Madden 10 Football Game Reviews

Madden NFL 10 Review
from www.gamespot.com 7.5

A number of features make Madden NFL 10 a more realistic and enjoyable portrayal of football, but a few problems--both old and new--continue to trouble the series.
The GoodPro-Tak gives some oomph to the game Online franchise works well Passing game feels more realistic Streamlined menus make it easier to jump around. The BadCommentary is still pretty bad Downfield run blocking still needs work AI defensive schemes are a little inconsistent Enough with the referee cutscenes.
With every new Madden release, there are almost always one or two features that get the bulk of the attention--features that not only make the current Madden different from its predecessors, but also seemingly make the upgrade from one year to the next worthwhile. Madden NFL 10 is no different in this respect. Some of its new features are substantial, like the long-awaited Online Franchise mode or the new types of tackles generated by the Pro-Tak system, but it feels like most of what's new in Madden 10 is less glossy and far more granular, affecting only the mechanical aspects of the football experience. It's almost as if Madden 10 represents a back-to-basics philosophy for the franchise, taking the focus away from fancy modes and even fancier presentation elements for the purpose of making the sport itself the main draw, but there are still many lingering problems.
There's evidence of this philosophy in the way prominent features from last year's game take a backseat. For example, last year's Madden Test--which assesses your ability based on a series of cool-looking hologram drills--is back, largely unchanged, but it's buried under the quick-modes option. Even the stylized menus from Madden 09 are gone and have been replaced with a more streamlined interface that lets you get to where you need to go quickly, whether you're signing a free agent or trying to look at some key stats.
Obviously, this is of great benefit to the Franchise mode (both online and off) since the most fervent Madden players spend a good portion of time navigating in and out of menus to build the best team possible. But aside from that, the Franchise mode remains unchanged on a superficial level. It does include a new presentation element in the form of a show called The Extra Point, hosted by the NFL Network's Fran Charles and Alex Flanagan. This functions as a recap and halftime show that goes over the basic stats of a specific game or the results of the previous week with some very light commentary that doesn't offer all that much insight. However, one aspect of this show reveals one of the Franchise mode's biggest potential shortcomings.
At the end of any week, The Extra Point gives a player the Offensive Player of the Week or Defensive Player of the Week award, depending on his position. Despite numerous occasions when players had an almost supernatural performance for five-minute quarters, not once did any of them receive the recognition. They were always awarded to individual players on AI teams. After looking at stats of these players from other teams in the Franchise mode, it becomes apparent that there are two parts to this problem. The first is that some players, like Tom Brady, are just that good and should probably win such awards, but the second is far more devious: stats don't seem to scale properly for five-minute quarters. In other words, when the computer plays its games, those stats are designed to reflect full quarters, or at the very least, they reflect a simulation of a "full" game. They aren't representative of truncated quarters where there simply isn't as much time to wrack up as many yards, completions, sacks, or touchdowns as the stats suggest.
It's hard to gauge how much this affects other aspects of the Franchise mode, such as player progression--if it does at all. At the end of every season, a player's overall rating changes based on a number of factors, including overall performance, potential, and age. But even this process seems a little inconsistent. One player, who was also injured for most of the season, received the biggest hike in the overall rating, while another player in the same position, who was far older and had an OK season, dropped only a single point. There is just no way to tell how the categories are weighted and if playing truncated quarters means that your players won't progress the same way that players on computer-controlled teams do.
Fortunately, playing an online franchise mitigates a lot of these problems provided you fill most of the spots with other people and not just computer-controlled teams. But it also has its own share of issues--the biggest being that there aren't any salary restrictions for free agents. If you happen to see a top-tier player out there and want him on your team, all you need to do is clear a spot for him on your roster and it's done. Granted, players participating in a franchise can determine whether or not to let things like that happen, depending on how dedicated they are, but it seems silly to not have some restrictions in place by default. Likewise, CPU trades can happen unchecked--you can dump the worst player on your team for the best on another if that team happens to be controlled by the computer. Thankfully, the commissioner can turn this off completely, but it would have been nice to see some additional parity between the offline and online Franchise modes when it comes to some of these front-office features.
