#7 of 2008: Madden NFL 09

by pastapadre
Posted December 11th, 2008 at 8:32 am

The biggest name in US sports gaming is by far Madden. Along with Fight Night they are the two sports franchises that transcend the genre. While there is a certain level of discontent surrounding Madden 09 within online communities there is no doubt that the majority continue to enjoy the franchise a great deal. This year though it was just eclipsed by several other games that either provided innovative modes and features or delivered better gameplay for their respective sports.

When I first played Madden 09 I fully believed it was the game that everyone was hoping for. To a certain extent it was. Solid enjoyable gameplay, much improved presentation and some innovation in the way of the adaptive difficulty. I think most people upon first playing the game were taken in by the leap made going from 08 to 09.

However I soon realized that it just didn’t have the staying power of some of the other titles this year and I’ve rarely played it since release. There just isn’t much reason to with what the other games have provided. The overall experience in Madden 09 is just rather bland. I’m still bothered by omissions such as a form of Home Field Advantage. When an element of the sport that large is not even represented in the game it is difficult to fully immerse yourself in the experience and believe that it is a valid one.

One of the best developments that came with 09 is the community interaction from the Madden team. That led to some direct changes being made and it is worth noting how that interaction resulted in an improved product. No other game comes close to providing the same level of input as well as the same distribution of information. That looks as though it will continue for 2010 and should pay even more dividends.

I know the topic of exclusive licenses is a touchy one. My opinion on how that has affected the Madden franchise isn’t in the quality. I still feel it remains a “good” game. The problem lies in that as the only NFL product the goal is to appeal to as many people as possible while attempting to limit anything that could be counter-productive to that. What you get is a vanilla experience that is “good” in most if not all areas. At the same time it isn’t exceptional in any but it also won’t be terrible in any. There just haven’t been any risks taken to carry the series into what people expect from this generation. That is where the license may be restricting the series from reaching its potential.

Madden 09…a good but not great game. Still it remains one that is enjoyed by the masses. For that it makes my Top 10 but lower than where many may have anticipated it would.

#7 Madden NFL 09
#8 Blitz: The League II
#9 NFL Tour
#10 Tiger Woods 09

Tags: top 10, year in review

skinsfan11

First!!!!

DawgPoundMBA (360)

Madden is much better than what Pasta has suggested. It is a great game that can be taken down to a good game if you play someone that abuses certain aspects of the game, like the Rocket Catch. The game is very fun to play and people get too caught up with their online record. Play some unranked games and assuming the other person doesnt quit, you will experience much more fun.
skins tru fan 75

ummm why dosnt madden make an online frachise, and why isnt the nfl draft a big deal in frachise mode like it was in the first head coach with mel kiper jr that was COOL!!!

skinsfan11

First!!!!

DawgPoundMBA (360)

Madden is much better than what Pasta has suggested. It is a great game that can be taken down to a good game if you play someone that abuses certain aspects of the game, like the Rocket Catch. The game is very fun to play and people get too caught up with their online record. Play some unranked games and assuming the other person doesnt quit, you will experience much more fun.
skins tru fan 75

ummm why dosnt madden make an online frachise, and why isnt the nfl draft a big deal in frachise mode like it was in the first head coach with mel kiper jr that was COOL!!!

John

"However I soon realized that it just didn’t have the staying power of some of the other titles this year and I’ve rarely played it since release. There just isn’t much reason to with what the other games have provided. The overall experience in Madden 09 is just rather bland. "

You hit the nail on the head Pasta. Madden lacks replay value. With no online franchise mode and an uninspiring traditional franchise mode chalk full of problems, there is just nothing that calls for the consumer to continue to put this game in his or her system. I am not even a hockey fan but the EAHL has been more enjoyable and the NCAA dynasty mode is the bomb.
John

"However I soon realized that it just didn’t have the staying power of some of the other titles this year and I’ve rarely played it since release. There just isn’t much reason to with what the other games have provided. The overall experience in Madden 09 is just rather bland. "

You hit the nail on the head Pasta. Madden lacks replay value. With no online franchise mode and an uninspiring traditional franchise mode chalk full of problems, there is just nothing that calls for the consumer to continue to put this game in his or her system. I am not even a hockey fan but the EAHL has been more enjoyable and the NCAA dynasty mode is the bomb.
J-Claw

