The latest title update for Madden NFL 10 didn’t change the core game, but instead opened up the option for gamers to download the completely free to play Madden Ultimate Team. This feature was something introduced in last year’s FIFA, but is new to EA’s signature NFL series. Combining the addiction of card collecting with the gameplay of Madden may sound odd at first, but after a few hours with the mode, it was clear that not only is this a great way to extend the longevity of Madden NFL 10, but it provides a fresh, new way to play the same game you’ve been playing since August.

Once you download the new gameplay mode, you’ll be asked to create a team. Make sure you really like the name you’re about to use because you can’t change it after it’s set. From there, you’ll be taken to the mode’s hub, where a starter deck of cards will be waiting for you. You’ll have a full roster of players, all of which are pretty terrible. My “star” players from this deck were Deshawn Wynn and Brad Smith, so that should tell you immediately the quality of players you can expect from your first set of cards. Your starter deck will also include a coach, an offensive and defensive playbook, uniforms, and a stadium. You’re likely to not know very many of these players by name, and you’re also likely to think this mode isn’t worth messing around with once you see how pathetic your overall team rating is. You’ll want better players. You’ll want better uniforms. You’ll want more cards. This is when Ultimate Team starts to get interesting.

There are four card types. The starter deck you get is comprised solely of nearly worthless Bronze cards. These below-70 rated pros are to be considered bench role-players. Many of them are journeyman backups that would have a hard time finding a starting job unless injuries depleted a roster to the point of desperation, but you’ll find them a necessity to filling out your roster. Moderately valuable Silver cards are a little better, rating somewhere in the 70s to low-80s. Here you’ll find players like Michael Lewis or Brandon Manumaleuna; fringe starters that aren’t spectacular, but have decent core statistics that give them the edge over Bronze players. Players in Gold packs, like DeSean Jackson or Matt Hasselbeck, are top talents that you could build a team around, and are where you’ll get the most for your money. The final set of expansion packs, Platinum, holds the most coveted cards of all, Limited Edition. These cards are extremely valuable, and feature players in their prime years, like MVP year versions of Tom Brady and Brett Favre.

Each of the packs also includes new coaches, playbooks, uniforms, stadiums, and bonus cards that instantly return injured players to active duty, or contract extensions. Each card has a limited life, ranging from four games (Limited) to twelve (Bronze), that can be extended with the use of a contract extension card. Even these cards have tiers, with Limited versions extending for the longest amount of games no matter what level the player, and Bronze extending for the shortest. It’s an interesting way to keep people from stacking decks, and to keep them purchasing new expansion packs. Luckily, you’ll never have to spend a dime of your own money if you don’t want to. Cards are purchased with coins earned by playing games either against the computer or another user. You can purchase coins with Microsoft points, which will allow you to get a better set of players faster, but it’s not nearly as satisfying as earning coins on your own. It’s never really made clear just what tasks you need to complete to earn more coins. There’s no breakdown of how much everything is worth, save for the conclusion of the game when you’re given a list of how your coins were earned. Playing against a human opponent will almost always earn you more than playing against the computer, as will playing on harder difficulties.

After playing a few games, winning two and losing two, I had earned just over a thousand coins, which was enough to purchase a few packs of Bronze (500 coins), but I would have had to play double that to earn enough for even a Silver pack (1500). Gold (3000) and Platinum (9000) were way out of my league, but I had to see just how much of a difference those cards made, so for the sake of my research, I purchased 9000 coins with Microsoft points. It only cost 240, so I wasn’t that broken up about it, and it did help me get a few more key positions filled with better talent, however temporary it may be. There are some teams you’ll encounter in head-to-head that were clearly bought with real money, which isn’t really in the spirit of the mode, but are easily avoidable by backing out before the game begins. Disappointingly, you can’t play any of your friends because all PVP games are random. You can’t invite anyone, and trying to co-ordinate both people trying to start a game at the same time will almost never work. I understand that it will help keep people from laying down for one another to get more coins rather cheaply, but in that case, why not allow you to play a game unranked, and that doesn’t cost against your player contracts? It seems like an easy fix, but looks like something that will have to wait until Ultimate Team 2.0.

If you put actual money into the game, or play enough games to earn some major coinage, you can also pick up cards at the in-game auction house. Here you’ll find all sorts of cards, from rare to worthless, up for bidding for a maximum of 24 hours. All cards include a “Buy Now” price if you just want to purchase them outright, but that’s determined by the game, not the seller. Putting cards up for auction is easy, but know that the better the card, the higher the percentage of coins you’ll have to pay out to sell it. Depending on how much it sells for, you’ll also have to pay a percentage of those sales back to the game. It’s all fake money, so it’s not that big a deal, but the system is still relatively new, so you may find you’re not able to move those special Gold cards as quickly as you thought. Ultimate Team also has weekly specials, featuring a limited number of rare cards that are even more limited than the Platinum cards. For example, you could purchase 1 of 250 “Week 15 Jerome Harrison” cards that bumped his stats from an overall 82 up to 98. You’re also limited in the number of player cards you’re allowed to have at any one point (55), and to trim the deck down you can either drop the card for a fraction of its value, or put it up for auction. There’s a high turnover rate for many of the cards anyway so it’s not that big of an issue, but it would have been nice to create multiple decks.

Aside from the few issues, Ultimate Team is a pretty interesting game mode. It helps that it’s totally free, and that there’s an option to pay for more content if that’s something you’re interested in. For a first effort in this franchise, it’s a good first step. Hopefully for Madden NFL 2011, the mode will be fine-tuned, and will be a feature that becomes a staple of the franchise.