Madden 17

Madden 17 once again marks an improvement over its immediate predecessors.  By building on the Madden 16 catching mechanic by re-vamping the run game, Madden 17 is a blast to play.  The graphics remain stunning and new options for playing just key moments or offense/defense only allow for shortening the length of games considerably.  It also does not hurt that the cover of the game features the greatest tight end in the game, none other than the Patriots star, Rob Gronkowski.

My playoff run started in the divisional round with the Pats hosting the Titans in the snow, who turned in a surprisingly strong season in the simulations.  The first thing I noticed was the newly revamped kicking game, which was disorienting at first, but adds to the challenge of making field goals.  I immediately took to the new offensive controls, marching down the field on my opening drive to go up 7-0.  Following a three and out by the Titans, I did the same thing again, mostly through the air, going up 14-0.  The offense felt great, and everything was clicking, even a few deep passes.  Following a 12 play drive by them that ended in a pick (I should note that the deflection mechanics seem improved), I had a 75 yard run to go up 21-0.  FOR SOME REASON though, the commentary was still saying things that made no sense – at one point noting that the Patriots were “still trailing” in the game and saying a few other things that were just flat-out false.  Regardless, I easily held onto the big lead to set up the AFC championship game.

The match up was once again between New England and a surprising team – this time the Jaguars.  After going up 7-0 on a long drive, the Jags managed to respond to make it 7-7 with just 1:33 left in the first half.  Nevertheless, that was enough time for Brady as I went aggressive in the 2 minute drill to answer their score and make it 14-7 with just 33 ticks left on the clock.  The second half included a short-yardage Blount TD to go up 21-7, a lead that I held onto to close things out.  The CPU's poor clock management at the end of the game was noteworthy though, with little urgency in the final two minutes of the game.  I guess they just gave up, which was fine with me, but questionable AI for sure.
All of this set up the Super Bowl against the Seahawks.  Unlike my first two games, my offense struggled, particularly on third down.  Countless times, I would make it third and short only to get stuffed or throw an incompletion (often deflected).  After defensive stands on both teams, it was 0-0 going into the half.  Just when nothing seemed to be working on offense, a sustained 13 play drive to open the second half got me my first points of the game to go up 7-0 with a Dion Lewis TD.  The run mechanics were working beautifully on that drive, showcasing the positive changes made to Madden 17 in this arena.  I got another chance to score late in the forth, driving to the 9 yard line, but instead opted to run out the clock and preserve the 7-0 win.  After posting 21 in my first two games, the Seahawks proved a more challenging defense (just like in real life), but my defense was rock solid across all three games and kept anyone from being a real threat.

In my final estimation, Madden 17 is definitely the best Madden game on the current generation of consoles.  It continues to build on game mechanics and with the exception of a few strange comments from the commentators and questionable CPU clock management, seems solid top to bottom.  A great time for Madden fans and well worth investing some time into.

Madden 16

The first thing that I noticed in getting into Madden 16 was the addition of a new catch mechanic allowing the player to control the type of catch a receiver makes – aggressive, possession, or yards after catch.  I thought that this new mini-game added a lot to the offense, innovating on an already solid foundation dating back to Madden 13.  A new menu interface also helps to modernize the look of the game, and I found it more intuitive than its immediate predecessors.  In addition to the new catch mechanics and menus, the graphics in Madden 16 have improved even over Madden 15, marking further steady progress.  While load times remain lengthy, I suppose that this is the price paid for such impressive graphics and visual effects.

As far as the action went, I played my first game in the wildcard round against the Colts.  Once again, it was a defensive struggle, made more challenging my injuries to Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski (sadly a realistic development).  A touchdown late in the fourth was enough to put me over the top though, with a 7-0 win in another low scoring affair by me.

For the divisional round game in a snowy Pittsburgh, I decided to take points however I could get them, even field goals, given how rare scoring seemed to be in my games.  When my opening drive stalled at the four yard line of the Steelers, I took three rather than risk getting stuffed.  A Devin McCourtey pick set up my second FG at the end of the second, making it 6-0 going into halftime.  While the halftime show once again confused me by citing the Steelers’ special teams touchdown (what are they talking about?), I dove into the third trying to build on my pathetic score.  I once again drove deep into Steeler territory, but stalled at the 2 and kicked another field goal to go up two scores - 9-0.  However, the Steelers weren’t done and nearly came back after a TD put things at 9-7 and they got the ball back with 1:28 to go.  While they nearly converted as the clock ran out, my D held to preserve the 9-7 win.  Another low-scoring game.

The Championship game at San Diego played out differently, this time with me finishing drives and hitting long field goals.  After racing to a 10-0 lead, the Chargers took advantage of some penalties on my D to narrow the lead to 10-7.  A frantic drive in the last thirty seconds of the half pushed my lead up to 13-7 at the end of the half.  Furthermore, a third quarter TD cemented things, resulting in a 20-7 final in which Brady played great (81% completions).  A slightly more respectable score, but nothing like the real Patriots offense.

All of this served to set up Super Bowl 50 against the Packers.  After a nice intro, a 50 yard screen play to LeGarrette Blount resulted in my first TD with 1:56 left in the first quarter – finally a big play from my offense!  Midway through the second quarter, Green Bay responded with a TD to tie things up, before disaster struck and Brady threw a pick six.  Down 7-14 at the half, I knew I had to finally figure out a way to score if I was going to pull off a comeback.  That moment finally came at the very end of the game with a frantic two-minute drive culminating with a Brady TD pass to Edelman (see below).  This set up a Super Bowl overtime period and a Stephen Gostowski field goal to take the lead 17-14.  A Jerod Mayo pick on Green Bay’s final drive immediately ended the game and set the field into wild celebration.

This final game was without question the most fun I had with Madden 16, which marks a further improvement in the series.  While incremental, additions like the new catch mechanic, smoother interface and improved graphics all move in the right direction.  The series continues to improve and pave the way for future innovations.

Madden 15

Madden 15 begins with a bang, putting the player in a highly scripted opening sequence in which you must control Cam Newton as he navigates the challenging Seahawk defense in the NFC Championship.  This all takes place before the player has even reached the main menu (it only happens the first time you launch the game), but I thought it was an interesting attempt to make the intro sequence more immersive (no more FMV with a Madden rap).

After completing this sequence, there is an option for a skills trainer to get the player acquainted with the new changes to game play.  I thought this was nice, but largely unnecessary for those familiar with Madden 25 or its immediate predecessors.  Once finally onto the main menu, I started a franchise and was pleased to see an option to immediately sim to the playoffs, which saved me from the tedious task of advancing every week manually, one at a time.  While it took some time to sim through every game, it was nice to be able to click a button and walk away before finding my Patriots in the Wildcard game against the Chargers.

