How does Madden do it?
Finally, a Madden worthy of being called next-gen. Find out why.
Every year, whether the latest iteration is worth suiting up for or not, I go out and buy it, and so does everyone else.
Thankfully, the peeps over at EA Tiburon have rolled out the first Madden that actually deserves the now outdated “next-gen” moniker, complete with a retooled Superstar mode and two new gameplay variations that are actually fun (good riddance, Passing Cone), the Weapon and Read and React system, respectively.
The new Read and React system lets you look at what Weapons are lined up against you. The red routes reperesent the actual defensive movement as "read" by Payton Manning, a QB with the Weapon attribute "Smart QB".
The Weapon system is easy to understand and even easier to take advantage of: specific players are assigned an appropriate performance bonus based on particular traits (there are over two dozen Weapon traits in all), and the Weapon-bestowed players are highlighted on screen with an easy-to-see gold icon indicating the specific trait; New Orleans’ Drew Brees can hit a receiver in a ten-man pile up (Accurate QB), New England’s Laurence Maroney has a stiff arm from hell (Stiff Arm Ball Carrier) and Saint Louis’ Tory Holt will beat the cleats off of any corner running his hot route (Quick Receiver).
Marvin Harrison says they went that way.
Case in point, during one game, I lined up on a 3rd and long. Where I would normally read the defense based on the formation and gut instinct alone, playing with Peyton Manning (forgive me) I made a “Smart” read simply by pulling the Right Trigger,which engages his talent to read a defense once a light bulb meter is filled. You can literally see the paths and goals of the defense, which are denoted with red lines. In fact, the new system will actually tell you when you have a Weapon mismatch. Spying on the play, the new Read and React system shows off bulldozing linemen and heavy hitters to avoid with easy-to-distinguish golden icons, but Manning’s “smarts” reveal that our opponent called a Prevent for deep coverage. I quickly audible to a halfback dive and using the new Truck Stick, hike and bash through several tackles to chew up 16 for a first down. Welcome to the first real next generation game of Madden, which is all about intuitive football that plays great.
Can't catch me!
Not only does the Weapon system make Madden easier to play, especially for newcomers to the franchise, it makes it feel varied, as it should. Players, with their given Weapon “boosts”, all perform differently; San Diego’s speedster LaDainian Tomlinson feels slippery slick compared to Kansas City’s heavier, tackle-busting RB Larry Johnson, while Miami’s Chris Chambers will bring a man-tear to your eye with his spectacular one-handed mid-air sensei snags.
The Weapons dovetail with the new Read and React system letting you survey the Weapons your opponent has lined up against you, which makes pre-play adjustments and audibles a snap (and much more necessary).
But that’s not the only area of the game Tiburon has put on the shine. Remember in years past when you would run in place behind your linemen if they failed to open a hole? There are a bevy of new animations like shimmying through gaps with hands raised that really keep you immersed in the game. There are also branching animations that keep you from waiting for your juke-move to finish before you can throw a stiff arm.
Everything from the helmets and uniforms to the character models and stadiums look great.
Graphically, Madden 08 is stunning. For all you “how’s the grass look?” people out there, the grass rules. So do the helmets, the jerseys, character modeling, it all looks sweet. Online on the 360, games plays like a dream moving at a hitchless framerate as smooth as an offline game, though we wish there were more variants than simple head-to-head (read: no online leagues).
Yes folks, the grass looks great.
Speaking of hitches though, there is a significant difference between the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, which is primarily in framerate, or lack thereof. The game runs at 30 frames per second in 720p on the PS3 even though the Xbox 360 purrs away 60fps at a full 1080p. This can have some weird results, including running backs stalling in mid run, hitching and even phasing (i.e. players can catch a pass through a defender… not good).
Baltimore has a weird way of celebrating a touchdown... kick to the junk. Oh wait, that's a bug!
Since we’re coming down on Madden 08, we ought to mention some other gripes we have with it. Pure and simple, the online mode is weaksauce. No online leagues? Again? And then what about the announcing? A radio play-by-play? No thanks. Why doesn't EA bring back Al Michaels and the big guy himself to announce (Madden actually calls the games on the original Xbox...headscratcher) but features-wise, Madden 08 doesn’t skimp—Fantasy Draft returns, Superstar Mode is back and the new Front Office Mode will have you doing every behind the scene activity out there. You also earn trophies for wins that you can bet on and there’s a new leveling system tied to a championship ring you build along the way.
Also, the AI must have practiced all year long because the single-player games are actually tough; pass coverage is shadow tight, wideouts will actual throw blocks downfield on a play-action run and the CPU will try its best to stuff your hopes for relying on long bomb gimme-gimmes.
Pound for pound, this is the Madden you’ve been waiting 3 years to play (since Madden 05, our fave Madden).
The new gameplay variations, animations and other goodness like theability to draft a killer rookie from NCAA Football 08 into your Superstar mode, play with Hall of Famers and level up building a blinged-out Championship Ring that you can actually order and wear, this Madden is finally worthy of being called next*ahem* current gen.
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