Madden NFL 09 for Xbox 360 Reviews by Gamers

Madden 09 is graphically superior to Madden 08... New camera angles and weather make the playing field look like it's being broadcasted by NBC or ABC... Then that's where it ends, Madden has a bunch of good ideas just like NCAA Football 09 has but both have loose ends... Madden lacks online capabilities and there are gameplay (non - co op) problems which I as a long time Madden player still hate because they're not fixed... Magnet passes and A.I. players stepping out of bounds instead of putting it into your face by running for the T.D. Madden 09 has this new thing called My Skill... This I think is the worst invention ever...

The game starts by you (the player) taking this IQ test of how well you play Madden (Rushing, Passing, Rush Defense, Pass Defense). After taking the test I scored All Madden on Rushing, All Madden on Passing, The Highest Level of All Pro, and Pro on Pass Defense...

When you initiate a game you have the choice to put the game difficulty on either rookie, pro, all pro, all madden or your skill level. Your skill level really doesn't work because say you like me also scored All Madden in Rushing and Passing but you know you don't play on All Madden in previous versions when the CPU plays in All Madden it's insanely hard and your skill you received is incredibly wrong!!! Maybe it's just me and that I haven't played on All Madden ever because I know I was never the best Madden player... (I'm sick at NBA LIVE)

During the game these new camera angles which look good at first get really annoying and irritating and you wished you were playing Madden 08 again... Some stand out never fixed problems are Kickers still kick way to far because in the NFL there are only maybe 4 or 5 kickers who actually can kick every time to the back of the end zone on each kickoff and hit 55 yard field goals... Something which I think My Skill should of had but was left out was Special Teams Offense and Defense... Both very important in Football! Overall Madden is a 7.

There is a reason I haven't owned a Madden game made in this century...they all suck. The benchmark was set with ESPN's 2K Football and no EA product has come close...EA is all about the candy and not about the creamy center...This game is barely an improvement over last year...barely. AI and player ratings are useless, superstar mode is still useless! Has any body imported their NCAA 09 class and used them in superstar mode? It's sad that I prefer NCAA to Madden. It used to be that NCAA always used the previous Madden engine but now they are 2 separate beasts.

same thing as last year and the year before that except for the madden test which doesnt help at all,its very pointless,i love football but i wish they would have the nfl trademark and teams available for other publishers,remember NFL Blitz??god i miss that game

6/10

What an enormous disappointment. Madden got too greedy and bought out the rights to the NFL. Now we're left with this game. Old recycled tackles, very poor graphics(the grass looks better than the players), very poor looking crowds and stadiums. Also way too much on the HUD the interface is complex and difficult to navigate through. With all the technology today this game should look and sound much better. The announcers have very few phrases, many which don't apply to more than 1 or 2 situations. This game is just terrible and it's the only NFL licensed game. They got too into virtual training, super star mode, and create-a-player, and forgot to make a football game about football. POOR collision detection, sound, graphics, tackle animations, taking and catching options...just overall bad. I suggest avoiding.

After playing most of two games, I remembered why I stopped buying the Madden games. Too annoying. The Madden IQ is pretty neat, but gives no real skill adjustment. The Madden IQ running drills are beyond easy and unless you are asleep, it will give you the All-Madden ranking, and then as soon as you play the game, you will be lucky to get a 5 yard run. I played the equivalent of 7 quarters in the game, and my opponents were something like 34-38 completing passes. That despite my Madden IQ pass defense being horrible. So, a very frustrating game. If you are an expert, the game is likely going to be fun as the graphics and in game analysis is out of this world. When Cris Collinsworth breaks down your interceptions, and you will throw lots of interceptions, it is nothing short of stunning, with the breakdown pointing out who you should have thrown to and everything. So, from a graphical and innovation point of view, it is awesome, but if you are not an expert at the game, you will likely get frustrated. In the two games I played, I had Marion Barber and Adrian Peterson, and only once did I have a run longer than 4 yards, and that was by a fullback. Lets just say, when you run, they are ready for you. When you pass, you are given a lot of underneath stuff, so if you like throwing to the TE a lot, you will love it. If you like throwing 20 yard passes, you will not. So, in summation, great graphics, unbelievably annoying game play.