Still, the online Franchise mode does a lot of things really well. Those who have played NCAA Football's Online Dynasty will instantly recognize the basic setup where all participants flag whether or not they're ready to play the week. If some players lag behind, the commissioner can force the franchise to move forward, and if the commissioner cannot fulfill his duties for any given week, he can promote another player and have him take on the role. Additionally, the commissioner can set the amount of time players have to make their decisions in the draft--a useful tool for making the 54-players per roster fantasy draft run a little smoother.
Whether you're playing offline or online, Madden NFL 10's gameplay tweaks are equally evident in either situation. The much ballyhooed Pro-Tak system (a fancy term for better gang tackles) works as advertised, with numerous players clinging to the ball carrier before dragging him down in some situations. This feature also adds some much-needed muscle to the running game, making it feel as though you're really fighting and scraping to get those few extra yards out of a run on offense and stuffing a running back with five or so players on defense. At the same time, however, it seems easier to evade solo tackles in Madden NFL 10 than it did in previous Madden games, allowing you to execute some spectacular breakaway plays if you're on offense. This generally happens when you have a one-on-one situation--something like a running back against a cornerback. If he performs a single spin move on that corner, there's a pretty good chance that running back is going to break for at least a 20-yard run, if not a touchdown. That might not seem completely unrealistic until you see it happen over and over again, or when you see a normally less-than-agile tight end perform the same feat.
Madden 10 does have an inadvertent method for preventing too many breakaway plays, which takes the form of poor downfield blocking. Imagine running the ball up the field. You've blown by the linebackers and the corners, and there's only your back holding the ball, a teammate, and a safety. Too often, your teammate will run in the opposite direction (back toward the linebackers) instead of running forward and taking out the safety to clear your way to the end zone. This also happens near the line of scrimmage where the fullback will occasionally run forward and then suddenly dart to the side and completely miss the linebacker who's bearing down on the halfback. Of course, these things happen in the real NFL, so it's not unreasonable to expect them here, but they happen too often.
There are similar gaffes in the overall defensive schemes of AI opponents. In most games, it genuinely feels like the AI sees the plays you're running, analyzes what's working and what's not, and then adapts accordingly to shut you down. There are also times when you have to work the run before you can get any sort of passing game going. Then there are the stretches in a drive of a different game where you can run the same play repeatedly, and no matter what the AI does, it can't seem to stop you--and this is with the AI using some of the best defensive teams in the league, no less. Still, it's worth noting that pass defense is generally better and more realistic, and it's far more difficult to abuse the same pass play made to the same player on back-to-back downs, even on slant routes. The AI also seems to be particularly adept at making it difficult to throw the ball more than 15 yards down the field in a consistent manner, but this better pass defense also means that the frequency of interceptions is still relatively high.
Part of the reason the pass defense is better is that quarterback behavior falls more in line with real-world boundaries. If a quarterback who has no scrambling ability at all tries to throw a ball on the run, there's a good chance he's going to fling the ball up in the air with little accuracy. Likewise, if your quarterback doesn't have the best arm strength in the world, then you simply shouldn't try to launch the ball down the field. It's important to find a rhythm and to pinpoint the things your quarterback is good at doing as opposed to trying to abuse the same routes and force the ball down the field. And if you get to the point where you can combine that skill with the ability to identify a blitz, you can kill the defense with a huge gain almost every time. But one major complaint with the position is still this: Quarterback sneaks are still way too easy to abuse. Forgoing a punt and running a QB sneak on fourth and two should be a much greater risk than it currently is.
Fatigue on the default setting plays a much greater role than it did in previous games, which makes it harder to abuse other types of plays. If you keep passing to your star receiver, that receiver's stamina will drop to the point that he automatically gets pulled for a play or two before being sent back into the game. The same applies to your running backs. Unfortunately, the game also seems to punish repetitive play-calling with injuries. Your teammates go down way too often in Madden 10. Most of the time it's a small injury that takes a player out of the game for a few plays, but the bigger injuries (ones that take him out for the rest of the game) occur more than you'd suspect or want. There are some occasions when you have the option to bench a player after his injury has been assessed. Oftentimes, however, he'll automatically return to the game even if the injury has been deemed as "medium," which means there's a high risk for an even more severe injury.
