Best Madden I've played

There are balance issues when it comes to the AI with the offense and defensive lines. You'll usually hit a brick wall when trying to blitz the computer's quarterback while your O-Line usual let at least one guy through un-touched when they send at least 5 guys at you. maybe I'm not as good at seeing a blitz pre-snap but I expect more than 1.5 seconds before a tackle gets to my QB.

Tom Hammond is descent. Chris Collinsworth does as a good job with the color commentary, about as close to getting the call of a real game as you will get in a sports title.

Very accessible online component. Very easy to find someone with similar skills as you to play with. I never noticed any lag in the games I played.

Good franchise mode with the ability to build your team from scratch and take them all the way from preseason to the Superbowl.

Madden 09 is pretty easy as far as getting the achievments. Not as easy as Madden 06, but pretty close. Most people can get at least 900 points with very little difficulty.

Shiny like COD4, plays like every WW2 shooter

The story telling in the solo campaign works like COD4 (I say "works like COD4" or something similar alot in this review). Between each mission there is a slick presentaion of how the war is going and what you will need to do in the next mission. In-game you take the perspective of a mute private along for the ride while your CO (in this case, Kiefer Sutherland) point out points of interests and objectives, basically tells you were you need to go next.

The single player campaign is split into two sections. The Soviet campaign and the Asian campaign.

The Russian missions are not very different from the other soviet missions from past COD games, you see Nazi in bombed out building, you shoot Nazi. the problem is that the developer, while creating a realistic environment with realistic characters and set pieces, is basically making the same environment they did with COD 1, 2, and 3. All very realistic and historically accurate, but all the same.

While the Asian levels are more innovative and intense that the Russian missions, get ready to die a lot. If you are easily frustrated by trial and error game play, you will hate these levels. I found myself dieing 5 or 6 times because I couldn't see the sniper in the trees behind me slowly draining my health, or something similar.

The controls and visuals are similar to COD4, which work well in this game. But it adds to the feeling that I have already played this game before putting the disc into the 360.

The multiplayer is also similar to COD4, which also works in the game because the upgrade and perk system is welcome in any multiplayer shooter. The zombie mode (COD's answer to GOW2's Horde mode). is fun for a little while but becomes boring and repetitive after a couple of hours. Side note; I don't spend a lot of time on competitive multiplayer in any game because I'm usually the worst player in the room and usual have a 3 to 1 death/kill ration. I usually play co-op or team co-op modes like horde or zombie Nazis in this game. usual will play a little but consider that when reading my multiplayer reviews.

Basically if you liked COD4, you'll probably like this game if your not looking for innovation. Rent for solo campaign, you can probably finish that in under a week. Buy if you liked COD4 multiplayer because it's basically the same in this game.