Madden NFL 10 Wii Review

Madden NFL 10 arrives on the Wii with a look that will blow away diehard Madden vets and newcomers alike. It’s been completely redesigned and rebuilt from the ground up. Madden NFL 10 is being touted as “What Fun Looks Like” on the Wii and I couldn’t agree more. This is the most social and dynamic experience from the Madden franchise to date.

Madden NFL 10 Wii / Image courtesy EA Sports

The first thing you’ll notice is the new look. And most obvious are the cartoonish new player models. Five unique body types were created for quarterbacks, receivers, linebackers, linemen and running backs. But that certainly isn’t where it ends. There’s also new grass, new lighting, new unis, new stadiums, new crowds, new Jumbotrons and gameplay animations—plus unique face textures and an all new suite of cams that encompass pre-plays, touchdowns, passes, blimp shots, post plays, big hits and more. There are also new sideline characters, objects and sky maps. Very slick.

Madden NFL 10 captures Wii’s pick up and play mentality with a host of new game modes designed to provide short, easy-to-digest gaming experiences. Madden Showdown is a 1-4 player tournament where you can enjoy classic 11-on-11 football or a quick 5-on-5, custom competition. There are three major feature components to Madden Showdown—Game Changers (like Tug of War, Fumbilitis, Turbo Mode, It’s Alive, Invisibility, All Passing Plays, All Running Plays and a Random option where you never know what you’ll get from one game to the next). There is also a Prediction System where you have a chance to guess the outcome of different categories in each game. And Spotlight Moments is where the gameplay slows to allow you to influence the biggest plays of the game (like open field tackles, a battle for the ball, sprinting to the end zone and a sack attack). Finally, Road to the Super Bowl allows 1-4 players to work together and play as a team through a partial or entire NFL season.

If you remember last season, Madden NFL 09 set a great precedent with their All-Play game mechanics. And since All-Play really lends itself, again to the Wii’s pick up and play style, it can be applied to features (of which I’ll name a couple) that appeal to both hardcore and casual players. A new passing mechanic features point and pass controls where you simply point at the receiver on the screen and press the A button to pass the ball. Same concept with All-Play Defense. Users can make an impact on defense by simply pointing and locking onto targets which then causes their defense to focus on that particular player. Swinging the Wiimote at the right time will perform the action appropriate to that situation, like swatting or picking off a pass, sacking the QB or sticking it to a running back.

Finally, there are a bunch of supporting features to round out your 2010 Madden experience. These features range from classic game modes to fan favorites. For instance, classic modes contain Franchise and Superstar in their entirety. Triggered Celebrations continue to be a fan favorite. And an all-new Wii specific roster screen contains all roster and player management functionality. The mini games are the same but they’ve been retrofitted with the new mechanics to let everyone hone their skills.

I’ve been at this game for almost a week (thanks to EA Sports for the pre-release copy—my review was embargoed until this morning at 9 a.m. ET) and I can say it’s definitely the best looking, most enjoyable Madden experience ever. Madden NFL 10 will be in-stores everywhere this Friday, August 14.