Madden NFL 10 (Xbox 360) Review

Posted by Sean Garmer on 08.31.2009

If it's in the NFL, it is in Madden 10. I think I can pretty much agree with that.

The summer is beginning to wind down and usually that means the kids go back to school. However, thanks to EA and John Madden, August has pretty much become the month that almost everyone awaits the release of the new Madden NFL game. With a game that comes out every year there is always an air of skepticism because you wonder if its worth 60 dollars. Well for the past few years I would have said no it wasn't. Madden 10 however makes additions to the series that makes the game as similar to the NFL on and off the field as its ever been. Just what makes these new features integral to the Madden series? Well I hope this review helps explain that.




Madden NFL 2010
Publisher: EA
Developer: EA Tiburon
Genre: Football Simulation
Multi-Player: 1-4, 1-4 Co-Op, (1-2 Online)
Rated E (For Everyone)



Graphics:




There is no doubt that this is the best looking Madden to date, putting aside the questionable facial animations, everything else on the graphics side is top notch. The stadiums and the crowds look great, there is a lot of new touches added this year to make it look even more real. During the small little pregame setup before each game starts, the camera shows the tailgaters outside, fans buying things inside and fans sitting in their seats. There are things on the sidelines as well. You'll see coaches barking orders at players, quarterbacks on the phone, and also, a few new things with the pregame setup. There is now a pre and post game show called Extra Point that's done by the folks at NFL Network to add a bit more of that realism to the game too. The play on the field has been slowed down which helps not only with the gameplay stuff, but also allows people to notice more things about the graphics as well, which is a nice thing.

The only issues I noticed aside from the small clipping that will always plague these games, was that sometimes the events that happen in the little quick pans to the sideline or especially the two-minute warning sequences are a bit off. Sometimes you will see coaches yelling at players when nothing bad just happened on the field and the players are always overjoyed when the two-minute warning hits even if that team is losing which is weird. The facial animations as I said are inconsistent, Tony Romo looks like himself for the most part but then Peyton Manning looks totally wrong. Maybe we can excuse EA Tiburon a little bit since they usually don't show players without their helmets on too much, but still, they have other studios that make NBA, NHL, and Soccer games they can look at, to see what they do to capture accurate player models. The one thing that was really weird is, though its cool to see your quarterback get interviewed after a game, why does he look like he is about to model down a runway? It happens pretty much every time with every quarterback as well and it looks odd.


Gameplay:




As I mentioned before, the default game has been slowed down to allow you to make better decisions on the field and make it a bit more like the NFL. Along with that an accelerated clock and accelerated play clock have been added for those that get tired of people who spend a long time picking plays, and also to make people think a bit like an offensive coordinator and think a few plays ahead. The offensive line actually forms a pocket around your quarterback giving the QB a bit more time to make decisions, and with EA giving players the auto-dropback, it will keep players from going back 20 yards to send a heave up the field which is a welcome thing.


One of the best new things is the transfer of all the defensive lineman special moves to the right thumbstick. This essentially makes it less of a chore to get through the offensive linemen and you also don't have to press three different buttons to do moves. Even injuries have been given a realistic feel to them because gamers will have to decide whether to leave out or put-in a player that is injured on the field. The game even warns you of the consequences of putting in an injured player. Many people who disliked the strong involvement of the "Madden IQ" in Madden 09 will be glad to know that the game sliders are back, including a game speed slider as well. I liked the Madden IQ system so I'm glad its still there and you have the option to place it as your difficulty setting as well, just like it was in 09.


The major thing added this year is the Pro-Tak system that makes for some cool tackles and breakouts. Now a running back will fight for extra yards and you will actually see defenders struggle to pull him down as he earns those yards. Defenders can have up to 9-man gang tackles and you'll probably see running backs get whacked pretty bad a few times thanks to the pro-tak as well. The Pro-Tak adds a great sense of realism to the game and works wonderfully, the only bad thing is you'll see RB's break out of impossible odds a bit few more times than they should. It doesn't happen all the time, but I had it happen to me twice in one game online, and a few other times where I did it myself. where almost my entire defensive team (or the computer's defense) was trying to tackle him and the RB just bursts through the middle of them, or breaks so many tackles that he goes for 6. Other than that though, its an awesome addition to the game.


The last on-the-field change occurs sometimes when there is a fumble. A Quick-Time event occurs where you have to button mash whatever appears on the screen to try to win possesion. Most of the time, depending on how the fumble occurred the A.I. will already have decided who's supposed to win the fumble game though. In a way, though it doesn't give you total freedom over fumble recoveries, Madden is also not about who's the best button masher.

Offline Franchise and Be An NFL Superstar have received minor to no changes but are still solid modes of play. I still wish they would add a ratings system after each game you play in the Be An NFL Superstar mode similar to the one in the FIFA games that lets you know how well your position was played. They may also consider a tutorial for playing the positions which would be helpful especially for playing defensive back and safeties. I'd also like to see Owner Mode return at some point.




