MADDEN NFL 09 News, Previews, Reviews and Screenshots

[Raider1one]

Gametap puts odds on the Madden 09 cover athlete

Jon Robinson over at Gametap has posted his top 10 candidates for the Madden 09 cover along with odds on the likelihood of each occurring. After putting a list together for Madden 08 (while at IGN) I began to wonder if he knew more than he was letting on when he had Vince Young listed second behind only LaDainian Tomlinson (who actually was the first choice but turned it down). Up until then no one had really considered Young to be a top candidate.
So if you look at his the list for 09 does anything jump out in the same way that Young did last year? Not really. The top ones mentioned are the obvious guys like Adrian Peterson, Eli Manning, and Tom Brady with John Madden thrown in due to the 20th Anniversary angle. He has Tomlinson fourth but I have my doubts that EA would even consider him again after his agent made it public that they weren’t offering enough money to get him last year. You can check out the full write-up of the top 10 candidates here.

[Raider1one]

Gamestop begins Madden Mondays blog

Gamestop will be hosting a Madden 09 blog every Monday spotlighting a new feature in the game. These features will not have been revealed anywhere else although the way they describe them makes it seem as though they won’t be the “big” features in the game.
It’s interesting to see Gamestop revealing this Madden info. I don’t think that has ever been done before. Usually media sites are relied upon rather than a retail site although it appears they are attempting to branch out from that.
This week’s “Madden Monday” blog describes new user controlled celebrations. As can be seen from the image above the celebrations are manually triggered by hitting a button and by reaching different spots in the end zone there are different ones that will be performed. Some players will have their own unique celebrations as expected. A few specific mentions are made such as the Lambeau Leap and “stealing” an opponents celebration (think T.O. doing the Ray Lewis dance I suppose).
You can check out the full blog posting here.

[Raider1one]

Are You Ready for Some Madden Mondays?

from gamestop.com

Just move your player to one of the "Hot Spots" in the end zone to celebrate your TD triumph. If you're a Madden fan, passing the time from now until the August 12 release of Madden NFL 09 can be like watching the movement of the minute hand on a clock. Sure, you can watch the NBA or NHL playoffs, but it's just not the same, is it? And baseball? You'd probably prefer the clock-hand thing. We're here to make it easier for you over the next several weeks because we're beginning a new weekly segment called "Madden Mondays." Exclusively here at the GameStop blog, we'll reveal a different feature for Madden NFL 09 every Monday that nobody else knows about. These are not necessarily THE new features of Madden NFL 09, but they are nonetheless interesting features that the good folks at EA Sports will reveal to us before they give them to anyone else. While they are keeping many of the core features under wraps until later, you can rest assured that they are working to make Madden NFL 09 the most realistic experience ever, and they would never just add purple horseshoes to their cereal and call it a day. Because we're celebrating our new weekly feature, we thought it would be fitting to tell you about the new User-Controlled Celebrations. Gone are the days of just hoping your player will celebrate after a touchdown. Now you will be in control after a touchdown, and a simple push of the "celebrate" button will allow your player to spring into action. If that player happens to be known for his elaborate celebrations, then he'll perform some of those that you've seen him do in real life. For example, a player like Terrell Owens has more than 10 of his familiar celebrations available. Not only will unique players have unique celebrations, but different "Hot Spots" in the end zone will feature different celebrations, as well, like dunking over the goal post or hot-shotting in the corner of the end zone. Specific stadiums will even feature their own local celebrations. Can you say, "Lambeau Leap?" We've also been told that an extra "hidden" control will let you steal an opponent's celebration so you can really rub it in. However, you'll have to discover that one on your own. Speaking of celebrations, can you believe it's been 20 years since the first edition of Madden football? Check out the 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition of Madden NFL 09 for Xbox 360 and PS3, which features a full version of NFL Head Coach 09 and exclusive classic Madden NFL gameplay. After you've read about the Collector's Edition and watched the video trailer, remember to check back every "Madden Monday" for another GameStop-exclusive scoop on another Madden NFL 09 feature.

[Raider1one]

from pastapadre.com

Who will be the Madden 09 cover athlete?

More so than ever before the cover of Madden is up for grabs. This year marks the 20th Anniversary of the series. With that in mind the “traditional cover athlete” and decisions behind who gets chosen could be completely different. So lets look at some of the different aspects to consider, some players who won’t be on the cover, and the top contenders.

