MADDEN 09 INFO PAGE
Ok guys.....this is your Madden 09 info page. We aren't gonna make you read through every
Producers Blog and every article about the upcoming game in order for you to get evrything that
you need to know about the new game. It's all RIGHT HERE!!! We're gonna tell you what's gonna
be new, what's gonna be improved, and what's gonna be missing in Madden 09. We're gonna
give you the "meat and potatoes" type of information and save you the time of reading every
site and publication out there. We figure, why the hell would we waste your time doing that
when you can be "on the sticks" getting your game in A-Form!!!! So.....here's the 411 guys and
it's all right here in 1 place for you!!!!!
Producers Blog and every article about the upcoming game in order for you to get evrything that
you need to know about the new game. It's all RIGHT HERE!!! We're gonna tell you what's gonna
be new, what's gonna be improved, and what's gonna be missing in Madden 09. We're gonna
give you the "meat and potatoes" type of information and save you the time of reading every
site and publication out there. We figure, why the hell would we waste your time doing that
when you can be "on the sticks" getting your game in A-Form!!!! So.....here's the 411 guys and
it's all right here in 1 place for you!!!!!
Glitches
All of the glitches are supposed to be worked out of this years game. EA has assured us that they've been
working very hard to eliminate these things. Here are some glitches that they have already reported to have
fixed:
-3 Man Front Nano- and other Nano’ s too
-Double Pass and HB Pass Plays
-Onside Kick Exploits
-Jump Catching and Spectacular Catch Exploits
-Online Disconnection Glitches- including the automotion offsides bug, kickoff glitches, and pause glitches
-Play flipping at the line of scrimmage to mess up the defensive assignments
Graphic Enhancements and Attention to Details
EA is putting more and more into the game this year to give it a realistic feel. Here are some examples:
-Field goal nets are back in Madden NFL 2009.
-Clear visors are included in Madden NFL 2009 along with other visor colors that they players wear.
-Sideline images have been enhanced along with the crowds to give a more realistic feel to the game
-New cut scene animations have been added for the important plays in a game. The cut scenes are
automatically triggered whenever you blow a potentially big play. EA specifically mentioned three such
instances (getting sacked with an open receiver, throwing into coverage, and making a bad play call) but
suggested that more events will trigger similar cut scenes by the release of the game. The cut scenes show you
replays of the mistake and an overlay of the offensive and defensive play arts, and they provide suggestions
on how to avoid such mistakes in the future.
-Weather and Stadium Presentation have been enhanced. Here's an example (check out the lighting and
depth!):
Gameplay Notes
EA is making the game as realistic as it has ever been. Here's a few gameplay samples hosted by IGN.
Click Here for Gameplay Sample #1
Click Here for Gameplay Sample #2
-Offensive Line Slide Protection is an added feature this year as well as a tuned up pass blocking AI (and
animation system), so nano’s should all be preventable this year.
-Penalties: There will be a much more realistic balance with more clipping, holding, and face-mask penalties,
and the best part is that you can go into replay and actually see the penalty as it occurred. There will be no
more "phantom calls".
-Spectacular Catches have been toned way down in terms of how powerful they are, and defenders also have a
much easier chance of knocking the ball out (since the receiver is really putting himself out there on big leaping
catches like that). Also, to combat these catches the DEFENDERS can get up in the air with the right animation
trigger. Also, the defenders jump just as high as the receivers this year too. You also wont be able to pull off
Rocket Catches on short and intermediate routes. Only on long passes.
-You will see MUCH more realistic defensive pass coverage / play from the linebackers and corners. They have
a much harder time making plays on the ball that they don’t “see”, they react in a much more realistic time-
frame to the play (using their play recognition rating) and the distance at which they can make a play on the
ball in the air has been drastically tuned down…so more often than not you’ll see them try to set up for a big hit
to jar the ball loose instead of warping over to swat the ball down.
-Formation Subs are back this year.
-Kickoff Distances will be a lot more realistic so we wont have so many touchbacks.
