Screenshots :.
Madden NFL 2007
360
Matt
10-07-2007
"Run! Run like the wind!!"
"Oops, easy fella."
"High five! No?"
"Now that's an epic catch."
Watching the NFL can often be a depressing experience for me, you know. Supporting the Cleveland Browns (stop laughing right now) is not the most fulfilling of fan-franchise relationships and year after year I wear a pained grimace as my favourite bunch of rather hapless players spectacularly fail to get anywhere near a playoff berth. Still, us hardy bunch of Browns fans are statistically the most loyal of all the fans the NFL has, and nothing much causes my support to waver.
That is until I have to play as them on the yearly Madden NFL titles. Watching your team lose week in week out is frustrating to a point, but commanding them yourself as they once again fall short of anything worthwhile is a complete new level of frustration. Despite all this, the yearly NFL updates from our best buddies EA remain lodged in my console day after day, with their blend of realistic tactical action and lavish presentation being a fitting way to enjoy the sport, as well as a great way to learn the finer points.
Madden NFL 2007 continues this tradition, as well as thankfully restoring a heck of a lot of features that were missing from last season’s rushed next-gen effort. The primary example of this is Superstar mode, which gives the player a chance to create an NFL player and play from his perspective throughout a career. Having created your character and taken him through a series of mini games to train him as well as a selection of press interviews to determine ego and influence as well as intelligence, your player is then drafted (picked) by an NFL squad for the season.
Despite being passed over by the Browns and picked up by the Bills – akin to being thrown out of the frying pan into another frying pan, but perhaps of the non-stick variety – this mode proved to be one of the main draws of the game for me, and not controlling the whole squad faded into insignificance when I came to realising how involving and rewarding playing a single position can be, with each offering a selection of training mini games to suit. Added in with the hiring and firing of player agents, the use of the media to change your ego setting and the training sessions to help you gain influence over your team-mates, everything absorbs you in and keeps you playing through, even if training is basically trial and repetition.
This also allows players to find their own favourite position and become very good at it, with every position apart from kicker being available. Becoming a quarterback might seem a good idea initially to the glory-hunters out there, but the weight of expectation and amount of competition for what is the key position on the field will mean that game will present a harshly difficult challenge. Being a wide receiver, on the other hand, means you’ll probably get more games under your belt and will also allow you to train and practice your art. Along the way, achieving good plays for your position – throwing a complete pass for a quarterback, or knocking a player off his feet and catching for a wide receiver to name but a few – will mean you gain influence over your colleagues, and can raise some of their stats as a result.
It’s a hugely rewarding experience, too. The football itself has changed little from the previous Madden games, with a few small additions coming in the way of allowing you to use certain players to make blocks for your runners, and giving you more control via the right stick of defensive players and the way they interact with the opposition. Whether you’re controlling the whole lot or just the one man during your Superstar career there is always something different to be done; different runs to be made and followed; different opposition to tackle and block; different areas to peel off and catch a crucial touchdown pass. Everything has been refined to the point where you have almost complete control of any aspect you want to have.
Elsewhere, Franchise mode is once again included, although unfortunately the 360 version still lacks a lot of the padding which the previous generation of consoles’ Madden games offer. Taking your favourite team to the Superbowl against all odds and winning with a last-minute touchdown is still as good a feeling as it ever was, but the mode itself feels a little skeletal and will not immerse you as much as Superstar mode will. The standard quick game option comes along as you’d expect, and you can also play a smattering of mini games and practice to brush up your skills before taking to the field of play.
Doing away with the card system of previous instalments, progression in Madden 07 is gained via the Gamer Level bar, which tots up points for certain achievements throughout matches and allows the player to unlock rewards such as classic players as they hit certain levels. These points can also be risked in online matches against friends, and whilst having to use EA’s annual sports title servers and the ability for losing players to quit unpunished still frustrates, the play itself remains mostly lag-free and against challenging a well-matched and honest player can provide some fantastic games.
Being the official NFL game and being an EA title, presentation and depth are as impressive as you’d expect. All the players are present and correct in their appropriate teams as of the start of the season, and each team has a full squad of players to choose from. Players and stadiums also look fantastic and take full advantage of the power of the 360, with light reflecting off the players’ helmets and the fabric of their shirts moving and twisting in line with what they’re doing. One annoyance does crop up, however; the game judders harshly between plays and menus, making for some frustrating pauses in selecting plays. Quite why this should be when the game runs so smoothly during even the most hectic of plays is not particularly apparent. Still, watching your defensive line clattering into the opposition quarterback in full slow motion is a painfully realistic experience.
