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MADDEN NFL 09
EA Sports
Xbox 360

5 stars (out of 5)

Review by Hayden Meikle

Once you get over the shock of seeing Brett Favre on the cover in his old Green Bay Packers uniform, you can sit back and enjoy the sports game of the year.

Favre, for those non-NFL followers, rose to legendary status with the Packers before retiring last season.

EA Sports then chose him as their cover boy to mark the 20th year of the Madden franchise.

Then what does Favre do? Decides to un-retire and makes a surprise comeback with the New York Jets.

Oops.

That Snafu aside, Madden NFL 09 is another glorious chapter in the most storied of sports video game franchises.

I haven't exactly grown up with Madden - I may have been about 20 when I played one for the first time - but it has been my guide to discovering the attractions of American football, and to explaining its complicated systems.

It's the crown jewel in the EA Sports empire and the company spares no expense in updating and improving the series.

New for 2009 is something EA calls the adaptive difficulty engine, designed to make it easier for both newbies and experienced Maddeners to play the game at their own level.

There's also a great feature called Madden IQ, which generates a number to rank your footballing ability after a hands-on test of running, passing and defensive skills.

Utterly addictive and brilliant.

The IQ test takes place in a radically different setting, sort of a 3D/holographic version of grass and turf - it's all very slick and enjoyable.

Further inside Madden 09, the bells and whistles are suitably swish, the detail impressive, the gameplay smooth . . . just the usual.

EA has tweaked the dynamics of the on-field action so everything feels a little smoother, especially in areas of ball-carrying and receiving.

And the crunches that come with heavy tackles resonate even deeper than last year.

Improved animation adds to the look of the game, which is starting to get so realistic it's scary.

Here's the thing: I can't tell you to become an NFL fan, and I can't promise that you'll love Madden 09, but I will say it is among the best sports games ever made, and it could change the way you view a sport forever.