Once in the actual game itself, I was immediately impressed by the graphics and the silky smooth frame rate.  Even the crowd animations are improved.  Despite some long load times, upgrading to the PS4 clearly presents its advantages.  As Tom Brady took the field, I was treated to some nice video highlights of his from last season.  The game itself was a defensive struggle, with my (not unusual) challenge of having long, grinding drives that result in few points.  After this rather boring experience, with multiple picks by each QB, I advanced with a 7-6 win.  There are now commercials have been inserted between the first and second quarter (for the Verizon halftime show), with the sponsor changing each game.  I liked the fact that the highlights from the halftime show used actual key plays from the game, and gave the option to view these at any time from the options screen.  The only issue that I had was that some of the commentary was just plain wrong – with the announcer saying that there was a kickoff return from a touchdown at one point, something that never happened.
The divisional match up was at Baltimore, and once again I struggled with ball control, throwing two picks.  Thankfully for me, the Baltimore offense was abysmal (or stifled by my “great” D).  I managed two scores this time, including monster 13 and 16 play drives, leading to a 14-3 win that set up the championship game in Denver.  Once again, I was able to put together some long drives, along with a pick 6 from Jerod Mayo and a safety by Vince Wilfork, leading to a 26-0 shellacking.

This all set up the Super Bowl match up between the Patriots and the Seahawks – the actual Super Bowl match up in reality that year.  While I fell behind 0-3 early after my long opening drive stalled with a goal line stand at the 1 yard line, a TD late in the 3rd quarter put me back up for good.  I was able to tack on a field goal in the fourth to cement a 10-3 final.  In a somewhat strange finish, despite losing by just one score late in the fourth, the Seahawks opted to punt the ball with 2 minutes left and allow me to knee out the clock and win the game.  Whatever.

Despite some wonky stats and strange clock management, I viewed Madden 15 as a small but steady improvement in Madden 25.  The emphasis on defense kept the scoring low, but that may have been more a result of my style of play.  Much of what I liked about that game remains intact, with upgrades to animations and graphics to improve game play.  Overall a fun experience, but still with some bugs, and probably not as good as Madden 2005 or some of the earlier greats in the series.

Madden 25

Madden 25 takes the refinements of Madden 13 and smooths out the rough edges even further.  The game is notable for a number of reasons, not least the decision to break with convention and calling it “25” rather than Madden 14 to celebrate 25 years of Madden football games.  The history of the series is emphasized throughout the experience, including the logo of every past Madden video game on the menu screen (which brought back memories for me), along with the use of screenshots and fun facts from past iterations of the game during the loading screens. 

Initial impressions of Madden 25 were that it was even slower in loading times than in previous years.  It took me over 30 minutes to manually advance week by week through a regular season before I could finally start my first playoff game.  Before the AFC Divisional game against Baltimore began, I was treated to a pair of team introduction videos to get me sufficiently pumped and fired up.  I thought this was a nice touch to have custom videos for all 32 teams. 

Once in-game, in a snowy Baltimore, I immediately noticed that the graphics had improved over the previous year.  Nantz and Sims were back, along with sideline reporter Danielle Bellini.  In addition to sharper graphics and smoother animations, I also noticed the addition of power meters of some kind underneath each player, showcasing how much “speed burst” and stamina they had left.  A bit gimmicky, but not terrible.  It did not take long for me to notice that the blocking AI had been improved in Madden 25, giving me an opportunity to experiment with a number of running and short passing plays – namely pitches, draws, screens.  This strategy in the snow worked out beautifully – after a pair of Joe Flacco picks, I found myself sitting comfortably with a 14-0 lead at halftime.  This included a monster 16 play, 94 yard drive at the end of the half.  After dominating the clock for the third quarter, I tacked on three more for a 17-0 lead into the fourth.  While the Ravens attempted a frantic comeback, an illegal touching play in which one of their players ran out the back of the endzone before running in and catching a TD wiped out their best chance at points.  The 17-0 Pats win was marked by total domination of the clock (15 minutes to 5), the way I like it. 

The AFC Championship in Denver (which also took a long time to load) was a very different experience.  Peyton Manning was playing out of his mind, changing plays at the line, and surgically pushing the ball down the field.  Less than two minutes into the first quarter, I was down 0-7 after a Manning to Welker TD pass.  I came out swinging though, and despite losing Stevan Ridley to injury managed to tie things up with just under 4 minutes left in the second.  Manning responded once again with a dominating drive before I finally got a stop with them deep inside the redzone.  By holding the powerhouse offense of the Broncos to just three, I went into halftime down just 7-10 despite Denver’s domination of all the stats. 

I opened the third quarter with perhaps my best drive ever in a Madden game.  I used frequent audibles at the line based on defensive packages and was unafraid to take shots deep.  In a grinding drive that lasted nearly five minutes, I finally took the lead 14-10 with just 18 seconds left in the third.  My self-satisfaction did not last long, however.  After the Broncos failed to convert on a third-and-long a questionable roughing the quarterback flipped the field for them and gave them new life.  A few plays later, I was once again behind, this time 14-17 with just 3 minutes left in the game.  Clutch time.

Brady came to play in this one, taking the ball across the 50 to the Denver 41 by the 2 minute warning.  Once I was in field goal range, I tried to strike a balance between milking the clock by not scoring too quickly, but also making sure that I came away with points.  A few plays later, a Gronk TD pass put me up once more – 21-17, with just :34 ticks left on the clock.  It wasn’t over yet though.  Manning and the Broncos once again mounted a furious comeback, slinging the ball all over the field.  After a string of first downs, it all came down to one play with 2 seconds left and the Broncos on my 30 yard line.  Fortunately, Alfonzo Dennard stepped in front of DeMarius Thomas to snag a pick as the clock expired and to cement the 21-17 win in thrilling fashion. 

All this set up the Super Bowl against the Saints in a very snowy New Jersey.  I felt confident going in, based on my success in the snow against the Ravens – perhaps overly so.  After I got called for roughing the passer on the first play, the Saints took advantage of their good field position and scored easily, putting me in the hole 0-7 just two minutes into the game.  In contrast, it took my offense a little while to get going, but I did manage to tack on 3 points early in the second after my drive stalled at the 6 yard line, cutting their lead to four points.  On their subsequent drive, I continued to struggle to get off the field on third down.  After a string of failed attempts, I found myself down 3-14 with less than two minutes in the half.  I had no answers on D and no idea how to stop them. Thankfully, my offense was able to respond thanks to Mr. Rob Gronkowski.  On second down, I hit him streaking down the right sideline.  A broken tackle and 75 yards later, I pulled back to within four points to make the score 10-14 going into halftime. 

My drive to start the second half was the most critical of the game.  It took a few clutch third down conversions, including a deep pass to Josh Boyce that flipped the field, and Gronk trucking a guy near the goal line to convert a first down.  A short Stevan Ridley TD run later, I had finally taken a 17-14 lead with 2 minutes left in the third.  Playing from behind, the Saints suddenly became more desperate in their play-calling, shifting heavily to the passing attack and allowing me to flood the field with corners through nickel and dime packages.  I was able to force back to back punts and effectively milk the clock for the entire fourth quarter to claim a 17-14 win and another Lombardi trophy. 

These three games of Madden 25 were different and memorable, but each seemed fair and made sense to me as a player.  From a run-dominated blowout against the Ravens in the snow, to a back-and-forth shootout with Peyton Manning and the Broncos, to a come-from-behind thriller in the Super Bowl against the Saints, each game was fun for different reasons, mixing strategy and action.  Madden 25, as its name implies, has the feels like the culmination of years of improvement in the long history of this series of video games.  Here’s to another 25 years of Madden to look forward to!

