Review: Madden 07

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Good:

Stunning graphics

Franchise

Bad:

A.I

Superstar mode

 

Madden 07 has been out for a little under 2 months now. I’ve played nearly 40 hours of this game and probably a grand total of 50 games. This is not the best football game i have ever played but i am impressed with the 2nd installment for the series on the Xbox 360.

Making its debut with Madden 06 for the 360, was rumored to be the worst football game ever conceived. How does EA bounce back from something like that? By delivering a revamped gameplay, graphics, and a more integrated Xbox Live feature. It certainly isnt worth throwing 60$ down for.

Franchise mode is what im currently hooked on. Mainly because, there isnt much else to be hooked on. Its pretty solid from top to bottom. Minor tweaks here and there, but overall good. Track your teams stats, player stats, career stats, franchise stats, league stats, and much more. See your standings in your conference, your win-loss record on turf, grass, dome, outside, road, or at home. If you wanted a statistical break down of the players salary, you can get that too. There are more stats here than the stock market (exaggeration). But, the stats do not make up for the horrible A.I.

Oh geeze, i have no idea where to begin with this. I’ve settled myself into the All-Madden throne and have spent nights where i just wanted to pound my head against a brick until i broke either my skull or the brick. Lineman miss blocks, defensive players intentionally get blocked, coverage gets blown downfield, QB wont throw the ball, the list goes on and on. Your teammates actually try and LOSE the game for you than they do win it. So its basically 21 players against yourself. What frustrated me more than anything was having to mash the buttons down to get a reaction out of my controlled player. Jumping to intercept the ball gets turned into me yelling "what the (insert curse word here) are you doing??!!?"

Superstar mode is close to worthless. First off, your stuck in this crappy "in your face" camera that makes it try and feel like your an actual player. Up until you get into the actual game, you spend a good hour trying to figure out what your character wants to be. Then when you play your first game at that position and see that its pretty difficult to play with the camera like that, you’ll try another position until you eventually find out that this mode is pretty much crap.

So, this years Madden 07 doesnt make the cut for a quality football game. But, i need my feeding of football so im forced to play it, im forced to scream stupid crap because the AI doesnt react how its supposed and i eventually just power down the console. If you just want to play some games of football in HD glory on your 360, buy the game. If your looking for an addictive, fun, and never gets old type of football….pass it up and wait until next August.

7.1/10

–backdraft123