can always count on EA to make a feature that does not work.
July 31, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Some dude claims to have the full game on IGN’s Madden boards. Pasta you might want to pick up the bat phone and let em know he is leaking info. Claims he got the game from a buddy who is a gametester.
July 31, 2008 at 1:35 pm
so just put the game on all madden and adjust the sliders. No big deal who is really going to worry about that. IQ idea is dumb anyway cuz if u get 100% on everything the computer will start doing unrealistic things to stay better then u. Also about 90% of yall play online anyway
July 31, 2008 at 1:35 pm
I also noticed a lot of drops. I think that you probably have to user catch everything to guarantee that its not going to bounce off the receivers hands. I wonder if that is one of the aspects of the Virt. Trainer that when you score well on passing it requires you to manually catch each pass…?
July 31, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Wow been playing the demo all day and I am so excited didn’t really realize how much of an improvement the graphics were till I saw it on my HD set. I do believe that with such a drastic improvement in Madden’s graphics that it is gonna hurt HC 09 since its still running off the old engine. If you read above you can tell its a solid game the complaints are about facemasks, clear visors, and camera flashes. The camera flashes are a nice touch in the Madden moments portion of the demo considering that it takes place during Super Bowl. Gameplay is solid don’t know about any1 else but the passing on 08 was trash precision passing didn’t work and defenders not looking for the ball could still make a play all of which has been addressed and the disappearing icons if you drop back too far is a very nice addition. This is what Madden 06 should’ve been EA didn’t phone it in this year they gave fans what they want with this edition EA has laid a solid foundation to work with and now can just add the features and improvements that they couldn’t get in this year Aug 12th can’t get here soon enough