Best Madden Ever?

Towards the end of every summer the newest installment in the Madden football series is released. With EA Sports having an exclusive license with the NFL, gamers have only one choice when they go to purchase a professional football video game. EA adds features every year in hopes of making their new game the best it can be. Here are some features that might make Madden 10 the best Madden yet.

Pro-Tak - The most talked about feature in Madden 10 is Pro-Tak. It is one of the three new features that can be found on the back of the box. In terms of gameplay, it is the most noticeable addition. Pro-Tak is a new tackling system that drastically changes the game. With Pro-Tak the play is never over until the ball carrier is on the grass. Defensively, Pro-Tak gets more defenders to get involved in the plays which allows for more gang tackles. On the other side of the ball, Pro-Tak gives the ball carrier the chance to break out of any tackle.

It takes four Ravens to bring down Willie Parker

Fight for the fumble - The second new feature that can be found on the back of the box is fight for the fumble. This feature is simply a button mashing cut scene where you battle for a lose ball. The first couple times this happens it is pretty cool, but it can get somewhat annoying. If you do not like this feature, there is the option to turn it off in one of the setting menus.

New Presentation - The final aspect EA decided to show on the back of the game was the new presentation. The menu screens are new this year and are more user friendly then in years past. More importantly, much of the game play presentation is new. The graphics look great and there are nice cut scenes that transition well from the end of the play to the play selection screen. Another addition to the game play presentation is the inclusion of referee. You will see the referees moving around players and will even fall over if they get run into. The referee will also bring out the chains to measure the spot of the ball and will come together to make rulings on touch downs.

Online franchises - Madden 2009 introduced gamers to online seasons and left people wanting more. This year EA took the feature to the next level. I have yet to try this, but from what I hear it seems pretty good.

Small things - The area where madden made a big improvement this year was fixing or adding little things to improve the game. They revamped the player rating scale making it more realistic. There is a big difference now between the elite players and average players. Madden 10 brings back an old feature that many people enjoyed in the past in accelerated clock. This feature makes the game shorter by running fifteen seconds off the clock before every play. Another small feature added is the ability to make in game substitutions. The Wildcat formation is also included in many playbooks this year. While there are a limited amount of plays, depending on which team you use, it is a nice addition to the game.

Ronnie Brown lines up in the Wild Cat. Will he hand it off or run it himself?

Overall, Madden 10 is an excellent game and a must have for any football fan. As for being the best in the series that is still up for debate. Madden 10, however, is the best Madden for the next- gen systems.