There are very few things in life that can evoke passions like sports can. Fans are not shy about talking up their favorite teams, while letting you know everything that is wrong with yours. Therefore it stands to reason that for every proponent of EA’s Madden franchise, there is heckler. Fortunately for Xbox 360 owners, this year’s edition of Madden is the best in a long time. Supporters of the Madden franchise will find plenty to like in the 08 edition, while the detractors will have a difficult time pointing out any catastrophic flaws.
Gamers that have been with the Madden franchise for the past 15 years know that Tiburon/EA changes the game very little from year to year. Who can blame them? Why take chances with your perennial cash cow? This year, Tiburon’s approach has worked out well, as Madden 08 delivers the same core gameplay that fans crave, while working out the kinks that plagued the 2006 and 2007 Xbox 360 versions, and yet still manages to add a few goodies to the mix.
The most apparent refinement is in Madden 08’s graphics. The motion capture animations are among the most varied and diverse ever seen in a football game. We’re talking about all the realistic touches that we see on Sunday afternoon that traditionally have not been portrayed well by Madden (if it all). Receivers will drag their feet on sideline receptions and make spectacular one handed grabs. Running backs will meet a variety of gang tackles, from being wrapped up by two defenders, to taking hits high and low simultaneously. The ball carrier’s spins and jukes look much more smooth and realistic than they have in prior years. Overall, Madden 08’s animation branching system is second to none, and is a welcome sight to starved next gen gamers.
Game play is very smooth and fluid, thanks to a 60 FPS frame rate, while PS3 owners can boast only a choppy 30 FPS. The frame rate remains steady no matter what is happening between the lines, or in the well-rendered stadium. This should give Xbox 360 owners plenty to crow about, as the PS3 version is just shy of unplayable by comparison.
Chief among the new features this year is the “Player Weapon” system. Remarkably, it has nothing to do with Tank Johnson, Pacman Jones or O.J. Simpson. Madden’s Weapon system keys in on the attributes that make the elite players special. Top players can have one of twenty special skills that separate him from lesser players. Some players may be “Brick Wall Defenders”, “Press Coverage Defenders”, “Elusive Backs” or “Spectacular Receivers”. An icon below the player represents the skill. A “Smart” quarterback will read defenses better than other QB’s, while a “Big Foot Kicker” will drop 55-yard field goals with no difficulty. The skills generally have a counter, for instance, a Brick Wall Defender can effectively challenge an Elusive Back. A good gamer will look for mismatches to exploit every play. This system works well, and gives Madden an extra dimension in game play.
Madden 08 has more line of scrimmage adjustments than a gamer could hope to squeeze in before the snap of the ball. The familiar audibles, line shifts, hot routes, motions and coverage audibles are still present, but you have some new considerations at your disposal as well. Before the snap, you can select a defender and assign him to play a deep zone, flat zone, hook zone, man to man, QB spy and so forth. Although this is great for last minute adjustments, to utilize this system you must press B until you have control of the desired player and then issue the Playmaker command. On most downs, the gamer will not have time to make all the adjustments that he might want to make, especially in 2 minute drills or against a human opponent who doesn’t want to make it easy for you. An on-screen menu system shows your choices in adjustments, so the learning curve associated with memorizing all options is somewhat mitigated. Even your manually assigned audibles are displayed in the menu. By holding the left trigger before the snap, the gamer can look for mismatches to exploit. For the past decade or so, Madden game play has emphasized moves and countermoves before the ball is put into play. The new options for this pre-snap chess match augment what was already a good system.