Kudos to Pasta for not over-praising Madden. It bothers me to see it getting awards for best sports game like it just did from X-Play. Typical mainstream media type response to Madden I guess.
J-Claw

Kudos to Pasta for not over-praising Madden. It bothers me to see it getting awards for best sports game like it just did from X-Play. Typical mainstream media type response to Madden I guess.
swizzy

if UR not 4TH U B DED LASS

SWIZZY N DA HIZZY
swizzy

if UR not 4TH U B DED LASS

SWIZZY N DA HIZZY
Ross

I am shocked to see Madden so low, so I am excited to see what lands in your Top 3
I bet it is:

3. NHL 09
2. MLB 08 The Show
1. NCAA Football 09
Ross

I am shocked to see Madden so low, so I am excited to see what lands in your Top 3
I bet it is:

3. NHL 09
2. MLB 08 The Show
1. NCAA Football 09
dmitry

will there b a roster update 15

http://intensedebate.com/people/cdj cdj

http://www.easportsworld.com/en_US/news/Madden_Ro…

dmitry

will there b a roster update 15

http://intensedebate.com/people/cdj cdj

http://www.easportsworld.com/en_US/news/Madden_Ro…

Julian

This game is just like every other Madden in the past. I bring it home the night it comes out, pop it in, seems awesome for about 1 week, then i start to notice everything wrong with it. Franchise mode is a joke, playing the CPU feels like you are playing a CPU rather than an actual person, and did i mention franchise mode is a joke?

The problem with franchise mode begins when the first off-season begins. Coaches don't impact a team at all besides upping a few stats of a few specific players. That coaches scheme never adjusts to the players he has on the team. There is no actual REAL budget for getting coaches, so you could just go ahead and have Bill Bellicick, Tony Dungy, Jon Gruden, and Mike Tomlin all be on your coaching staff if you feel the desire. When players retire and then want to coach, they only help specific players by a lot, and not the whole team a little.
Then resigning players comes up. JOKE!!!! The franchise tag means nothing because as long as a team has the cap room, no great player will ever hit free agency. So basically when Julius Peppers becomes a free agent this season, he will never even test the free agent market. AND IF HE DID, no other CPU team would try to sign him unless they didn't have enough players at that position, regardless of his ability. I have tested this before by releasing Matt Ryan in the off season. NOBODY signed him for 2 full years.

Then comes the Draft. If you have draft classes from NCAA, things are a bit more realistic (without it you almost never see a good player come out of the draft). BUT the players start out unrealistically good. Tim Tebow gets drafted #1 every time and starts out as low as 94 and high as 99. Malcomb Jenkins will be a 99 by his second year, along with 5 other RBs. By 2-3 seasons the league if flooded with 25+ 90s RBs. It just doesnt make sense. AND if the Detroit Lions pick Tim Tebow this year, and they get the #1 pick next year, they choose ANOTHER QB. Its ridiculous to see the Raiders pick a QB in the first round 3 years in a row(even though they are the Raiders).

Player progression/regression is embarrassing. Players should go up/down based on many factors, not just age.

The online is all that really makes this game even playable. The sad part is, when you give up on all other aspects of the game and just want to play a game online, and you get some kid who does the hurry up every down and goes for it on 4th every time, and kicks onside kicks every time, you can't even choose to leave OR ELSE you look like the bad guy with a high DNF. People who don't play the game the way its meant to be played wouldnt bother me as much if you could just leave without having a negative impact. EA could impliment something to counter this. If a player gets too many penalties in a row, they are automatically kicked from the game. So if someone goes for it on 4th down more than 4 times in the first half, they get kicked. Or if someone does the hurry up 20 times in one half, they get kicked. Something along those lines.

I know it sounds like im just complaining about everything, but i really just want what every other person who plays madden wants; a game that truly feels like a football game. I want to feel like im competing with 31 other franchises in franchise mode rather than 1 franchise vs. 31 robots. When i play an online match, i want to not have to worry about the guy im playing against doing cheap "not-in-the-spirit-of-the-game" tactics. EA obviously can't control who plays their game, but they CAN give the other players the option to not play against them. Maybe even just making the scouting report on a player more viewable than it currently is. Nobody has enough time to look at a players tendency before the game starts. And sometimes you just don't know how your opponents connection will be until the game starts. In that case, you should be able to leave the game before it even starts if no plays have been called and kickoff hasn't happened yet.

