Madden NFL 10 has ramped up the presentation this year not only with the above-mentioned visual elements, but also off the field. The heart of the series has always been in its Franchise Mode, and this year, the game adds weekly recaps of the games that were played, as well as sneak peaks at upcoming matchups, all in the form of the new EA's Extra Point, hosted by Fran Charles and Alex Flanagan (from the NFL Network). For those out there who like to dive just a bit deeper into the art of football, the Extra Point is certainly a bonus to this year's title. For the average user, this special feature is probably something that will be a novelty at first, but will be soon forgotten because of its canned voiceover nature.
The Franchise Mode of Madden NFL 10 can also be taken online, and up to a full 32 teams can join in on the ongoing fun. Keeping up with everyone playing games may be a bit daunting, but the excitement certainly outweighs the problems with this outstanding feature. You'll also be able to check out an online webpage created for your Franchise session, allowing you to keep up with your season even while not behind your console's controller. Now you can also manage your team remotely, including trading players, managing depth charts, and viewing League News and chatter.
Beyond the new additions to the Franchise Mode, Madden NFL 10 allows you to take control of any player (current or rookie, including imported players from EA's NCAA Football 10). While I'm not necessarily a big fan of the personal camera that follows your player while on the field, admittedly, it does offer a new perspective. Depending on the position that you choose to play, you'll likely have different results in terms of enjoyment. For example, while taking control of a receiver is fun, it can sometimes be hard to run routes the way they were meant to be. Sometimes you'll also see a gap in the defense, but depending on the timing of the quarterback, you'll miss out on golden opportunities due to a lack of communication between you and the QB.
The biggest feature that has been introduced in Madden NFL 10 is the Fight For Every Yard gameplay. The animation system has been greatly improved with Pro-Tak, a dynamic way for players to interact with each other. Now you can fight for fumbles under a pile of players (the first to button-mash the corresponding on-screen buttons wins), avoid sacks, avoid tackles, or make perfect tackles while on defense, among others. While the system does a pretty good job overall, there are occasionally times where I felt the Pro-Tak system failed. The most notable is that there could potentially be a number of defenders trying to bring down a ball carrier only to have him break free from the entire pile and score, which tends to be highly unrealistic. For that reason, I'm not sold on the system yet, but it is generally an improvement over past seasons.
Other features that inhabit the Madden NFL 10 disc are the new Co-Op Mode (play online with a friend), Online Quick Play (clock adjustments make the game move faster), Mini-Games (online and off), and the aforementioned Superstar Mode in which you can control any player while he's on the field. It should be noted that the Quick Play feature is a double-edged sword, with the automatic runoff of the clock after huddles to speed up play being both a blessing and a hindrance, depending on the situation on the field.
I also feel it necessary to mention that Madden NFL 10 is filled with bugs. While most of these errors are superficial either visually or from an audio standpoint, they are still suspect considering that EA is boasting about the presentation this year. Something that annoys me to no end is that often, when a play is under review, the camera is nowhere near close enough to enjoy the replays that are being shown on the screen. This is most notable when a scrum is happening, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this is on purpose due to interpenetrating players. Also, from a coaching standpoint, many instances passed by where I felt the refs either overturned or sustained a call on the field that made the end result obviously incorrect. A prime example of this was when my receiver was ruled out of bounds on a catch, so I challenged the ruling. During the replay, my receiver clearly only had one foot inbounds, yet the official reversed the call and gave me the yardage! Situations similar to this happened all too often, unfortunately.