Madden 13

Madden 13 is the first in the series that I played on the PS3 and things started off strong.  Following an inspirational video featuring Ray Lewis that encouraged me to “leave my mark,” I was treated to a stream of silky smooth menu animations that were completely over the top and reminded me of something out of the Matrix.  One of the first things I noticed was the disappearance of the traditional “franchise” mode, which had been replaced by something called “connected career.”  While I’m sure that this feature has all sorts of multiplayer implications, for my purposes it just meant that I had to manually advance one week at a time on the menus until I finally found that Pats in the playoffs, this time in the wildcard round against the Raiders.

First impressions on getting into the actual gameplay on the field were that the framerates are much improved over the previous year.  Even Jim Nantz and Phil Sims looked more realistic in their pre-game reports.  I’m not sure if it was the better frame rates, if the game was easier, or if I was just in the zone, but on my very first drive against the Raiders, I was able to methodically march down the field before punching in a TD run with Shane Vereen from just a few yards out with mere seconds left on the clock in the first quarter.  A combination of ground and pound alongside short and medium passes allowed me to dominate the clock and strike first.  After a second quarter battle, I was able to take a 10-7 lead into the locker room at halftime.  I was dominating the time of possession (8 minutes to 2), but only had a three point lead to show for it. 

It was raining hard in the game, which to me made the consistent framerates even more impressive.  A third quarter pick gave me good field position, but I was only able to tack on another three points, giving me a 13-7 lead late in the third.  While it looked as though the Raiders might surge ahead to take the lead late in the fourth quarter, a pick by Will Allen sealed the game and a 13-7 final.  Following a fun postgame show with some highlights from the actual game, the Pats were on to the divisional round against the Steelers in Pittsburgh. 

The game got off to a rough start for me, with Tom Brady throwing a bad pick that led to a Steelers field goal late in the first quarter.  I followed this up with a failed fourth and inches QB sneak by Brady, and then a suspect 51 yard pass interference penalty against the Pats’ D.  This put the Steelers deep in New England territory late in the second.  While I was able to hold them to a second field goal, I was not feeling terribly confident taking a 0-6 deficit into the locker room.  I was not moving the ball and it seemed as though nothing was breaking the right way. 

Things turned around in the second half, as I opened things up with a sustained drive that was by turns systematic and aggressive, culminating in my first TD of the game with just 21 seconds left in the third.  Short-medium passes from Brady were enough to reclaim a tenuous 7-6 lead.  The game was not over yet, however, and the Steelers mounted a serious drive of their own late in the 4^th.  A critical sack of Big Ben on third down pushed them back to set up a 51 yard field goal for them to take the lead with 55 seconds left in the game.  After a good snap and hold, however, the Steelers kicker pushed the ball just barely wide-right, allowing for me to cling onto a 7-6 win.  It felt good to win, but I needed to figure out how to put more points on the board. 

Nevertheless, the AFC Championship in Indianapolis was a defensive struggle for much of the first half.  After a series of three and outs, the Colts finally struck first with a field goal to take a three point lead with just over 2 minutes left in the first half.  As was the case in the Steelers game, the Patriots were able to respond from behind.  Throughout the ensuing drive I found myself reading their defensive packages and formations and using audibles when necessary to take what they were giving me.   This drive eventually set up 2^nd and goal from the 8 yard line.  I had a quick pass play called, but when I got to the line I saw that they were playing dime and had no linebackers in the middle of the field.  I audibled to a draw play with Danny Woodhead and walked in untouched to take a 7-3 lead with just 17 seconds left in the half. 

The Colts were far from dead, however, and responded with a field goal in the first drive of the third quarter, cutting my lead to just one point at 7-6.  However, I once again applied the methods used in my successful 2^nd quarter TD drive, switching plays and reading defensive coverages all the way.  While I had to convert on two 4^th and inches plays, I ate a ton of clock before scoring a second TD to go up 14-6 with just 1:58 left in the game.  Andrew Luck’s comeback bid was put to rest with a Will Allen pick to seal an intense and fun AFC championship and set up the Super Bowl against the 49ers.

At first it seemed as though the Colin Kaepernick-led Niners would be tough to stop, as they came out with a string of first downs.  While I was able to eventually force a punt, their D was equally up to the task and my offense was promptly shut down.  After a string of 3 and outs on both sides, followed by a trading of turnovers (they fumbled and then I threw them a pick), both teams went into the half deadlocked with a boring 0-0 tie. 

I knew I had to do something different in the second half to get things going, so I started to experiment with different play types.  My first play of the half was a screen pass to Danny Woodhead who was able to sidestep a tackle before taking the ball 60 yards down field.  Unfortunately for me, their defense once again tightened up after this and held me to a field goal.  3-0 with 3:31 left in the 3^rd quarter.  Not to be outdone, the Niners came out with a series of first downs of their own, setting up a long 54 yard field goal.  The ball came in low and hard, hit the left upright and miraculously bounced through to tie the game up at 3 with 1:34 left in the third.

Frustrated, I tried to get aggressive on my next drive by forcing the ball deep.  This was a costly mistake, as Brady threw a pick that set them up with strong field position in the fourth quarter of a tie game.  The Niners followed this up with their best drive of the game, grinding out the clock before finally scoring a touchdown with just over 2 minutes left in the game.  Down 10-3, desperation time had arrived.  After a couple of incomplete passes, the Niners miraculously forgot to cover Julian Edelman on a go route from the left slot.  A perfect Brady pass deep down the field allowed Edelman to walk untouched into the endzone with just seconds left in the game.  Things were now tied up and the Super Bowl was going into overtime! 

The Niners won the toss and elected to receive.  With the new overtime rules, I knew that I had to do everything to ensure their first drive was not a touchdown.  I did not have much time to think this through though, as on their very first play Kaepernick threw an interception to Aquib Talib on the right sideline at about the 25 yard line.  I ran the ball a few times up the middle before kicking a short Super Bowl winning field goal to seal the 13-10 final score.  Talib was rightly awarded Super Bowl MVP honors in this tightly fought and very exciting contest. 

Perhaps my playcalling was too conservative, leading to consistently low scores and tight games.  Nevertheless, each game I played in Madden 13 felt fair and exciting.  The Super Bowl in particular was one of the most memorable that I had played, and the experience was enhanced by uncharacteristically good commentary from Phil Sims and Jim Nantz – they spoke at length about how amazing it was to have a Super Bowl go into overtime, for example.  The bar is low for Madden commentary, but they cleared it in Madden 13.  Overall, Madden 13 is a huge improvement over its predecessor.  While the physics can be wonky at times – with some hopelessly unrealistic body contortions and occasional bugs – this does not offset the huge improvements of better animations and framerates.  Put simply, Madden 13 is the most fun I have had playing Madden in a long time.  

Madden 12

After a five year hiatus, I’m back and ready to finally write about Madden 12.  In rereading my review of Madden 11 for the first time since I posted it, I can confidently say that I did not have nearly as much fun playing Madden 12 as I did its predecessor.  It is an example of the franchise taking one step forward (graphics even better), but two steps back (commentators worse, various features missing, awful music).  While the presentation was generally pretty slick, with HD menus and fun screen wipes and transition screens, I found the controls slightly laggy, the CPU AI inconsistent, and the play calling forgettable.