I owned this game for a little while, and i have to say, it is the worst football game ever made. i want to know what EA was on when they made this game. First of all the madden iq is #&$!. it feels so generic and broken. The running game is almost impossible no matter what difficulty you play on. its not fun at all. i could go on all day. and chris colinsworth is the worst announcer they could have possibly gotten for the job. he never shuts up and i question if he's commentating the same game im playing. the online sucks because people only choose the best teams and that makes it no fun at all. they should have a rule that your not allowed to be the patriots cuz thats all that happens. i dont care if your the biggest fan of football, dont buy or rent the game. if anything just buy madden 08 its cheap and better than 09

Madden has been running strong making football games since 1989. And now since Madden is 2009 they have to make the game just that much better so you cant live without it. If you have downloaded the Madden 09 demo on xbox live marketplace it basically tells you what the new madden experience is going to be like. Now they have a testing mode where you have to do a series of test to see how you preform in each of them to set the computer to give you difficult game. And you can retake the test at any time if you get better or worse. So this is obviously the most adaptive madden so far. Another thing they changed is they improved the graphics. So it is the best madden game yet, and it is a must try for anybody the likes football. And if your thinking about getting the Special Edition it is a very good deal since it comes with Madden 09, Head Coach 09, and an improved version of Madden 1993. So if you get either types of it you will be impressed and you need to put this game in your GameQ and try it out.

Every year since I can remember my steps have been dynasty on NCAA followed by franchise on Madden. When I ATTEMPTED to play Madden 09 I was very disappointed. Nothing has changed, this has been the exact same game play for the past 3 years. The Superstar mode was not tweaked or updated which it needed and the franchise mode left me wanting more. I'm going to boycott Madden until they get their act together. EA should take a look at the ever improving NCCA Series and work from there.

Daddy-O Out!!

Pros: I rented before I bought it!!! I will give it some time for some achievements but I cannot see myself keeping or buying this one.

Improved graphics (if you played 08 its not much of an improvement) and animations, some animations are still awkward and happen really fast. Nice cameras and shake when running fast and getting hit hard. Better presentation, still not close to 2k5 presentation.

Franchise mode! Which has been the same since like 2002.

Superstar mode, for people who only like to play one position

All the same glitches that have plagued the game since 2002!!!! alright well that is not a good thing!!

Cons: Gameplay? i don't know what has happened to it.

I used to be a person who ran the ball about 60-75 percent of the time. Now, I can not even break a run past 10 yards. Holes close before you can get to them, and the only way to run it outside is to run to the sideline then up them in L shapes, personally i have never seen a running back rush like that lol.

Dropped passes. Dropped passes. Dropped passes. Never seen so many "top" receivers drop the ball even when wide open and user catching.

Get ready to be picked. Seems to be hard to get intermediate type throws. Either really high and slow lob, or darting bullet, which in either case, gets intercepted.

The adaptive skills is a joke. I get all madden on passing and rushing in the virtual trainer, its so easy, then gameplay on the field is nothing like the trainer and is insanely hard. I turned that off and went back to normal skill, still has difficulty issues.

Ncaa09 is somehow a better game then Madden for once, usually madden is better... dissapointing

If we could get this years rosters in Madden 08 i'd be happier.

This game is not bad, but it is missing something in the excitement department. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it lacks something. A borderline buy IMO.

I am not the only one, go check out EA forums and look at the number of people posting comments about their games freezing.
I didn’t think Ea could screw up more than last year but they did. Last year the game froze on the training sessions but at least you could play the games!!! Now the first series on offense the game will freeze on the play selection screen. First game they had the ball no problems. They punted and after the third play in the game freezes on the play selection screen. I shut the game off and try again. This time I get the ball first and the game freezes after the second play on the play selection screen.
How can that glitch go unnoticed? Did the testers even bother to play a game in the franchise mode? I want a job at EA. I can just sit on my butt all day or find a nice place to sleep in the office. EA is claiming that several reviewers have given this game a perfect rating. What did they give this game to a bunch of fan boys who let their devotion to a franchise blind them to obvious flaws.
Wait for them to release patches if there will be any to fix these issues before you buy or even renting this one.

In sports games there are always something to complain about it seems. It seems to be difficult to perfect the game of basketball for example, but Madden has always been able to master their task of creating a great football game, and this year is no different.

Its hard to think that they can top what they have done in the past, but in my opinion they have done it. The first thing that is above and beyond Madden's of the past is the new difficulty system. They do this through the Madden test which gives you a variety of tests to show your skill in rush offense, pass offense, rush defense, and pass defense.

After that you will notice that they have made some new changes to the visual aspect of the game. The grass and players look better than they ever have. The movements in the game seem to be more realistic than ever before as well. Their are new tackling animations, for example, that make the game feel more realistic than ever before.

There really aren't that many new game play differences that will jump out at you when you play this game, but the combination of other new additions change the game greatly. Having a difficulty set just for you really makes the game more fun to play than ever before. The game has really excelled in this area as the competition seems to be spot on. This with the combination of the new player movements make the game more enjoyable than ever before.

