EA are all too aware that American Football isn’t the most intuitive sport in the world, and as a Brit whose time spent spectating American Football is kept to a minimum, I’m conscious that I (and most likely you) could well be classed as an NFL beginner. So when approached by a distinctly Leia-like hologram of John Madden on loading up NFL 09, I jumped at the former NFL star’s offer to take me through the ropes and determine ‘My Skill’.

My Skill is Tiburon’s chosen method of making the Madden experience far more accessible to NFL beginners than it has been in previous years. Dynamically reacting to your in-game behaviour, My Skill raises or lowers the difficulty level depending on how you’re getting on, determined initially by your outcome of John’s ‘Madden Test’. Rather surprisingly, I fared reasonably well in the virtual test. However, it didn’t really matter, for all of Tiburon’s efforts in creating a more intuitive Madden experience fall to pieces on loading up your first game. Presented with an unfathomably overcomplicated interface, exhaustibly deep play options and a ferociously steep learning curve, NFL 09 will be all but lost on a Madden newbie.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL REVIEW >>
THIS REVIEW WILL FEATURE IN ISSUE 9 OF D+PAD MAGAZINE

Have you downloaded the latest issue from GamerZines yet? Check it out here!