Diving into my playoff run, the Wild Card opener featured the Pats hosting the Baltimore Ravens.  Things could not have started much better for me, with an interception of Joe Flacco on the first play that set up a short TD run by Benjarvus Green-Ellis, the Law Firm.  I was happy to take the 7-0 score right out the gate, but was immediately struck by two key flaws in the game.  First, there was no drive summary – a feature that I always appreciate – and also by the stilted commentary from Gus Johnson and Chris Collinsworth.  They were quiet for long stretches, and when they would chime in, often their analysis would be off-base and laggy (more on that later).

The Ravens were able to recover and respond with a field goal of their own early in the second quarter, but I responded with a second TD run from the Law Firm.  One incident that took place on the drive that would become a recurring theme in my playing of Madden 12 was that Rob Gronkowski was hurt on his only reception and knocked out for the rest of the game.  Getting Gronk the ball over the middle and Gronk going down with an injury literally happened in all four games that I played, which is a little bit silly.  He might have an injury history, but he does not get hurt every time he touches the ball.  Regardless, the Ravens once again matched my TD with a FG, putting the score at 14-6 at the half following an impressive 2 minute drill from Joe Flacco.

The halftime show, unlike in Madden 11, was simply lame.  It only showed one “highlight” from the first half, which was the final play of the half, a Tom Brady kneel down with 2 seconds left.  Thrilling stuff.

The third quarter began with a flurry of matching TDs, including a deep bomb from Flacco following a blown coverage by me when I accidentally took control of my safety and took him out of the play by undercutting the route.  The final quarter was largely a defensive struggle, although I did punch it in while running out the clock late in the game for a garbage TD to put the final at 28-13.  While the game was never really in doubt, it was fun to play through. 

In moving to the divisional round in Pittsburgh, I was immediately struck by the great likenesses in game of Ben Roethlesburger and Mike Tomlin.  These models are much better than the one they use for Brady.  Unlike the Ravens game, this one was never really in doubt.  My first possession culminated with a 7 yard TD run from Law Firm, which I immediately added a FG to following a Jerod Mayo Pick of Roethlesburger.  While I made a few bad passing decisions and threw a few balls directly to Pittsburgh corners and safeties, the game let me off the hook with them dropping them rather than picking them off.

Although Gronk got hurt again on my first pass to him, I still managed a 17-0 lead late into the third.  My defense was also on fire, sacking Roethlesburger four times through three quarters.  Following a five minute drive to kill the clock, I capped things off with a field goal before picking off Roethlesburger a second time and sealing the game at 20-0.  This game was even less competitive than the first one, and more or less forgettable. 

The AFC Championship was at Kansas City, and I liked the opening sequence, which included a depiction of the Chief’s Mascot (K.C. Wolf).  There was triumphant music and even a helicopter flyover!  I was jacked and ready for an intense game.  At first it seemed like the game would be a tight one, with the Chiefs pulling out some trick plays (including use of the Wildcat formation).  The game was a defensive struggle resulting in a tied game late into the second when suddenly things got wacky. 

Following a Brady interception at the KC goal line, Matt Cassel immediately threw a pick of his own.  Brady responded with a bomb deep for Matthew Slater, making it 7-0 with 0:49 left in the quarter.  When Cassel got the ball back, he immediately threw a second interception.  This opened things up for a second Brady bomb, this time to Julian Edelman.  A short draw from the Law Firm put the score at 14-0 going into the half.  When the third quarter opened with the Law Firm running 84 yards for a TD on a counter play, the game was over.  Green-Ellis would finish with over 200 yards rushing in a 31-7 blowout.  The only other noteworthy aspect of the outing was Rob Gronkowski getting hurt again on his only reception. 

As the final gun sounded, I geared up for a victory animation at having won the AFC championship, especially given the big opening sequence, but instead nothing at all happened.  The game ended and it dumped me back to the menu screen.  In their analysis, neither Collinsworth nor Johnson even mentioned the AFC Championship, they just said, “so that Pats win.”  Snooze.

The Super Bowl featured a rematch of Super Bowl XXXI, with the Pats facing the Green Bay Packers.  Once again, the opening fanfare was great, but the analysts were even worse than before.  The game was in Lucas Oil stadium in Indianapolis, but they kept referring to the game being in Green Bay Wisconsin.  They kept prattling on about the importance of the Packers’ home field advantage.  What happened next stunned me.  I could not make a single play on offense.  Everything I tried failed, be it running or passing.  I ultimately lost the game 7-6. 

On the one hand, I suppose that it was good to lose one, as the previous three games had been such cakewalks.  It was proof that the CPU could compete!  But on the other hand, I was deeply frustrated by Tom Brady’s inability to throw accurate passes and by my offensive line’s complete inability to block anything.  The loss felt a bit cheap, like the CPU just decided it would win regardless of what I did as a player (as suddenly, nothing at all worked).  It also seemed like a random fluke, which proved to be the case when I played the rematch.

The second time around, it was another blowout.  After a long drive that led to a FG, I opened up a 10-0 lead following a Vince Wilfork strip sack/TD run.  Aaron Rogers never knew what hit him.  The sight of big Vince rumbling down the field before springing into the endzone was hands-down the greatest moment of my Madden 12 experience.  I was up 17-0 with 0:36 left in the half when the CPU behaved completely inexplicably.  It ran the ball three straight times for no gain, but took time outs immediately after each play.  This gave me all the time I needed to score one last time with a 53 yard FG to put me up 20-0 at the end of the half. 

As the third quarter got underway (Johnson: “Welcome back to Green Bay!”), the Packers had a decent drive that led to a missed field goal.  From this point onward, the CPU completely quit the game.  Whenever they got the ball, they just ran draw plays to run out the clock.  This makes no sense and is, frankly, just inexcusable in the third quarter of a Super Bowl.  I managed to score once more to make it a 27-0 final in a boring second half. 

As was the case with Madden ’11, winning the Super Bowl was followed by a pretty extensive celebration sequence, including a parade in Boston and trip to the White House.  This was nice to see, but hardly an improvement from the previous year.  By the end of this game, I felt like I was finally getting a sense of Madden 12’s laggy controls.  I had a better understanding of jukes, stiffarms and spin moves, for example.  But ultimately, these games were rather forgettable and uncompetitive.  I was generally able to cruise, except for the one time when the game locked me down completely and nothing worked.  This all-or-nothing approach made me question how fair the game really was.  In the end, I found Madden 12 to be just another Madden in the ever expanding sea of Madden titles. 

Madden 11

Microsoft XBOX 360

Click HERE for screenshots. 

For the second year in a row, the opening movie in Madden 11 showcases the athlete featured on the cover.  If you are a Saints fan (and/or into Drew Brees), you are in for a real treat.  Personally, I don’t dislike him, but I was turned off by the fact that the opening goes out of its way to highlight the Patriots 4^th and 2 play against the Colts, which failed and triggered the downward spiral for the Pats 2009 season.  Anyway, the intro is alright- very dramatic with “Lord of the Rings” style music.  John Madden is once again MIA.

