Madden NFL 09 (xbox360: 2008): Reviews

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Madden NFL 09


8.2

based on 24 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 78 votes
Read user comments
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GAMES:

Cheat Code Central

Official Website

For passionate Madden NFL fans, this year's iteration promises to take authenticity and depth of gameplay to an entirely new level with more than 85 new features and enhancements, including the all-new Virtual Trainer tutorial mode. Utilizing a holographic environment, this mode teaches gamers simple concepts about playing football and how to use the controls in quick, fun and stylized drills. In Madden NFL 09, the game engine is continually assessing the player's performance and adapst a custom experience to every type of gamer, from newcomer to the veteran Madden NFL player. Madden NFL 09 also features a network-inspired broadcast presentation. Players benefit from the authentic football knowledge of an in-booth play-by-play and color commentary team featuring Cris Collinsworth and Tom Hammond. In addition, numerous graphical enhancements have been made, including realistic weather and grass, sleeker player models and exterior stadium views. Madden NFL 09 gives gamers the ability to create online leagues. Avid Madden NFL fans can now take their rivalries online and compete in leagues with up to 32 teams. Online league play features in-depth stat tracking, player trades and a flexible scheduling option. [Electronic Arts]

PUBLISHER:	Electronic Arts
DEVELOPER:	EA Tiburon
GENRE(S):	Sports, Football
PLAYERS:	8
ESRB RATING:	E (Everyone)
RELEASE DATE:	August 12, 2008

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

1UP

The mud-caked Slop Bowls, bustling sidelines, and significantly varied player physiques mean that Madden 09's finally lived up to EA's next-gen target video from three years ago that -- for three years -- looked way better than the games themselves.

100

G4 TV

The new commentating team, Backtrack replays, soundtrack, and improved graphics really packs that extra punch of realism making this game a must buy.

XboxAddict

The game will satisfy the appetite of both casual and hardcore football fans and its mixes those two worlds together very well.

Gaming Age

Everything from the visuals, audio, and presentation have been bumped up a notch to a level that would make any fan who has turned their heads for the last 3 years take notice.

NZGamer

The most accurate description of American Football on a videogame console that I’ve ever seen.

Kombo

Madden has finally entered the next-generation with a fierce new look and some ability to flex some powerful new features like Madden IQ.

Gamervision

The game looks great, there are a ton of little nuances football fans everywhere will love, and most of all, it’s fun to play. Despite some issues with the AI, I think this is the first must-buy Madden for next-gen consoles.

GamePro

The controls are tight and responsive, and the overall flow of an NFL contest feels realistic.

Official Xbox Magazine

We're happy to report that Madden NFL 09 represents the pinnacle of the modern Madden era. [Sept 2008, p.68]

Electronic Gaming Monthly

Parity's finally come to Madden multiplayer, though - the new difficulty-balancing feature works great, and it allows me to finally play competitive games against better players. [Sept 2008, p.80]

IGN

Madden NFL 09 is the most loyal translation of America’s favorite sport I’ve ever seen. It looks great, plays great, and despite its few moments of inaccuracies, is still one of the best sports games in memory.

Planet Xbox 360

Even though Madden NFL 09 is not perfect in any shape or form it is the best football experience available on the Xbox 360 and should be checked out by new fans of the series as well as twenty-year veterans. The new features tossed into the game give Madden 09 a bit of everything for everyone who enjoys football.

Cheat Code Central

There are a lot of new features this year, but none of them are of much consequence. If you own Madden 08, there is no truly outstanding aspect that makes a repurchase necessary. In fact, the Superstar and Franchise game modes are nearly identical, and the Online Leagues aren't impressive enough to outshine the excellent online play of last year.

Da Gameboyz

Madden NFL 09 is far from a perfect game but at the end of the day this one is the best versions in its 20 year run.

Gamer 2.0

Madden 09 has far more successes than failures, enough that any pro football fan that’s been hesitant to actually pick-up the game for the past few should definitely give this game a shot.

GameTrailers

There’s a whole lot of game here, but that was true last year, and for every gameplay improvement there’s something annoying to dampen the enthusiasm. It’s still an excellent football game, but the casual player is going to like it a lot more than the grizzled vet.

Team Xbox

Madden NFL 09 is a competent addition to this twenty year franchise, and perhaps the best that Tiburon has to offer for the Xbox 360. But one has to wonder why issues such as unnecessary clipping, framerate/loading issues and the lack of full Live functionality are still around three years into the 360’s console cycle.

Game Informer

While the play-to-play action has some awesome moments, the Franchise mode is stuck in a boring rut.