-The Player Fatigue System will also be more realistic. Defensive teams that are getting pounded on with the
run game will really get tired towards the end of a long drive, and they also wanted to discourage frequent fly
routes and no-huddle offenses. The system was further tuned to address these issues.
-Excessive Fumbling has been fixed. They re- factored the way animations, ratings, and weather impacted
fumbling. It will be much more realistic this year.
-Smart Routes are back in the game this year. A smart route is a hot route that extends the route and makes
your receiver run to or past the 1st down markers.
-Strafe Catching is removed on offense for All-Pro & All-Madden for undercuts on bullets and such...but still
available for deep / lobs where you are at the landing spot early. Thank God!! What a cheap animation that
was!!
-The Running game got a COMPLETE OVERHAUL this year. Here's a video highlighting the new ball carrier
movements: Ball Carrier Animation Video Click Here
This year the holes will be bigger and there will be a bigger emphasis on running the ball and having a more
realistic run/pass ratio in your playcalling.
-There is a new camera system that dynamically adjusts to keep all of your players in view, eliminating the need
to blindly pass off of the edge of your screen and hope for the best. When you run a pass play, the ActionCam
automatically pans out, zooms in, and adjust angles to keep all of your receivers on the screen. Also, the old
Classic View camera angles will still be available too. Here's some samples:
-For those of you that like to play the computer but can never get a real challenge they have fixed this for you.
Now you will be able to customize the game vs the computer to your skill level!! From the moment you first pop
the game into your console, it will immediately guide you through a series of tests to gauge your "Madden IQ."
The tests function similarly to mini games found in previous versions of Madden, albeit this time with a
holographic graphical treatment. The tests measure your proficiency in various Madden disciples, including
rushing, passing, defending the run, and defending the pass. Based on the results of these tests, Madden 09
will automatically configure difficulty settings to ensure that playing against the CPU will always be a competitive
experience.
-The play-calling screens also got an overhaul. The play-calling screen now offers many of the common
Madden adjustments, such as changing audibles, substituting players, and even a quick replay of the last play
without the need to pause the game and navigate menus (though the game clock and play clock will still pause
while changes are being made).
-ONLINE LEAGUES will be in this years version of Madden 09!!! This is HUGE!!! Online leagues can include
anywhere from two players to a complete league of 32 participants. You will have the ability to start the season
with a fantasy draft (or just play with the default roster), conduct trades with other players, and even play online
games at your convenience by way of a flexible schedule system. The flex schedule will let you play regular
season games in any order or at any pace you choose. It is EA's hope that this will eliminate the long-standing
issue of scheduling online games between gamers with commitments outside of gaming. For instance, one
player may notice that his week 8 and week 15 opponents are online and play both games back-to-back. In
fact, one player could finish all of his regular season games in a weekend before another player has even
played his first. The league commissioner will be able to boot players and even add new players to the league
midseason. The stats from every game will be tracked, and participants will be able to check out league
leaders (though only per-game statistics will have any meaning for the reason mentioned above). Only human-
controlled teams are allowed--no CPU teams. The trading system for online leagues will be limited, in that only
one-for-one trades will be possible (that is, you will not be able to trade multiple players and receive only one in
return). This technical hurdle can be circumvented, assuming both parties make their intentions clear to the
rest of the league. For instance, two parties could make a one-for-one deal, and one party could simply release
an additional player with the understanding that he would be signed by the other party. A two-for-two deal could
be done by simply making two one-for-one deals. Also, as a result of the flex schedule, trade participants must
have completed the same number of games. Otherwise, you could have a situation in which someone plays his
full season with Randy Moss and then trades him to another player for further use. Also, injuries will be
removed completely in online leagues. Finally, there will be no divisions, and the playoffs will not share the
format used by the NFL. Because of the variable number of teams in each league, Madden 09 will simply put all
of the teams in one common pool with the top half of the teams advancing to a single-elimination playoff.
These leagues are going to be GREAT guys!!!!