The single best element of the intro is the tremendous sound.  I’m not certain if previous Madden titles have had 5.1 surround before, but if they did, it is no where near as impressive as it is in Madden 11.  From the intro, through the menu screens, and throughout the actual games, the sound is tremendous and puts you right in the middle of the action (it feels 3-d). 

For the divisional playoff game, the Kansas City Chiefs came to Foxboro.  As the game got started, I was happy to hear that Gus Johnson was now the color commentator alongside Chris Collinsworth.  While some people find Johnson’s antics a bit too theatrical, I feel like he is a perfect fit for a videogame like this one.  He is spirited and adds a level of enthusiasm to the game’s commentary that has been missing for many (MANY) years. 

Before the game even started, the presentation had clearly been improved over Madden 10.  Little clips of the visiting team getting off the bus, or of fans tailgating in the stadium are a nice touch.  I was also impressed by the level of pre-game discussion from Collinsworth regarding the relationship between Tom Brady and Chiefs QB Matt Cassel, given that they were former teammates.  These are bits of dialogue that are in depth and specific to these two players – legitimate analysis.  Impressive.

When I got onto the field, I noticed that the graphics had somehow improved yet again over Madden 10.  Even more little details are included in the player models – not to mention the improved tackle animations and physics. 

One of the biggest “innovations” new for Madden 11 is one I never used.  “Gameflow” is intended to speed up the time it takes to play a game by having the CPU choose plays for you and letting you skip the whole process of sifting through the playbook between plays.  While you have a choice of creating your own custom playbook from which the CPU draws these plays from, I opted to go with “conventional” play calling.  I didn’t want to entrust the CPU with such an important (and enjoyable) strategic part of the game. 

Even with gameflow off, I still got commentary while on the field from my offensive and defensive coordinator.  This was OK and didn’t really bother me, but if it were gone, I doubt I would miss it.  He rarely adds much of value in his comments, but I suppose it does add another layer of audio on top of the crowd noise, player noise, and broadcast commentators (which contributes to the feeling of “being there”). 

The play dynamics have been tweaked a bit again this year, but I felt like most of these were subtle and good changes.  It is critical to follow your blockers on running plays and to not freelance as much (lest you get killed in the backfield).  As the first half cranked along, I was continuously wowed by the new player animations and how closely the players’ motions mirrored their real life counterparts.  Also, it seems as if many more player faces have been added - rather than just a few “stars”, I saw many players that looked freakishly like they do in reality. 

While this might be a bit superficial, this attention to detail and stunning presentation – both aurally and visually – got me really excited to play this game.  The fact that I was finally playing with a contemporary roster probably also fueled the feeling that I was really playing as the Patriots. 

I had a commanding 14-0 lead at halftime and was having fun.  In my notes I noted that while the stats weren’t very close, I was really enjoying “the show”.  This halftime show included impressive highlights from my game. 

I used the second half to milk the clock and closed out KC with a 21-0 victory.  In the end, I had the ball for 15 minutes vs. their 5 and had outgained them 320-162 yards.  The game was never very competitive, but I was smitten – it was SO PRETTY.  When I backed out of the game to the menu screen, I was further impressed by the live sports ticker on the bottom of the screen, discussing the events of the day, including Pittsburgh Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall’s Twitter comments regarding the death of Osama bin Laden. 

The AFC Championship Game brought the Titans to town.  This game was much tighter than the first and began with a series of punts.  On one play, one of my defenders went down and moments later I was given the option of whether to risk putting him back in or substitute someone else on the fly.  It included details of the injury and the rough probability as to whether the player would be reinjured if he went back in.  Another great touch.

I couldn’t stop drooling over the graphics throughout the first half- so very many details that they got right.  This ogling might have detracted from my game, and I found myself losing 3-0 at halftime.  Statistically, I was doing poorly and probably should have been losing by more. 

My woes continued into the third, particularly when I challenged a completion made on the sidelines by them on 3^rd and 13.  I ended up losing the challenge (and a TO) and they were awarded the first down.  More time ticked off the clock before I finally forced them to punt.

My next drive was my only good one of the game.  On a key 3^rd and 6, I found rookie tight end Rob Gronkowski open in the flat.  He rumbled over a defender and stretched for a key first down (again, just like in real life).  I kept the drive going with a lot of runs from Benjarvis Green-Ellis (the Lawfirm) and eventually punched it in for the score, putting me up for the first time, 7-3 with 4 minutes left in the game.

They would have at least one more chance to score and win the game, so I tried to pull out all the stops with my defensive play calling to force a turnover (playing a deep zone and sending the LBs on the blitz).  This NEARLY worked as I forced a bad throw that went to Brandon Merriweather, but he dropped the ball (again, like in real life).  They managed to get a decent drive going, but it stalled out after they got into my territory and managed to connect on a long FG to put the score at 7-6 with 2:20 to go.

They still had all of their time outs, so I knew that I would need a couple of first downs to ice the game.  Fortunately, the decisive blow came on a 3^rd and 5 run up the gut from Sammy Morris, who took the ball 15 yards and allowed me to run out the clock.  That play was aptly labeled “the Doritos Play of the Game” in the postgame show.  This 7-6 win was a defensive chess match and my first great Madden game in awhile. 

The Super Bowl matchup featured the Bears vs. Patriots.  A rematch of Super Bowl XX, the Patriots first ever Super Bowl in reality (they lost 46-10).  The presentation for the big game is (appropriately) even better than it is normally.  The commentators chat excitedly about the Super Bowl as pre-game footage takes us “inside the locker rooms” of the teams about to go out and compete.  Even the menu screens have changed to reflect that this is the Super Bowl.  The 5.1 surround sound is awesome.

As the game got underway, I noticed waves of flash photography from the stands on opening kickoff. All of this added up to make me feel excited and almost nervous about the “scale” of the game. 

One of the keys to this game ended up being field position, and I dominated in this area from start to finish.  They got the ball first, but my D was amped up and harassed Bears QB Jay Cutler right out the gate, sacking him twice on the opening drive.  This drove the Bears backwards and after a short punt, gave me great position to start the game (on their 47 yard line).  I responded with a methodical 7 play drive that resulted in a TD to put me up 7-0.

On their second drive, the Bears attempted a reverse, but the play ended in disaster when their wideout fumbled the ball.  There was a “quicktime” event to recover the loose ball and I actually won (for the first time).  I must admit that I didn’t mind this gimmick so much when I actually recovered the ball.

This gave me great field position on the Bears 28 yard line, and a couple of plays later, I hit Wes Welker over the middle for the score.  With 22 seconds left in the 1^st quarter, I was up 14-0. 

The Bears finally started to show some life in the 2^nd quarter by getting their first defensive stop and getting going on offense.  The Bears surprised me by launching a methodical 70+ yard drive to my goal line.  Fortunately, 350 pound nose tackle Vince Wilfolk was having a hell of a game, throwing offensive linemen out of his way all day and beating the crap out of Cutler.  This culminated on a hit that knocked Cutler out of the game for a couple of series (sprained wrist) and helped to hold the Bears to a short FG after a tremendous drive.  This put the score at 14-3 rather than 14-7, and was a huge victory for the team going into halftime.  Their monster 16 play drive resulted in 3 points. 

