How to kill, bury, and piss on a Fanbase. AKA Madden 09. R.I.P. Madden football.

User Rating: 4 | Madden NFL 09 PS3
I usually don't review games but Madden 09 has been one of the biggest dissapointments since I've been gaming. I feel with all the years of quality Madden football games I've played since the Super NES that this new Madden series has almost completely changed from what it used to be. First, the buttons. The default buttons that have accompanied almost all Madden games are now changed. There are alot more options now before the snap that football game aficionados will like (if EA fixes them). But with all the complexities and what seems to be a super-fast playclock you start telling yourself, "I JUST WANT TO PLAY SOME FOOTBALL". RANT: It's amazing to me that with the new gaming systems we have nowadays that games like this make it extremely challenging for players to get the experience they want out of the game when outdated ones accomplish it perfectly.
Second, the bugs. I know, I know. As we've entered into this new generation of gaming the "PATCH" has bound and gagged our beloved games (ransomed them too, with certain developers). I for one wish they would take an extra 6-12 mnths to polish these games. But who am I kidding? The customers don't matter anymore. The money does. Anywho, the bugs are various ones: Occasional freezes, Online play, Challenge the Play. These are just the ones that I find extremely annoying. I can't challenge that a catch was out of bounds with 4:02 left in the 4th even when instant replay clearly shows that the player was out? WTF!
Finally(to keep it short), False advertising. On the back cover it says "Beyond Broadcast Presentation". The truth is there really isn't any presentation. There is dialogue between the announcers. My favorite is "EA Sports, if it's in the game, it's in the game" lol, BS. Sometimes a replay will come up automatically. There is a cool feature called Backtrack that analyzes what you did wrong with a play but it's broken or something because I've only seen it twice since I've been playing. No halftime show, the only thing you have is stats and the top 5 plays of the first half to scroll thru yourself and watch. But no real presentation.
Oh well. You had a good run while it lasted Madden. I will never understand how EA could screw up something so easy to keep manufacturing. I guess I'll be waiting for awhile for an ESPN game from now on. No more Madden for me.