Madden 09 headed for end zone

The traditional gift material for a 20th anniversary is fine china. However, Electronic Arts announced today that the latest entry in the two-decades-old Madden NFL series is being commemorated with gold instead. Specifically, the game has gone gold and is ready to make its August 12 release date.

Fronted by recently retired Green Bay Packer great Brett Favre, Madden NFL 09 arrives with a variety of tweaks and changes to the formula in tow. For one thing, Electronic Arts has instituted an adaptive artificial-intelligence system that will tailor its difficulty to the player's skill level on the fly. Players will also be able to call for a do-over on particularly disastrous plays, and the backtrack feature has the game break down a play and point out exactly what went wrong and what should have been done instead.

Madden NFL 09 is set for release on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, and Xbox. A Wii version of the game will also be released that day under the tweaked moniker Madden NFL 09 All-Play. Collector's Edition packages of the game, including the full version of NFL Head Coach 09, will also be available on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 for $90.