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In a story on the unveiling of Brett Favre as the cover athlete for Madden NFL 09, I linked an interview that GameTap did with one of the game’s lead designers, Phil Frazier. In that interview, Frazier boldly proclaimed that Madden 09 features “the biggest graphical improvement we've ever had year-to-year in Madden” (console generation jumps notwithstanding). Sure, it’s easy to be cynical and assume that this is another empty promise, but we’ve happily been proven wrong this time around.

GameTrailers has a three-minute video that directly compares the graphics of Madden 08 and Madden 09 on the Xbox 360 in six ways: lighting (at 4:15 PM), grass effects, weather effects (heavy snow), and three different player models. It doesn’t feature any gameplay footage, but it’s all in-game video of camera pans in a static stadium (the footage looks like it could’ve been taken out of the instant replay tool). Hit the jump for my analysis of the video.

Oh, and if you’re craving some more details on how Madden 09 is shaping up, IGN has just put up a new three-page preview, and it’s subtitled “The most additions we've seen to the franchise in years”. Here’s something from the preview that will hopefully shut up all the people who continually deride sports games as ‘annual roster updates’:

Madden 09 does not redefine videogame football. It doesn't take the classic Madden formula and turn it upside down. What it does do is it takes so many of the little things from last year's game and improves on them exponentially. They aren't details that can be seen by watching a short gameplay clip or looking at screenshots. They're the things that you don't realize about the game until you pick it up and play it for yourself...

That’s what sports games are all about. Not revolutions, but evolutions, so to speak. We sports gamers don’t usually take kindly to any major shake-ups; incremental improvements are what it’s all about. Each year, sports game developers try to create a more accurate simulation of their respective sport, and we notice even the smallest changes. Alright, I’ll get off my soapbox now.


The first three comparisons provide the easiest-to-spot changes. Regarding lighting, Madden 09 has 4:15 PM pegged as more of a dusk time, which makes more sense in the context of the football season (fall/winter). Last year, 4:15 PM still featured a bright sun, as if the game were being played during the summer. Field-wise, instead of a stale, neatly crisscrossing mowed pattern, the grass in Madden 09 is much more realistic (it doesn’t just look like a green background anymore). Blades of steel grass can actually be made out.

As for snow, it’ll actually pile up on the field (along with footprints), and there’s a subtle cool blue hue in snowy games to accentuate the cold weather feel. If you turned snow on in Madden 08 (or most prior Madden games, for that matter), it just appeared as if there were flurries of snow during the game. Finally, the video shows off three player models: Vikings LG Steve Hutchinson, Saints RB Reggie Bush, and Chargers OLB Shawne Merriman. The difference between Madden 08 and 09 isn’t night-and-day, but noticeable improvements have been made to light reflections on players’ helmets.

Overall, I’m highly impressed by what EA Tiburon has pulled off here. They’ve already assured us that the game will be running at 60 fps on both PS3 and 360, so let’s hope that it plays as well as it looks.








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Samit Sarkar is a founding Destructoid editor and go-to Sports guy. Samit was the son of the Duke of Knees, rescued from a burning village in the afghan desert by a golden condor. He is an ace Backgammon player and lost both legs in a whaling tour. He lives for free in a nursery in Scotland where he teaches monks how to capture butterflies without hurting them. Likes Confuse Ray, Feel My Blade A Mabari War Hound, Snot, Spiral Arrow, Argo, Dan Smith's critical hit bark, Rolling things up into my life Meet the rest of the team



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24 comments | showing # 1 to 24
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king3vbo's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2008 14:00
king3vbo
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL sports :D
Mandril's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2008 14:07
Mandril
Oh my, you said evolutions!

