Madden NFL 10
Gridiron that's as fast as it is physical.
There are some statistical mysteries to the game, too, which affect both the normal game and franchises. In a few years of attempting (successfully!) to resuscitate the flailing Detroit Lions, I saw remarkable increases in players' stats that were being used most actively. This may seem a strange complaint, but my offensive linemen (who had done a good a job at stopping my quarterback from getting pasted onto the turf) saw a pittance of upgrades in comparison to my receivers and tight ends. Apparently, Brandon Pettigrew (a tight end) was six points better (in Madden 10's rather conservative grading system) after a 10-touchdown season, in comparison to the one-to-two point gains on my O-line.
Furthermore, Calvin Johnson became a 97-point receiver at the end of the first season - in comparison to many great receivers who have been downgraded to high-80s in the restructure of Madden's statistics. While he did well, he is not going to become nearly as good as Larry Fitzgerald - who, by the way, is not a 99-point receiver, EA - in one good year. Stop giving mouth service to your cover athletes in the hope that it'll stave off the Madden curse!
Finally, there are two strange quirks about Madden 10. First and foremost is the choice of menu music. While usually an afterthought of nu-metal and sub-par hip hop, this Madden's choice is a bizarre mix of decade-old rock and slash metal. Since when did anybody on this planet want to hear the entirety of Judas Priest's Painkiller, in all its screechy glory, during the NFL draft? The microtransaction money-grubbing is also irritating. Charging over 100 Microsoft Points for a five per cent, one-game increase in stats, or to heal one player, is ludicrous. This is yet more effort that could have been put into fixing little mistakes in the game that have existed for five years. Like, say, players running through the stands during celebrations.
It's all doubly shameful because the raw, bare-bones football experience that you should be spending most of your time playing is excellent. It looks better than it ever has, and the elements of presentation, from pop-ups that update you on your statistics (the last play's completed yards) to the pre-game practice sessions, add that oomph to the experience that it's needed for the last few iterations. Animations feel more fluid, tackles feel more brutal, and the experience is more like a game of football rather than manoeuvring marionettes over a green field.
EA should take a page out of FIFA's book here: focus on the game. Every iteration - pre-alpha onwards - sit down and play a full game, 15-minute quarters. If it feels 'right', then you're on the right path. If players are running through the sidelines when they celebrate, you should fix that. If Chris Collinsworth says the same thing about two separate players, you should fix that. If the depth-of-field focuses in and out randomly, you should fix that too. If you get the urge to plug in somebody who works on the ESPN or Monday Night Football staff, suppress it, and keep tweaking the game until it looks, plays, and feels like a real game of football. It may not look as good on the back of the box, but it'll look better on Metacritic, I promise, and help you make more of what's already a good game.