Madden stumbles into the end zone

By Lucian Tucker
Collegian Editor
September 13, 2006

The last installment of Madden on Xbox 360 disappointed many with its lack of modes and lackluster game play. The developer of Madden, EA Sports, went back to the drawing board, tweaked a few things, added some other bits and, as a result, well over two million gamers have already brought EA’s Madden NFL 2007, making it the best-selling Madden game ever. But, it is not the best overall Madden game ever.

Haunting the game is a handful of glitches, some which will make players want to cut off their Xbox 360. There were two errors in particular that annoyed me the most. Several times, after a play was over, the camera would change every couple of seconds, showing views of the field, but would not go back to the play selection screen until there was a delay of game penalty.

The other glitch has to do with the stamina bars — they don’t work. They constantly stay full so you never know when your players are tired. Luckily, a patch is on the way to fix all of the issues.

When it comes to graphics, Madden NFL 2007 is easily the best-looking of the Madden series. But it’s not all peaches and cream. While many of the players look pretty good, there are some bad apples in the fruit basket. Similarly, the in-game animations can be amazing at times, and just horrible at others.

As far as game modes, Madden NFL 2007 outshines its 2006 counterpart. New to Xbox 360 owners is the Superstar mode. It begins with the gamers picking the parents of the football player they want to create and then actually creating the football player. Afterwards, you go through the motions a rookie football player fresh out of college goes through — work out, shop for an agent, go through the NFL Combine, and hopefully, get drafted to a good team. Once drafted, you practice, practice, practice, until finally, you reach the preseason, and your career begins. An interesting concept, but not as fun as it sounds.

When playing football games as a created superstar, gamers only play their superstar’s position. For example, I chose to be a quarterback. During passing plays, I’d hike the ball, and pass it while the computer handled the play after the catch. With running plays, I hiked the ball and handed it off and watched while my running back gained or lost yards. Even when there was a fumble, I was left running around as only my superstar. Again, playing as just one player is an interesting concept, but not always so fun.

While Owner mode has vanished, Franchise mode is still available. Along with some other updates, Madden NFL 2007 allows gamers to play Franchise mode online and go head to head against actual people instead of artificial intelligence.

There are some new controls and features, but while they allow gamers to do more, it also makes things a little more complicated. Fortunately, this does not apply to every new feature. One of the most notable changes is the “Highlight Stick,” a feature that allows players to use the right analog stick to juke left and right and stutter step.

Another feature is the ability to pick a blocker before snapping the ball and blocking for the running back instead of actually running. One problem with this is that the running back does not always follow his block. So while I might enjoy knocking a lineman off his feet, I hate doing this consistently for no reason.

In the end, what any game comes down to is its “fun factor.” Madden NFL 2007 is pretty fun — more fun than the last iteration on Xbox 360 — but not as fun as one might expect a next-gen football game to be.

The sad thing is Madden is the only pro football game available since the NFL agreed to give EA Sports exclusive video game rights. So, while I bought Madden 2007 the first day it came out, I still wish I had some other options to choose from.

tuckerl1@lasalle.edu