EA and Tiburon have set the bar high this year with Madden NFL 09, providing not only 60fps gameplay for the PlayStation 3 platform but rethinking and improving much of their game mechanics and A.I. system. For all the Madden fans out there, get excited, because this year’s edition will be worth every penny of your hard earned cash.

To begin, when players start the game up for the first time, instead of the usual game menu, they will be greeted by John Madden in a holographic training session. There are 12 tests with up to three difficulties which will help determine the player’s skill level. These tests range from passing and running the ball to special teams. Depending on the score of each test, the game will automatically assign a curve that is adaptive to the player’s play style allowing for a more competitive CPU. This new difficulty will show up as “My Skill” in the settings menu and players may adjust aspects of the computer difficulty if they feel the CPU is too hard or easy in some areas. The overall score on the tests will also affect the player’s beginning Madden IQ, which will rise as the player’s skill increases. The Madden IQ plays into the system much like last year’s Madden level.

The holographic training session is still a work in progress and when the game ships, gamers can expect unique visuals different then what’s seen in the usual stadium games. Both the players and the field are made up of red and blue neon laser lights. Executive Producer Dale Jackson assured us that in the final product, football players will flicker when hit and particle together when loading onto the field.

“For the first time, we feel like we are really delivering a next-generation game,” said Sr. Producer Phil Frazier.

Madden NFL 09 will be seeing a major overhaul not just in graphics but presentation as well. For PlayStation 3 gamers, we can finally rejoice because Madden is running at 60fps. Also, Tiburon has added a few other graphical enhancements such as realistic snow and weather effects, updated character models, new animations, increased population on sidelines and stadium shadow casting on the field.

One of the most impressive redesigns was the weather effects. When choosing the pregame settings, players can set weather to come from a live feed, providing the real life weather from the home field location. The snow effects were amazing as well, showing footprints left from the players during each play. However as of now, only footprints are tracked in the snow. Perhaps in Madden 2010, Tiburon will add scuffs from tackles and slides from quarterbacks to the snow system. Other effects shown to portray colder weather included visible breath and fogged vision.

When it comes to the playcall screen, there have been a few changes. For the hardcore players, Tiburon has input a feature called “Formation Subs” which will appear next to the playbook. This will allow for gamers to substitute certain players in a formation without having to go to the pause menu. Also all the player stats will appear next to the playbook as well as Madden Tips, Madden IQ and the option for instant replay.

For players that need a handicap, there is a new feature called “Backtracking” which basically works as a mulligan. If an interception is thrown, or if the runningback didn’t make it on 4th and inches, players now have the option to retry the play. Even when it’s player vs. player, there is a default setting for three “backtracks.” There is an option to turn off the feature, as many would see this as cheating.

Avid about sharing your remarkable catches or interceptions with your friends? Gamers can now use a new feature which allows players to edit, save, and upload their greatest moments to EA’s official website. From there, people can embed the videos to their MySpace or Facebook profiles for everyone to see.

For those who enjoy keeping track of Fantasy Football, Tiburon has added a whole new application which will be downloadable from the PSN for gamers to track and access NFL players in their fantasy league. Then if the gamer likes the fantasy ... (continued on next page)