Once again, the team over at EA Tiburon has outdone themselves graphically with their yearly franchise. Madden NFL 10 looks outstanding in nearly every aspect of the game. The player models are front and center, and as would be expected, have received the most visual treatment over any other element of the game. You'll be able to see the facial features of many star players, and the general uniformed players look great. Also on the field are head coaches, who also look pretty much like their real-life counterparts.

You'll see the coaches in action a bit more this year too, as they argue calls and throw in the challenge flag. In fact, you'll also get a glimpse at the refs this year, with close-ups coming during penalties and chain gang measurements. Overall, the Madden series has undergone a presentation overhaul, adding (albeit superficially) to the general experience of playing the game.

From a commentary standpoint, the action is called nicely by Cris Collinsworth, but I can't help but still miss John Madden's blathering nonsense. Please come out of retirement, John! On the field, you'll also be treated to the live action of football, from player crunches and referee whistles to the quarterback cadence and the defensive threats that are audibly heard in the background.

Madden NFL 10 has ramped up the presentation this year not only with the above-mentioned visual elements, but also off the field. The heart of the series has always been in its Franchise Mode, and this year, the game adds weekly recaps of the games that were played, as well as sneak peaks at upcoming matchups, all in the form of the new EA's Extra Point, hosted by Fran Charles and Alex Flanagan (from the NFL Network). For those out there who like to dive just a bit deeper into the art of football, the Extra Point is certainly a bonus to this year's title. For the average user, this special feature is probably something that will be a novelty at first, but will be soon forgotten because of its canned voiceover nature.

The Franchise Mode of Madden NFL 10 can also be taken online, and up to a full 32 teams can join in on the ongoing fun. Keeping up with everyone playing games may be a bit daunting, but the excitement certainly outweighs the problems with this outstanding feature. You'll also be able to check out an online webpage created for your Franchise session, allowing you to keep up with your season even while not behind your console's controller. Now you can also manage your team remotely, including trading players, managing depth charts, and viewing League News and chatter.

Beyond the new additions to the Franchise Mode, Madden NFL 10 allows you to take control of any player (current or rookie, including imported players from EA's NCAA Football 10). While I'm not necessarily a big fan of the personal camera that follows your player while on the field, admittedly, it does offer a new perspective. Depending on the position that you choose to play, you'll likely have different results in terms of enjoyment. For example, while taking control of a receiver is fun, it can sometimes be hard to run routes the way they were meant to be. Sometimes you'll also see a gap in the defense, but depending on the timing of the quarterback, you'll miss out on golden opportunities due to a lack of communication between you and the QB.

The biggest feature that has been introduced in Madden NFL 10 is the Fight For Every Yard gameplay. The animation system has been greatly improved with Pro-Tak, a dynamic way for players to interact with each other. Now you can fight for fumbles under a pile of players (the first to button-mash the corresponding on-screen buttons wins), avoid sacks, avoid tackles, or make perfect tackles while on defense, among others. While the system does a pretty good job overall, there are occasionally times where I felt the Pro-Tak system failed. The most notable is that there could potentially be a number of defenders trying to bring down a ball carrier only to have him break free from the entire pile and score, which tends to be highly unrealistic. For that reason, I'm not sold on the system yet, but it is generally an improvement over past seasons.

Other features that inhabit the Madden NFL 10 disc are the new Co-Op Mode (play online with a friend), Online Quick Play (clock adjustments make the game move faster), Mini-Games (online and off), and the aforementioned Superstar Mode in which you can control any player while he's on the field. It should be noted that the Quick Play feature is a double-edged sword, with the automatic runoff of the clock after huddles to speed up play being both a blessing and a hindrance, depending on the situation on the field.

I also feel it necessary to mention that Madden NFL 10 is filled with bugs. While most of these errors are superficial either visually or from an audio standpoint, they are still suspect considering that EA is boasting about the presentation this year. Something that annoys me to no end is that often, when a play is under review, the camera is nowhere near close enough to enjoy the replays that are being shown on the screen. This is most notable when a scrum is happening, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this is on purpose due to interpenetrating players. Also, from a coaching standpoint, many instances passed by where I felt the refs either overturned or sustained a call on the field that made the end result obviously incorrect. A prime example of this was when my receiver was ruled out of bounds on a catch, so I challenged the ruling. During the replay, my receiver clearly only had one foot inbounds, yet the official reversed the call and gave me the yardage! Situations similar to this happened all too often, unfortunately.

Madden NFL 10 once again offers different difficulty settings to choose from, and it once again has the Madden IQ feature. With the Madden IQ, you'll be able to take on some virtual training that tests your passing, running, and pass and run defensive capabilities. From there, you'll be rated and your overall rating will adjust up and down with each game played, depending on your performance. While I'm not one hundred percent positive that it affects things, playing on the default 5 minute quarters may hinder the Madden IQ from going up quickly. The reasoning behind this thought is that the shorter than real-world clock doesn't allow as much time to pad your stats compared to the simulation results for the rest of the league, which may or may not be relevant to the Madden IQ. Of course, this feature really doesn't affect a whole lot in the game anyway.

The default difficulty setting did feel a bit easier this year, so veterans of the series may want to up the ante a bit more out of the box. I also felt like there were less interceptions taking place in Madden NFL 10 than in last year's game (where I was plagued every game!)... although you'll still throw picks if you try to take too many chances by threading the needle or haphazardly tossing it out to a well-covered receiver in the flats. The running aspect of the game felt about the same as last year's title, although with the right timing, you'll be able to break tackles and work your way to the end zone. I did feel like the overall speed of the game may be slightly slower as well, which may explain some of the above results, and which may also appeal to newcomers to the Madden franchise.

The new Pro-Tak system adds some control methods to the already complicated (to the new user, at least) controller layout that is in Madden NFL 10. Truthfully, however, Pro-Tak is mostly about using the Highlight Stick (analog) to ward off defenders or make perfect tackles, which isn't all that different from previous incarnations of the game. The thing that still hinders me is that I always want to have my thumb on either the Highlight Stick or on the face buttons, but obviously can't do both at the same time. In general, however, the same tried and true formula of the Madden series is retained for this year's title as far as controls go.

Admittedly, I am a bit disappointed in the bugs that I've encountered in the game. While none were big enough to prevent my gameplay, there were some frustrations involved in the challenging options to overturn calls. The results often seemed random, at best, instead of based on physical evidence. I also feel like the players get tired far too quickly in the game, which may or may not be a shameless promotion to sell you additional content for boosting player stats. Other than those annoyances, however, I did enjoy my experience playing Madden NFL 10 fully.

Madden NFL 10 is a very solid game and a welcome addition to the new football season. The series generally gets stronger and stronger, and it's nice to see that the developers at EA Tiburon haven't slacked off since obtaining the exclusive NFL license. If you are a fan of the series or are looking for the best football game on the planet, then there's no reason to hesitate in buying Madden NFL 10. The number of new features and the inclusion of the Online Franchise alone make the replay value and enjoyment of the game worth the price of admission. The game plays as smoothly as ever, and anyone not familiar with the series should be able to jump in thanks to the Virtual Training available to help you learn not only about the controls, but the game of football in general.