Madden NFL Continues To Dominate

By Richard Rice
Love of Sports Correspondent

Ask a person who isn’t into sports the question, “Who is John Madden?,” and chances are they’ll tell you he is the guy who makes all those video games.

Madden has the highest career overall winning percentage in NFL history, including the playoffs. His overall record is (112-39-7), and his Oakland Raiders won Super Bowl XI.

Even though Madden has such a decorated football past, he’s even more well known in America, as well as the rest of the world, for his video game and PC franchise “Madden NFL Football” by EA Sports.

“Madden NFL 2009” (http://www.easports.com/madden09/), in stores August 12, will be the 20th edition of this wildly popular football game. The website tells us “20 years of innovation continues with more than 85 new features and enchancements” to what is already, in my opinion, the best video game series - ever.

It’s not even a competition.

The Madden series is truly the best gaming experience a sports fan can have. Whether it’s on Playstation 2 or 3, XBoX or Nintendo Wii, Madden NFL allows the gamer to take full control of any team, any player, any defense or any play in a format that continues to become more and more realistic.

And now the XBoX 360 and Playstation3 both offer High Definition gaming, so the picture quality is as excellent as the top notch graphics put out by these systems.

Not to be outdone by the success of Madden with the NFL, EA Sports just released “NCAA Football 2009” on July 15. Essentially the same game, but for the college teams instead of the NFL, “NCAA Football” is as good as its professional counterpart. But personally, I’m a bigger fan of the NFL, so I like Madden better. Though, I’m sure there are fans of the college game who feel the same way, because if you like one of the games, then chances are you’ll like them both.

These games allow you take any team to the playoffs, and perhaps even a championship. For myself, being a lifelong Atlanta Falcons fan, I know “Madden 2009” is the only way I’ll see the them in the Super Bowl this year, and this will help me get through what will most likely be another long, tough season.

The college game offers gamers the same championship experience, but in the bowl and poll format, just like the real NCAA football season. But again, the beauty here is that even if you’re an alumni of Duke, or Northwestern, or Stanford, on the video game version of the 2009 season your team can kick some ass and win it all. And I don’t mean you can lead your alma mater to just the ACC, Big 10 or Pac 10 title, but all the way to a BCS game and possibly even a national championship.

That’s the greatness of these video game formats. Follow along with your favorite college or pro team and play the same game the real teams will play each week, or start a dynasty and build a powerhouse and rack up multiple championships as you play well into the next decade. The game keeps real-time stats and even creates new players to draft or recruit as you go deeper into dynasty mode.

So, if you’re a big football fan, but your favorite teams suck, then get “Madden 2009” or “NCAA 2009” and take control of your teams. Hate your teams’ owner or head coach, fire them and make yourself GM, head coach and offensive coordinator if you want. Or you can create yourself as a player, recruit yourself to your favorite team and win the Heisman Trophy for your school on your way to becoming a campus legend.

Go and get two of the best video game franchises ever and start your teams’ winning streak today, even if your team’s the Atlanta Falcons.