Madden 10's look is an improvement over last year's game, but most of it comes in the form of finer details on the player models, such as patches, and presentation elements that help give the game a more broadcast-TV feel. Cutting back on the number of referee deliberation cutscenes would have been nice. As it stands now, they run far too often. In addition, the stadiums look fantastic, but there are some nitpicky issues here and there. At various times, and for no discernable reason, the fans in the stands will face the wrong way with their backs turned to the field. Also, the depth-of-field effect (where objects in the foreground are blurred) looks way overdone in some of the cinematics and tends to cause a slight visual distortion on the field before a play, albeit for just a second or two. There are also some minor visual differences between the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game, mostly in the form of slightly blurry details. For example, the names on the back of jerseys appear slightly blurry when in the default camera perspective in the PlayStation 3 version, but otherwise the two versions look identical.
A bigger difference between the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of Madden 10 is a custom play feature that lets you create plays in the PSP version of the game and then import them. It's a nice feature that lets you determine such specifics as positioning, running routes, and blocking assignments on offense and individual coverage assignments on defense. It's also fairly easy to use thanks to a grid system for placing players, as well as pop-up messages that tell you if you don't have the requisite number of players on the line of scrimmage or if you're breaking other rules. But ultimately, spending an extra $40 on the PSP version just to take advantage of custom plays isn't worth it. It's a neat feature, but it should have been included in the PS3 game.
The commentary is by far the weakest aspect of Madden NFL 10's presentation. As always, Chris Collinsworth tries his best to make some interesting comments in certain situations, particularly on the special Backtrack replay segments where he breaks down the play and shows you what went wrong. He's not really the problem, but his play-by-play man, Tom Hammond, is absolutely terrible. His commentary is completely bland and lacks any sort of dynamic that gives context to on-field action aside from the most basic observations. And because he's terrible, there's rarely interesting second-to-second commentary or back-and-forth chatter between the two. There are also moments when it seems like there should be commentary from Hammond (or Collinsworth, for that matter), and there's just none at all. This is especially noticeable in the pregame segments and at the end of a game.
There's a real sense that EA wants to get back to the fundamentals of football with Madden NFL 10, and many of the changes it has made in that respect are good ones. The running game feels great, and the passing game is much improved over previous iterations. The Pro-Tak system works just about as well as you'd want it to, and the inclusion of online franchises (while featuring some dubious options) is a pretty good reason to dive into this year's game. Even the new online co-op option, which lets you and another player take on the computer, is a nice addition. There's just something satisfying about completing a bomb to a receiver controlled by a friend and not the AI, but this mode still needs some attention when it comes to camera work and positioning--it's a little too disorienting and a little too close to the action. But for all of these improvements, there are seemingly an equal number of nagging setbacks, ranging from the frequency of turnovers to inconsistencies in AI-controlled defenses. Of course, these don't sink the entire Madden 10 experience, since it's still a fun game to play, but a little more tweaking in these areas could have gone a long way in making this the best Madden to date.

Review Scores from other sites
IGN 8.9 / 10
VideoGamer 8 / 10
GameZone 8.7 / 10
1UP B+
Kombo 9 / 10
Game Revolution B+
GamerNode 9 / 10
Cheat Code Central 4.5 / 5


Madden NFL 10 Review 8.9
As close as you'll come to playing on Sundays.
by Nate Ahearn
August 7, 2009 - As leaves turn brown and the temperature drops the videogame industry knows that a new Madden game is just around the corner. Madden NFL 10 hits store shelves on August 14 and comes with new modes, gameplay tweaks and broadcast-style presentation changes that most football fans will appreciate. There are issues with some of the new aspects that have worked their way into Madden (and things that have been taken out), but there's no denying that this is the best pure football experience in videogame history.
Let's start on a positive note. This is the best looking Madden game yet. From the look of players on the field to new presentational elements, you've never seen a football game like this before. EA Sports has gone to great lengths to make the experience of playing a standard game of Madden as close to the real thing as possible and it shows. You'll see players getting yelled at on the sidelines, refs debating touchdown calls, and pre-game warm ups on the field with a bit of insight from Tom Hammond and Chris Colinsworth. It's all very conducive to convincing you that you're totally in control of a standard NFL football broadcast on Sunday. Yes, I'm even talking about the constant Snickers and Sprint sponsorships that pop up at certain times during a contest.
The new presentation elements permeate nearly every aspect of Madden NFL 10, right down to the menu configurations which are a strong deviation from standard EA Sports conventions. You'll see a newly organized franchise hub which houses the new Extra Point Show. Here you'll get a weekly recap of action in your franchise. The voiceover work by NFL Network talent is pretty atrocious, but the presentation is well done.
