Madden 07 Review

 

The same thing needs to happen to EA for running out the clock on current-gen Madden games. Don’t get me wrong – Madden NFL 07 is just as good as it was last year, but that’s the problem. It’s the same game with one new running move, new rosters, and finally, improved blocking mechanics! Yay team?

 

[image1]Before the snap, you can choose a blocker, snap the ball, and lay one of four different hits on a defender. From there, you can quickly switch to the running back and make for the hole you just created. It’s simple and effective, and it’s yet another reason to dig Madden football.

 

Unlike the 360 version, this blocking scheme has been applied across the board to every player without a football in his hands. This is huge in Superstar mode, where you now have more to do on special teams plays than simply get knocked down, and it’s also great if you’re coming on a blitz. Instead of fiddling with the triggers, you can level a backfield blocker with a mighty analog shove, then apply the hit-stick to the quarterback.

 

This scheme runs into trouble, though, right after the ball is snapped. There’s a Commit option in Madden 07 whereby pressing Up or Down on the R stick commits your defense to the run or the pass. If you play as a defensive lineman, then, and try to shove a guy right after the snap, you’ll also commit your defense to the pass. This isn’t a deal breaker by any means, but EA should have just switched the commit function to other buttons.

 

Running as a back has also received some minor tweaks. You can still juke or plow through defenders as well as attempt a new double move, which looks like a stutter shimmy. This new double move isn’t quite as effective as it could be, since defenders in the open field aren’t that fooled, though it works wonders at the line of scrimmage, allowing you to quickly slide through a knot of blockers and would-be tackles. Hey, helluva play. The passing vision cone is still in the game and provides an accuracy bonus, although your throws won’t miss their marks anymore if you choose to forgo the cone altogether.

 

[image2]Franchise mode returns with all of last year’s cool trappings, plus a new Rookie scouting feature that has you play through the college all-star game and gather more stats about players you don’t really know or care about.  Outside of Franchise, you can create custom players, fans, teams and playbooks, which is actually more interesting than screwing with your rosters or playing through the ho-hum career of a linebacker.

 

Superstar mode returns basically unchanged. Introduced in last year’s console version, this lets you don the cleats of a rookie NFL player of any position, catching, tackling and hopefully not fumbling your way through an entire football career that may or may not be immortalized in the Hall of Fame, depending on the fullness of a meter.

 

If you make a running back or quarterback, Superstar mode can be about as fun as any other mode in Madden for most of the same reasons, except this year you can earn roles for yourself like “Deep Threat” or “Team Leader,” giving the players around you varying statistical buffs when you’re on the field. There’s more to the mode, including horribly written interviews, an IQ test, and a meter that measures your status as Legend, but at its best, Superstar mode is really just a virtual pat on the back, a compliment to you from the game, you Hall of Famer, you.

 

At its worst (meaning, at any position other than QB or RB), Superstar mode is an insult. The controls are completely underdeveloped and the camera is about as reliable as the real life Terrell Owens. Scratch that – sometimes Terrell Owens works out, so a better comparison might be to Madden himself. Like the Big Man’s crazy rants, the camera doesn’t follow any logical course, throwing one visual non sequitur at you after another. Playing a Defensive Back in Superstar mode is simply not fun.

 

[image3]While Madden himself has gotten fatter, grayer and wrinklier, his games haven’t changed a bit. All three current-gen versions – PS2, Gamecube and Xbox – look just like they did last year. If you’ve seen one Madden, you’ve seen ’em all.

 

And probably heard ‘em all, although the music is actually pretty good. The commentary, though, is provided by some random guy who seems way too enthusiastic about football to be taken seriously. His calls are usually spot-on, which is a rarity, but we wish he’d calm down a little.

 

He gets the job done, though, which can also be said for the game’s online content, since what you’ll find there isn’t particularly different from last year’s game. That’s disappointing, especially when you consider that every position on the field is playable, even if it isn’t much fun. How about letting multiple people play on the same team, or even letting us play three-on-three matches? The series is probably headed in that direction, but like an obese ex-coach on a bus, it’s getting there slowly.

 

That’s par for the Madden course. While the series is definitely far from its prime, it manages to prove once again that EA and Madden know a good game of football, just not a very new one.