It’s hard to believe that it has been 20 years since John Madden Football came our way. It has stood the test of time against all other football games and is now the only show in town. Gamers have said the past few installments have grown stale and are nothing more than glorified roster updates and weak game play additions such as the passing cone and lead blocker control. Anyone who thinks Madden 2009 is another attempt to lure 60 bucks away from us needs to believe me when I say this: This is the best Madden to date.

So much can be said about Madden football. I want to start out with what is new this year and if it works then go into the specifics. The Madden IQ test is supposed to be a feature that lets the game evolve with your ability to play it. The idea is awesome, but it reality, it does not work all that well. You have to play in a virtual training mode to determine your skills but the running games are less reaction and more button pressing after prompts. The passing on offense is way too easy and the defense nearly impossible unless you cheat and run directly in the receivers’ predetermined route. I believe they will patch this and make changes accordingly.

We get new announcers this year and that’s welcomed. The team of Chris Collinsworth and Tom Hammond are light years beyond the old NFL radio style, but they are not Madden. I’m starting to think his days are over leaving his namesake the only way John Madden is involved in the game. The new feature, Backtrack, allows you to see what you did wrong and is usually correct, though sometimes give you bad advice and insight. The “Madden Mulligan” feature allows you to rewind a play that happened against your favor. No one is going to use this. Maybe in a season so you don’t have to hit the power button when Randy Moss breaks his neck in week 4.

The graphics are by far the best that have ever been. The tackling animations are amazing, especially with group tackles. The receivers catch the ball and gasp, drag their feet to stay in-bounds. The AI is good and bad at the same time. Any ill advised pass last year was always an interception, especially from the linebackers. This has been toned down as well as the turnovers. The CPU QB can sometimes look superhuman by completing every pass every time. There needs to be a happy medium here, but again, any glaring issue will be patched.

As far as some lasting appeal, Madden is always high in this respect and the are making the single player deeper and deeper. Online leagues, fantasy drafts, franchise, superstar, are all here. Nothing crazy new, but its good that we have the options. The Madden Moments are fun and can be very challenging. You have to unlock them by completing the initial five and all are key moments from last season. Sadly it uses current rosters instead of those that really happened during those Moments.

Madden 2009 accomplished what I believe it was trying to do: make the first true next gen game with stellar graphics, intuitive game play, and something for us to play with non-stop over the next 8 months. Chances are that if you are a Madden fan, you already own it. If you are on the fence, trust me and buy it. Fans will be satisfied this year and no longer looking into the past wishing it was better but will be looking to the future and wondering what they can possibly do to top this.

Overall: 8.75 out of 10

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