Bad boy. Know your Rev Rants.
Now get in the corner and stay there.
Aerox's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2008 14:09
Aerox
Samit, what do you think these details they're talking about that you apparently can't see. Extra plays? Announcers yelling different things? I'm curious what these evolutions that sports fans get excited about are, because I have no idea myself.
Aertyr's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2008 14:11
Aertyr
Same game, New look. Just like every other Dynasty Warriors game. Mediocrity is still pretty mediocre.
Trevor McGee's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2008 14:12
Trevor McGee
Don't let Jim hear you say that, lol.
KamikazeTutor's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2008 14:13
KamikazeTutor
Moar polygons?!

I can't miss this new Madden then!
adultswim810's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2008 14:18
adultswim810
it looks like they just changed the textures instead of making them actually better
bruceleethree's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2008 14:24
bruceleethree
LOL EA PROGRAMMERS NEED TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL.

It looks no different, I think they just lowered lighting and resolution details on 08 to show 09 as better.

EA = crap. Those programmers are lucky they're working on an auto-buy title.
Samit Sarkar's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2008 14:34
Samit Sarkar
@adultswim810: Um, what? If they changed the textures, and they look better, then how is that not “actually better”?

@Aerox: Well, it’s hard to explain if you’re not a sports gamer, but basically, even the smallest gameplay changes can make all the difference in a win or a loss. Things like the Hit Stick and Playmaker controls in Madden are “big things” — they were game-changing new features when they were introduced.

But, for example, if you’re allowed to “break out” of moves before the animation finishes, that’s huge. Think of hitting the O button to do a spin move, realizing that it’s going to end up in you getting tackled, and quickly tapping R1 to juke right instead. If you have to wait for the spin animation to finish, you’re going to get tackled. But if you can juke out of the spin before completing the move, you could be off to the races toward the end zone.
dtomek's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2008 14:37
dtomek
Why even bother when a roster update is all you need. If 2k5 was BC I would certainly still be playing that. Unfortunately EA loves to tickle my nads every now and then to get me all nice and comfy, and then summarily euthanize anything I enjoy in the world. Those sons of bitches.
RestingSound's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2008 14:48
RestingSound
Seriously Samit how is this not just an incremental improvement over other Madden games.

The biggest change to player models "noticeable improvements have been made to light reflections on players’ helmets.". Destructoid likes to talk big about people going too easy on crappy cash whore video games, (Madden in particular) but then you go and cup EA's balls when they start showing this shit off.

Did you even read the "If you love it change it" Madden article?
big filth's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2008 15:14
big filth
I will buy this game because I was brainwashed at a very young age to do so but, this video is laughable.

it is like they are proud to document and present nothingness.
Samit Sarkar's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2008 15:14
Samit Sarkar
@RestingSound: As far as I’m concerned, the player models looked fine last year — they didn’t need too much tweaking. Snow, however, is a big deal this year because of how crappy it looked in past years.

And if you read BigPopaGamer’s “If you love it, change it” Madden article, you’d know that it was pretty much completely tongue-in-cheek. Or at least, I hope it was, because if you want any of the stuff that BigPopaGamer talked about, then go play an arcade game. Madden is a simulation football game, which means that it tries to replicate the real game of football as much as possible.
MaximusPaynicus's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2008 15:23
MaximusPaynicus
I hate EA as much as anybody -- hell, I hate EA more than most, but everyone who is saying that Madden 09 doesn't look better than Madden 08 is either blind or just plain in denial.

Madden 09 is looking like it will be a significant upgrade, and it's got me excited to play it.
Def JM's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2008 15:34
Def JM
If I didnt sucks so hard at football games I would get this, which sucks being how I f'n love football. GO BEARS! But I'm with you on the snow, most of the time it looks like a dusting.

Also I would like to point out that I recently got a 360, and I can glady play Tiger Woods 08. I'm a happy man.
PaperBowser0's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2008 15:47
PaperBowser0
Looks pretty cool, but I've already got 08' and they don't really change much for me each year so I just get a new one every couple of years.
bcrt2000's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2008 16:07
bcrt2000
Samit, you are right on the money. I was on my soapbox in the comments section of VE3D's Madden Comparison post saying the same things.

