Title: Madden NFL 10
Price: $49.99
System: *Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, PS2 (PSP)
Release Date: August 14, 2009
Publisher (Developer): Electronic Arts (EA Tiburon)
ESRB Rating: E
Pros: Plenty of Wii-specific content and playable at nearly any skill level. Improved use of Wii controls. Stylized graphics work better than expected.
Cons: Traditional game modes are untouched and must be unlocke). Not all the new modes are worth the effort. Chris Collinsworth.
Overall Score: One thumb up, one thumb sideways; 80/100; B-; *** out of 5
Full disclosure: I’m not a hardcore Madden guy. If I play online, I’m going to lose. If I play the computer, I’m going to lose. If I play anyone between the ages of 8 and 42, I’m going to lose. But I love football and I understand the appeal of getting good enough in a game to take out your frustrations with your real team by guiding your fake team to an undefeated Super Bowl run.
In fact, if I were EA, I’d throw “Frustration Mode” into the game. If I could pull a Charles Martin on Ben Roethlisberger or Kurt Warner and slam them to the turf after a play, that’s all I’d do all day long. But, sadly, this is the Wii, and that means family-friendly and that means EA’s push towards simpler gameplay and cartoony graphics with Madden NFL 10. Even a novice such as myself will instantly notice the differences.
But do they work? That depends upon what you enjoy about sports sims.
Opening Kickoff
EA kind of has the right idea with Madden NFL 10 for Wii, even if you don’t agree with the results. It simply can’t look as good as it does on the Xbox 360 or PlayStation, so why bother trying? Instead, they’ve rebuilt the game from the ground up to give it a new, stylized look. I’m okay with this. In fact, I like it a lot, but keep in mind that I come from time when a medieval warrior was depicted by a block carrying around an emoticon. Things that don’t look real can still look good, after all, as long as the design is sharp. It is, straight through to the new menu navigation system.
Ball Control
Whether or not you can get accustomed to the look of the game isn’t nearly as important as how you feel about the gameplay changes. Madden NFL 10 places much less emphasis on learning and managing gigantic playbooks and more on playing football, either alone or with friends. New game modes include Madden Showdown, which plays out more like an arcade representation of football than the time-consuming behemoth of Maddens past. Four gamers can play at once in either 11-on-11 or 5-on-5 games that take advantage of multiple variations. If you don’t want to play but still want to get involved, you can just bet on who will win and on numerous other statistics. Apparently, the developers at Tiburon aren’t Methodist.
The Road to the Super Bowl mode is kind of what you want out of a Madden game, only simplified to the point of vanilla. Yes, you play through a full season (going either 11-on-11 or 5-on-5), and friends and family can hop in and out at will. If you start the season with a friend and he gets grounded because he spends all of his time playing video games instead of studying, just play through the season without him until his suspension ends. But Road to the Super Bowl loses many of the features that Madden fans love, including the ability to track stats, execute trades, etc.
It’s hard to criticize this development decision, however, as it’s in line with the point of the game. EA wants families to play some quick football together, then go to bed. The kids have school in the morning, after all. But what about the Madden fan who has spent half a decade building skills and following the series? Traditional modes such as Franchise and Superstar are here but they have to be unlocked. Don’t want to scare off mom and dad with things they won’t understand, I guess, so just hide them away.
Once these modes are unlocked, you’ll be disappointed to learn that nothing has changed from last year’s version. Features such as online franchise play aren’t included, making it apparent that EA was only interested in focusing their updates on the family-friendly component. Yes, you can still put your skills to the test in the traditional single player mode, but you’re not getting much more than you already have there with ’09. Rather, this game is all about local multiplayer. There are a ton of gameplay options there, allowing football fans to force Madden to focus on their favorite aspect of the game. It’s quite fun. But if you want a season-long, realistic NFL experience, you have to go out of your way to get it.
Hurry-Up Offense
As for other Madden NFL 10 Wii features, if you enjoyed the Call Your Shots feature from last year on offense, you’ll be pleased to know it’s now available on defense as well. Simply click on a defensive player before the snap and move him to change his position. I’m also pleased that you can now pass the ball by simply pointing your WiiMote at a receiver and pressing A. It’s the most natural Wii-centric passing system yet. Visually, the stadiums, sideline characters and pretty much everything else have seen an upgrade to match the new look. Quite nice. And perhaps the coolest new features is Spotlight Moments. When you come up to what could be a game changing play, gameplay slows down and the camera zooms in close so you can more easily affect the play’s outcome. It’s not only a lot of fun, but it looks fantastic.
Unfortunately, this update also includes Chris Collinsworth. I can’t stand to listen to Chris Collinsworth. I won’t watch a TV show that contains his face and I found him equally hard to deal with here. That doesn’t affect the game, of course, and won’t affect my rating but understand that Madden NFL has come one step closer to being Madden in name only.
This is the new direction for the Wii version of the franchise, so you may as well hop on board. Novices will love the simpler approach and multiplayer options, and although hard core fans will be put off by the hoops one must jump through to get to the good stuff, fact of the matter is that this new version evens the skill level between experienced and new players, meaning you’ll now have more people to play against. It’s a great game. And, if it’s not exactly what you want from Madden NFL, I guess you’ll either have to just deal with it or go “Charles Martin” those EA execs.
I’m telling you, Frustration Mode. Look into it, EA.
Site [Madden NFL 10] Read [Gamertell]
I don't understand why they can't just design this game normally. I understand that it doesn;'t have as much firepower as the 360 or PS3. But the PS2 versions were great, and were mostly realistic, but with an overly saturated look to make them look like a video game. Why doesn't the Wii just do that? Not every game HAS to look avatar-ish.
A few points on the screenshots:
They got Walter Jones SPOT ON!
Washington playing Kansas City is WAY too much maroon on the field at one time.
Picture #3 inaccurately shows Cleveland scoring a touchdown. They only throw incompletions, interceptions, and punt.
Chad Ochocinco is not celebrating BEFORE he scores a touchdown, like he usually does. Also, if they're going to characterize the players, his ego wouldn't be able to fit into a single-screen capture.