Review: Madden NFL 20100 (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Review: Madden NFL 20100

5:23pm Friday 20th August 2010 in

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Although the FIFA soccer games make up one of gaming's major sporting franchises, there is no doubting that the John Madden series of American Football titles have made a major impact.

Indeed, Madden NFL games have sold more than 85 million copies since 1988. That's the year John Madden Football made its debut for the Apple II series of computers and there has been little slowdown in its popularity ever since.

As with the FIFA games, each subsequent title has sought to improve on the last. Madden NFL 10 overhauled its playing rating system which some real-life American Football players took objection to when their ranking dropped but this time out there is a new GameFlow system and it directly affects play.

Games are much faster than before and this will entice players who just want to jump in and play.

The Artificial Intellgence also assigns a way of play to each member of your teams and this assists you in making the right decisions. Of course, you still need to understand the rules of the sport but if you do have a grasp, this feature helps immeasurably.

This new game has also introduced Online Team Play. You can join a game with other random Madden users, use the "Play With Friends" option or use a Team Play Lobby room, either entering a pre-defined room or creating one of your own.

At the game's core, however, is the same Madden feel, albeit nowadays without John Madden's commentary. EA Sports hasn't gone the whole hog and rejigged the online franchise modes but that will come. As it is, this is a great sequel to a winning series.

5/5