Matt: Kiss the 'two-zero' in the title bye-bye this year in favor of a simpler, trendier number. You'd think that's all EA changed if you missed Madden NFL 2009. That update pushed the series's already tasty visuals offstage and instead emphasized substantive features like an adaptive difficulty mode, exhaustive analytical tools, and tactically transformative procedural animations. Surprised? I was. This year's version may do the series one better with a swing toward even more hard-core football simulation, with the whole game tuned to run and animate at a slower, more realistic speed (and it'll have a new game-speed slider if you care to dispute the dev team's defaults). EA's NCAA Football 10 stands to benefit from similar improvements, including a slick-sounding procedural awareness system that'll see players track the ball with their eyes, head, and shoulders, and change up attitudes dynamically, from shifty-eyed nervous glances to petrifying glares.
Darren: No matter what we say or do, people will go out and buy either or both of these by the truckload. That's the sad truth. Thankfully, as you've noted, neither series sits still. Oh, and don't forget that, with two athletes on this year's Madden cover, it's two times the curse! (I keeed, I keeed.) Some people will be psyched to see that the Wildcat formation used and abused by the Miami Dolphins gets implemented, but I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with the Wii version of the game, which is a little less concerned with realistic facial features. Word has it that the Nintendo-fied take gets a Team Fortress 2-esque, cartoony face-lift and some not-quite-the-usual gameplay. Let me explain the latter: Minigames, called "Spotlight Moments," will pop up midgame, and they'll have you swatting with the Wii Remote to knock a receiver's hand off the ball or to make a last-minute Hail Mary pass for the win.
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