Madden 08

Madden NFL: A Look Back

by YVG Staff

Watch our Madden NFL video retrospective

Do you remember the first Madden? It was a long time ago -- back in the '80s when Dire Straits wanted their MTV and you could (maybe) listen to Michael Jackson without wincing. 1989, in fact.

That year, Electronic Arts tapped into a powerhouse of a franchise with John Madden Football, the Madden series debut. With rave reviews all around, the games became exponentially more popular each passing year. From Sega Genesis to Super Nintendo, Playstation to Gamecube, the consoles may have changed, but Madden made its mark like clockwork, leaving little room for any viable competition.

Now, with Madden NFL 08 launching on Xbox 360 and PS3, the vintage versions look, well, a little wince-worthy themselves if taken out of context. Check out our blast-through-the-past video to see what we mean. It's not quite orange Cross Colors jeans and Vanilla Ice t-shirts, but the games do show their age.

On the other hand, it's great to see how far Electronic Arts has taken the game in terms of realism, graphics, and gameplay since then, and it's certainly a reminder of how enjoyable Madden NFL 08 will be once we finally get our hands on a copy. Here's to the many years of Madden!


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Posted: 13 Aug 2007