Just how much further can a sports game go? That's the question the Madden series tries to answer every year.
Madden 10
Electronic Arts
Xbox 360
Four Stars (out of 5)
Widely regarded as the premier franchise in sports gaming, Madden has delighted and frustrated gamers for more than 20 years, and its popularity shows no sign of diminishing.
As with all of its signature sports titles, Electronic Arts has committed to a new Madden NFL game on an annual basis - that, too, appears to be essentially an indefinite plan.
This means keen fans get updated rosters and a handful of shiny new options every year.
But it also puts immense pressure on EA to deliver a game that is not only different - at least in a few key areas - but also better.
This is especially true with the Madden series, which holds the exclusive gaming rights to NFL players, teams and stadiums until 2012.
You can't say EA hasn't made significant changes to its No 1 game.
Just compare, say, Madden 06 with Madden 10 and you can see visual upgrades and gameplay tweaks.
But I do think we're getting very close to the point where most of the alterations to the series are cosmetic.
With the guts of the game - realistic gameplay, polished graphics, intensive options - well set, the developers are reaching for the micro-tweaks to keep the fanboys shelling out their cash.
Madden 10 features a swag of "new features" that, even for someone like me with a warm interest in the NFL, really mean very little.
"Procedural awareness" apparently means players follow the ball with their head, neck and shoulders.
"Pro-tak" is technology that means up to nine players can pile into a tackle.
Neither, from what I have seen so far, really means anything.
But you have to admire the EA's wholehearted search for realism, and the lovely presentation of another cracking sports game.
The key feature is a spruced-up franchise mode, featuring a weekly wrap-up show called The Extra Point, and expanded online and online co-op modes.
In case you're wondering, the players on the cover are Pittsburgh Steelers hardman Troy Polamalu and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.
Both played in the Super Bowl in February, and it's the first time two athletes have appeared on a Madden cover.
