I just used All-Madden ranking and I was losing...so I dropped it below that. I believe My Madden IQ was really high on offense. Maybe I will try that later....I may just move to HEAD COACH though. The CE packaging IS great. Although, Madden '93 has lost its flair.

There's a bug in the PS3 version in the training camp/mini-game. In the QB drill, sometimes if I throw what looks like a TD pass that the receiver catches in the end zone (I can't tell if it's out of bounds or not), I don't get credit for a TD and they put me on the 1 or 2 yard line for every play after that. At that point, I can throw TD passes but they don't count. Again, I don't know if the pass that starts it is caught out of bounds or not, because they keep the camera on the QB and it's far away. I have replicated this 3 or 4 times.

It might be that you can't throw a pass that the receiver catches in the end zone. Maybe the receiver has to catch it and run in the end zone. That can't be by design, can it?

The only games that go to a 2nd OT are playoff games. Regular season games end in a tie as well during the regular season. Last one I recall was I think Atlanta and maybe New York 3 or 4 years ago.

I suck on defense, both passing and rushing. I've done the training, but still feel totally useless when I am not on offense.

Is this worth getting? The last football game I owned was NFL2K5. I never was a big Madden fan, or a fan of football games in general. Has it improved? I have heard previous years were actually steps back.

If you're not a big Madden or football fan, but want to try it out, I'd either just get last year's version for cheap, or wait a few months and get this year's version for cheap. If I wasn't an NFL fan (or if I had any willpower) that's what I'd do.

Is it true that if you put the setting on Hardcore, you never see Collinsworth breaking down plays (the Backtrack feature)?

The backtrack is different from the Collinsworth feature, I think.

Collinsworth basically goes back and breaks down a play, including where it went wrong, where it should have gone (basically, who was open) and the approximate % success rate of the offense vs. the called defense.

The backtrack allows you to press X and redo the last play completely.

Yeah, thats what I meant. When he breaks it down is called the backtrack, but when you re-do the play is called the rewind feature. I was just curious if playing on Hardcore mode voids the backtrack feature, because thats what I heard on another forum.

Ah, sorry, I got confused...

I have to say that the gameplay on the new Madden is out of this world. Everything from the play controls to the commentary is spot on.

I do have one minor gripe though. Where are all the bells and whistles? This is typical for Madden games throughout the years. Where is my pre-game show? Half time show? Post game show? Heck, they even removed the player of the game from this year's version.

They have the ESPN license for goodness sakes, why aren't they using it to its fullest potential?

I am only two games into my season. I shudder to think what will happen if I win the Super Bowl. Or should I say what won't happen. Usually there is some jumping up and down by the players and that is it. When you win the Super Bowl, something exciting should happen. Not sure what that something is, but we should be rewarded somehow for winning the Super Bowl.

Like I said, minor gripe......I love this game and I will be playing it for a long time.

Getting last year's version is NOT good advice on the PS3 side. The 360 version might be good though.

I'm not sure what the deal is with the ESPN license. It seems they don't want it to show much, if at all. I don't know if it goes back to their legal dispute with "EASN" or if they just want their own style of presentation (such as it is). Sega really went all out. You could even buyget a Mel Kiper Jr. poster for your crib.

BTW, they could have made the trophy thing easier to pick out. At first, I thought it was just that column of rings, but there is a rack on the left and on the right that I didn't notice. They should have made this easier to see.

I'm really enjoying the game as well. My last version was the '07 game, so this seems like a huge improvement. I like touches such as the simplified play-calling for the non-hardcore football fans like myself. My only complaint is that (as far as I can tell) you need to have an XBL membership to download updated rosters. I think I have a free trial card somewhere, so I'll use that I suppose.

The download roster thing really bites. Why not just make it a selectable download in a menu somewhere, like most sports titles do? Seems like you have to join an online ranked game just to download the updated roster...

I bought the Wii version yesterday. When you log on to EA's online section of the game, the first popup menu asks if you want to update the rosters. I did that then logged off, and it did put Favre on the Jets. I guess I forgot to save it though because when I tried it later in the day after turning the game off it had went back to the old rosters.

I bought the Wii version rather than the PS3 version for the All-Play and 5 on 5 features. I don't know if the All Play makes it worth getting this version if you have the choice of the PS3 or 360. It adds an element of control you don't get with the other versions, but it's not that big of a deal. The 5 on 5 game is really fun though. If there was a Wii Sports version of football it would probably be similar to this. I've played it almost as much as I have the regular game.

The Collector's Edition for the PS3 and 360 also has a 16 bit Madden '93 game on it with updated rosters. I would love to have that but the price tag is $80, so I passed.

I am starting to find my way around the game, but there are still a couple of things that I can't seem to figure out. How can I try to kick a field goal, when it isn't a readily available option? There has been a couple of times at the end of the game with time winding down that I would like to go for a field goal, and am out of time outs, but I can't figure out how to do it, since it isn't in the options available. I'd like to try for the 50 yard field goal achievement as well, but when I am that far back, it seems like it only gives me punting options.

I wasn't sure about how to update the rosters, but I guess reading above tells me how to do it.

I have a feeling you're using the "Madden Choice" play option, or it's making you use that option if you tested a little lower than average.

To change from the plays they recommend you'll have to go into choosing plays by formation, and in that set there is a special teams section that will have field goals available at any time.

Edit: IIRC, you should be able to change the play calling options by pressing B (I think) to change the menus to get to the first menu screen which is your play calling option menu.

I usually use By Play Type, and can't find FG under there, nor can I find it when I hit B and go through all of the sections. I'll specifically go under special teams next time. Thanks

Anyone having issues with Madden FREEZING in franchise mode? I just started this weekend and it froze on me 2 times. Once during the 1st Qtr, and once after I trained.

I haven't but I have read where this seems to be a common occurrence.

2008 did that too me all the time mostly whenever I tried to sim the rest of the week.

It froze on me a couple of times, requiring a reboot. I feared the RROD was close behind.

It froze on me when I ended a game, and it asked if I wanted to do some virtual training... I chose "yes" and sat there for a few minutes, with none of the controls registering.

I skipped NCAA this year, but I've had to exchange my initial copies of NCAA the previous two years for new copies because they would stall during games.

Hasn't froze on me yet, about 12 games into a franchise.

Question: So you have to play an online game 1st before you can download the new rosters? I never played Madden 08, so I'm not familiar with that.

I know it's still preseason final cuts/rosters are still a few weeks away. Will there be a roster update after that?