I just wanted to voice mine, and what i think are most people's opinions on what we have had to experience so far. I hope EA does the right thing and fixes this game rather than working on another "gimmick" that nobody cares about (i.e. REWIND, NFL MOMENTS).
Julian

This game is just like every other Madden in the past. I bring it home the night it comes out, pop it in, seems awesome for about 1 week, then i start to notice everything wrong with it. Franchise mode is a joke, playing the CPU feels like you are playing a CPU rather than an actual person, and did i mention franchise mode is a joke?

The problem with franchise mode begins when the first off-season begins. Coaches don't impact a team at all besides upping a few stats of a few specific players. That coaches scheme never adjusts to the players he has on the team. There is no actual REAL budget for getting coaches, so you could just go ahead and have Bill Bellicick, Tony Dungy, Jon Gruden, and Mike Tomlin all be on your coaching staff if you feel the desire. When players retire and then want to coach, they only help specific players by a lot, and not the whole team a little.
Then resigning players comes up. JOKE!!!! The franchise tag means nothing because as long as a team has the cap room, no great player will ever hit free agency. So basically when Julius Peppers becomes a free agent this season, he will never even test the free agent market. AND IF HE DID, no other CPU team would try to sign him unless they didn't have enough players at that position, regardless of his ability. I have tested this before by releasing Matt Ryan in the off season. NOBODY signed him for 2 full years.

Then comes the Draft. If you have draft classes from NCAA, things are a bit more realistic (without it you almost never see a good player come out of the draft). BUT the players start out unrealistically good. Tim Tebow gets drafted #1 every time and starts out as low as 94 and high as 99. Malcomb Jenkins will be a 99 by his second year, along with 5 other RBs. By 2-3 seasons the league if flooded with 25+ 90s RBs. It just doesnt make sense. AND if the Detroit Lions pick Tim Tebow this year, and they get the #1 pick next year, they choose ANOTHER QB. Its ridiculous to see the Raiders pick a QB in the first round 3 years in a row(even though they are the Raiders).

Player progression/regression is embarrassing. Players should go up/down based on many factors, not just age.

The online is all that really makes this game even playable. The sad part is, when you give up on all other aspects of the game and just want to play a game online, and you get some kid who does the hurry up every down and goes for it on 4th every time, and kicks onside kicks every time, you can't even choose to leave OR ELSE you look like the bad guy with a high DNF. People who don't play the game the way its meant to be played wouldnt bother me as much if you could just leave without having a negative impact. EA could impliment something to counter this. If a player gets too many penalties in a row, they are automatically kicked from the game. So if someone goes for it on 4th down more than 4 times in the first half, they get kicked. Or if someone does the hurry up 20 times in one half, they get kicked. Something along those lines.

I know it sounds like im just complaining about everything, but i really just want what every other person who plays madden wants; a game that truly feels like a football game. I want to feel like im competing with 31 other franchises in franchise mode rather than 1 franchise vs. 31 robots. When i play an online match, i want to not have to worry about the guy im playing against doing cheap "not-in-the-spirit-of-the-game" tactics. EA obviously can't control who plays their game, but they CAN give the other players the option to not play against them. Maybe even just making the scouting report on a player more viewable than it currently is. Nobody has enough time to look at a players tendency before the game starts. And sometimes you just don't know how your opponents connection will be until the game starts. In that case, you should be able to leave the game before it even starts if no plays have been called and kickoff hasn't happened yet.

I just wanted to voice mine, and what i think are most people's opinions on what we have had to experience so far. I hope EA does the right thing and fixes this game rather than working on another "gimmick" that nobody cares about (i.e. REWIND, NFL MOMENTS).
duff

Agree with the above about the online play. Not much fun to line up against somebody who doesn't play realistically – takes the fun out of it. I'm all for playing for blood, but not at the expense of the spirit of the game. Guess that's what online leagues are for.
duff

Agree with the above about the online play. Not much fun to line up against somebody who doesn't play realistically – takes the fun out of it. I'm all for playing for blood, but not at the expense of the spirit of the game. Guess that's what online leagues are for.
patrick oak

wow Pasta I hope you don,t put interception throwing, 80% pass completing, no way to stop running back swing passes, ncaa football 2009 ahead of madden!
patrick oak

wow Pasta I hope you don,t put interception throwing, 80% pass completing, no way to stop running back swing passes, ncaa football 2009 ahead of madden!
swizzy

dis can only meen dat

LIVE GOTS DAT #1 SPOT

ADVANTAGE SWIZZLE
swizzy

dis can only meen dat

LIVE GOTS DAT #1 SPOT

ADVANTAGE SWIZZLE
IIII 47 IIII

No, Swizzy, Live wont be 1 because its a terrible game…again.

