
Give or Take

I have already seriously considered pawning this game and getting an earlier version.The presentation is unbelievable, however, I had to turn off the commentary after 2 days due to repitition. Custom soundtracks are a lie, you can only reorder the in-game tracks which are better than ever, but still not great. You can't save and quit in the middle of a game. Big plays are worse than ever no one can catch up to one another even when they have better rated speed. Running the ball is almost as hard as passing the ball on anything other than a crossing route. The controls have been reworked and are not only hard to adjust to, but the confuguration is unchangable. I bought this game because I wanted the new rosters, but I won't buy a game before I have played it again. They have removed the "gameplan"aspect and training camp, which in my opinion were 2 of the finer points of this franchise. There is so much wrong with this game I can scarcely remember all of it. The instant replay feature is shorter than ever, and unsavable. On several occasions the football has passed through a defenders hand or head for a completion. This game does not compare to the 08 madden. Coaching options are minimal, subs must be done in game and on the clock. They didn't change the "incomplete pass instead of a sack or a fumble or grounding" aspect which is terrible. I have had opposing QB's throw away when I clearly had a sack. They changed too many things at once and not the bad things they kept the worst features and glitches and got rid of the best ones. I will pawn this edition and buy last years or 2008. I saw very little improvement in actual gameplay. The presentation is better, but that accounts for a very small percentage of the game. the menu music has to be muted because only a handful of tracks are any good. This game is a frightful disappointment and not worth the amount of money I paid. I expect more from the most popular franchise. The inaccurate officiating has caused me to quit more games than I have finished, if I stop the ball carrier a yard short of the first down marker and he is awarded the first down anyway I will restart the game on principle alone. As usual play challenges are useless and difficulty settings only dumb down your players i.e. DB's dropping interceptions and opposing D-linemen intercepting tipped passes. The gamers QB invariably gets sacked instead of throwing an incompletion at the last second unlike the CPU QB. This edition is for the most part a huge step in the wrong direction. This game is nothing like it's predecessors and doesn't have the EA sports feel. In writing this review, I have more or less talked my self into pawning this game, the new 09 rosters are hardly worth hearing the same menu tracks over and over or listening to cris colinsworth for an hour at a time. My ears have no where to hide. If this is what Madden has to offer I think I might shop around for a better NFL video game. Don't buy this game if you like Madden there will be no end to your complaining and no onw will listen, trust me. Play an older version for another year and rent Madden 11 before you buy it just in case. I plan to get Madden 08 since they have yet to improve on it. Playability and gameplay is far superior even on the original XBOX version, if all they can offer is better graphics and presentation, I will go with the better game play at least I won't pull my hair out after playing for an hour. This game was all hype.
Review ID: 10000000014194818

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