-A "Rewind Feature" will be available this year. Because this will clearly be a powerful tool, use of the rewind
feature is limited to three per game by default and can be adjusted in the settings for more or fewer depending
on your personal preference. In addition to giving you a second opportunity to cash in on a big play, rewind can
be used on defense to negate your opponent's home-run ball. It's your choice whether to use rewinds to jump
to capitalize on early opportunities or save them to put away your opponent in the fourth quarter. Unranked
online games will offer three rewinds per player by default, but the feature will not be available during ranked
matches. Here's a sample of the "backtrack feature":
-Missed FG Returns will be in this years game. So, if your opponent wants to try that 60 yarder, well he may
have to think twice when you put Devin Hester back there awaiting an attempt that may fall short!!!
-Right Stick Audibles will be included in NextGen this year which greatly increases your play selections.
-The Short Passing Game will be much better this year. Slants, Curls, Drags, Hitches, Flats, and Crossing
Routes will all be very effective. Zone Coverages will defend the underneath stuff better this year while Man
Defenses will cover deep balls better. One reason for this is because it seems like on the short routes, if the
ball is thrown "on time" and led properly, it appears that the receivers get a slight speed burst to the ball which
will promote the run after the catch yardage.
-"Clicking On" the defenders and receivers will be crucial this year.
-In past years you had all of the offensive playbooks to choose from and a few defensive playbooks to choose
from. This year, EACH TEAM will have a defensive playbook also!!!
-There are 30 NEW FORMATIONS and over 1100 NEW PLAYS on both sides of the ball.
-This year there are different celebration animations for different players.
-This year there will be bluff play art for head to head play. So, you will be able to either view your actual
assignments or bluffed assignments pre-snap.
-Shotgun TRIO formation (perhaps this year's most popular and dominating formation) is NOT in any of the 32
Team Offensive Playbooks. It may still be in one of the generic books though. This has not been determined
as of yet.
-The Offensive Playbooks actually seem to have a "purpose" this year. For example, if there's an auto-motion
play, right next to it will be a different play with the same auto-motion. Same thing with run plays and then
having play action plays that look the same.
What's Missing?
EA Still has some things to work on for future versions. Here's some of the things that are NOT in Madden 09:
-There is no "chain gang" to come out and do measurements.
-Formation Shifting is not included in this year's game once again. This is very unfortunate.
-The players still wont have hand towels or hand warmers in their animations.
-The players will wear AFC and NFC Helmets in the Pro Bowl and NOT their own team helmets.
-The scoreboard and clock will still be on the screen during every play. Many people hoped that they'd only
have the clock visible once the play started.
-All Kick Return Formations still have 2 return men. You still wont be able to have a 1 man back formation.
-Once again, Vision Cone Passing will NOT be mandatory for online games.
All of the glitches are supposed to be worked out of this years game. EA has assured us that they've been
working very hard to eliminate these things. Here are some glitches that they have already reported to have
fixed:
-3 Man Front Nano- and other Nano’ s too
-Double Pass and HB Pass Plays
-Onside Kick Exploits
-Jump Catching and Spectacular Catch Exploits
-Online Disconnection Glitches- including the automotion offsides bug, kickoff glitches, and pause glitches
-Play flipping at the line of scrimmage to mess up the defensive assignments
Graphic Enhancements and Attention to Details
EA is putting more and more into the game this year to give it a realistic feel. Here are some examples:
-Field goal nets are back in Madden NFL 2009.
-Clear visors are included in Madden NFL 2009 along with other visor colors that they players wear.
-Sideline images have been enhanced along with the crowds to give a more realistic feel to the game
-New cut scene animations have been added for the important plays in a game. The cut scenes are
automatically triggered whenever you blow a potentially big play. EA specifically mentioned three such
instances (getting sacked with an open receiver, throwing into coverage, and making a bad play call) but
suggested that more events will trigger similar cut scenes by the release of the game. The cut scenes show you
replays of the mistake and an overlay of the offensive and defensive play arts, and they provide suggestions
on how to avoid such mistakes in the future.
-Weather and Stadium Presentation have been enhanced. Here's an example (check out the lighting and
depth!):
Gameplay Notes
EA is making the game as realistic as it has ever been. Here's a few gameplay samples hosted by IGN.