There are the traditional cover athletes. The players who would get the cover based on their performance the previous year.
There are the 20th Anniversary cover athletes. Big name players who may want the prestige of this version despite not needing it. They may not need the money or exposure but for such an event would consider it.
There are the non-traditional covers. Those may include John Madden or one featuring all the covers from the previous versions of the game.
First getting out of the way some players who won’t be on the cover.

• LaDainian Tomlinson: EA’s first choice last year but turned down the offer. His agent then made it public that they weren’t offered enough money. Surely EA didn’t appreciate all that. Plus Tomlinson had a rough year.

• Terrell Owens: Was on the cover of NFL 2K5. Does not portray the image or get the type of attention that EA would like to present especially for such a big event as their 20th Anniversary.

• Randy Moss: Pretty much the same as TO

• Tony Romo: Brings about images of botched field goal holds, playoff interceptions, and Jessica Simpson.

• Peyton Manning: Way too overexposed. He advertises for everything. The effect wouldn’t be as great. Former NFL Fever cover athlete.

Now the rundown of the top eight candidates for the Madden 09 cover.

• #8 - Bob Sanders: Won the Defensive Player of the Year award. His impact on the Colts is always brought up when playing on national television. The only defensive player to be on the cover of Madden was Ray Lewis in 2005 so that could either mean the odds are against another or a defensive player is due.
  

• #7 - Tom Brady: Most likely would’ve been the cover athlete had the Patriots not lost the Super Bowl. Now seeing him on it would just conjure up thoughts of how they had an incredible run but didn’t win the one that mattered most. He is on the cover of Backyard Football so obviously he has not taken the same stance as Tomlinson. One of the greatest QBs of all time would certainly fit on the cover of the biggest Madden ever.
  

• #6 - John Madden: It would make a lot of sense for Madden to be back on the cover of his game after 20 years. Consider also the possibility of Madden being on the cover of the collector’s edition box with an athlete on the cover of the actual game box.
  

• #5- Brett Favre: It would be fitting after a great career if Favre was chosen for the cover of Madden. You could look back on his career in the same way that you look back on the history of Madden. Favre has proven he loves media attention and this would give him a new reason to be in the spotlight once again. Plus he has plenty of time to promote the game and has a very favorable relationship with the media.
  

• #4- Eli Manning: I have been amused at the momentum behind Eli as that all originated here and has spread like crazy. Almost because of that it reduces my confidence that he will eventually be the guy. I think EA is looking to have someone on the cover that isn’t already assumed to have it in the bag. Still the story behind him and the Giants is one that can’t be ignored.
  

• #3- Antonio Cromartie: This year’s Devin Hester. He represents excitement and big plays. The 109 yard FG miss return is a great example of that. He led the league in interceptions and picked off both Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in the playoffs. Can’t beat that resume.
  

• #2- Braylon Edwards: Edwards is a young and exciting player that has put up big numbers on a young and exciting team that is getting a lot of attention (as evidenced by the Browns five primetime games this year). There has never been a receiver on the cover of Madden but Edwards would be a great choice to be the first. The ghosted cover art (which may or may not be an indication of the eventual player) shows a wide receiver.
  

• #1- Adrian Peterson: As I mentioned with Eli Manning the impression around this year’s cover announcement is that they’ll be making a splash. Peterson would be a great cover athlete. He is young, an upstanding citizen and teammate, and broke records and won awards all as a rookie. Because of that he wouldn’t be a surprise. I can’t justify taking him out of the #1 slot though. He makes almost too much sense as the possible Madden 09 cover athlete.
  

[Raider1one]

from operationsports.com

The announcement of the Madden cover boy could be coming very soon. Operation Sports has taken it upon ourselves to create some samples of what some athletes could look like on the Madden 09 cover. Today we take a look at Ladainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers.

[Raider1one]

from operationsports.com

The word on the street is the release of the Madden cover man will be coming very soon. Of course, we have taken it upon ourselves to create some samples of what the Madden 09 cover might look like! Today we have the odds-on favorite for the cover man spot, Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings.

[Chubz]

I hope it's not Eli Manning.

[Raider1one]

Here's a frame from a Madden NFL 09 snow game.


Compare that to this frame from Madden NFL 08.