The bottom line is that this game is a must get for veterans and beginners.

Madden is one of the easiest game to get achievements third to avatar and fight night round three.If you want gamerscore get this game.

This game is so good that i will probably buy it from yall but i think i can't because my mom wants her street fighter so she can get beat by everybody so i think that i will send the game back monday-thursday.

I have been a fan of the Madden series for a long time now. Not, only is this the worst Madden yet, it's the worst sports game ever! I'd rather play TECMO BOWL. It really is the same old same old. When will the Madden creatures realize the future of sports games is multi player. Look at NHL 09, NBA 09, and FIFA 09 all are much better than Madden 09 for one simple reason, ONLINE MILTI PLAYER!

the game is the most crapy game i have ever played its bad don't play it

It's barely even a football game. I'm not kidding, there is the gameplay, when you can find it.

To start off there is the madden challenge, that takes way to long I did the first part of the madden challenge for 10 minutes, never moved past the run portion of the challenge. I stopped after that because I didn't want to run for an hour or whatever it takes, after ten minutes I went from two defenders to three and back to two.

So past the challenge nonsense, tried to make a superstar, there doesn't seem to be anything pertaining to football, you do a dash, with unclear instructions and no way to try it again besides starting over. After the dash, there is the bench press, that isn't a bench press, it's button mashing with pushing both sticks up. I stopped after that but umm where's the football?

So after that I started a franchise, after picking a team, it dumps you right into the schedule and hey there's a game, what about roster and trading and all that? Found it after backing up, at least that is easy. Roster is OK, lists everybody on your team, great what it's supposed to be. Depth chart, part of your team is listed with three squads, very confusing here, your shy an offensive player, they added the 3rddownback listing instead. Defensive is just as bad, the second tackle on the first squad is the worst on the team, the best is in squad 2.

Perhaps it is just the team I picked, Ok so moving on to the actual game. Grainy, black spots all over the players. Not my TV not an HDTV but brand new TV, the camera swoops from behind the defense to the offense and swings around, rather annoying. Stupid rewind thing after every play, no idea what it is for and didn't bother to find out. Got to the defense side and no control, couldn't make the one I ended up with do anything, couldn't switch, turned it off and sending back.

This is an abject lesson on how to not make a game, not a buyable, not a rentable, if you were dumb enough to buy I feel for you.

i write to the company every year and tell them how to fix the game and they dont listen. they still havnt fixed some of the main issues that have glitched this game from the beginning. the rosters are 3 months old... the guys still run out of bounds ...the weapons option is still a waste of time..and they still make guys that just retired be the coaches of the future even though none of these guys will ever be coaches ....sad but the only football game we have ...

Madden is a great series of games, but its gotten worse as its went along. It took forever to get one roster update and my franchise froze just like it did the year before. They put out the same game every year. Filled with glitches. Quit being lazy EA, and take care of your loyal customers.

SAVE YOUR MONEY...ITS THE EXACT SAME GAME AS 08....WHAT A RIPOFF...NOTHING HAS CHANGED EXCEPT A FEW ANIMATIONS...WASTE OF MONEY!!!!

I can't believe we football fans keep getting this Horrendous football game from EA. It's HORRIBLE. The graphics are bad (there is a white line around every player). Tom Hammond announcing is unbearable. The Replay after every darn play is annoying. THERE IS NO REPLAY IN FOOTBALL. Online leagues is a joke. 2k5 definitely was better in this aspect. The overall gameplay is choppy. There is no rhythm to the game at all. Thank God for Gamefly. I have not bought a Madden since 04 and I NEVER will again.

It was so easy to play now its just so....... well EA ruined a great game!

I didn't realy like it because it realy isnt as good as i thought it would be it's less of what i expected and not better than the old maddens but the graphics i suppose are okay it has awesome virtual training thats the best part of the whole game

This is a simple review. If you have played any of the next gen Maddens you have absolutely no need for this one. Same old same...same graphics engine that they have been using since Madden 05. The plus...for this version...at least it looks slightly better. The new weather effect are down right awefull. (When the H E L L did it ever rain in a game so much that it would make you see BLUE..yes I said BLUE!! The field, the sky, the players, the stadiums, the fans, all are the color blue during a game with rain. Great thinking EA just slap a blue filter over the camera and add some rain! I could sit here and rant all day. L

et's see the rewind feature in a football sim? I thought thats why people played NFL Street, NFL Blitz, etc..

I am done complaining since most people are sheep and will pick this up anyways. So since most will support this franchise don't expect any changes next year...once again a sixty dollar roster update...enjoy madden fans! Thanks for making football games "C R A P P Y" for the rest of my adult life.