Madden is one those those games where no matter what year it is, you knows that millions of people are going to go out and buy it no matter what. EA gave us good reason with Madden 2009 to not only go out and buy this years edition but also be happy with the purchase we’ve made. They have certainly kicked up the game quite a bit and they’ve put together a special football title with plently of improvements to make this one of the best Madden titles yet.

The first thing that certainly jumps out at you during gameplay is the graphics because in 09 it looks they redid a lot of the models for the players, stadiums, even the grass looks greener, but this time not on the other side. The jerseys look spot on, the sidelines look good, and the crowd is fine as well. The stadiums all look so detailed and can definitly tell that EA took their time with this area. There is another area where they have certainly taken their time and did correctly; the weather. The snow effects look so great when going quarter by quarter and build up on the grass as well as on the uniforms. Rain falls and starts making small puddles which can cause some fumbles here and there. They have really worked on this department for 09 and it is a big stepup.

The gameplay has stepped up it’s game ( no pun ) a bit as well. It certianly jumps the running game as well as the passing game too. The superstar abilities have also made another round and most have been tweaked a bit so some as to not be too overpowered. The passing game feels like it’s been fine tuned and no longer can you just go back 20 steps and throw and long bomb and actually get it connected. The QB has to now plant his feet for the pass to have a better chance of completing the pass. The running game doesn’t feel as well improved as the passing but there have been some tweaks here and there. Running backs no longer just pass thru your linemen they actually have better animations and jump over players on the floor or juke out incoming players with the rightstick. It doesn’t feel like a big improvement over 08 but it feels refined and certainly better than before.

The game is certainly something that people who enjoy football, madden games, or sports in general should go ahead and give it a rent or go out and buy the thing. The online play still feels the same as the previous versions but with the online leagues element which isn’t as good as the 2k Sports counterpart but it certainly something that should have been in in for a couple years now. Franchise mode is back and is for the most part, the same as 08. If you are one of those people who buy Madden every couple of years because the improvements aren’t as great, buy 09 as it has to be the best next-gen Madden game yet. It doesn’t have the big flash of hundreds of new features but it has the polish of a great football title and definitely worth a look.

Final Score – 9.0