Although some games are played in domes, football remains one of the sports in which weather can be a factor. Some of the most memorable football moments come when teams battle the elements and each other. Who can forget last year's blizzard-like Seahawks vs. Packers playoff game, or the 1967 "Ice Bowl?"

For our continuing Madden Mondays series, EA Sports has given us another exclusive sneak peek at one of the features of Madden NFL 09, shipping out August 12, as well as the 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition of Madden NFL 09 for Xbox 360 and PS3. In their efforts to enhance the drama and emotion of a real football game, they've taken on the weather.

To give Mother Nature the respect she deserves, they've overhauled everything from Madden 08 to give you a movie-like experience. One of these overhauls is fog, and lots of it. It gives a greater sense of depth and scale and makes the stadiums seem huge. We've heard that no two snowflakes are alike, and although we haven't seen every flake in Madden 09, we can tell you the snow is more realistic than ever. You'll see deeper snow on the fields, with dramatic accumulation and realistic wear from play. Player's footsteps will leave imprints, snow will be piled on the sidelines and the yardage lines will be shoveled, just like in a real game. We probably won't see a snowplow clearing off a space for a field goal since the NFL banned their use after the infamous 1982 "Snowplow Game." But you never know.

Improved color correction and stadium light bloom mean that you'll see the steam of a player's breath on a frosty night, as well as splashes of water when his feet hit the rain-covered turf. And the 3-dimensional interaction that snow and rain particles have with the wind may tempt you to bundle up when you play. You'll see it all at a movie-quality 60 FPS rate on the Xbox 360 and PS3. All of these subtle differences add up to give you an immersive NFL experience that may tempt you to bundle up.

Remember, these exclusive peeks aren't necessarily the main new features. They're just the tip of the iceberg. EA Sports is keeping the rest of the iceberg top secret for now. But we will continue to chip away at the iceberg with another exclusive every Monday for the next six weeks.

[Raider1one]

As we continue our look at prospective cover athletes for Madden NFL 09, we now settle in to the third cover of the series. This athlete is perhaps one of the greatest QBs of all time if you ask the right experts and is a Super Bowl mainstay, he is none other than Tom Brady of the New England Patriots.

Will he finally grace the cover of Madden NFL Football? Well, we don't exactly know, but I do know he doesn't look too bad on our mock cover.

[Raider1one]

Madden 09 online play gets first piece of disappointing news

Madden 09 producer Phil Frazier is continuing to answer questions in the game’s official forum. The most notable piece of info to come out since the set of news I posted on earlier is that variable weather will not be found online. Hearing that doesn’t bring about much confidence that other much needed online enhancements will be coming this year.

Weather will not be available online. It’s clear that many of you are interested in this functionality so it’s already on my growing list of features from the community. Honestly, I’d prefer if we solved the online lag issues before we worry about weather. We will be featuring the live weather feed in Madden 09.

Well so much for the hope that online play was going to be taken seriously for once. That great looking screenshot from the other day? You’ll never experience it in an online game. Seems unlikely then that even night games will be in then. It would also mean that online franchise (if added this year) would have no weather or night games which would ruin part of that whole experience. Get ready for a bunch of stale ideal weather games yet again if you play online at all.
Granted it seems to be asking a bit much for these necessary options to be added when they haven’t even gotten the game to run lag-free or avoid high rates of disconnects yet. However EA Canada’s recent releases (NBA Live, NHL, FIFA) have brought about vastly improved online performance along with added modes and options. Will depth charts transfer online so people don’t have to set them before every game? Will you be able to choose the stadium that is played in? Will alternate uniforms be selectable? Will unranked games be tracked at all? Will there be any form of co-op play? All seem even more unlikely after hearing that variable weather hasn’t made it in this year. Disappointing to say the least.
Hey, but field goal nets have been added to the game (thankfully) so now that one can be scratched off the easy complaint list.


NFL Head Coach 09 will have standalone release

Just two weeks ago I wrote how the possibility EA Sports would change their decision to make NFL Head Coach 09 exclusive to the Madden 09 Collector’s Edition was still very much alive. Today EA made it official that the game will be out the first week of September to coincide with the opening of the NFL season as a standalone title and will retail for $49.99
This development doesn’t change the value of purchasing Head Coach and Madden together (save $20 plus getting it three weeks early) but it does make it possible for anyone who wants to pick up Head Coach (whether it is because they don’t want Madden or already own it) to do so.

[Chubz]

i hope it's not Brady on the Cover