The two new modes this year are online. Though they aren't things you can't do offline, the experience is different in an online spectrum. Online Co-Op is a nicer way to play with a friend because your friend can just play with you from home. The mode works great on offense as having a friend to run, block, or catch passes is always fun. On defense though the camera angle hinders your ability to see what's going on sometimes and doesn't rotate very well. This is especially troublesome if you are playing an outfield position. So EA does have one thing to improve for next year.

The Online Franchise mode is as close to Fantasy Football as a video game will ever get. You can play with up to 31 other players in one franchise and have up to five franchises per profile. There are public and private leagues and various options to select from when finding or creating a franchise as well, including a fantasy draft too. It has the same features of the off-line franchise except there is no CPU advising on trades or player contracts. So that means you could offer computer controlled teams any trade and they would automatically accept it. Good thing league managers have some options to remove CPU to CPU trades, as well as, trades from humans to CPU controlled teams. Players also have the ability to go on the computer or mobile phone and update anything on their squads, which is a nice touch. Online Franchise is fun if you play in a league where people are online a lot. I would suggest playing in a league with people you know, or in a private one, because I was in two different 32 team public franchises and I was only able to play one game for each league because my opponent for that week wasn't on much. Regardless this multi-year mode should give online madden gamers a lot of hours of play aside from the other stuff.


The only big issue I had is that with all the improvements they've made with the Pro-Tak system it has made the passing game a lot harder than its ever been. You might as well forget trying to go down the sidelines for almost anything because you are probably going to throw an interception, or your receivers will run out of bounds for no apparent reason. There are still cheap money plays and blitzes in the game, combine that with the advancements in Pro-Tak and you are probably going to see more sacks, tip balls, and interceptions than should really be occuring. Though some of this can be fixed with the sliders it still hurts the game experience a bit. I like using different tactics in the passing game and I'm almost forced to throw screen passes or stuff across the middle of the field to avoid my A.I. receiver doing something stupid.

The run blocking is still a problem too because my fullback or offensive linemen still miss clear defenders they should be blocking.


Sound:


This is where the game falters a bit not because the sound on the field or the EA Trax are bad, its all the stuff off the field that hurts it. The commentary from Tom Hammond is awful. It sounds so uninspired and fragmented that having the radio announcer from year's past is better than the play- by-play. Sometimes there are even times where he calls things that aren't even happening or happened a bit ago. Cris Collinsworth tries his hardest and his color commentary comes off well, but when put together with Hammond's play-by-play it makes for a bad combo. I for one still miss John Madden doing the commentary, but since he officialy retired this year it makes sense for him not to be calling plays in the game. The Extra Point show is horribly voiced over as well, the two people on the show actually are good on the NFL Network but the fragmented voiceover and slow pace of the delivery just makes you skip the show every time. Not to mention most of the time it just shows you things and there really isn't commentary directly on the stats on screen, other than maybe one standout stat.

At least EA went a different way with their trax this year, going away from the Rap, Punk, and Pop offerings to borrowing tracks from Rock Band. As Iron Maiden's Aces High, Judas Priests Painkiller, Nirvana's Breed, and some others make an appearance. For those that just love to listen to the NFL Films stuff, don't worry that's still there.


Lasting Appeal:




As I've mentioned already, there is a lot of stuff to do in this year's Madden than in year's past. You can play Franchise and Exhibition games on and off-line. The online co-op gives people the ability to play with a buddy and there is also the Be An NFL Superstar mode. Throw in the Madden Moments and the mini-games in there as well. Sadly they did take out the Mini-Camp exercises, but that probably won't bother too many people. EA is also going to be updating the Madden rosters a lot more than in year's past, as they've already added Brett Favre and Michael Vick to the game. So it seems like EA have done a lot to make sure people are playing Madden until next August once again.


Fun Factor:




I've had a lot of fun with Madden whether its playing against the A.I., a friend, or online. The Pro-Tak system adds a lot to the gameplay and makes running the ball, tackling, and trying to sack the quarterback a lot more fun than it has ever been. Though the passing game has suffered a bit thanks to this, it does make people have to mix up their offense a bit more. I can see Online Franchise becoming almost as addicting as Fantasy Football if you play in a league with people that are on a lot. Online Co-op has its novelties too and Madden Moments was fun to play for me as well.


The 411: The people that buy Madden already have their copy by now, but for anyone else that is still skeptical about this year's offering, I would say that there is plenty here to warrant a purchase. The tagline for this year's game is "If it's in the NFL, it's in Madden 10" they do a very good job of holding up to that and with all the other additions I don't see where you can go wrong with buying Madden 10.

Graphics	9.0	Aside from small clipping issues and some minor things, the graphics are terrific. Best looking Madden ever
Gameplay	9.0	The Pro-Tak is a great addition to the series, fumble recovery is fun, more realistic additions help provide more options. Only issue is passing is hardest its ever been.
Sound	7.5	The stuff on the field and the EA Trax are cool, but the commentary and extra point show voiceover almost make me wanna hit mute on the tv.
Lasting Appeal	8.5	Online Franchise, Madden Moments, Online Co-op, Franchise off-line and the Be A NFL Superstar add a lot of features
Fun Factor	9.0	It's Madden, it is still as fun as ever and everything added this year makes that more of a truth.
Overall	9.0   [  Amazing ]

Screenshots
All 10 Madden NFL 10 Screenshots