John Madden Annoumces His Retirement

What a sad day. The NFL has lost their biggest teacher of the game.

I'm not thrilled about Collinsworth replacing him, either.

Madden NFL 09 Review

It's the twentieth season of Madden Football. While everyone is reviewing the PS3 and XBox 360 versions of this game, I am reviewing the Xbox version of this game. I am reviewing the last Xbox game ever made.

Perhaps right off the bat, you will see the newest addition to the game is EA Sports Family Play, which is the same thing that is on Madden 09: All Stars for the Nintendo Wii. Basically, anyone that just wants to play Madden without learning all of the different formations can do it here. For example, Instead of Shotgun and I Form, You have Deep Pass, Run Right, and run left. Everything is mapped to the A Button, from passing to running to hughlight moves, Hit Sticks, and Kicking.

In Madden offensively, you now have the ability to select your own touchdown celebration. You can chose between subdued, Multiplayer, or Over The Top Celevrations.

Probably the wierdest mode in Madden is the Fantasy Challenge. Basically you work your way up from the Newbie League to the top league in the game. To get promoted to the next league, you have to play a fantasy team for the title of League Champion. You can chose to keep your current roster, enter a Fantasy Draft, or enter a Hall Of Fame Draft.

Once you beat the league champion, they are unlocked in Play Now and Family Play Modes.

Franchise Mode is the same as usual, but it now has a Decade Scoring System, which grades you based on how well you complete tasks. Franchise Mode still has GM Mode, which is still not on the next gen consoles.

Superstar mode is back, and you now get the ability to play as a rookie from this year's draft class. There's not really anthing new with this mode.

Soundwise, Al Michaels and John Madden still provide commentary and they still sound great. I would still take Michaels and Madden above Tom Hammond and Chris Collinsworth on the Next Gen Versions anyway.

Graphically, the graphics have recieved somewhat of an improvement. There are some new animations as well.

There are a couple of new stadiums in this game. Rogers Centre in Toronto is in the game for the Bills-Steelers Preseason Game, and Lucas Oil Stadium, the new home of the Indianapolis Colts, is in the game. You also get the Super Bowl stadiums for this and the next three years.

Back to the rosters in this game. Brett Favre is on the 2007 Packers and not anywhere else, and you cannot take him off the 2007 Packers, so those of you looking to put him on the Jets, you're out of luck.

More with the rosters, many rookies that were drafted late are not in the game. Mike Hart, the running back out of Michigan who was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts isn't in the game. Ditto with Colt Brennan, the NCAA Record Breaking Quarterback from Hawaii who was drafted by the Washington Redskins.

In Closing, It was a suprise to me when I heard Madden NFL 08 was being made for the Xbox.It's still a great game, and if you have an XBox or PS2 still, give Madden 08 a shot. I bought the last XBox game ever made, and Madden was a little better than I was expecting.

OVERALL: 3/5 STARS

The Cover Athlete For Madden NFL 09 Is Released...

And The Cover Athlete Is...

SUPRISE! Brett Favre Is The Cover Athlete for Madden NFL 09!

Here Is The Press Release From ESPN Video Games:
"The upcoming release of Madden NFL 09 on August 12 marks the 20th anniversary of the highly successful video game franchise. This milestone of longevity could help explain why the game's producer, EA Sports, seemed to have been in a nostalgic mood with an eye towards history when selecting this year's cover athlete. Instead of going with a bright young star of the game, as has been the tradition since Madden 2001, they chose a man who had been a dominant force in the NFL over much of the 20 year history of the video game, former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre. Having announced his retirement in early March, Favre becomes the first non-active player to appear on the game's cover."

A Suprising Development in the 20th Anniversary of Madden. John Madden will no longer provide commentary:
"Madden NFL 09 will also feature a network-inspired broadcast presentation. Players will benefit from the authentic football knowledge of an in-booth play-by-play and color commentary team featuring Cris Collinsworth and Tom Hammond. In addition, numerous graphical enhancements have been made, including realistic weather and grass, sleeker player models and exterior stadium views."

And the most important info, What systems will it be on?
"Madden NFL 09 will be available for the Xbox 360 video game system from Microsoft, PlayStation2 and PLAYSTATION3 computer entertainment systems, Wii, Nintendo DS, PSP (PlayStationPortable) handheld entertainment system and is rated RP by the ESRB. "