Something missing in ‘Madden’

• By RICH LOUP
• 2theadvocate.com Sports Editor
• Published: Aug 20, 2009

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John Madden retired from coaching 30 years ago. He called it quits as a broadcaster earlier this season. If it weren't for his name still gracing the box of “Madden NFL 10,” you'd swear he was out of the video game business, too.

That industry apparently still thrives for EA Sports, but this year's edition of the “Madden NFL” series didn't reflect much growth. From a gameplay standpoint, “Madden 10” isn't much different from its 20th edition that was released last season.

On the surface, that's not a bad thing given that “Madden 09” was a huge leap for the series after years of stagnation. However, the developers must have figuratively taken a year off after making such a splash last summer.

There are a few new features for “Madden 10,” besides the first cover to feature two players -- Pittsburgh's Troy Polamalu and Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald. Here's a breakdown of the new stuff:

EXTRA-CREDIT POINTS...SORT OF: Five years after ESPN's “NFL” series first featured a studio show with highlights for its season mode, “Madden 10” presents a facsimile of that in Franchise mode with The Extra Point. Fran Charles and Alex Flanagan of NFL Network do the honors with audio-visual appearances.

An improvement over nothing is still an improvement, so take a bow, EA, for at least including stat boards of selected games, standings for the player's team of choice and previews of three upcoming contests. But where are the game highlights? The technology is there because ESPN “NFL 2K's” studio shows featured snippets from a handful of games each week.

The Extra Point is optional, and it could be that you decide to not even bother watching it. The information is good, the visuals that are there are slick, so you won't be wasting your time checking it out each week. It's just disappointing that EA didn't take the post-game highlights from a completed game (along with a couple of other games from around the league) and merge them into the studio show.

WHAT TO WEAR: The “Madden NFL” series has always featured different uniforms. But for the first time, “Madden 10” lets you mix and match the most essential pieces of the uniform.

Want to put the Saints in retro helmets (i.e. a more basic-looking fleur-de-lis logo) and pants, but keep the modern jersey, shoes and socks? Go for it. Want to see the Broncos in orange from head to ankle? Knock yourself out. Put the Vikings in mostly purple, if you like. However, “Madden” falls short in the uniform category because of incomplete or inaccurate labels and depictions.

Some teams like the Rams get a slew of uniform choices (a complete throwback set with both white and blue jersey choices, for instance). Other teams like the Oilers-turned-Titans get partial retro treatment (throwback jersey, but a white helmet instead of the light blue they'll actually wear on the field this season). Then there are the Raiders, who actually have a couple of throwbacks (a white jersey with silver numbers, for one), but your only extra choice for them is a never-worn silver jersey.

You're doing better, EA, on “Madden” uniforms, but don't stop here.

FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT: We've all seen the piles of bodies scrambling for a loose football. Who knows what happens, what's said, what's grabbed down there amid the chaos.

“Madden 10” attempts to give you a role in deciding who gets the ball with Fight For Every Yard. If there's a fumble that occurs with several players close to the ball, you must follow the instructions on the screen to improve your chances of recovering the ball.