Not all is well with these new presentation elements, however. You'll see things like flickering hair textures and objects on the sideline that fail to load (phones in players hands, warm-up bikes). At the end of games, star players are approached by media for interviews. It's one of the first times we've seen Madden players in full detail without a helmet and I'd swear Peyton Manning has the mouth of a goat. So while most of the new broadcast-style additions pan out well, there are still issues that should be worked out by the time we see next year's game.
So, visual issues aside, the new presentation display certainly does help bring the Madden experience closer to the genuine article, but what about the gameplay? Isn't that the most important thing? Thankfully the gameplay in Madden NFL 10 is, in a word, fantastic. I can't tell you how many people walked by my desk as I was playing and wondered if the NFL season started early this year. The speed of the game has been ratcheted down only slightly so hitting holes while running and making jukes is just a bit easier than it has been. That's not to say that the game isn't difficult – ramp up the difficulty to find out for yourself – but everything has an excellent ebb and flow this time around.
I'm also very happy to see the Fight for the Fumble mechanic play out as well as it does. I was worried that every fumble would result in a button mashing frenzy, but that's actually not the case. EA Sports did a good job of tuning the mechanic so it only pops up when appropriate.
Most of the new moves available on the field are exemplary as well. On defense, you'll now be able to pull off things like swim moves with the right analog stick when grappling on the line. It's much more accessible than the bumper setup of the past. On offense, jukes are much more realistic looking, though defenders too often fall straight onto their ass when you fake them out.
The real change to gameplay, and the one that drives home the feeling of the NFL the most, is procedural tackling (Pro-Tak). It allows for massive pileups to accumulate on the field, just as you'd see on Sunday. This also changes the blocking system which now forms an adequate pocket around your quarterback, much like you'd see on Sunday. Are you starting to see a pattern here?
Quarterback avoidance is the one control change that I really don't care for. While you will see quarterbacks get out of some sacks and throw ducks when hit during their throwing motion, the fact that the avoidance moves are toggled to the right stick is annoying. Why would I use the right analog stick to avoid a defender – thus giving up my ability to pass to my receivers for a split second – when I can just use the left stick and the right trigger and still be able to hit an open man downfield?
When playing against the AI things could be a bit tighter. There isn't much of a leap forward from last year's game to Madden NFL 10, so you'll still see players running out of bounds when there's absolutely no reason to do so. AI-controlled players also occasionally run very unnaturally on the field. I once saw a wide receiver catch a ball, run up the field, then to the right, then up the field, then to the right again. He repeated the process until he was out of bounds.
Off the field, the artificial intelligence wonkiness doesn't have a negative effect on trade logic, which is sharper than I've seen in the past. I have no doubt that some Madden diehard fan will crack the code and somehow get ten first round picks in the Draft, but it seemed as though it was tuned better than in the past. One odd part of working with trades and free agency is that there's really no "player tendency" stat to be found. That means you can't pitch them on playing time or coaching habits when trying to sign someone. It's a small gripe, but it's something that franchise freaks will care about.
Speaking of Franchise Mode, there have been a few notable changes to everyone's favorite time sucker. First off, there's no traditional calendar system this year. That means you can't schedule practices before a game and improve certain players. Instead you just hop between games. It's not a huge omission, but some will likely miss the ability to tune their skills before an important matchup.
Another change is the hub. You'll now have a constant stream of league news being updated during your downtime. You'll see trades, injuries and signings right when they happen. It's a small detail but one that I definitely appreciate. Other refinements include proper scheduling after year-one and details like correct Super Bowl patches extending beyond your initial year. Just about everything else that you remember from Franchise Mode is retained, including the ability to relocate your team, design a new stadium and make additions to your current digs if necessary. Those hoping to set the price of hot dogs and popcorn will be letdown as there's no true Owner Mode present.
Superstar Mode is also back, and has seen some questionable changes. I still get a kick out of playing on Sunday with my created player (provided you pick a skill position like running back, quarterback or linebacker) but the practice system makes no sense at all. Selecting a practice day from the calendar lets you run one play over and over and over again. There's no end to practice; you just keep running the same play. Not only that, but you don't improve from practicing so there's really no benefit to participating. The mini-camp drills have also been totally removed rather than revamped which was disappointing for me.
