Unfortunately, the franchise mode is still woefully inefficient. Again it all goes back to logic and AI. The CPU teams don’t have any. The Colts drafting two QBs, one in the 1st and one in the 2nd in the 2009 draft is just ridiculous. The Patriots cutting Randy Moss for no apparent reason, Peyton Manning retiring with an OVR ability of “99” (which is godlike), player progression being basically non existent, the injured reserve system not working (still…), and free agent signings that have no rhyme or reason to them all makes the franchise mode feel stale, unrealistic, and pointless. Yes, the simulated stats are better than they used to be but that’s not nearly enough to save franchise mode from its lack of common sense. Franchise fans will love the new NFL Head Coach 09 but if you are looking for the basics to be covered in Madden – sorry, not this year.

What you are left with is a great 2-player game, a lot of features that the well established fan base most likely won’t care about (even though Backtrack and Rewind are both pretty good ideas), a half-baked online league system, and gameplay that is at times highly polished and entertaining yet also plagued by AI issues. Considering the state of the game it’s easy to recommend for online gamers and those who have access to play against a buddy on the same machine. For solo players it’s a tough call. It’s probably best to wait for EA to issue its patch (which they are working on as I type this) to see of some of the quirks are ironed out.

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