I think this stuff is pretty impressive. Its too bad its taken the 4th version of this generation (06, 07, 08, 09) to get there though. For NHL it only took 2 years (07, 08) to get really good and be a legitimate sports game of the year. They did a good job in showing the difference which isn't readily apparent to the people who say "$60 roster update!". I think that some of the Madden 08 stuff looks a little more blurry than it should though (especially in the footplanting comparison).

I'm so sick of the haters. Yes, from a casual view, 90% of the game is going to look the same as last year, 90% of the game is going to play the same as last year; thats true for any sports game. Football never changes, so its always going to look and play like Football! But the tweaks to the League Modes, AI, Animations & Online play can make such a huge difference in a game like this. Its easy to slap together a game that approximately looks and plays like Football and has a career mode (Madden 06), but its much harder to get all the details right and have a balanced AI which is fun to play against, which is what they've been doing the last 3 iterations. Its not just a roster update.

I don't understand why people who don't play sports games hate on them. Do they go around and hate on other genres that they don't like to play? I don't like Turn-Based Combat in RPGs, but I don't go around bashing Final Fantasy 7, because I know its one of the best games out there and it wouldn't be fair for me to judge the whole game based on one aspect that I dislike. Also seems like the Jap RPGs have had relatively the same formula to me since the NES days, but again, I'm not going to hate on it because I haven't actually sat down and played one start-to-finish.

Haters are delusional to think that they aren't throwing resources at this thing. Someone who DOES play sports games can notice a big difference year-to-year. There are people working on this game 11 months every year. If you don't feel the work of a team of people for a year is worth $60, then fine, thats your business. But don't think that they just have one guy come in and work on the game for a few days, and say "HAY GUYZ HERES MADDEN 09!". Some people say that these games should only be $30 since they come out yearly. If they cut the price in half, would people be satisfied with half the amount of work done on the game being cut in half?
Tubatic's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2008 16:19
Tubatic
Updated game is updated. Everyone loved the all brand new Smash Bros and Mario Kart.

OH SNAP! :)

Flamebaiting aside, when you're talking about a sport game, you have the core game, which doesn't change in in reality , aside from rules and rosters, and then you've got features and nuances, which give the player more control over the simulation.

I'll admit, I haven't bought a Madden game in a few years, primarily because I don't need the updates they make every year. But its still a very solid game and can be a whole load of fun.
dtomek's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2008 16:33
dtomek
Five easy steps to make Madden decent.

Step One: Throw out everything involving offense in this game, right down to the last coffee stained sticky note.

Step Two: Implement a decent running system. Likely source; NFL 2K5. Hell its been years now and they aren't allowed to make NFL games anymore so they probably won't mind.

Step Three: Implement a passing system that does not reward the 20yd drop and bomb.

Step Four: ....?

Step Five: Profit

Alternatively I present the two step program to profit, of which I am confident EA is fully aware of.

Step One: ....?

Step Two: Profit!
Samit Sarkar's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2008 16:38
Samit Sarkar
@bcrt2000: Marry me.
Haxan's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2008 16:50
Haxan
It's official: GameTrailers is biased against the year 2008.
manta's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/23/2008 18:18
manta
OMG, A FIELD COVERED IN SNOW. NEVER BEFORE HAS THIS BEEN SEEN IN MADDEN.


Wait. I'm pretty sure my Madden 02 on the PS2 had that.

Nice try Tiburon.

Can we actually just get a Madden game that has ALL the features of the previous games and knock off this add/subtract cockamamie bullshit? Gawd.

I bought '08 last year (the last madden game I bought being Madden '02) and it was fun for a while. But it was just not innovative enough for my tastes. There's so much more they could do with the game, and yet they like to focus on "making the tackles look more real." How about we make the gameplay more real, you idiots?
Burnt Meatloaf's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/24/2008 06:10
Burnt Meatloaf
Static models are easy.

So, what did they do as far as animation is concerned?
Itchy's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/24/2008 08:11
Itchy
Man Madden is of no concern to a European. Samit I want you to report on FIFA 09. Giddy up!
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