After three years EA
finally got its act together and delivered a fully fledged football game for
the Xbox 360. For the past couple of years all gamers had was a pretty game that
was seriously lacking features, especially if you compared the game to the Xbox
and PlayStation 2 versions. Now there is no looking back as gamers will finally
get to play a jam-packed football game brimming with features and additional
items that will keep them occupied for quite some time.
Madden NFL 08 finally
offers the majority of features that have been lacking in the past few games.
The modes that you will be able to take part in are Mini-Games, Play Now,
Online, Superstar, and Franchise. In order to hone your skills in speed,
strength, and skills, there will be six different mini-games to play in. Each
one has a unique set of controls and your performance will increase your Ring
Level. Your Ring Level is a visual way that represents your overall gamer level.
The higher the level the more and fancier rings you will have in your
collection; you gain more levels by playing more games and accomplishing various
goals such as 60-yard passes and other feats like this.
In Play Now all you have
to do is choose which team you wish to play with and against and just go at it
to see if you can win. As you play though the game you will be getting gamer
trophies that show off some achievements you have done in various games. You can
now bet these trophies against a friend or CPU, which is fun because raising the
stakes makes the game more exciting to play. Playing online is still a no-frills
experience. Getting online is fast and easy, and games are practically lag free.
The problem is that there are still no online leagues, so all you are left with
is unranked and ranked matches. It is fun to play online but hopefully more will
be added next year.
Stop, drop and roll
Superstar mode is back
from last year’s game and is better than ever. If you own NCAA Football 2008 you
can import your superstar and start the game with them, create a character from
scratch, or even take any rookie from the 2007 football season and take them to
the hall of fame. You will have to take them to interviews, practice, games, and
participate in as many activities as possible or even simulate your way through
to try to reach that Hall of Fame goal. Just like last year’s game and NCAA, you
can only play the position they are in, so you will be watching a lot more than
playing, but it is still addictive never-the-less.
Franchise mode is finally
back with many of the features you have been missing the past two years. As
always you will be able to start with the most current day rosters and try to
make your team stay on top for up to thirty full seasons. From there you can go
into your schedule mode where you can do various things in preseason, during the
season, and even the off season. What is nice is that you can simulate any of
these events if you find them too boring to do yourself. Owner’s mode is back
this year except it is now called Front Office mode, and allows you to take
charge of the finances, stadiums (ticket prices and so forth), scouting players,
and even moving the team to new locations. I like that you can even build a new
stadium, with a nice creation system, and actually play in it. Gamers will have
lots to do that will keep them coming back for months on end in this game.
There are a couple of new
gameplay features that really make a difference and add a lot more strategy to
it as well. First off the Hit Stick 2.0 allows you to either hit high or low,
which can make a big difference when making a tackle and even a turnover.
Another new addition is the defensive playmanker; before the ball is snapped,
tap the B button to get to the desired player, and then issue various commands
that will help in your quest to get the ball back from the offense.
The obvious and most hyped addition is the weapons system. When you first
load the game up and start playing you will see various icons on certain
players. These icons show the players on-field strengths, abilities, and can
give you a quick read on what your opponents are going to do. With this
knowledge you can quickly react to your opponents, create mismatches, and
exploit the players weaknesses and use it to your advantage like what happens in
real life.
I wonder who got the
endorsement deal for Asprin?
The idea behind this is
that there are many outstanding players and these icons show what they excel at,
such as pass blocking, speed, big hitter, and so on. You must know what each
icons strengths AND weaknesses are as your opponent can use a weapons weakness
against you. All of this really adds a new sense of strategy to the game, which
is much appreciated and makes it more fun to play. All you have to do is hit the
right trigger, find a mismatch and patch that hole up before the offense snaps
the ball.
The graphics are really
outstanding. First off the details in the stadiums and the players have been
taken up another notch. This is also complimented by the new player animations,
which will have the players moving a lot more realistically then they ever have
in the past, this is especially true when two huge defenders are tackling the
ball carrier. Running with the ball is smoother than ever, and a sight to behold
as you juke past defenders trying to reach your goal. Regardless it is really
amazing to see the new animation and tackles in this game. The only thing that
could use a touch up is the sidelines and the crowds, as they look really dated
in comparison to the rest of the game.
The sound is a mixed bag.
