So, here we are again, another year, another Madden. Really, these games are just getting harder and harder to write up. After reviewing Madden 09 and conceding that it was still the best Madden to date if only thanks an array of successful, if incremental changes to the winning formula, it felt as though repetition was all but guaranteed for my review of this latest iteration of the hugely successful gridiron franchise - 'same as last year, only a bit better - goodnight and goodluck!'

Luckily, this hasn't quite turned out to be the case for Madden 10; be you of the Madden hardcore or part time persuasion, there may be little to suggest that the series has made any huge changes to the basic gameplay and presentation upon initially starting up the game - Like Tiger Woods 10, first impressions suggest a title that has hit a wall in terms of substantial improvements in its current state - however, like Tiger Woods 10, Madden 10 is the kind of game that shows its true quality after extended play. Sure, it has the much vaunted Pro-Tak system and the crowd pleasing online franchise mode to stick on the back of the box, but it's the minor changes to gameplay that will ring true for fans of real football.

Like EA's other big football franchise, FIFA, Madden 10 has clearly put a greater emphasis on the basics of the sport rather than filling it with gimmicky new game modes - and wisely so. In this day and age, it's not the bullet points on the back of the box that is going to sell your game, it's the Metacritic score.

The first thing you will probably notice about Madden 10 is the speed of the game. Although always extremely playable, critics of Madden in the past have always pointed to the fact that the game still feels very much like a videogame interpretation of the sport, never quite capturing the manic speed and chaos of the real NFL that so many around the world watch on a Sunday afternoon (or evening, if like me you live in the UK). This has been partially addressed this year; Madden 10 is faster than before and certainly feels more hectic and frenzied and certainly resembles a real football game a lot more closely than Madden 09 ever did.

Of course this increase in speed can be amended via one of the games many sliders. Making a welcome return for Madden 10, these gameplay sliders once again allow for simple, but very accurate customization to every aspect of Madden 10's gameplay. On the standard setting, the game already feels faster than last year, but crunk it up to fastest and you are going to have some very challenging, but surprisingly rewarding games of football on your hands.

The passing game also has more weight to it for Madden 10 and the running game feels like a more accurate representation of the sport, with not only star wide receiver's having a very realistic turn of pace, but thanks to the updated fatigue stats, no longer available as the constant go to guy for every single play; keep sending long bombs for your star player to chase and soon enough, fatigue will start to take its toll and you will have to look elsewhere for your yards. It's one of Madden 10's subtle, but hugely influential changes, a welcome change that ensures games don't fall into cycles of repetition and rinse and repeat play calling.

This more realistic, chaotic style of football is further enhanced by one of Madden's traditionally box friendly new additions; the Pro-Tak system. This is essentially new technology added to the game that allows gang tackling and more realistic fumble recoveries. Rather than just the one defender taking you down, you can now have up to nine opposing players all attempting to drag you off your feet. It's a system that works surprisingly well and adds hugely to the feeling that in Madden 10, you are now fighting for every single yard. It does have some flaws; players too often squirm their way out of seemingly impossible positions, one-on-one offensive manoeuvres too often lean towards the offensive player and some gang tackles verge on the absurd (nine players will often all converge on you when, quite clearly, two or there would have sufficed), but all in all, it's an impressive addition to gameplay that has been implemented very successfully.

Pro-Tak has also had a positive knock-on-effect to the games animations. While the animations in the Madden series have always been pretty solid, Madden 10 is probably the first time that the animations have successfully captured the on the field movement of the real game - each tackle looks unique and movement with the ball feels more fluid and natural. Your behaviour also feels more susceptible to the opposing player's actions than ever before, with traditional canned animations to certain types of catch and tackle feeling a lot let prominent this year.

The basic game modes in Madden 10 are largely the same as they have been for the past few years - tip for newcomers, last year's extremely useful Madden test, y'know, the cool Tron looking training sessions that helped decide your skill level, this is now hidden away under quick-modes. It's basically the same as last year, but if you're new to the series or just need a quick refresher, it's still hugely helpful. However, beyond this and the usual collection of online and offline game modes, Madden 10 has finally got around to adding Online Franchise into the mix.