As I mentioned earlier, Madden NFL 2007 is a great way for people to learn more about what is undoubtedly a hugely complex sport. Whilst not offering much in the way of gameplay additions compared to the 2006 game, the return of a number of game modes means that this year’s version is a little more than the usual cynical update. If you’re a seasoned pro or a NFL newbie, the game offers plenty of modes and fun to get stuck into and should keep you happily snapping, completing and converting until the next edition arrives. By that time I may just have scored the Browns a Superbowl title. No promises, though.
That is until I have to play as them on the yearly Madden NFL titles. Watching your team lose week in week out is frustrating to a point, but commanding them yourself as they once again fall short of anything worthwhile is a complete new level of frustration. Despite all this, the yearly NFL updates from our best buddies EA remain lodged in my console day after day, with their blend of realistic tactical action and lavish presentation being a fitting way to enjoy the sport, as well as a great way to learn the finer points.
Madden NFL 2007 continues this tradition, as well as thankfully restoring a heck of a lot of features that were missing from last season’s rushed next-gen effort. The primary example of this is Superstar mode, which gives the player a chance to create an NFL player and play from his perspective throughout a career. Having created your character and taken him through a series of mini games to train him as well as a selection of press interviews to determine ego and influence as well as intelligence, your player is then drafted (picked) by an NFL squad for the season.
Despite being passed over by the Browns and picked up by the Bills – akin to being thrown out of the frying pan into another frying pan, but perhaps of the non-stick variety – this mode proved to be one of the main draws of the game for me, and not controlling the whole squad faded into insignificance when I came to realising how involving and rewarding playing a single position can be, with each offering a selection of training mini games to suit. Added in with the hiring and firing of player agents, the use of the media to change your ego setting and the training sessions to help you gain influence over your team-mates, everything absorbs you in and keeps you playing through, even if training is basically trial and repetition.
This also allows players to find their own favourite position and become very good at it, with every position apart from kicker being available. Becoming a quarterback might seem a good idea initially to the glory-hunters out there, but the weight of expectation and amount of competition for what is the key position on the field will mean that game will present a harshly difficult challenge. Being a wide receiver, on the other hand, means you’ll probably get more games under your belt and will also allow you to train and practice your art. Along the way, achieving good plays for your position – throwing a complete pass for a quarterback, or knocking a player off his feet and catching for a wide receiver to name but a few – will mean you gain influence over your colleagues, and can raise some of their stats as a result.
It’s a hugely rewarding experience, too. The football itself has changed little from the previous Madden games, with a few small additions coming in the way of allowing you to use certain players to make blocks for your runners, and giving you more control via the right stick of defensive players and the way they interact with the opposition. Whether you’re controlling the whole lot or just the one man during your Superstar career there is always something different to be done; different runs to be made and followed; different opposition to tackle and block; different areas to peel off and catch a crucial touchdown pass. Everything has been refined to the point where you have almost complete control of any aspect you want to have.
Elsewhere, Franchise mode is once again included, although unfortunately the 360 version still lacks a lot of the padding which the previous generation of consoles’ Madden games offer. Taking your favourite team to the Superbowl against all odds and winning with a last-minute touchdown is still as good a feeling as it ever was, but the mode itself feels a little skeletal and will not immerse you as much as Superstar mode will. The standard quick game option comes along as you’d expect, and you can also play a smattering of mini games and practice to brush up your skills before taking to the field of play.
Doing away with the card system of previous instalments, progression in Madden 07 is gained via the Gamer Level bar, which tots up points for certain achievements throughout matches and allows the player to unlock rewards such as classic players as they hit certain levels. These points can also be risked in online matches against friends, and whilst having to use EA’s annual sports title servers and the ability for losing players to quit unpunished still frustrates, the play itself remains mostly lag-free and against challenging a well-matched and honest player can provide some fantastic games.
Being the official NFL game and being an EA title, presentation and depth are as impressive as you’d expect. All the players are present and correct in their appropriate teams as of the start of the season, and each team has a full squad of players to choose from. Players and stadiums also look fantastic and take full advantage of the power of the 360, with light reflecting off the players’ helmets and the fabric of their shirts moving and twisting in line with what they’re doing. One annoyance does crop up, however; the game judders harshly between plays and menus, making for some frustrating pauses in selecting plays. Quite why this should be when the game runs so smoothly during even the most hectic of plays is not particularly apparent. Still, watching your defensive line clattering into the opposition quarterback in full slow motion is a painfully realistic experience.
As I mentioned earlier, Madden NFL 2007 is a great way for people to learn more about what is undoubtedly a hugely complex sport. Whilst not offering much in the way of gameplay additions compared to the 2006 game, the return of a number of game modes means that this year’s version is a little more than the usual cynical update. If you’re a seasoned pro or a NFL newbie, the game offers plenty of modes and fun to get stuck into and should keep you happily snapping, completing and converting until the next edition arrives. By that time I may just have scored the Browns a Superbowl title. No promises, though.
8/10
