A really annoying AI flaw has crept into nearly every game we've played thus far, so it bears mentioning. When the CPU makes a grab, and sees nothing but daylight to the endzone, they'll often run towards the sideline and out of bounds. Even when they only have a few steps of momentum taking them to the sideline, they'll still walk out when they could have easily turned it upfield for an easy ten yards or a score. Receivers will also attempt sideline catches when they're clearly out of bounds, or a few yards away from the sidelines.
Other bugs we've encountered during our play testing include an inability to call timeout in pressure situations, and issues with connectivity when playing online. We've been disconnected from several games, but your mileage may vary.
That being said, online play is a very enticing part of what Madden brings to the table this year. There are 32 player online leagues you can join in addition to your ranked and unranked matches. There are also numerous ancillary online features, like the Gamecast, where you can see other games in progress, and streaming content like an EA Fantasy podcast and NFL sports news feed. Then there's the EA Fantasy Football feature, where you can draft a fantasy league with your friends on the website, and then import that fantasy team into Madden, so you can play them in the game.
One of the stranger features that made it into the game this year is EA Rewind. After any given play, you can press a button to take things back to the snap and try again. Call it whatever you want, a do-over, a mulligan, the B.S. button, you'll probably want to set the number of rewinds to 0 when playing with friends. Against the CPU it's not quite so heinous, but why rob yourself of the challenge of playing the game? The best use of this feature is likely as a handicap between players of different skill levels.
Tom Hammond and Cris Collinsworth provide the play-by-play and color commentary this year, and they do a passable job overall. The best aspects of the commentary are the EA Backtrack segments. Collinsworth will break down what went wrong on a particular play, highlighting open receivers or pointing out where coverage broke down. When combined with the Rewind feature, they make for a perfect tandem for learning how to make the best of any play in the book. It's not just a do-over, it's a hands-on instructional video. These segments actually enhance the gameplay experience, overshadowing the often overdone delivery by Collinsworth and the robotic Hammond.
You can pick up a standalone copy of Madden NFL 09, or a special collector's edition version that includes a copy of NFL Head Coach and a full version of the retro classic, Madden 93. With the high cost of being a football fan, once you add up NFL Sunday Ticket and entry fees in fantasy football money leagues, it's going to have to be your call as to whether or not it's worth ninety dollars for you to splurge on Madden NFL 09. The core game is a lot of fun, though, warts and all.
