The middle of August has been synonymous with many things: sweltering heat, jellyfish down the Jersey Shore, and Madden on the shelves.  The yearly football juggernaut has arrived and those of us lucky enough to get our hands on an early review copy have not put this game down since we got it last Thursday. This is the best Madden of this or any generation. The title may have changed, but the product has remained the same. You won’t need to look any further for football on a console this year. Madden NFL 10 has arrived.

The absolute first thing you will notice is how amazing the graphics look. This game pops. The helmets shine, the bodies move fluidly, and the stadiums look authentic. The overall level of detail is staggering here. Madden NFL 10 introduces its Pro-Tak system this year which allows for better blocking and tackling, two major gripes of previous titles. Your 250 lbs tailback won’t trip over the 20 yrd line anymore. Players fall like they would in real life and more importantly, they don’t. Runners break tackles when they should and tacklers bring down offensive players when appropriate. One of the most fundamental parts of football is no longer chance or luck. Madden NFL 10 made this seem like an actual football game. The game speed was lowered slightly to make this as realistic as possible. That goal was met with rousing success.

If you look hard enough at the Mona Lisa, you will find flaws. This is how I feel about Madden. The game is very, very good, but I can find a few things that could be ironed out. The opponent AI is not always the best. Runners sometimes bounce the ball outside when there is a hole in the middle and quarterbacks sometimes make incredibly poor throwing decisions. This could be a result of the difficulty setting, but I found it uniform along the gamut. The achievements are very strange this year, with almost all of them needing to be earned on All-Pro with random tasks. The announcers are also less than stellar. Mike Tirico would be perfect for this with Chris Mortensen. I know I’m pulling hairs at this point. The game is that good.

A lot of people are on the fence about buying Madden. Am I willing to pay 60 bucks for a glorified roster update with a few unnecessary game play additions (i.e. passing cone)? Normally, I would say it is up to you. This year, it is not. It never was your choice. EA made the most polished football ever created and has taken any decision making out of your hands. Call out of work on Friday, take an hour lunch, whatever you have to do. If you are not playing Madden NFL 10 this Friday, you’re missing out. If gaming and football had a daughter, she would grow up to be hotter than Tom Brady’s wife and Madden NFL 10 is her name.