So today is the big day.  Madden ‘09 arrives.  Incorrect cover and all.  Yay.

It should be noted, that I despise the Madden football games.

Madden hasn’t been good since Madden ‘92 on the Sega Genesis.  When number 35 for the Bears (Neil Anderson) was unstoppable and number 84 for Kansas City (Willie Davis) was the fastest receiver in the game.  My friend Joe and I played ridiculous amounts of that game.  Then the ‘93 version came out, and while it wasn’t horrible, it wasn’t as good as it’s predecessor.

I hadn’t played a Madden game again until the ‘03 release on the original Xbox.  Unfortunately, at that time I already had a taste of the football glory that was the 2K series.  The 2K3 game blew Madden (and Microsoft’s own football attempt) out of the water.  The animation was better, the gameplay was better, and the presentation was better.  Madden was simply living off it’s reputation.

The 2K series would later become the ESPN series, but continued to be the superior game despite the fact that Madden continued to be the most popular.  With ESPN 2K5 however, they decided to price the game to a point that even the die hard Madden fanboy’s couldn’t resist, $19.95 vs the standard game cost of $49.99.  That game would be the last great football game ever made.  Following that season, EA signed an exclusive contract with the NFL which allowed Madden to be the only game with actual NFL players and teams.

Since then, Madden has been putting out what equates to Madden ‘03 with newer rosters.  As opposed to the new rosters the games could update to anyway.  Awesome.

Quit being gay!

While I’ll agree that 2K3 was pretty good, most of those games can’t hold Madden’s jock. Just like you could hold my jock on the football field, basketball cout and Cyberball fields.

The only gripe I have on Madden is the ridiculous superstar catches. Most of the other glitches aren’t a huge problem anymore.

You need to suck it up and get back online with Madden and take your spanking like a man.

G
2009 Madden Champ

While I appreciate that you’ve given me permission to hold your jock, and recognize that I was capable of holding your jock, I respectfully have to pass on that offer.

I played 2008, it sucked. ESPN 2K5 is still the best football game on the 360 despite the fact its an original Xbox game. =P

Why the hell do you need a magnifying glass to see your playbook? 3/4 of your screen is dedicated to showing you nothing while you are picking your plays from a tiny window in the corner.

I actually read a decent review for 2009 saying that it was finally a worthy successor to 2K5, but then I saw some video of the actual game and it looked just like 2008 with maybe some better looking grass. What is sad is that most of the great features they mentioned for this game were all things that were in 2K5 4 years ago. The only thing new is the dynamic AI that makes it so nobody can suck at the game. Perhaps that’s why you like it eh? =P