Along with the highlight stick, the graphics get quite the overhaul, as did the audio. Chris Collingsworth is added to the commentary this year for a refreshing change. He does a great job, and just like in his real life color commentary, he brings quite a bit of humor to Madden ’09. Don’t distress: Madden is still around to hand out the one-liners and Maddenisms we all love.

My favorite addition to Madden this year is the ability to Rewind key plays. One second left in the 4th and Bob Sanders picks off your go ahead touchdown; in Madden ’09 you can Rewind the play and do it over. The Rewind ability is limited like challenges, which makes it an exciting new dynamic for multiplayer games. Since the amount of times you can use rewind is set by the players, it fits nicely into the gameplay of Madden ’09. Thus, you will not come away with the feeling of being cheated and instead are sure to love this new tactical element to a sports game. I definitely foresee rewind being a big part of professional play in Madden.

Yet new feature this year is the Madden Noment, which puts you in pivotal and sometimes humorous moments in football history. The very first Madden Moment puts you in the Dolphins’ shoes as they attempt to avoid a winless season against the Baltimore Ravens. In this year’s installment, there is a Backtrack mode which gives you custom information on your in-game decisions. Along with the new features, the old modes are back and as good as ever. Franchise and Hall of Fame modes as usual will make for hours and hours of enjoyment.

There is no real “bad” in Madden ’09; the only aspects which are close are highly subjective. Some players have complained about receivers not running routes, defensive assignments missed, and balls dropped. I, however, believe this adds to the realism in Madden ’09; just ask any Patriot fan about perfection in the NFL. With the realism in the gameplay and controls, Madden ’09 is definitely the most authentic football game ever. The new play-calling interface, which is a carryover from NCAA ’09 is liked by many Maddenites so far. In the new interface you can call plays according to packages: singleback will not only bring up plays from ace formation, but shotgun and trips as well. You can also call plays from different packages directly from the new interface. So far, it’s not too exciting.

The ugly is hard to find throughout the Madden franchise, minus the Xbox 360 version in ’06. Thank goodness, for fans of the series, Madden ’09 is far from that debacle. The only ugly is Online Franchise mode, which doesn’t allow for AI-controlled teams. Thus, you must find 32 other gamers to form a league with, which isn’t always an easy or wanted task for many Maddenites. In the end, the good far outweighs the bad in Madden ’09. I definitely recommend this game for any fan of the series or football in general.