Madden 09

Madden NFL 09 is the 2009 edition of the American football video game series published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon. It is currently in production. It will be the 20th installment in the Madden NFL video game franchise. The game was confirmed for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Playstation Portable, Xbox 360, Wii, and Nintendo DS consoles but not for PC.

EA Sports has announced details of the 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition of Madden NFL 09, which will be available only for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It will include NFL Head Coach 09, exclusive classic Madden gameplay, and bonus video content. The release date has been set for August 12, 2008.[1] * Madden IQ system: players train in a holographic environment, which grants them a "Madden IQ" based on their practice in 12 different drills. The game's difficulty adjusts itself to the player's Madden IQ.
* EA Sports Backtrack: the game analyzes the player's playing ability and points out mistakes during gameplay a la a television-styled telestrator
* Improved online leagues: server-based leagues, supporting up to 32 players, with full schedules including the playoffs and the Super Bowl as well as draft and trade support. Schedules can be played in a round-robin style as well.
* Revamped graphics: Improved stadium models, new weather particle system, new lighting models, new player models, field goal nets, improved sidelines, user-controlled celebrations, clear visors, new facemask designs, and Total Control animation system.
* Improved gameplay: Offensive line slide protection, smart routes, realistic fatigue, improved gang tackles, true penalty based animations, formation substitutions, new fumble system (weather affects it), new player weapon types and the ability to return missed field goals.
* Revamped franchise mode: Simulated stats have been improved (e.g. fewer running backs gaining 2,000+ yards in one season), rivalry games have special value and played games have more crowd and television intensity.
* On-demand picture-in-picture play-call window: Picture-in-picture style interface to allow the player to see key information and call plays and formations without leaving the current window.
* New Dynamic Camera System: The new madden camera system moves with your receivers so they will never fall out of view during gameplay. The camera automatically pans out, zooms in, and adjusts angles to keep the receivers in screen. Once you complete that pass, if the ball carrier happens to break away from his defenders, the ActionCam will rock back and forth, zoom in and follow the ball carrier, giving you that intense feeling that you're sprinting alongside him. And if a defender happens to really lay into the ball carrier, the Big Hit Camera will rattle the screen with the force of the crunch.
* New Tackling Engine & Animations
* New Running/Ball-Carrier Engine: total control system, new transition system, character grounding with foot-plant, new procedural animation system, realistic momentum, new locomotion system, improved visuals and animations, left and right stick moves, directional diving
* Missed Feld Goal Returns

[edit] Cover athlete
Madden 20th Anniversary logo.
Madden 20th Anniversary logo.

Brett Favre, after his record-breaking final season with the Green Bay Packers, will be on the cover of this year's Madden. On April 24, 2008, Favre appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman. At the end of his interview, Dave revealed that Brett would be the cover athlete of Madden 09.[3] He will be the first inactive player to appear on the cover as a player, if he decides not to return to the NFL in the following season. John Madden has appeared on the cover as a coach, not a player. It has also been clarified that Favre will indeed be a free agent in the game.

[edit] Presentation

Play-by-play and color commentary will be provided by Tom Hammond and Cris Collinsworth, respectively [4], replacing Al Michaels and John Madden. EA designers have confirmed that John Madden will have a part in Madden 09 but as of this point, it has not been released. Since EA's relationship with ESPN and the NFL allows them to provide streamed audio and video directly from ESPN and the NFL, there will be ESPN and NFL content like NFL Total Access, SportsCenter highlights, PTI Segments, etc. [5]