Madden NFL 09 (XBox360)

85%
reviews
'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.'
Read more » GameShark
'Online play is a very enticing part of what Madden brings to the table this year.'
Read more » Gamespy
'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.'
Read more » GamesRadar
'While the play-to-play action has some awesome moments, the Franchise mode is stuck in a boring rut.'
Read more » GameInformer
'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.'
Read more » GameTrailers
'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.'
Read more » Cheat Code Central
'The controls are tight and responsive, and the overall flow of an NFL contest feels realistic.'
Read more » GamePro
related
more reviews
'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.'
Read more » Gaming Age
'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.'
Read more » Gamespot
'Madden NFL 2009 stumbles, but manages to regain its composure long enough to stiff arm critics and dive into the endzone.'
Read more » Gamedaily
'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.'
Read more » Team XBOX
'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.'
Read more » IGN
'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.'
Read more » 1up.com
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