Madden NFL 08
August 23,2007 - Every year there seems to be a summer gaming drought that everybody seems to hate, but to the casual gamer—it really means nothing. Why? At the eve of it all, Madden will come to fall. This year, the game is actually a step forward for the series.

Madden NFL 08 is the first Madden game that actually gives the game a proper name for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. While it’s the third Madden game released for the Xbox 360, it didn’t really come into true form until now. Most of the signature modes were missing, so in a way, it made the previous generation’s versions of the game marginally better, depending on how you look at it. Gracing the cover of the game this year is Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young, who looks to be reviving the franchise with his game-changing intangibles. Usually, the player on the Madden cover reflects a new feature that the company takes pride in. This year, it’s no different with the read-and-react system.

In the simplest sense, the read-and-react system is pretty much a beefed up version of last year’s “roles” system. Except this time, the NFL superstars are called weapons, and they add a new strategic dimension to the games. For example, cornerbacks like Champ Bailey have been tagged as Shut Down Corners, as he has the ability to pretty much lock up any receiver in the league. Quarterbacks like Brett Favre are called Cannon Arm QB’s, as these signal callers excel at threading the needle with their high velocity bullet passes.

There are actually more than a few names for every weapon at every position in the game, and like every weapon, there’s a flaw to it. In a sort of elemental RPG fashion, you can cancel out some of the strengths that these players have, ultimately giving you the upper hand. Smart DB’s can be outdone by Smart QB’s, Spectacular Catch WR’s can be beaten by hard-hitting defenders, and so on.

Now, while it can definitely sound complicated as every position has about two different forms of a weapon, it really shouldn’t bring up too much thinking. Sure, you can be put at an advantage with the more weapons you have at your disposal, but it doesn’t really change the core of the game. It just adds more strategy, but it’s still possibly for Madden veterans with no weapons to beat a newbie with every great NFL player at their disposal. What really makes the system work is that every weapon has distinct traits that definitely separate them from the rest. Unlike previous Madden games, now you can actually tell the difference between LaDainian Tomlinson and a beefed up Tatum Bell. Almost every player has their distinct style of play, and that’s where EA Sports got it right.

The other area EA did some tinkering with is the pre-snap commands. Not only have the playmaker controls on both sides of the ball made a return, but the amount of audibles and hot routes you’re able to call has definitely increased. There are loads of choices for you to make just by playing around with the buttons alone, and while it’s nice—it can definitely get confusing, unless you’re one of the people who’s memorized the name of every play in the game, which is pushing it. The freedom you have at the line of scrimmage can be overwhelming sometimes, but that’s how Madden has been for years, so it’s not like it’s a real problematic area.

The underrated feature Madden NFL 08 has going on is the new Hit Stick 2.0 controls. Basically, it gives you more freedom with the hit stick. By tilting up on the stick, you’ll deliver a blow to the upper body, and by tilting downward, you deliver a blow to the lower body. So if you want to tear down the big Brandon Jacobs, you take out his legs. If you want to knock the hell out of Willie Parker, you aim for his core. It would seem like a second thought, but it’s a pretty nice feature—not to mention combining hit stick tackles with the ball strip button allows for more fumbles to be present.

Also making an improved return are the Franchise and Superstar modes. The previous Franchise modes on the 360 were pretty bare-boned, but now they pretty much have recovered every feature that was available from the last generation of consoles. So aside from starting off with the expected Training Camp, Pre-Season, and Season, the Owner Mode Off-Season gives players total control of what to do to prepare for the following season. With eleven things to do such as staffing, free agency, the draft, and so forth, anyone can easily spend hours upon hours thinking of the right way to maintain your franchise. New to Madden are checklist goals, which award you points for every specific thing you do with your team such as winning the Super Bowl, moving the franchise to a new city, and all sorts of nuances. The moving option is no different than it was with its predecessors on the PS2, Xbox, and GameCube but for those unfamiliar—all you need to know is that it took two years and a lot of cap money to get the deal done.

The Superstar mode didn’t really go through a lot of change, which is acceptable due to the fact that last year’s was actually pretty solid. The main quirk with this one is that you have the option of going into the 2007 draft class and pick a player that you want to use. So if you want to, impossibly, take Calvin Johnson to glory, it’s possible. But mind you, the positions of wide receiver and defensive back are insanely hard, mainly because of complicated and precise route movements as well as the “realistic” camera angles provided when in control of such players.

The minigames also make a return and remain as fun as they’ve ever been. It’s hard to explain how button combinations allow a grown man to make it easier to bench press, but those are the breaks. For what it’s worth, the minigames are actually a lot more fun on the Wii, but that’s probably by default because it excels in areas such as minigames.

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