I think its sad to see how far Madden has fallen. I mean just a hand full of yrs ago this title was considered one of the best sports titles ever. EA bought the license, EA got lazy.
IIII 47 IIII

No, Swizzy, Live wont be 1 because its a terrible game…again.

I think its sad to see how far Madden has fallen. I mean just a hand full of yrs ago this title was considered one of the best sports titles ever. EA bought the license, EA got lazy.
Josh

Pasta, please tell your boys at EA to make sure they add Refs & chaingangs for next year. I can't go another year without them! No matter what they add to the game, I just can't take it serious without having refs & chaingangs. It totally takes away from the realism to me. I know this is early to tell you this but I know that you get invited to media events to give feedback on progress so please be the voice for us diehards. Thanx in advance Pasta!

http://intensedebate.com/people/pastapadre pastapadre

I'm confident items like those are on the list for this year. At least I'm hoping so too and will pass along the desire for them to be added but I think they're pretty aware of that.

Josh

Pasta, please tell your boys at EA to make sure they add Refs & chaingangs for next year. I can't go another year without them! No matter what they add to the game, I just can't take it serious without having refs & chaingangs. It totally takes away from the realism to me. I know this is early to tell you this but I know that you get invited to media events to give feedback on progress so please be the voice for us diehards. Thanx in advance Pasta!

http://intensedebate.com/people/pastapadre pastapadre

I'm confident items like those are on the list for this year. At least I'm hoping so too and will pass along the desire for them to be added but I think they're pretty aware of that.

RIP Sean Taylor #21

Home Field Advantagae tho pasta is not a large part of the NFL anymore in most places so a home field advantage feature while useful is does not take away much realism with its absence what they should implement is how faster teams have advantages on certain types of fields or how on the Steelers horrible field the competition is somewhat leveled.

http://intensedebate.com/people/pastapadre pastapadre

If you look at records though home teams have a clear advantage. It may not be an extreme one, I don't think we need camera shake or anything, but there should be some representation of it being tougher to win on the road then at home.

RIP Sean Taylor #21

Home Field Advantagae tho pasta is not a large part of the NFL anymore in most places so a home field advantage feature while useful is does not take away much realism with its absence what they should implement is how faster teams have advantages on certain types of fields or how on the Steelers horrible field the competition is somewhat leveled.

http://intensedebate.com/people/pastapadre pastapadre

If you look at records though home teams have a clear advantage. It may not be an extreme one, I don't think we need camera shake or anything, but there should be some representation of it being tougher to win on the road then at home.

acreyman

I thought the gameplay was better on Madden 09 than NCAA 09 for once on the next gen consoles. MADDEN just got BORING! NCAA has so much going for it over madden. The crowd at every Madden game was just dead and did not react the way home crowds normally act. Madden was better, but still not great.
acreyman

I thought the gameplay was better on Madden 09 than NCAA 09 for once on the next gen consoles. MADDEN just got BORING! NCAA has so much going for it over madden. The crowd at every Madden game was just dead and did not react the way home crowds normally act. Madden was better, but still not great.
datdude

MAdden should atleast include towels for players like reggie bush. DIff size socks, and can we please either scrap SS mode or Add some depth cus not gettin drafted in the 1st round after winning 4 heismans on COllege legend is rediculous and retarded. I havent played madden since Oct cus its pretty lame
datdude

MAdden should atleast include towels for players like reggie bush. DIff size socks, and can we please either scrap SS mode or Add some depth cus not gettin drafted in the 1st round after winning 4 heismans on COllege legend is rediculous and retarded. I havent played madden since Oct cus its pretty lame
Julian

