Could this be the year Madden shuts up critics, and takes it to the house?

Those who have been following Ripten since its inception just over a year ago, know that I have not been the biggest EA Sports/Madden supporter. I have compared their in-game animations and player control features to “constipation”, and openly bashed their seemingly lax approach to churning out the Madden franchise year in and year out.

Their in-game commentary made me want to vomit, and their so called attention to detail “in the game” was laughable at times. I even went as far as to compare EA’s NFL license extension to the on-field suicide of the fictional football player in The Last Boy Scout. In other words, I had completely given up on Madden, and the notion of ever being satisfied playing video game NFL branded football ever again.

I went to E3 with no knowledge of the Madden 09 game, and even jokingly worked the line “WIll Madden have field goal nets” into the crystal ball animation on our E3 predictions post shortly before the event kicked off. For those who are unaware, Madden has not had field goal nets, on field refs, or a chain gang since they launched their next gen version several years ago.

As I wrapped up an interview with a Sony Home rep, a writer of mine approached me on the E3 show floor. He uttered one simple comment that changed everything. “Hey Chad, they have field goal nets.” Armed with this knowledge, I felt compelled to walk over to their booth and, at the very least, take a look. Read more…

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