Madden 09′ Video Game Review
Howdy gamers! Uncle Grant’s back at you again, and I’m reviewing a title that’s gone through 20 different incarnations. I speak of none other than Madden NFL 2009, available this week for all major platforms. So drop back in the pocket and fire away… it’s go time.
Now the phrase I’m going to be using this week is “deja vu” and for once I’m not going to follow it up with “two-for-one lap dances at.” EA has caught a lot of static in recent years for basically treating its flagship franchise as a $60 roster update… so of course I’ve got that in the back of my mind when I pop in the disc. But is that a fair assessment?
Well… just like taking a football in the groin, Madden 09 is also a mixed bag. You’ve got some stuff that’s good – namely the presentation and the in-game commentary by Tom Hammond and Chris Collinsworth. However, you’ve also got some stuff that’s not so good, like the automatically adjusting difficulty settings, and an auto-replay feature that most people will flat-out ignore. And of course you’ve got the ugly, which is Brett Favre on the cover in his Packer uniform. Guess this was the first time the Madden Curse struck even before the players took the field.
However, I must say the best new feature is the online league feature in which you and up to 31 of your friends can get together and play an entire season against each other. It keeps track of trades and moves, too, so you can wheel and deal with your buddies. To me it’s the next step in fantasy football nerd-dom and I am ridiculously looking forward to it.
All told, though, it’s still Madden, and that’s why “deja vu” comes to mind. If you dig Madden you’re going to get more of the same. Is it worth paying $60 if you own last year’s edition? That’s going to depend on how much you’re looking forward to online play. In my opinion, you are paying 60 bucks for a roster update but if you dig that sort of thing , give it a whirl. If not… hey, I heard there’s a website where you can download new rosters for Super Tecmo Bowl. Maybe that’s more your speed. Either way, check out GYG for all of your online game rental needs.