Madden NFL 09 All-Play review (Wii)

The rest of the game modes are holdovers from last year. Franchise mode is solid. The simulated statistics seem to be fairly accurate, and it's certainly fun to take the reins of a franchise, but the mode has received only cursory attention since last year. The same can be said for Superstar mode, which is just more of the same. If you haven't tried to take a created player or rookie from his first training camp to the Hall of Fame, there's some fun to be had here, but if you've previously put up with the lame training events, obnoxious agents, and inane e-mail from the guy who runs your Web site, there's nothing here that warrants another look. How little attention has been put into this mode over the years? If you're a scrambling QB, your coach will tell you that you could be the next Michael Vick. He doesn't mean it in the "You're going to be banned from the league and go to jail for murdering dogs," or even the "You're going to be an extremely talented player that just doesn't seem to be able to get the job done" way, either. He means it as a compliment, and that phrase hasn't been used in a complimentary way for several years.

In addition to the previously mentioned Five-on-Five mode, there are several other ways in which Madden 09 tries to get the party started, such as the cleverly named Party mode. Up to four people can participate in a bunch of minigames, just as they could last year. And just like last year, the games will have you running routes, evading tackles, and even punting the football. Seriously, if you're throwing a party but it has devolved into people playing a punting minigame...it's time for everyone to go home. And maybe you shouldn't be hosting parties anymore--it's for the best. There's a Trivia mode, but it fails to entertain for a number of reasons. First off, the questions don't seem to have been changed since last year--you're still going to get the same questions about mascot names. Some of the answers for the questions are straight up incorrect, so when the game asks you what team Michael Strahan currently plays for, you'll have to pretend like he hasn't retired. You'll even have to say that Ravens RB Willis McGahee is a QB if you want to get one particular question right.

At first glance, it seems as if Madden 09 looks quite a bit different from Madden 08, but that's really not the case. The difference is mostly due to colors that are bolder and brighter; a change presumably made to appeal to the younger set. There are a few new player animations as well, but that's really the only difference between this year and last. The frame rate is generally steady, the player models are decent (but look nowhere near as good as they do on the 360 and PS3), and the stadiums are filled with ugly-looking fans. There's little time to scrutinize small visual details because there's not a whole lot of time between plays, and there aren't any automatic replays. These omissions hurt the presentation a bit but have the benefit of keeping the game moving along at a fast pace. Plus, you can still pause the game and manually replay a play, so you're really not missing a whole lot.

One area that has seemingly received no attention is the game's audio. John Madden and Al Michaels call the action, which would be great if they weren't saying the exact same things they've been saying for years. If any new commentary has been recorded for the game, it's sure hard to notice. Neither announcer uses player names very often; instead, they say the jersey number or position when a player is involved in a play. Surely, it's not too much to ask to get one or both of these guys to say player names into a microphone for one hour out of the year. Madden certainly isn't busy trimming his bushy eyebrows; that's for sure.

What few changes have been made to Madden 09 serve to make it more user-friendly to people who aren't familiar with the game of football. Young kids should have a good time celebrating touchdowns and playing with big-headed players in Five-on-Five mode, while casual players will appreciate the simplified playbooks and "call your shot" play calling. There's very little new here designed to appeal to football fans or, for that matter, anyone who has purchased one of the previous Madden games on the Wii. It is series newcomers who have the most to gain from picking up a copy of Madden NFL 09: All-Play.