Click Here for Gameplay Sample #1
Click Here for Gameplay Sample #2
-Offensive Line Slide Protection is an added feature this year as well as a tuned up pass blocking AI (and
animation system), so nano’s should all be preventable this year.
-Penalties: There will be a much more realistic balance with more clipping, holding, and face-mask penalties,
and the best part is that you can go into replay and actually see the penalty as it occurred. There will be no
more "phantom calls".
-Spectacular Catches have been toned way down in terms of how powerful they are, and defenders also have a
much easier chance of knocking the ball out (since the receiver is really putting himself out there on big leaping
catches like that). Also, to combat these catches the DEFENDERS can get up in the air with the right animation
trigger. Also, the defenders jump just as high as the receivers this year too. You also wont be able to pull off
Rocket Catches on short and intermediate routes. Only on long passes.
-You will see MUCH more realistic defensive pass coverage / play from the linebackers and corners. They have
a much harder time making plays on the ball that they don’t “see”, they react in a much more realistic time-
frame to the play (using their play recognition rating) and the distance at which they can make a play on the
ball in the air has been drastically tuned down…so more often than not you’ll see them try to set up for a big hit
to jar the ball loose instead of warping over to swat the ball down.
-Formation Subs are back this year.
-Kickoff Distances will be a lot more realistic so we wont have so many touchbacks.
-The Player Fatigue System will also be more realistic. Defensive teams that are getting pounded on with the
run game will really get tired towards the end of a long drive, and they also wanted to discourage frequent fly
routes and no-huddle offenses. The system was further tuned to address these issues.
-Excessive Fumbling has been fixed. They re- factored the way animations, ratings, and weather impacted
fumbling. It will be much more realistic this year.
-Smart Routes are back in the game this year. A smart route is a hot route that extends the route and makes
your receiver run to or past the 1st down markers.
-Strafe Catching is removed on offense for All-Pro & All-Madden for undercuts on bullets and such...but still
available for deep / lobs where you are at the landing spot early. Thank God!! What a cheap animation that
was!!
-The Running game got a COMPLETE OVERHAUL this year. Here's a video highlighting the new ball carrier
movements: Ball Carrier Animation Video Click Here
This year the holes will be bigger and there will be a bigger emphasis on running the ball and having a more
realistic run/pass ratio in your playcalling.
-There is a new camera system that dynamically adjusts to keep all of your players in view, eliminating the need
to blindly pass off of the edge of your screen and hope for the best. When you run a pass play, the ActionCam
automatically pans out, zooms in, and adjust angles to keep all of your receivers on the screen. Also, the old
Classic View camera angles will still be available too. Here's some samples:
-For those of you that like to play the computer but can never get a real challenge they have fixed this for you.
Now you will be able to customize the game vs the computer to your skill level!! From the moment you first pop
the game into your console, it will immediately guide you through a series of tests to gauge your "Madden IQ."
The tests function similarly to mini games found in previous versions of Madden, albeit this time with a
holographic graphical treatment. The tests measure your proficiency in various Madden disciples, including
rushing, passing, defending the run, and defending the pass. Based on the results of these tests, Madden 09
will automatically configure difficulty settings to ensure that playing against the CPU will always be a competitive
experience.
-The play-calling screens also got an overhaul. The play-calling screen now offers many of the common
Madden adjustments, such as changing audibles, substituting players, and even a quick replay of the last play
without the need to pause the game and navigate menus (though the game clock and play clock will still pause
while changes are being made).
