Xbox 360 Fanboy

Call a Mulligan

Designed to make Madden NFL 09 the most forgiving and education in the longstanding franchise, one of the newest features to the game is the option to rewind plays. Allowing players to call a mulligan on downs, Rewind can help alleviate some of the frustration found in playing the, sometimes God-like, CPU. The difficulty with is that, while it was designed to help players learn from their mistakes, it can lead to players constantly redoing situations that didn't go quite as planned. Fumbled the ball? Rewind and try again. Pass interception? Rewind the last down. Play-action pass didn't translate to a 1st down? REWIND!

The Rewind function is set based on the difficulty of play calling selected. Novice players can get up to 5 rewinds in a single game while Hardcore players will receive zero. It's an interesting system but it does feel like it was included as an apology for sometimes frustrating situations rather than to help players learn.

Backtrack is a new presentation system that breaks down certain plays to showcase where players have gone wrong. This system is more helpful in teaching players proper tactics and is a treat to watch due to the staggering accuracy of the commentary.

Note: This portion of the Season Update feature has been updated for accuracy.

12/08/08