First off the on-the-field sounds are great. Hearing various smack talk before
the plays is always a great treat and added realism. Next up is hearing the
sounds of the bodies of the characters smashing into each other to prevent the
ball carrier from getting those precious yards. The sound is at times unnerving
because you can almost feel the bone crushing tackles rattle though your
speakers. As always the music contains a mix of rap, rock, and other genres to
keep you playing for longer, and if you don’t like it, all you have to do is
play your custom soundtracks. My complaint is with the commentary, which I will
talk about in more detail below.
Nice catch!
One area that is sorely
lacking is the overall presentation of this game. EA Sports nabbed the ESPN
license a couple of years ago, yet they still do not use it to its fullest
potential. When 2K Sports had this license the first thing they did with it was
make sure to use it in every area possible, which made the game more
outstanding. You have all of the commentators, why not use them to liven up the
stagnate commentary we have heard a million times and then some?
This is really a problem
for this series and has been for years. EA keeps improving every aspect:
features, graphics, gameplay, but why not audio and overall presentation? Sure
there is the Showcase when you first load the game, but you only spend less then
five percent of your time looking at it. EA stresses that they are getting
close to realism with each new game, but then they force feed us stale
commentary with under-enthusiastic broadcasting that has never really changed
over the years. I know that I am making a big deal about this, but it is
something that needs to be seriously looked at. The box says “Featuring ESPN”,
but the ESPN presence is hardly felt at all. If they are not going to use it to
the fullest then why showcase it as they do? Hopefully next year they will
correct this, add the broadcasting from Monday Night Football (NFL 2K5 did this
several years ago and proved it can be done and works wonders) and make this
game worthy of carrying that license.
Madden NFL 08 is rated E
for Everyone. It will take up to 11MB for game saves, supports HDTV 720p/1080i,
in-game Dolby Digital, and custom soundtracks.
|
Review |
Gameplay: 8.2
I really enjoyed
playing Madden NFL 08 this year. The running, passing, kicking, and playing on
the field feels great. The new features really make this game even better and
more fun to play. The new “weapons” in this game really give this game a whole
new strategy feeling to it. The new presentation of the Showcase is nice, but
what really baffles me is why EA doesn’t really use the ESPN license to its
fullest potential, as this would make the game a lot more enjoyable and feel
even more realistic while you are playing the game. Maybe next year?
Graphics: 8.9
The graphics for this game are really outstanding, especially the
animation for the characters. Players now move a lot more realistically, which
makes the game all that more realistic. This is made even better since the game
runs at a silky smooth 60 FPS. The players and the stadiums have an added boost
of detail, which is always a nice added treat. The only thing that would really
push this game over the edge was if the crowds and sidelines received a much
needed, overhaul to fit in with the rest of the game.
Sound: 7.2
The audio in this game is sorely lacking and makes this game drag a
bit. The commentary is boring, repetitive, and felt like it hasn’t changed in
years. EA has the license to ESPN so why are they not incorporating it to their
advantage, especially in the broadcasting of the game? The on field sound
effects are still great from the name calling and the bone crunching tackles.
Difficulty: Medium
The AI has actually been ramped up a bit from previous Madden games,
which is a delightful treat. It will provide you with a nice challenge, in all
the various difficulty settings. The sad thing is that like all sports games
though, pretty soon you will find weaknesses in it, but it will provide you a
nice bit of challenge, and allow you to ramp up in difficulty, especially before
you hop online or play against your friends.
Concept: 8.4
I enjoyed the fact that it felt like I was finally playing a next
generation football game, since it finally has all of the features from previous
versions included in there. The new features in this game really made it feel
even more realistic and fun to play. Trying to figure out how to use your
“weapons” adds in a whole new layer of strategy to the game. Seeing the various
Rings is a very nice visual way of showing your gamer level.
Multiplayer: 8.2
Xbox Live is one of the best online gaming services out there for
a gaming console. It is so easy to set up a game and get right down to the
“nitty-gritty” of playing against another person. It is a shame that there
aren’t any more modes available to play though; such as online leagues, but I
guess something is better than nothing.
Overall: 8.6
EA is finally taking steps to get the “next generation” football
to live up to the standards it should be. It is nice to finally have nearly all
of the features back and playing them on the Xbox 360. All of the new features
and additions make this a game that will be played for hours on end.