Halfway through, I had a strong 2 score lead, but the Bears were starting to show some life.  I opened the second half with an impressive drive of my own, but unfortunately stalled out in the redzone and had to settle for 3, putting me up 17-3. 

The ensuing kickoff for the Bears proved to be disastrous for Chicago.  Their return man got hit hard and lost the ball, which bounced directly into the hands of one of my gunners.  Suddenly, I once again had great field position and a chance to put the game away late in the 3^rd quarter.  Two plays later, I found Brandon Tate wide open down the middle of the field and hit him in stride for the easy score.  With the score 24-3, the competitive phase of the game was over. 

The CPU basically threw in the towel at this point and didn’t make much of an effort to come back in the 4^th.  I was confused by the fact that it kept running the ball and draining the clock rather than trying to frantically move the ball downfield with long passes. 

For the 4^th quarter, I kicked back and just enjoyed the show.  Star Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher was having a monster game and was all over the place (as in real life) and Pats TE Rob Gronkowski was a one man wrecking crew, mowing down anyone who dared try to tackle him (also, as in real life).  A few vanilla drives later, I had managed to run the clock out and win the game, 24-3.

The Super Bowl celebration sequence that followed was undoubtedly the best ever in a Madden game (even surpassing Madden ’95).  Chris Collinsworth and Gus Johnson discussed the Patriots history and the significance of this win while the confetti rained down and relevant highlights from the game were shown through a filter to make them seem more historic.  This was followed by highlights from the Patriots victory parade in Boston before going on to the White House to meet President Obama.  Epic.

Ultimately, I had a lot of fun with Madden 11.  While only one of the three games I played was really competitive, the presentation so impressed me, that I was left eager to come back and play more.  Perhaps after doing that, I will see all kinds of flaws.  Based on this sample, however, Madden 11 struck me as exciting to play and, most importantly, fun.  

Madden 10

Microsoft XBOX 360

Click HERE for screenshots.

For the first time in Madden history, two different players – Larry Fitzgerald of the Cardinals and Troy Polamalu of the Steelers- are featured on the cover of Madden 10.  The game opens with a movie featuring both of them, complete with highlights and voiceovers.  Both of these athletes dominate the menu screens that follow.  John Madden is given one short line of dialogue in the sequence in which he says “I’ve seen a lotta games, but I have a feeling this one is going to be special.”  But is Madden right?  Is Madden 10 a special game?

Once again, I have to equivocate in my answer.  On the upside, the graphics are jaw dropping in Madden 10.  I continue to be amazed by the ways in which the graphics seem to get better and better every year using the same XBOX 360 hardware.  More than once while playing this game, I had to shake my head at how many details they got right – the player faces and movements are fantastic and the overall presentation of the game is the closest thing yet to watching the game on TV. 

How does gameplay measure up?  Well, based on my limited sample of another Patriots playoff run, it is less than perfect. 

I was excited to see that when I started Madden 10, the game appeared to have imported my “Madden IQ” from the end of Madden 09.  I thought that this marked a continued improvement over the difficulty concerns that I took issue with in Madden 06 to Madden 08.  Unfortunately, the continued “fine tuning” of this number did not seem to have much of a positive impact on my gameplay experience. 

The divisional matchup featured the Titans coming to New England.  It was a cold night game that reminded me of their frigid Jan 2004 playoff game.  You could see the players’ breath in the cold air and the field seemed to have been frosted.  As the game opened, fighter jets flew over the stadium as part of the pregame festivities.  (A neat idea, but for some reason the animation was very choppy.) 

I got very excited for the opening kickoff when I saw that the old-style play calling menus appeared to be back in the game.  Three plays were displayed at once and you had the option of picking them based on the button you pressed on the controller.  This enthusiasm was short lived though, for while this was an improvement over the previous 360 titles, it ended up being a bit of a tease.  The core of playcalling is the same as from the other 360 titles (you can choose by formation, by “asking madden”, or by “play type”), but it is marginally improved by the ability to highlight more than 1 play at a time. 

As the game got underway, I was awed by the stellar presentation.  The camera angles on the field, particularly between plays, feel cinematic and put you right on the field in the action.  The coaches that stalk the sidelines look disturbingly like their real-life counterparts (not Bill Belichick though, who is not part of the NFL Coaches Association).  I was also struck by the realism in the ways that the players moved.  Wes Welker ran and juked just like Wes Welker – Randy Moss looked and ran like Randy Moss.  Even their TD celebrations were identical to their signature celebrations in real life.  Amazing.

I scored on my opening drive with a pass from Brady to Moss and -in addition to being happy to see the Moss TD celebration – I was pleased to see the return of the drive summary.  Thank you!  I really like these EA, please stop taking it out of the game every other year. 

After the score put me up 7-0, I kicked the ball off and the Titans promptly returned it 100 yards for a score.  7-7. 

My ensuing drive involved a Tom Brady fumble in which a bunch of players piled on top of the ball.  This triggered a weird “mini-game” or “quick time event” in which different buttons lit up on-screen and I had to jab at them to recover the fumble.  I didn’t understand what was happening until it was too late, and the Titans got the ball back.  This was weird and I am not completely sold on the idea of bringing quick-time events into Madden games. 

After a nice defensive stop, I got the ball back and launched into a beautiful 6 play, 75 yard TD drive.  I was really feeling good about the game on this drive.  Everything made sense, I was reading the defense and picking it apart with Brady at the helm.   Pleased with my 14-7 lead, I kicked the ball off.  They once again, had a 100 yard TD return to tie the game 14-14.  This was ridiculous.  Twice in one game?  What bothered me was that I did not even come close to touching their return man on either play (a different returner each time).  My defenders were simply knocked down after the kick and the returner waltzed untouched into the endzone.  Twice.

Statistically, I was dominating the game at the half, but the score was tied 14-14 because of those two fluky plays.  The halftime show was pretty cool as it featured (mostly) relevant highlights from the game I was playing.  This “show” is slightly improved over the Madden 09 version.

As the 2^nd half got underway, I started to forget about the glitchy kickoff returns as I was once again mesmerized by the gorgeous graphics in the game.  I had a fantastic 14 play, 5 minute TD drive to put me up 21-14.  Lucky for me, I kicked the ball out the back of the endzone on the ensuing kickoff, and they had to take the touchback (likely sparing me another 100 yard TD return). 

With 2 minutes left in the game and down by 7, the CPU made an extremely questionable play call.  After failing to convert on 3^rd and 7, the CPU opted to punt the ball back to me on 4^th down.  This meant I just needed 1 first down to run out the clock and win the game.  This did not prove to be very difficult as I got the first down and the Titans suffered a rather inglorious end to their playoff run. 

In finishing off the 21-14 win, I knew that the score was a little skewed – I had dominated statistically for all but two key plays – but I was so enamored with the graphics and presentation, that I didn’t let it bother me too much. 

For the AFC Championship game at Pittsburgh, I was surprised to see that my Madden IQ had remained static- 500.  There was no adjustment meter showing where I had improved or regressed as there was following games in Madden 09.  I also didn’t see any signs of the “Madden Test” or the hologram helper. 