Online franchise is something that is going to make hardcore Madden fans very happy, it's also something, that by default will probably scare the crap out of the more casual observer, and rightly so. Although crafted with care and as easy to set-up and use as one might hope, your enjoyment of this mode will depend largely on two factors - 1) your own commitment and 2) the other players involved in said online franchise.

If you are committed and find a good group of players to join in with, online franchise can turn into the kind of life stealing revelation that fans of the series hoped it would be. Get a quality commissioner as well (essentially the leagues big decision maker), and online franchise really turns into something special. Like any fantasy football league, bragging rights tend to spur you on and fuel your commitment; pipping an opposing player to the signing of a free agent and beating a friend in a tightly contested league game can be massively rewarding.

As I have already stated though, this level of enjoyment is completely dependent upon your own commitment and the type of players you set up with. In a more relaxed league, one with quite a few CPU controlled teams, online franchise become home to some niggling little issues. The biggest of these is probably the lack of salary restrictions and the unchecked movement of players. If the rest of the players in the league aren't really paying attention, it's too easy to sign up any player you want and dump your weaker player on the CPU controlled teams in exchange for some of their own star players. Sure, with a solid commissioner on board, this argument is null and void, but for more relaxed affairs, these transfer issues can tarnish the experience.

Still, this is a relatively minor issues in the grand scheme of things, and with online franchise doing so many things right, especially on the technical side of things, it's hard to get too caught up with the few negative aspects of this new and extremely successful game mode.

Although largely unchanged, the still brilliant offline franchise mode does have one new addition, one that sadly serves primarily to remind players of some of Madden's biggest short comings. The Extra Point is essentially a new presentational tool hosted by Fran Charles and Alex Flanagan that acts both as a recap during half time and chance to look over the previous weeks games. This probably looks pretty good on paper, but just like commentary in the main game, the efforts of Fran and Alex are both repetitive and lifeless, making this addition feel like one of Madden's more cynical box tick additions.

The fact that the awards handed out each week by the team feel far too random don't help either (check the stats, they just don't quite add up). Sadly, this apparent randomness also mars player stat progression as you make your way through a season. Although the criteria are supposedly based on a mix of age, performance and potential, the results, just like the Extra Point awards, feel far too removed from what has actually occurred on the field and in the league.

Beyond the improvements to the basic animations, Madden 10 has also seen some vast improvements in its attempts to mimic TV style presentation; jets fly over head before big games, stadiums look better than ever, the crowds, before and during the game look fantastic and the statistics and news feeds that pop-up on screen as you play the game prove a very welcome addition to the package. It's just a shame that so much of this hard work is undone by the largely shocking commentary.

While commentary has always been one of Madden's weak points, you would think at least some attempt would have been made to remedy the situation - sadly not. The team of Chris Collinsworth and Tom Hammond are at it again via the kind of recycled, poorly delivered commentary that would make Mark Lawrenson and Jon Champion over at Pro Evolution Soccer proud.

Although the on-field effects are solid and crowd noise reassuringly accurate, you just can't shake the feeling that the soundtrack for madden 10 just doesn't feel quite right. Although rarely great, the music always felt like a good fit for the game. However, in the case of Madden 10 and its mix of old school rock and surprisingly heavy metal, the soundtrack feels more like one players customized track list rather than a collection of songs chosen to please a wider audience.

Although far from perfect, Madden 10 does feel reassuringly like a game that puts fundamental gameplay ahead of the ticks on the back of the box. Gameplay finally feels more akin to the sport we watch on television, successfully capturing some of the chaos and brutality of the real game. Many will buy this simply because it's the latest Madden game, regardless of quality, but for those sitting on the fence, thanks to the mostly brilliant online franchise mode, the improvements to presentation and the altogether more assured gameplay mechanics, Madden 10 is the first game in the series for quite some time that I can wholeheartedly recommend, regardless of whether you already have last year's iteration sitting on your shelf.

Reviewed by Liam Pritchard for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).