Madden NFL 08 [Xbox]

This year's Maddenoliday is almost upon us, and football fans across the country will celebrate the latest installment of Madden NFL 08. The long running franchise will hit its 18th consecutive year with no signs of slowing down, even as some of the consoles it's released on are beginning to see their twilight. Owners of older systems have no need to fear that this year's game will be a mild roster update; Tiburon and EA Sports are building the title to appeal to both the Madden newcomer and the hardcore fan. We put the title through our personal training camp to see just how good the offseason has been to the veteran sports game.

The largest adjustment that's been made to this year's title is the inclusion of Player Weapons, a new system that evaluates the skills and abilities of every single athlete on a team. Essentially the evolution of the Playmaker system from previous years, Madden 08 assigns one of 26 separate classifications to athletes that exemplify certain traits on the football field. Each one of these rankings, from the Precision Passing stat for Matt Hasselbeck to the Possession Receiver boost for Tony Gonzalez highlights actions that these athletes are well known for. Of course, there are the star players as well, who possess multiple skills and attributes that can't be classified by one simple award. That means that Go To Guy receivers like Randy Moss or Defensive Enforcers like Ray Lewis will standout as they shred offenses and defenses alike.

While it doesn't eliminate the classic Madden stat system that players have become used to, the weapon system does give players the ability to see just how versatile or dangerous your squad is at a quick glance. This can also be used to scout out your opponents as well, gaining a sense of who is lining up against your receivers, linemen and backs so you can potentially exploit any weaknesses in an offensive or defensive scheme. For example, if you've got a Speed Back who's known for outrunning any defenders and he's able to run right through the holes that any Run Blocking linemen open up, your offense will be able to quickly gain loads of yardage unless your opponent maneuvers a weapon of their own to counter your actions.

Fortunately for players that are more defensively minded, Madden 08 features a number of defensively minded adjustments to help you counter some high-powered offenses. The first adjustment comes from the inclusion of defensive smart zones, which players can use to drop a defender to the first down yard line to help provide additional coverage. This is perfect for denying an offense from getting yards on critical 3rd or 4th down conversion attempts. The second adjustment is the ability to spotlight a particular receiver for a play, adding additional defensive presence on a star player that features prominently in an aerial offense. Depending on the defensive formation that you're running at the time, you may find a spotlighted receiver to be covered by two or more defensive backs, easily preventing a pass from making its way to his hands.

Now, players that like to smack athletes can use Hit Stick 2.0 to either take out a ball carrier's legs or knock him flat. Obviously, this works well based upon a player's size: if a defender happens to be smaller than the ball carrier, taking his legs out from under him is a safe way to take him down, while larger defenders can truck smaller carriers every time. While it may seem like the focus is rather unevenly presented on the defense, players on the offense have the chance to fake the play art that they're going to run during a multiplayer game by showing one of four different formations to their opponent. However, defenders can do the same thing as well, showing blitz when the play is actually a zone play to throw off their competition.''