Madden NFL 09 Hits Stores

EA's Madden 09 hits stores, offering dozens of new features and a replay tool that lets players figure out how they should have called a play.

Electronic Arts‘ latest update to its football franchise, Madden NFL 09, lands at retailers today…and already the curse of sports-video-game packaging has struck the game. Madden 09 boxes were originally to feature quarterback Bret Favre in that familiar Green Bay Packers uniform. But Favre went to the New York Jets last week, meaning Madden 09 is redoing its boxes with Favre in a Jet’s uniform.

Of course, in the game, players can have Favre play for any team they like.

Madden NFL 09 sports more than 80 new features and enhancements, including a Virtual Training Center that sets up the game’s difficulty level for individual players, and an interactive tutorial mode that teaches players basic football strategy and how to use the game controls. Furthermore, the game will adapt to players’ skills as they progress through the game, adjusting the difficulty level as their “Madden IQ” develops.

The game also features a new BackTrack tool that lets players replay and take apart key game plays and figure out how they could have done better. The game also features more realistic weather and stadium models, and the ability to create online leagues with up to 32 teams—including the ability to trade players between teams.

Madden NFL 09 also represents the 20th anniversary of the football franchise: more than 70 million Madden titles have been sold to date.

Madden NFL 09 is available for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, and the PlayStation Portable. It’s rated E for “Everyone” by the ESRB.