-ONLINE LEAGUES will be in this years version of Madden 09!!! This is HUGE!!! Online leagues can include
anywhere from two players to a complete league of 32 participants. You will have the ability to start the season
with a fantasy draft (or just play with the default roster), conduct trades with other players, and even play online
games at your convenience by way of a flexible schedule system. The flex schedule will let you play regular
season games in any order or at any pace you choose. It is EA's hope that this will eliminate the long-standing
issue of scheduling online games between gamers with commitments outside of gaming. For instance, one
player may notice that his week 8 and week 15 opponents are online and play both games back-to-back. In
fact, one player could finish all of his regular season games in a weekend before another player has even
played his first. The league commissioner will be able to boot players and even add new players to the league
midseason. The stats from every game will be tracked, and participants will be able to check out league
leaders (though only per-game statistics will have any meaning for the reason mentioned above). Only human-
controlled teams are allowed--no CPU teams. The trading system for online leagues will be limited, in that only
one-for-one trades will be possible (that is, you will not be able to trade multiple players and receive only one in
return). This technical hurdle can be circumvented, assuming both parties make their intentions clear to the
rest of the league. For instance, two parties could make a one-for-one deal, and one party could simply release
an additional player with the understanding that he would be signed by the other party. A two-for-two deal could
be done by simply making two one-for-one deals. Also, as a result of the flex schedule, trade participants must
have completed the same number of games. Otherwise, you could have a situation in which someone plays his
full season with Randy Moss and then trades him to another player for further use. Also, injuries will be
removed completely in online leagues. Finally, there will be no divisions, and the playoffs will not share the
format used by the NFL. Because of the variable number of teams in each league, Madden 09 will simply put all
of the teams in one common pool with the top half of the teams advancing to a single-elimination playoff.
These leagues are going to be GREAT guys!!!!
-A "Rewind Feature" will be available this year. Because this will clearly be a powerful tool, use of the rewind
feature is limited to three per game by default and can be adjusted in the settings for more or fewer depending
on your personal preference. In addition to giving you a second opportunity to cash in on a big play, rewind can
be used on defense to negate your opponent's home-run ball. It's your choice whether to use rewinds to jump
to capitalize on early opportunities or save them to put away your opponent in the fourth quarter. Unranked
online games will offer three rewinds per player by default, but the feature will not be available during ranked
matches. Here's a sample of the "backtrack feature":
-Missed FG Returns will be in this years game. So, if your opponent wants to try that 60 yarder, well he may
have to think twice when you put Devin Hester back there awaiting an attempt that may fall short!!!
-Right Stick Audibles will be included in NextGen this year which greatly increases your play selections.
-The Short Passing Game will be much better this year. Slants, Curls, Drags, Hitches, Flats, and Crossing
Routes will all be very effective. Zone Coverages will defend the underneath stuff better this year while Man
Defenses will cover deep balls better. One reason for this is because it seems like on the short routes, if the
ball is thrown "on time" and led properly, it appears that the receivers get a slight speed burst to the ball which
will promote the run after the catch yardage.
-"Clicking On" the defenders and receivers will be crucial this year.
-In past years you had all of the offensive playbooks to choose from and a few defensive playbooks to choose
from. This year, EACH TEAM will have a defensive playbook also!!!
-There are 30 NEW FORMATIONS and over 1100 NEW PLAYS on both sides of the ball.
-This year there are different celebration animations for different players.
-This year there will be bluff play art for head to head play. So, you will be able to either view your actual
assignments or bluffed assignments pre-snap.
-Shotgun TRIO formation (perhaps this year's most popular and dominating formation) is NOT in any of the 32
Team Offensive Playbooks. It may still be in one of the generic books though. This has not been determined
as of yet.
-The Offensive Playbooks actually seem to have a "purpose" this year. For example, if there's an auto-motion
play, right next to it will be a different play with the same auto-motion. Same thing with run plays and then
having play action plays that look the same.
What's Missing?
EA Still has some things to work on for future versions. Here's some of the things that are NOT in Madden 09:
-There is no "chain gang" to come out and do measurements.
-Formation Shifting is not included in this year's game once again. This is very unfortunate.
-The players still wont have hand towels or hand warmers in their animations.
-The players will wear AFC and NFC Helmets in the Pro Bowl and NOT their own team helmets.
-The scoreboard and clock will still be on the screen during every play. Many people hoped that they'd only
have the clock visible once the play started.
-All Kick Return Formations still have 2 return men. You still wont be able to have a 1 man back formation.
-Once again, Vision Cone Passing will NOT be mandatory for online games.
OLD CLASSIC CAMERA VIEW
NEW CAMERA VIEW