The game began with a nice introduction for Heinz Field and the lighting effects as the game got underway were great as the sun set into night in this late-afternoon game.  I got the ball first, but struggled against the Steelers D and had to punt.  In an eerie replay of the special teams woes I had experienced against the Titans, the Steelers had a terrific punt return and nearly scored.  A few plays later, they finished things off and raced out to a 7-0 lead.

I was able to respond to their score with an impressive 13 play, 80 yard drive to tie things up at 7.  After exchanging a few punts, the next key moment of the game came on a 2^nd and 10 when Brady dropped back to pass.  I saw two things developing as I scanned the field.  The first was Randy Moss about to break free down the right sideline.  The second was a blitzing linebacker coming from the blind side.  Rather than get rid of the ball immediately, I hesitated until Moss was open and threw the ball.  Brady barely got the pass away, but it was off target and incomplete.  Unfortunately, I had taken too long and Brady was hit hard in his lower back as he released the ball.  He was not getting up. 

The medical staff rushed onto the field and Brady ended up being carted off the field with a herniated disk.  Yikes. 

This meant that young, untested Kevin O’Connell would have to step in and save the day.  In reality, the Patriots cut O’Connell following the 2008 season, but in this simulated playoff, he was now the star.  I employed the same strategy that the Patriots did in real life when Bledsoe went down in 2001- lots of short, easy passes.  I used the run to set up the pass and O’Connell marched the team the rest of the way down the field to finish with a TD.  I was up 14-7, but then the news came that Brady was out for the next 12 weeks.  Even if I won the game, I would be going into the Super Bowl without my best player.

The Steelers opened the second half with a brilliant sustained drive that culminated with a score to tie the game 14-14 late in the 3^rd quarter.  Later in the 4^th, Kevin O’Connell rose to the occasion and converted a critical 3^rd and goal from the 12 with a TD pass to Randy Moss.  With 2 minutes left in the game, I had regained a 21-14 lead.

All I had to do was keep the Steelers out of the endzone and run out the clock.  I kicked off the ball, and they promptly returned it 100 yards for the score.  I was furious.  As was the case in the Titans game, my kick coverage simply dissolved and the returner walked 100 yards for the score.  The Patriots kick coverage has not been “great” the last couple years, but in my 16 + years of fandom, I can’t remember them ever surrendering three 100 yard returns in a two game span.  It was ridiculous and silly.

Regardless, the game was once again tied.  With the score 21-21, I had a chance late in regulation to tie the game with a long FG, but the kick came up a few yards short. 

I got the ball to start OT and launched into a conservative, grinding drive that would ensure no turnovers and seal ultimate victory.  Four minutes later, I booted through the game winning field goal to finish off the Steelers 24-21.  There was some modest celebration on the sideline as the “coach” (not BB) was doused in a Gatorade shower and Kevin O’Connell put on his AFC Champion baseball cap.  I was happy to have won, but aggravated by the 100 yard TD return.  The game never should have gone into OT. 

The Super Bowl was against the Arizona Cardinals.  So, once again, I was squaring off in a Championship game against the athlete on the cover of the game (this year 2x).  My Madden IQ had fallen 8 points to 492 following my OT win over the Steelers.  The Super Bowl was in the pouring rain.

I was confused when I saw that my starting QB was not Kevin O’Connell, but instead someone named Luke McCown.  McCown was never a Patriot in reality, but I think the CPU automatically signed him off the free agent market leading up to the big game.  I debated about putting O’Connell back in, but ended up going with McCown just for the hell of it.  Neither player was a real replacement for Brady.

The rain effects have been improved even more over previous years, with droplets sticking to the “camera” screen as you are playing.  This is done just right, so as not to be too distracting.  There was also a nice touch of having all of the players wear the Super Bowl XLIV patches on their jerseys. 

The Cardinals got the ball first and I held by breath on their ensuing kickoff return.  It was a great runback, but I managed to bring the return man down before he could score.  They started at the 50 yard line. 

The game began as a defensive chess match for field position.  The game remained scoreless after 1 quarter, with my defense (and the rain) shutting down their passing attack.  My lack of a viable QB kept me from getting much of anything going.

The first big play took place to open the 2^nd quarter when Wes Welker muffed a punt and after a pileup (another “quicktime event” game), the Saints recovered deep into my territory.  One play later, they scored to go up 7-0. 

When I got the ball back, I returned to my strategy of using the run to set up the pass and employing short passes.  This worked out beautifully on a screen pass to Welker, who broke a tackle and ran 40 yards for the score (redeeming his earlier fumble).  I was able to score once more before halftime and go into the locker room with a 14-7 lead. 

By the time the second half got underway, the field conditions had deteriorated and the players were soaked.  This was the gloomiest Super Bowl ever.  After a defensive stop, I decided to work on the clock by giving a lot of carries to my running backs.  This not only took 6 minutes off the clock, but ultimately resulted in a Fred Taylor TD.  With 2 minutes to go, I was up 21-7. 

The Cardinals went 4 and out on their next drive, giving me great field position.  I couldn’t quite run the clock out all the way, so I ended up putting up one more FG before the game ended with a 24-7 Patriots win. 

The Super Bowl celebration was the best it had been for a few years, with star players tackling each other to the ground in celebration, and big Vince Wilfolk dancing around wearing his Super Bowl cap.  McCown was named MVP, and the “coach” (who resembled a very old man) hoisted up the Lombardi trophy. 

When the game finished, I saw that my Madden IQ remained at 492.  My conclusion in finishing this game was that it wasn’t quite right- the graphics and presentation were spectacular, but the game play/difficulty curve were not quite where they needed to be.  The games I played were either not competitive or competitive only as a result of fluky plays.  Perhaps a larger sample is needed (and the settings need to be tweaked), but based on my snapshot of Madden 10, it still is not as good as Madden 2005 on the PS2 when it comes to game play.  

Madden 09

Microsoft XBOX 360

Click HERE for screenshots.

Madden 09 begins with an effort to address the main problem I have had with the last couple of Madden games on the XBOX 360 – the default difficulty is too damned easy.  The game starts with a holographic image of John Madden asking that you take a “madden test” to determine your “Madden IQ” which will then determine the game’s difficulty. 

It was great to see John Madden back in the game – he has been largely absent since Madden 2005 – so I was happy to take his little quiz.  After accepting his offer, I was transported into a “virtual reality” in which all of the players were holograms.  This is pretty weird, but I didn’t question it and took all four phases of the test – rush offense, pass offense, rush defense, pass defense. 

The results for these tests were all over the board for me.  I was rated as “All Pro” at rushing offense (nearly “All-Madden”) and “All-Madden” passing offense.  The latter rating had to do with a glitch where I could always hit an open TE short over the middle of the field and get 100% completions. 

In complete contrast, both my rushing and passing defensive tests went horribly.  I got a 0% against the run and something like a 15% against the pass.  This set my ratings on D to “Rookie”.  My initial Madden IQ was rated as 438. 

My first game was in the divisional round and featured the Chargers coming to town.  Would my “Madden IQ” impact the game play?  I’m pretty sure it did.  My very high offense ratings ramped up the CPU’s abilities on defense and made moving the ball downfield extremely difficult.  Conversely, my pitiful defensive rating bolstered my defense to the point where the Chargers never stood a chance to get things going. 

