Jaik! (That’s “hike” in Spanish.) Madden NFL en español is here to spread the thrill of fútbol americano to Spanish speaking gamers. The gameplay and features are the same as in Madden NFL 09, except everything from the text to the play-by-play is in Spanish. Featured on the game’s cover (appropriately enough) is Mexican-American NFL star, Roberto Garza, who plays for the Chicago Bears. The game’s soundtrack even features Spanish songs, such as “Let’s Do This” by Fulanito.

The game itself—like all Madden NFL games of the past—is great. Realism and graphics are simply amazing. You get lifelike head-snapping hits, distinct body styles (so your kicker doesn’t look the same size as your linemen), and the players even leave footprints in the snow/mud. Better yet are the custom TD celebrations which you can control. The game supports online play allowing you to join leagues and compete against players around the world. By the way, owning the Spanish version of the game doesn’t limit you to playing only against other en español players. You can play against players who own either the English or Spanish version of the game. Another bonus of connecting online is the ability to update your rosters to accurately reflect players who have changed teams. Perhaps my favorite feature of all was the rewind feature, which basically lets you undo a major screw up and even gives you insight into what you did wrong. Nice!

We give NFL Madden 09 En Español dos pulgares arriba for its exciting and realistic gameplay. And we give mucho props to EA Sports for recognizing that Latinos do exist, do like football, and do buy their products. This almost makes up for Latinos getting left out of Star Trek…and Halo and Star Wars and…

MADDEN NFL 09 EN ESPAÑOL • $25
EA Sports
AVAILABLE FOR XBOX 360 OR PS3
www.easports.com/madden09/

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