Madden 09 (Nintendo DS) - Review by Chris

Introduction

NFL has always garnered a large following in the US. It is after all one of their greatest past times. And while it may not be as prevalent over here, the sport is starting to gather support thanks largely to more of it being shown on the TV but also because of the season match they have started to play at Wembley Stadium. As a result of this growing support, the Madden games from Electronic Arts continue to improve both in terms of gameplay and sales each year. This year's entry represents the fifth time the franchise has made its way to the DS and year on year it keeps on improving. But is this year's title a touchdown of success or a fumble?

Gameplay

The Madden series of American Football games are known for being the best at encapsulating the feeling and atmosphere of the sport. This continues today even on the DS, although the experience is somewhat diluted due to the hardware limitations. Madden NFL 09 is packed with content, containing everything you'd expect to find in the home console versions on the DS. Outside of the standard Play Now mode, which does exactly what you'd expect it too, there are many other single player modes, all of which, provided you are a fan of the sport, will have you playing for a considerably lengthy period of time. To start, there is the Franchise mode which is similar in a way to the Season. The main difference, however, is that in Franchise mode you as the player control every aspect of the game. You are running the team from a management perspective as well as controlling the team as you hope to steer them to victory at the season ending Superbowl. You're given complete control of many of the aspects surrounding your team, such as being able to decide yourself who you play in the pre-season games, trading and transferring of players and stadium upkeep and prices for items in the stadium to boost your revenue. It adds another layer to the gameplay as you'll have to manage all of these aspects to please the fans and the players.

Season mode plays out not to dissimilar to Franchise with the only exception being that you only have control over the team, be it one of the established league teams or a creation of your own, as you play through a regular season with the hope of becoming Superbowl champions. The season doesn't end after that though as it's a continual mode that keeps going until you tire of playing it. As a result of this and of the Franchise mode, there is plenty available to keep the game going for months to come. Alongside these two modes are various others, such as a Tournament mode, a custom league mode, a practise mode if you're having difficulty getting to grips with the sport and finally a Situation mode where you can chose a situation from a list of some of the sports great games or create your own and play it out with this being a nice touch that many fans of the sport playing the game will undoubtedly be thankful for. The selection of modes available for use in the single player format are a selection of small mini-games based around the sport and while they make for a diversion from the overall gameplay, they lack to pulling power to keep you entertained for very long. The single player is therefore very built up but all the modes available are what we've come to expect from the franchise. Clearly, there doesn't need to be much improvement on that front but as a whole, the gameplay feels rather sluggish on the DS compared to the other consoles.

There are also extensive multiplayer options for both single and multi-card play, with the former supporting two players and the latter allowing 8 players to connect. The game also continues to show EA's push in the online sector on the DS and allows you to go head to head against friends or opponents from all over the world. The ability to do this is great but NFL isn't the best of games to play online, especially on a handheld, due to the time needed to complete a full game. The online experience is good but does suffer from lag, which causes the already lengthy game time to extend further.

Controls

The game lets you use either the touch screen or the buttons to play through the game. While the touch screen control is a nice touch, it's not reliable enough compared to the buttons and so you'll probably opt for that setup. The problem that the game has is that on the home consoles, there are more buttons available and so it is easier to do certain things. With the DS, there is a limited amount of input with the buttons and as a result, the control scheme isn't great and feels very clunky. There isn't much that could be done about the absence of buttons but a tightening of the controls to make it feel less like your moving a tank would have been helpful.

Graphics

EA continues to improve the Madden engine with each game and the end result is a good looking game that runs smoothly with little drop in frame rate. Character models are well done and look great on the DS' screen, carrying a high level of detail. Stadiums are designed equally as well although like FIFA, they do suffer from some tearing of the graphics. Menus are clean and placed well and are easily accessible, with no clutter. The various min-games on offer vary in their visual presentation from standard 2d work to relatively well done 3d.

Sound

Menus are accompanied by various licensed tracks, although they aren't present in their full form but merely as clips. It's not a drawback for the game as you still get good music but just as you get into one song, it'll quickly change. During the game, the sound isn't of the highest standard with commentary from John Madden appearing very so often but at such a quiet volume you'll hardly hear it over the crowd. The audio from the actual playing will get on your nerves though as the constant sound of pads hitting one another is done not in a realistic way but in a way that'll make you turn the sound off all together.

Dual screen

Menus are placed on the touch screen and can be accessed by touch or button presses and gameplay takes place on the touch screen too so that you can, if you so wish, use the touch screen controls. In this respect, the game makes great use of the touch screen but not great use of the top screen which merely shows a graphical representation of what is happening on the pitch and very little else.

Final comments

Madden NFL 09 on the DS is a good game, an improvement over previous editions containing a glut of content that'll keep you coming back for both single and multi-player. The main problem is that there is little different here from the previous titles other than the updated rosters and an improved engine, with previous problems such as clunky gameplay and sluggish controls still being prevalent. The series is slowly sinking into the same problems that FIFA suffered before it fixed itself and it's hard to see how Madden can improve. For now, this is the best that the DS can get in terms of the sport but it's definitely something that is far better suited for the home consoles.

Pro: Good visual presentation, plenty modes on offer, a decent online component
Con: Audio is a mixed bag, still as clunky in the gameplay department as always, sluggish controls
Final score: 6.7

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