Subsequently, this playoff game was a very low scoring affair.  The presentation was pretty good – while I missed the cinematic player intros from Madden 08, I was thrilled to hear that there were once again commentators in the series and the generic “radio announcer” had been canned.  Unfortunately, the commentators are John Hammond and Chris Collinsworth, who are less than thrilling to listen too. 

This game was in a torrential rainstorm, and the graphical effects were damned impressive.  I felt like I was playing in the “Mudbowl” as player uniforms were covered in chunks of grass and mud and the field was chewed to shit.  This effect got more and more dramatic as the game wore on – well done EA. 

I’m not certain if this was due to the rain effects being so intense, but the animations ran a little slower than they did in Madden 08 (but not as bad as 07).  The biggest gripe I had was due to the frequency of dropped passes that I encountered.  Several times I had Moss open deep, Brady threw a perfect pass, and it inexplicably went through his hands.  Perhaps it was the rainy weather, but I think it had more to do with my “All-Madden” passing rating and the CPU trying to even the score. 

The hit animations also seem to have been tweaked for maximum violence, but this isn’t so over the top as to make it seem fake.  There were a couple of times where I ended up wincing at the intensity of these cyber blows, but sacking the QB could very gratifying. 

There are a number of other changes – there are now photographs for the starting lineups, presented in-game, just like on TV.  There is also something called “Backtrack” in which Chris Collinsworth breaks down plays where you screwed something up (generally interceptions).  There is even an option to “redo” the play – but I couldn’t view this as anything other than cheating and avoided it in my games. 

As the first half wore on, my lack of offensive productivity started to really wear on me and my frustration started to boil over.  After watching Randy Moss – who had incidentally shattered the TD receiving record in real life the year before – drop yet another wide open pass, I began to draw some comparisons to the dreadful Madden 2002, a game ruined for me by excessive dropped passes. 

At halftime, I was losing 6-0.  I was annoyed by the low camera angles on the field goals because I could not tell if the kick was good or not as the play happened on the field.  I had to wait until Collinsworth made the call.  This is a very simple thing that is inexcusable to get wrong at this stage in the franchise. 

At the end of the 3^rd quarter, I finally got on the board with a FG of my own, cutting the score to 6-3.  I hoped to win the game late in the 4^th, but was once again held to another FG and forced OT with the score 6-6. 

I got the ball back at the start of the extra period, and after having dropped the last 5 passes, Randy Moss inexplicably got the one that mattered most while double covered.  He elevated over the two DBs who had him blanketed and brought the ball down.  I was relieved to then kick the game winning FG and end this frustrating game, but there was definitely some irony that the one pass Moss caught all game was the one where he was actually well covered. 

Following the game, a screen popped up and my “Madden IQ” was adjusted.  While my total score went up to 455, my passing skills went down while my defensive ratings improved. 

Going into the AFC Championship game against Cleveland, I was curious as to how my adjusted Madden IQ would impact game play.  In short, it changed things dramatically.

In this game against the Browns, everything was clicking for me on offense, defense, and special teams.  I blasted the Browns for a 24-0 halftime lead.  I thought the game was in hand and prepared to coast to victory in the second half, but was mistaken.

The Browns opened the second half with a 1 play 80 yard TD drive.  Just seconds into the 3^rd, the score was 24-7.  I proceeded to milk the clock, taking 3 minutes off en route to a FG, putting me up a convincing 27-7.  I kicked the ball off to Cleveland and once again – in spite of my deep zone defense – they scored a 1 play 80 yard TD.  This seemed a bit wonky and kind of cheap, but the score was suddenly 27-14.  I got the ball back and tried to milk some more time off the clock, but my drive stalled and they got the ball back.  They ran the ball to the right side and their RB broke 4 tackles en route to the endzone.  1 play, 65 yards.  With 2 minutes to go, the score was 27-21. 

All of this was highly suspect to me- it seemed as if the game was rigged to keep the CPU competitive.  When I got the ball back, I was stuffed for a loss on 1^st and 2^nd down.  On a huge 3^rd and long, Randy Moss came up with the play of the game, breaking free to score a 60 yard TD.  This put the score at 34-21 with 1:47 to go and the game was effectively over.  Although the CPU managed to nearly score one more time, I held them to 4 and out at the goalline and preserved the 34-21 win. 

This was a wild game, but ultimately a fun one for me.  It got my heart rate up, but never made me furious (like Madden 2002 did constantly).  At the end of my second game, my Madden IQ was rescaled once again, and this time fell to 447.  This scaling was interesting to me, but I wasn’t sure how well it was working. 

The Super Bowl featured the Patriots vs. Cowboys.  I really did not know what to expect going in – a defensive struggle like my first game?  A shootout like the second?  What I got ended up being a blowout. 

Mike Vrabel picked off Tony Romo on the opening play and nearly took it back for the TD.  On 1^st and Goal, Maroney finished things off and rumbled into the endzone.  On the ensuing Cowboys drive, Romo was once again picked off and moments later Sammy Morris rumbled in for the score.  Less than a minute in, I was up 14-0 and Brady hadn’t thrown a single pass. 

After a couple of Cowboy first downs (thanks to Terrell Owens), they were forced to punt.  I opened the second quarter with a deep TD to Randy Moss.  On my next offensive drive, I ran the same play and had the same result.  TD Moss.  With 3 minutes left in the 1^st, the score was 28-0.

Dallas then more or less went into panic mode and gave up on the running game.  In spite of a number of nice plays by Owens, they were unable to get any points before the half and the score remained 28-0. 

My main complaint about the game to this point was that the commentators did very little to acknowledge that this game was the Super Bowl (in fact, I don’t think they mentioned it at all).  Some of the canned comments just didn’t make any sense as a result (“He is going to have a lot to study in the film room before next week’s game!”). 

I hoped to avoid any frantic comeback attempt by the Cowboys, so I did all I could to grind out the clock in the second half.  I was able to basically impose my will on the Dallas defense and ran out the entire 3^rd quarter in one drive (before punting). 

Not much happened in the forth quarter (other than some more great catches from T.O. that led to nowhere).  Late in the 4^th, Dallas put together a great drive that stalled out with consecutive sacks of Romo to end the game and preserve the 28-0 Patriots win.

The Super Bowl celebration was weak, just a few frames basically repeating the animations from the end of Madden 08.  This one was a bit shorter and lamer though.  I was also annoyed (and this happened in Madden 06 and 07 as well) by the fact that when you win the Super Bowl, the in-game monitors flash with the text “COWBOYS LOSE!  COWBOYS LOSE!!!!”  This is just weird and even a bit cruel.  Shouldn’t they be celebrating the new champion rather than taunting the loser? 

Eh- whatever.

In wrapping up, this particular game was never competitive, but boy were the graphics pretty.  On the whole, Madden 09 improves upon the already very impressive graphics from Madden 08.  I get the impression once again that this is a pretty good game, but I never really got to play it.  Following the game, my Madden IQ shot up to 500.  I suspect that if I played a bunch more games, my IQ would have evened out to the point where the difficulty level hit a sweet spot and all the games were appropriately competitive (win some/lose some).  But, alas, there are still two Madden games to be played, so that experiment will have to wait until another day.