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Madden 07
EA Sports
Rating: E
By Quibian Salazar-Moreno
Storyline: For a lot of Madden fans, when it comes to the game, EA Sports can do no wrong. Every August, thousands
of people call-in sick from work or stay home from school to head up to the local game shop to grab the latest incarnation
of the NFL’s greatest video game.
This year’s Madden has two big additions, a new blocking/running feature, which we’ll get to later and Superstar
Mode. Superstar Mode is a similar idea to NCAA Football’s Race for the Heisman/Campus Legend Mode. You create a character,
even as far choosing his parents; you choose his position and take train him during the off season. You go workout for several
teams by running the 40-yard dash, lifting weights and participating in some drills. You also do the same exercises at the
NFL Combine hoping to impress coaches to take you early in the draft. You also take an IQ test and do interviews with the
media. On draft, you get selected by a team and participate in training camp and preseason games. Playing these help you build
influence which in turn inspires your teammates. But if you’re sorry, that influence becomes a negative. During actual
game play, the only player you control is your superstar and you don’t get to pick the plays either. So if you’re
drafted by the Colts as a running Back, be prepared to do a lot of blocking. For the most part, everything that you liked
last year is back this year but with a few changes.
Audio/Visual: On this end, it kind of feels like the Xbox 360 got the short end of the stick. Al Michaels, John Madden
and Sterling Sharpe give great game analysis on the Xbox and PS2 versions, but is no where to be found on the Xbox 360 version.
You still get great trash talking on the field though. And while all the animations and cut scenes run smoothly on Xbox and
PS2, the Xbox 360 is real glitchy, jumpy, and staggering which gets annoying after awhile. But once your in the middle of
game play, the Xbox 360 is superb, it’s just everything in between that’s not right. Hopefully next year, they
can add the real audio and fix the jaggyness of the game.
Controls: While everything for the most part is still the same, the major addition to this new Madden is the lead blocking
feature. When running a run play you have the ability to choose a lead blocker to open up a hole for the running back and
after the back gets through you can switch back and take control of the runner to get even more yardage. This feature takes
some getting used to but it works best when you use a full back as a lead blocker, opening huge holes for cats like Tiki Barber
and Larry Johnson to bust through.
Hotness: Online play on Xbox Live still rules. A new feature, Live Opponent, allows you to choose an online gamer to
select as your CPU opponent in your season. It’s great to be able to get that dude who always beats you down online,
then learn his steez with Live Opponent to come back and get him later to get revenge.
Wackness: For Xbox 360, the audio and visual need some help. Plus the Superstar Mode needs some reworking, but EA Sports
is headed in the right direction. Still everything that you love about Madden in there.
Test Drive Rating: 4/5
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