Madden fans come in several different categories.

There are the hardcore online gamers, just like Scarface, fighting for the money, and the power, and the women. Well, maybe not the women, but you get the idea.

In another corner, there are the franchise players. These are the guys who pour over their franchise for hours, honing their every aspect of their virtual team and creating their own world.

Then, there are the grumblers and haters. These players will buy every version of Madden, but whine and complain to every message board and fanboy within earshot about how online sucks, how it’s full of glitches, how Electronic Arts is just out for the money because of its exclusivity with the NFL, and so on. Like those crackpots refusing to believe Barack Obama’s citizenship, these folks will never be satisfied regardless of any evidence contrary to their beliefs.

Under this backdrop, EA Tiburon’s Madden NFL 10 may be as close to satisfying as many of these different gridiron factions then ever before.

“You have to take the good with the bad,” said Phil Frazier, senior producer for EA Tiburon. “At the end of the day we just have to realize that over-zealous fans really want the same thing we do – the ultimate game of NFL football. Clearly sometimes our priorities differ but at least we want the same thing.”

Push 'em back, way back

Pro-Tak means better pro football

A big reason for the overall increase in positive vibes toward the franchise revolves around what makes the game, or any game, enjoyable – gameplay. Specifically for Madden, it’s the new Pro-Tak system.

This new animation devise fine tuned the animations on the players and allows for gang tackles of up to nine players on a ball carrier. Gone are the days of running backs sucked into a void of 300-pound lineman and bruising linebackers. Now, each player on the defense must do their job or a back-breaking, Barry Sanders-esque escape may ensue and results in a highlight-reel touchdown.

“Pro-Tak is one of those features that takes a full year to develop,” Frazier said. “A.I . and animation are both critical to our game and the fact that Pro-Tak really hit both systems meant we had to take this very seriously. It seems silly but we had to deal with many problems that were caused by assumptions in our old system.

Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia

“For example, players before knew that after two defenders had a ball-carrier wrapped up they didn’t have to worry about the tackle. We had to adjust our A.I. to allow the players on the field to continue to fight well after contact. There were many similar things that popped up throughout the year as we implemented this very ambitious technology.”

The hype around the Pro-Tak system appears to be justified.

For a skeptical fan base always wary of proclamations of “the next great thing” the reviews have been positive.

Andy Phythian is the owner of popular fansites MaddenPlanet.com and EASportsFans.com. Established in 1997, MaddenPlanet.com is one of the oldest Madden fansites out there and boasts about 40,000 members. When it comes to rooting through bluster and substance, the folks at MaddenPlanet.com are among the most discerning in the business.

“EA has definitely spent a significant amount of their development time working on [the Pro-Tak system],” Phythian said. “The results are mixed, however. The dynamic gang tackling is nice, there’s nothing more satisfying than controlling a big, strong running back and pushing forward or dragging a bunch of defensive backs as you fight for that first down. When it comes to ‘Fight for the fumble,’ while the animations are nice … the button-mashing element is something that can quickly grow a bit old. I think we’ll see the bigger benefits of Pro-Tak next year and beyond as EA implements the technology further.”

War room decisions

Online franchise takes it further

So while the game play is a positive, EA Tiburon truly took online gaming to the next level with its franchise.

Arguably one of the most ambitions online ventures of any sports platform game, the online franchise allows friends to hold drafts, via console or PC, compete, track stats, and pretty much rule the world.

“The great thing about our approach to the mode this year is that we built the mode to be a server-based persistent experience,” Frazier said. “All of your franchise data is housed on EA servers. This in itself isn’t cool but by doing this it has opened the door to us providing Franchise-related experiences outside of the console.”

This means accessing your league anywhere, anytime. Frazier also said EA plans to release an iPhone application which allows players to manage their team and make trades from anywhere.

The evolution from straight up gamer vs. gamer to getting 31 of your closest friends for a full-blown war is an ambitious step forward for the next-gen consoles.

It’s this sort of ambition and willingness to improve, and not just sit on their NFL exclusivity agreement and pop out another $60 game, that’s making an impression with fans.

“The reaction this year, overall, has been very positive,” Phythian said. “The steps taken to improve the game from what we saw in Madden 09 has impressed the vast majority of people who have so far played the game. … Madden NFL 10 feels like a much improved game and has re-ignited enthusiasm for the series.”

Joey Porter brings the pain

Always changing, always the same

Because the age range of the Madden game tends to skew older than other games, history plays a big part in the series.

When Michael Vick signed with the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night after serving nearly two years in jail on charges related to dog fighting, the buzz became frantic among games. Not because of any moral dilemma, but because of what Vick’s return to the virtual world means to the game.

Vick was damn near unstoppable in Madden 07 and rightly belongs in the pantheon of dominant video game football stars with Randall Cunningham and just below the all time video gridiron god, Bo Jackson.

It’s that kind of passion and understanding of history, not just of the NFL but of how the league is portrayed in video games spanning the last two decades, that sets Madden apart from other games.

Madden, and even its more primitive football predecessors like Tecmo Bowl, are as recognizable as Link’s green leotards, Mario’s mustache and Master Chief’s helmet.

That being said, perhaps no series in the history of video games has been nitpicked, scrutinized, and picked apart to an almost ridiculous degree than Madden. Mario can jump on Koopa Troopas all he wants in a magical fantasy world full of mushrooms, but that counter trap better obey all laws of physics and football or God help you.

So the fact that Madden 10 has taken such great leaps to improve its game play, to provide the best online franchise it can, means a lot to those who remember the game’s humble beginnings on the Apple IIe in 1988.

“It’s a success as well because Madden NFL 10 is a significant step over any other version of Madden we’ve seen to date,” Phythian said. “It’s still not perfect however, and we’re already working on our patch wishlist let along our Madden NFL 11 wishlist. … But, if I was to describe Madden NFL 10 as the game that marked the arrival of Madden to next generation consoles in a serious way, I don’t think I would be exaggerating.”

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