Games Radar

We’ll happily play all season long, during which we’ll invent a thousand more reasons to love and hate it all at the same time. No matter what, though, we’d be lying if we said we weren’t a tad disappointed that this year’s version didn’t make the same jump we’d gotten accustomed to the last two years.

GameDaily

Madden NFL 2009 stumbles, but manages to regain its composure long enough to stiff arm critics and dive into the endzone.

GameSpot

For every addition, like the backtrack feature, Collinsworth, or improved visuals, there's a problem that rears its ugly head, like the unchanged Superstar mode, poor pass coverage in the middle of the field, or underwhelming online leagues. Newcomers will still face a steep learning curve, but if you're a football fan or series veteran, you can't go wrong with Madden 09.

GameSpy

Online play is a very enticing part of what Madden brings to the table this year.

X360 Magazine UK

In truth, we’re in distraction territory – beyond (admittedly quite a few) graphical changes, its only substantial addition will feel to football veterans like throw-in training might feel to, er, football veterans.

GameShark

What you are left with is a great 2-player game, a lot of features that the well established fan base most likely won’t care about (even though Backtrack and Rewind are both pretty good ideas), a half-baked online league system, and gameplay that is at times highly polished and entertaining yet also plagued by AI issues.

The average user rating for this game is 8.2 (out of 10) based on 78 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Cody B. gave it a0:
I have to say that this game is broken. I would have given it a higher score for the fundamentals of the game, but we have been seeing Madden's fundamentals for 20 years now. The adaptive gameplay does not work. My passing/catch rating was high. So what does the game do to adapt to me being good in this area. It repeatedly causes me to dro WIDE OPEN passes. If my running rating is high. The game makes my offensive line suck at blocking. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY. This is the last Madden I will buy. period!

AJ P. gave it a3:
The only reason I buy Madden is to play the superstar mode, and that has gotten even worse since last year, your player will never get the ball and when you do the camera doesn't follow you half the time, and no matter what team you play for your QB will throw at least 3 picks a game, gave it a 3 for good graphics.

Fritz B. gave it a4:
IF you told me that this is what madden would feel like in 2004 I would have laughed. It's just not good enough, and the developer isn't talented enough to bring this franchise into the future. Time to start w/ new team and all new engine. until they do, I'll completely ignore all madden related news/games. I do think head coach is cool though.

D C gave it a0:
With no competition left in football games the Madden series has experienced a lack of innovation and creativity. The in-game options are the usual and gameplay is dull. Two things that stick out are the bad commentary and awkward in-game camera. This game doesn't excite me the way it should

Undrai F. gave it a10:
Man, I simply love this Game. I believe it's the best Madden ever. From the graphics, the feel, the gameplay, the works. I have no complaints whatsoever. The speed of the game is phenomenal, and playing it on HD is like...WOW!! This is truly a great buy for the Collectors of Madden... Peace.

Alec S. gave it a6:
God awful AI makes this year's Madden unplayable at single player, but it does look really pretty.

John K gave it a9:
This is by far the best Madden game in years, and is the first full-featured version for the next-gen systems. They have finally gotten rid of that horrible tin-can sounding radio announcer that would say the same thing over and over again, and replaced him with a very realistic broadcast presentation with great commentating from Cris Collinsworth (why not Madden is anyone's guess). The new Madden IQ difficulty setting is also a good addition, and the training room is a good way to hone your skills. Gameplay seems to be tuned to the the most realistic in years, where it is possible to both run and pass, but neither is too easy nor too hard, and the game tries to make you mix it up. Just seems more real. Probably has to do with the game' new custom difficulty adjustment (Madden IQ). And graphically, the game has made a huge improvement over the last several years (no more blurry stadiums and even more realistic looking players and turf). Overall, if you are a football fan, you will love this game. (Well, you have no other choice if you want to use real NFL teams). But not only is this a very good football game, but it is the best football video game (regardless of NFL license) to come out in years. That's right 2K fans-- Madden has finally outdone 2K5. This is quite a compliment coming from a huge fan of NFL2K5 who thought he would never get over EA buying the exclusive license and knocking 2K out of the game. Why is it that good? Graphics, gameplay and features now all beat out 2K5. If EA threw in cheerleaders, it would win in all categories. I am obviously very happy about Madden finally living up to the hype, but of course, I do believe the game would be even better if EA had to compete with 2K. We probably would have had a game of this caliber a few years ago with competition from 2K. But it's not EA's fault-- it's the greedy NFL's fault for selling an exclusive license. Anyway, this is going to be great fun for fans of football games-- we have finally gotten what we deserved-- a great, full-featured, NFL licensed game of Madden that can be highly recommended for the gameplay and not just the roster updates and exclusive NFL license.