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Superstar mode is worth every pennyBy now you'll have probably seen the Hall of Fame and Madden Gamer level bars, the former of which calculates your progress into The Hall of Fame, and the latter of which is a neat feature that tallies up a number of your stats, including how many interceptions you've caught (I've caught 15 from Drew Bledsoe alone - seriously Drew, enough is enough), the number of punts you've returned for a touchdown and so forth. Best of all, you can wager these points with a friend (or foe) online to earn some additional bragging rights, or in my case, lose them, as I'll admit, I am about as average a player as you can get when it comes to virtual football.
And if you're looking for even more bragging rights, you might want to give the new highlight stick a shot. Using the right analogue stick while running with the ball causes your player to perform a handful of highlight-worthy moves to help avoid the tackle. So Ray Lewis is trying to put an end to your gain huh? Move the stick to the left or right to juke to his side, or take the more direct route and plough right through him by pressing up on the stick, or hop back just in time to avoid the dive by pressing the stick down.
AdvertisementAnother great addition to the series is the ability to choose a blocker on the fly and take control of him while the computer handles the running. You're given the chance to take control of any player on the offensive side, whether it be a linebacker or a tight end, and use him to clear a path for the runner. Make a big play and your halfback will receive a significant boost to his stats to help make bigger plays and net bigger gains. But you don't have to leave it up to the CPU to decide the fate of your play; you can switch back to your halfback on the fly in slow-mo and resume the play.
If the CPU isn't putting up much of a fight, you can head online and play against your friends. There are a few lag issues, particularly when tackling an opponent, but nothing that completely ruins the online experience. And as with most Live games, depending on who you play, your online experience will vary considerably. I had played a few games against equally skilled players who fought until the very end. On the other hand, there are still plenty of gamers out there who would rather quit the game than accept defeat.
Where art thou owner mode?Aside from the notable gameplay additions, Superstar mode, and solid online play, Madden 07 has omitted a few features that any football fan will notice right from the get go. The most notable omission being owner mode, which in the past few years has become something that players have come to expect in their sports titles, and rightfully so. Not having an owner mode is like not having cheese on your pizza. What we're left with is season mode - essentially a single screen that lists every game in the season and when it's being played. You pick the game and play it; that's about as deep as it gets.
Another big miss is the announcing, or lack thereof. Some might cheer at the fact that Madden doesn't offer his commentary anymore, I on the other hand, sulk. Madden assessed the plays, he provided team stats and general football commentary; the hometown commentator we're left with in 07 resorts to shouting ridiculous lines like "Look at that good play" or calling out a four-yard gain when it was clearly a ten-yard run. Sometimes the announcer makes comments by using the word "we" as in "we're almost at the end zone," implying that both the commentator and the player are in cahoots, buddies if you will. I get the hometown aspect of the announcing, but I don't want my neighbour in the booth, especially when he chokes up and forgets to comment on huge plays resulting in a number of bizarre silences.
Adding salt to the wounds is the fact that once you do make it through season mode, put up with the robotic commentary, and win the Super Bowl, there's no post-game celebration - nothing, nadda. No Gatorade pouring, no display of fireworks, no sense of accomplishment, it's just straight to the next season. I'm not saying I need a 30-minute trophy presentation, but just anything would do; even a bit of text scrolling across the screen congratulating me would be enough.
Madden lacks strong presentation.... againMadden also suffers from a number of bugs and freezing issues. The fatigue meter for example, never drains, despite the fact that players are clearly becoming fatigued. How can you decide who to keep on the field when the meter is always full? EA has said a patch is in the works, but this is unacceptable. This coupled with the constant freezing during play can make for a very sluggish experience. There's also the issue with the Hall of Famers, who once unlocked, often appear in season mode as free agents. EA claims this was intended all along, but you should be able to turn this feature off either way.
From a visual standpoint, Madden 07 hasn't improved much over last year, but that's hardly a bad thing. The light reflections on the player helmets still look superb and the fields look downright incredible. However, the biggest improvements lie within Madden's enhanced player animations, which are now fluidly linked together, with player tackles looking especially realistic. Some players are even given their own animations based on their real-life play styles.
The biggest issues with Madden's visuals are the constant chugging and shaky frame rate. Mainly an issue during the scenes that transpire before and after the play, the game tends to pause for a lengthy period, and then boot up again, The frame rate is hugely inconsistent, and teeters around 30, sometimes below. Now in its second year on the Xbox 360, these technical problems should have been ironed out.
There's no doubt about it, Madden 07 is far superior to its predecessor in just about every way, despite some glaring issues that prevent this year's gridiron game from being a true classic. The problem here is that Madden is still in desperate need of a makeover and although this year's NHL looks to be doing just that, Madden continues to be just another step in the right direction. However, its solid gameplay and ultra addictive Superstar mode more than make up for its blunders.
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