I got a chance to play the Wii version of Madden NFL 10 on the E3 2009 show floor and I came away very happy. I played as my favorite team, the Green Bay Packers, in the 5-on-5 mode that has been in past Wii Maddens.

Besides the new art style, the passing controls have also been entirely revamped. Gone are the questionable motion passing and numerous other motion controls. Instead, in their place is a passing system that uses the Wii's pointer.

You press the A button to hike the ball, which is a vast improvement over the previous jerking of the Wii Remote to hike the ball, and then you point at the receiver you want to throw the ball to. It is very easy to use and seems to be pretty forgiving; As long as you point near the receiver, it will usually go to him. You can also direct which side of the receiver the ball goes to by holding a direction on the analog stick. The old passing controls will still be in the game for anyone who prefers that.

In addition to the new passing mechanic, there are some other small changes to the game that work wonders to improve it. Last year, Call Your Shots was added to the offense. This allowed you to draw a route with the Wii Remote pointer for your receiver. This year, Call Your Shots is being added to defense. You can now alter you defensive player’s assignment by changing him to a zone, man-to-man, or blitz. It doesn’t offer as much customization as the offensive Call Your Shots mode, but it is really nice to have the ability to change the player’s assignment very quickly.

Also, instead of having moves such as stiff arms mapped to motions, they are now mapped to buttons. You still do a spin move with a Wii Remote shake, but stiff arms are now on the left and right directional buttons on the Wii Remote.

According to Yuri Bialoskursky, Associate Designer at EA Tiburon, the Wii version of Madden NFL 10 is finished and is ready for its release on August 14.