Madden NFL 08

Aug 14, 2007

The John Madden Football series has been a cornerstone of video gaming since the 16-bit era. Electronic Arts relies on Madden to not only outsell nearly every other video game franchise out there, but also to reach out to (and grab a few dollars from) gamers who aren't necessarily interested in shooting, role-playing, or baking virtual cakes. The popularity of the NFL and EA's exclusive right to the license has directly impacted competition, some would say even stifling it.

Perhaps complacency set in for both EA and Tiburon, the studio that develops Madden, as the first two releases for the latest crop of consoles have been somewhat disappointing, if only because they haven't taken that next big step to set them apart from their feature-rich counterparts on the Xbox and PlayStation 2. With Madden NFL 08, the gloves have come off, and EA is hitting the gridiron with a game that finally feels like a big step forward for the franchise. This isn't an incremental update to last year's game, with new rosters and a dab of polish. This is a great new direction for the series, where it matters most -- gameplay.

Madden Sez: Boom!

While the feel of playing Madden has changed quite a bit since 07 was released, it's important to note that this year's game looks absolutely great. The player models don't all have the same builds or body types, an issue that cropped up in past games, and you can really tell the difference between a lean wide receiver like Chad Johnson and a muscle-bound bruiser like Brian Urlacher. Even with their helmets on, it's nice to see that a lot of the player faces have been rendered accurately. Even if you can't really tell when the action is fast and furious on the field, the players look phenomenal during instant replays. Even the crowds have been improved since the previous games. While we still may be a few years off from providing truly realistic stadium crowds in video games, this is definitely a step in the right direction.

What makes Madden NFL 08 look so great, polygon counts aside, is the superb animation in this year's game. When you first see a defensive back leap through the air to swat away a pass, or cringe in response to your halfback getting bowled over by a punishing tackle, the football fan in you will go nuts. Quarterback play, on both the player and CPU side of the game feels far more realistic than ever before. QB's will survey the field, scramble away from the pass rush, and even slip defenders to avoid the sack before letting the ball fly.

Acrobatic catches make tossing it up into the end zone for a jump ball opportunity worthwhile, even if more than half the time you'll get picked off. Player-specific animations are in the house as well, like Ocho Cinco's Riverdance, and T.O.'s signature touchdown shakedown. True gang tackling animations, responsive stiff-arms, exhilarating new hit stick functionality for defensive players, and a feeling of weight and solidity to the offensive and defensive lines round out what is undeniably the best playing game of football around.

This year's Madden is fast and smooth, both on and off the field. The frame rate on the 360 version never lets up, and you don't have to suffer through any choppy transition periods between play selection and your drives. You'll notice this immediately if you start to run a no-huddle offense, or after a turnover. In fact, everything moves so fast that you can easily select a play by mistake if you're used to quickly tapping buttons while the play selection screen loaded in previous versions of the game. Take it easy this time. There's virtually no delay at all, from start to finish, including kickoffs, halftime, and during replays. It's amazing how much more fun it is to play a game of virtual football when you don't ever have to wait for a menu to load.

If you've been playing Madden religiously for years, you'll be able to jump right into this year's game with no problem, but there's a boatload of new tricks to add to your arsenal as well. It's been a common complaint about Madden games of years past that once an opponent picks up on a money play, or targets a speedy wideout, they can abuse you all game long. You can highlight receivers with ease now, calling for double coverage on Randy Moss whenever you face a brat that wants to exploit the Brady-to-Moss duo of this year's New England Patriots, sure to be a favorite online.

The level of depth goes a lot deeper than just calling for double teams, though. You can quickly and painlessly shift your linemen, call for linebacker blitzes, adjust coverage, and so on, so you're never stuck without a response to an audible or an offensive scheme that looks like a mismatch. On the other hand, you're going to want to exploit mismatches on offense, and the game will even point these out to you by highlighting them, so if you've got a second-tier defensive back lined up on Steve Smith, you can know exactly when to make the opposing team pay.

Adding to the depth of the game are the new player weapons. Weapons are essentially special attributes for your superstar players, like a super stiff-arm, the ability to bulldoze opposing players, or the ability to run perfect routes. Smart QBs and smart defenders can actually trigger their special move to see the opposing team's playart at the line of scrimmage, giving you a distinct advantage, either allowing you to pick apart the defense, or snatch an interception from a complacent QB. The weapon system is very much like what All-Pro Football brought to the table this year, but as they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

There are a few things that keep the Madden NFL 08 experience from surpassing our expectations, and even a few downright disappointments. For one thing, we weren't crazy about the color commentary. The single voice calling the game on the field felt robotic, lacking in emotion and even detracted from the ambiance. Marshall Faulk's pre-game introductions felt stilted and very much like a studio recording. The game's soundtrack is decent enough, a mix of whiny emo rock with some pretty good hip hop tunes and some other song genres like Reggaeton thrown in for good measure.

Ball carriers also have a really bad habit of coughing up the football, far more often than you'd expect in the real NFL. When Ladanian Tomlinson is fumbling three or four times a game, and dropping a handful of easy screen passes per quarter, you know you have a problem. You can make use of the protect the ball command to mitigate some of this, but it's still a troublesome issue.

Madden Sez: If Brett Favre Lost His Arms and Legs…

The online aspect of the game is still lagging behind what gamers should be expecting from their sports titles. You can't set up online leagues in Madden NFL 08, a feature that will be included in NHL 08. Having your buddies get together for a fantasy draft that you can actually play out week-to-week would be super, so we can't really understand why the developers don't feel the same way. We did like the connectivity with the ESPN news service, allowing you to download video news clips on demand, or read up on the latest from training camps when you want a break from the game. One thing we thought was fishy, though, was that none of the coverage of the Michael Vick dogfighting case was available on the service. Censoring the news, even in this unique delivery system, simply stinks.

…He'd Still be the Best Torso in Football!

While Madden NFL 08 is being released for every console known to man, your best bet is playing it on the Xbox 360. The PlayStation 3 version is feature complete by comparison, but it doesn't run at the silky smooth frame rate of the 360 version. It's a no-brainer decision if you own both systems, but early adopters of the PlayStation 3 should still have a good time with this one. It's too bad that Madden gamers determined to play on their Sony system may end up disappointed by their game not matching the superior gameplay experience offered up on Microsoft's console.

While it has been difficult to wholeheartedly recommend a Madden football game for a few years, Madden NFL 08 is a significant improvement over the series' past, and has refined the formula in such a way that it actually brings something new to the game. While we're still going to expect incremental upgrades year after year, Madden NFL 08 is a great place to jump in, and just in time for fantasy season.