There are two new modes of play: Online Co-op and Online Franchise. Online Franchise is probably my favorite mode in the game and it's something I really hope the community clings to and uses appropriately. You and up to 31 friends can hop in a league and play through seasons just like you would in Offline Franchise Mode. You can propose trades, draft players, and even start things off with a fantasy draft if you like. There's an iPhone application that will be launching shortly after Madden releases, but it wasn't available for our review. It promises just about all of the functionality that you'll see on the Web.
Sadly, Online Co-op doesn't pan out quite so well. It's mainly an issue with the camera angle that's used. It's a zoomed in viewpoint on the player that you're controlling. While it works fine on offense, playing defense can be dizzying. As you switch players the camera slowly moves around the field to follow your selections. That means if you begin as a defensive lineman and decide to switch to a defensive back when the quarterback throws the ball, the camera has a very difficult time staying with the action.
Things are better on offense where one player can be a wide receiver and the other can be the quarterback. The wide out can run custom routes and find his own space, unlike the more-restrained AI. The fact that the second player is constrained to watching the play call by the first player is a bummer. I would have preferred a system that alternates play calling duties.
PlayStation 3 gamers will get an added bonus provided they have the PS3 version of Madden NFL 10 as well as the PSP version. On the PSP you'll be able to design custom plays, test them out and then upload them to your PlayStation 3. It's a bit of a cumbersome process for a feature that should be included in the regular console release, but the fact that it's there is a feather in the cap of all the Sony fans out there.
The gameplay package is hefty and is without question the most refined on-field experience I've seen from the Madden franchise. Everything looks and plays wonderfully, even if there are a few faults with the presentation set pieces. I would have really liked to see more added to the franchise mode and Superstar could've been pulled off with more substance. Thankfully Online Franchise is fantastic, it's just disappointing that co-op doesn't work as well as it should. Despite the flaws and absences in the feature set, the football is undoubtedly the best I've ever seen from a videogame.
Visually, Madden NFL 10 is the best looking game in the series without question. Player details are wonderfully articulated, even if their faces look a bit odd at times. Animations are fluid and nicely varied. I'm still seeing new moves on the field despite having played the game for weeks now. The only true downside to the graphics is that slowdown occurs on occasion when the action gets too frantic. I've had games without a single moment of slowdown, but when it happens you'll know it. My other nitpick is the texture issue that I mentioned before, but even that doesn't happen every time you see a player on the sideline.
Things don't work nearly as well on the audio front. The commentary from Colinsworth and Hammond is just plain bad. It's fragmented and doesn't sound natural at all. It's high time EA Sports found a solution to this problem and while the duo is better than the former radio broadcaster, they've made no progression since last year's offering. They have more to say to be sure, it just doesn't sound any better. The soundtrack services the game well and has tons of songs for your aural delight.
Closing Comments
Madden NFL 10 packs a lot of football under its 60 dollar price tag, especially if you have both the PS3 version and the PSP version. While some of the modes don’t perform as well as I’d like, every football fan will still be able to latch on to something for months of fun. The graphics have taken a nice step forward from Madden 09 and the presentation does a wonderful job of emulating the experience of watching a game on Sunday. Commentary and general voiceover work is pretty bad, but it doesn’t overly dampen the gameplay. Madden NFL 10 doesn’t redefine the series or innovate in any monumental way, but that doesn’t stop it from being a truly great football game.

IGN Ratings for Madden NFL 10 (PS3)
Rating Description
out of 10 click here for ratings guide
9.0 Presentation
So good you’ll think you’re sitting on your couch watching a game on Sunday. A few issues hold it back, but most of the additions are great.
9.0 Graphics
Without the slowdown, occasional clipping and texture issues this game would be pretty damn close to perfection.
7.5 Sound
The soundtrack is a solid compilation but the commentary duo needs serious work before hitting the gridiron next season. Stadiums are as alive as ever.
9.0 Gameplay
Some questionable structural decisions in a few of the modes hurt an otherwise extraordinary package. On-field action is fantastic to behold.
8.5 Lasting Appeal
If co-op and Superstar were designed better, this game would have a nearly limitless lifespan. As it is Online Franchise, Franchise, standard online play and Madden Moments will keep you plenty busy.
8.9
Great OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)