Preview by: Jason McMaster

It's hard to think of a more American pastime than collecting sports cards. That's why adding a card collecting side-game onto Madden 10 isn't such a crazy idea. In fact, it works, and I'll bet that many Madden players will take notice if for no other reason than because it’s free – well, to a point.

In Madden Ultimate Team you purchase, trade and sell cards: players, coaches, stadiums, etc. When you first start, you're presented with a starter pack of 36 cards, which is enough to get you going. Of course, the quality of these cards may be a bit…dubious, but that's what you get for free. Once you've opened your pack, you can place the players in your depth chart and prepare to hit the field with your ragtag bunch.

Most of the details are the same as In Madden 10 but there’s a new Chemistry rating. Chemistry takes into account how many of a player's actual teammates are on your team, from college or pro, and how well they work together. Naturally, the higher your team chemistry the better, and your team’s play will be improved on the field if everyone is familiar with each other.

Improving your team comes at the price of purchasing booster packs of cards. Ahhh and there’s the rub. Depending on what you're looking for in the game, there are different price points and quality levels for each type of pack. You can spend earned “coins” to buy new cards (which is a fairly slow process) or spend Xbox Live or PSN credits (i.e. cash) to buy stuff.