Pasta, any idea on whether Franchise mode will be fixed in 2010??
Julian

Pasta, any idea on whether Franchise mode will be fixed in 2010??
Justin Tuck

Madden sucked this year it was the same damn game from last year…..and I hate the next gen engine….it was nice for a couple of years but it blows I like the old xbox gen engine. I got board of madden. I dont knwo why everyone was blowing there load over this years game just because of some damn features.
Justin Tuck

Madden sucked this year it was the same damn game from last year…..and I hate the next gen engine….it was nice for a couple of years but it blows I like the old xbox gen engine. I got board of madden. I dont knwo why everyone was blowing there load over this years game just because of some damn features.
Jory

I think the killer this year and last year has been the insane amount of bugs that remain at release. A lot of them occur in franchise mode to make it almost unplayable. I had a bug in last year's version that would tell the game to constantly scroll the right joystick down even when I wasn't touching it in player stats/management. That sure is a lot of fun when you're trying to look at player attributes and stats. I thought it was fixed in the new one this year until it started happening again recently. Assuming I muster the patience to keep playing, the game sporadically decides to bug your franchise so that you can't advance past certain games. Aside from the bugs, I also agree with the above poster about player ratings and progression.

There seems to be no correlation between in game performance and player rating progression. The default rookie draft attributes are still ridiculous although a tad better than earlier versions. The NCAA imported drafts are on the opposite end of the spectrum, way too high.

It'd be nice as well to be able to include your Campus Legend player in a regular franchise import draft to play with instead of strictly in SS mode which is still bare bones and boring.
Jory

I think the killer this year and last year has been the insane amount of bugs that remain at release. A lot of them occur in franchise mode to make it almost unplayable. I had a bug in last year's version that would tell the game to constantly scroll the right joystick down even when I wasn't touching it in player stats/management. That sure is a lot of fun when you're trying to look at player attributes and stats. I thought it was fixed in the new one this year until it started happening again recently. Assuming I muster the patience to keep playing, the game sporadically decides to bug your franchise so that you can't advance past certain games. Aside from the bugs, I also agree with the above poster about player ratings and progression.

There seems to be no correlation between in game performance and player rating progression. The default rookie draft attributes are still ridiculous although a tad better than earlier versions. The NCAA imported drafts are on the opposite end of the spectrum, way too high.

It'd be nice as well to be able to include your Campus Legend player in a regular franchise import draft to play with instead of strictly in SS mode which is still bare bones and boring.
LVradio

madden 09 was a disappointment.

Jcraig33

The franchise training drills are ridiculous. There's only one you can do (QB) without cheesing it by subbing in a kicker at RB for the DL challenge. The bench press is dumb, and so is the 40 yard dash. I can't remember what game it was (I think it was the ray lewis cover year) but the offseason training in that game was awesome. I had more fun just helping to improve players than anything else. More than anything most of the drills were somewhat uncomplicated but challenging at the highest levels. This years game was a lot of fun to play for the most part, but the broken franchise mode really ruined it for me. I played it for 3 days and haven't touched it since.

LVradio

madden 09 was a disappointment.

Jcraig33

The franchise training drills are ridiculous. There's only one you can do (QB) without cheesing it by subbing in a kicker at RB for the DL challenge. The bench press is dumb, and so is the 40 yard dash. I can't remember what game it was (I think it was the ray lewis cover year) but the offseason training in that game was awesome. I had more fun just helping to improve players than anything else. More than anything most of the drills were somewhat uncomplicated but challenging at the highest levels. This years game was a lot of fun to play for the most part, but the broken franchise mode really ruined it for me. I played it for 3 days and haven't touched it since.

Aaron

When I imported Tim Tebow he was a 93 with 96 throwing power 81 speed and 88 accuracy. But I'd rather have guys overated than underated because the first few years in maddean the generated draft classes have been so bad that I drafted this quarterback in the first roung that was 75 overall with 82 TP 78 TC and 81 speed. So the NCAA classes while they might be overated , at least your franchise will be filled with talent.
Aaron

When I imported Tim Tebow he was a 93 with 96 throwing power 81 speed and 88 accuracy. But I'd rather have guys overated than underated because the first few years in maddean the generated draft classes have been so bad that I drafted this quarterback in the first roung that was 75 overall with 82 TP 78 TC and 81 speed. So the NCAA classes while they might be overated , at least your franchise will be filled with talent.