I just picked up the Madden 09 for the XBOX 360 and wow...I am stunned. I will start off by talking about the Football IQ feature. MAN is this sweet! By far my favorite feature yet. You go through a series of drills as soon as the game starts and it includes pass offense, pass defense, rush offense, and rush defense. Based on how well or poorly you do...the computer comes up with a "My Skill" level. So instead of just playing the "All-Madden" level you can build yourself up to that level and it makes the games a lot more competitive and fun. It also tells you what you needed to work on. I am usually very efficient with my short passing game so I nearly had a Madden rating after the drills in the beginning, but I struggled on defense. Gameplay: I was not a fan of the gameplay in madden 08. I thought it was slow and didn't have the feel of a Madden game. They changed the gameplay a lot in Madden 09 and it has a great feel and just feels like football again...not a video game. Graphics- The field and stadium looks great and the animations that the players do can be sometimes a bit choppy, but overall very clean graphics and animations. Also, a cool new thing, the players jerseys get nice and dirty as the game progresses. (Alan Faneca was covered in dirt after my preseason game vs. the Browns) Playability- It is so much easier to call audibles, switch from player to player, etc. I am still not done playing for the night so I will update you all in a bit... PS: Jets 13 Browns 6
Also...after every game, the "My Skill" feature pops up and tells you where you improved and where you need to work harder. In my particular game my rush and pass defense improved, but offense struggled a bit. I love this game!
great news - I've been waiting to hear someone give their opinion of it. The previews looked outstanding and it sounds like they didn't lie. I'm stoked!
My biggest pet peeve is the control issue over the franchise in franchise mode does it have the functions of the old ps2 version yet.
Does anyone else have this problem....it happened to me on NCAA too and last night it was doing the same thing when I was doing the Madden test on the PS3 demo....on defense, it does hitstick at random places? I'm controling my guy and no where near the ball carrier it does hit stick and I know I didnt touch the hit stick. I figure it's probably my controller, but I just want to be sure.
Make sure your sticks aren't jamming inside of your controller. I've seen that problem before with Sony controllers.
The game has been hard for me so far. Maybe I am just not a good gamer. I miss the older model versions. Can't I just snap the ball and throw it to someone without all these buttons? (I have it for PS3)
Froze in the first game of the preseason, just a couple of minutes in. My friend's also, I played online and the lag is much better on kicks than last years version.
is anybody else having an extremely difficult time running the ball? jones is always met in the backfield and whenever i play action a linebacker runs free and sacks me.
I've read about this, people have been saying the longer they're playing the better they're getting at running the ball.
Use a lot of singleback formations when running the ball to wear down the opposing defensive line. Be sure to use package subs to keep your running backs fresh. Once the linebackers and defensive linemen are worn down, start pounding them with I-Form. This also makes your play action passing game more effective, especially to tight ends and slot receivers.
Does fatigue play a big role this year? Do tired players actually preform worse? I agree with your two-back system. In franchise mode, I always make sure I have two decent backs, usually one is a speed guy and one is a power guy, makes for an easier time using your RB's.
Yeah...I use a Thunder and Lightning system too. I also carry a third back that can catch out of the backfield, and I line him up in the slot some too. Fatigue always plays a role in football games. I know the Green, Yellow, Red fatigue system was added to the game a few years ago for a big reason. When the players are yellow, they are wearing down. That's the whole point of formation subs and automatic subs. You can usually wear down bigger players in EA games. I know I've been able to wear down defenses in NCAA 2009 by constantly pounding the ball up the gut, and the guys that develop Madden usually do a better, more realistic job than the one that's done on NCAA. If you can run the ball effectively, it will keep your defense in the green, and your opponent's in the yellow/red. Hurry up offense is also effective if you run a Pro Split Back set with two capable backs lined up in the backfield. You can rotate the hand offs and it's very confusing against online players.
I thought fatigue only effected the speed of players because it was obvious when you were running with a red RB how slow he would be. Good to see it's actually changed all attributes....getting out of work very soon, cant wait to go pick this game up.
in mulitplayer, can you still see the other persons play as they pick it or did they realize how stupid that is?
