Played on:
Xbox 360
In the world of gaming, there are always some constants. Any game featuring Mario, Luigi or the other Mushroom Kingdom characters is probably going to sell exceptionally well and have an absolutely gigantic fan base. You're going to see at least a few shooters set in either the World War II time frame or the Vietnam timeframe. Finally, each year is going to see a huge crop of shitty movie tie-ins while one or two manage to set themselves apart from the pack.
Of course, for sports gamers, there is a whole different set of constants, most of which revolve around the release of the new Madden game that year. A month or so before release, the year's NCAA game hits the streets. Football gamers across the country pick it up and play it, getting a whole draft class ready, on top of a few campus legends for Madden's Superstar mode. Then, sometimes around mid-August, the big daddy hits the streets. In a day called “Maddenoliday” in commercials, gamers flock to their local store of choice and pick up the latest iteration in one of gaming's longest running series, John Madden Football.
This year's Madden has seen, arguably, the biggest change in gameplay in the past five or six years. Playmaker controls were a neat addition a few years back, as was the passing cone. But this year's changes have already managed to polarize gamers. On one side of the ball, you have the Madden faithfuls. These guys are likely casual fans of the Madden series and pick up the game to play with their buddies, not doing much else. On the other side, you have hardcore football sim types – it is that crowd that this year's entry in the series appeals to the most.
Sure, you could make an argument that the much-ballyhooed “weapon” system makes the game more accessible to casual gamers. For those that are unfamiliar, this system shows areas where a player may be extra-talented and, in some cases, gives them a special ability. Take a smart quarterback like Peyton Manning. As the defense calls plays, a meter under his feet (these meters can be toggled to not show but still affect gameplay) will fill up, eventually allowing him to see the exact play that the defense is running. The impact this can have on the game is obvious – if the player finds out that a slow corner is covering a fast receiver, Peyton can chuck the ball his way and watch him run a long way, likely for a touchdown. Other weapons, like Big Foot Kicker seem to just say that a kicker has a really high kick power rating – in my experience (and that of others), these kickers kick just as well if the weapon system is on or off.
Of course, the whole kicking mechanic exposes one of the game's long-time flaws – special teams is still not all that important in the game. Take kickoffs, for instance. In the NFL, kickers don't always boot the kick out of the end zone and you often see return men like Devin Hester run the ball back, sometimes for a touchdown. Not here, though! In Madden 08 (like many of the past games in the series), special teams plays are near worthless. Your blockers don't know how to form a wedge to help break your runner free, the balls often fly out of the end zone and, in general, it just doesn't feel right at all. For a game that continually claims that “If It's In the Game, It's In the Game”, Madden 08 is still missing what can be an important part of every football game.
However, EA did put in a lot of time in other areas of the game. As I mentioned before, the weapons system isn't the biggest change in this year's game – it is the actual way the game plays. In years past, Madden had a somewhat arcadey feel to it. You could bomb out passes to fast receivers and, more often than not, see them caught and run in for a touchdown. This led to all of a couple of teams being played when some buddies got together for a game of Madden, and upset some fans of the series.
Well, in the 08 edition, this is no more. Now, you have to really get into the mind of an NFL coach to have any real success with the game. Where the long bomb to Chad Johnson before may have been a damn near guaranteed touchdown, it is far from it anymore. Defensive backs, especially on the higher difficulties, are damn smart. They'll follow a receiver's route damn near perfectly and, if you make one little mistake, will pick that pass off like nobody's business. Now, you have to be smarter than the backs – hit your receiver when he is about to take the break on his route and you'll quite possibly fool the D-back. Use short routes more often than long ones. Establish a running game and wear out the other team before you try to go for a big play. Lead your receivers if you see that they might be able to break away for the ball. I could go on all day about the ways that the game is smarter and requires you to also play smarter this year, but there's only so much space I can take up with this part of the review.
While I'm not sure if this is actually the computer AI or me just reading too much into something, I had a really neat experience with the game. Being from North Carolina, I often play as the Panthers in a franchise. You know, that front line with Julius Peppers on it? Yeah, I love it. Anyways, I was playing against the Saints, who had Drew Brees at Quarterback. Well, on one of the game's early plays, I got through the line and managed to lay a big hit on Brees as he was trying to find someone to pass to. Well, he couldn't and he went down – hard. Throughout the rest of the game, if I got anywhere near him, he would throw the ball out there, often to one of my defenders. Yeah, I intercepted the ball four times that game. This isn't the only time I've seen something like this happen, either. I've had quarterbacks throw an interception and then just start taking hits when they don't see anyone open, too. While I'm not sure if this is something coded into the game or just a coincedence, I'm really hoping that it is a coded part of the AI – I really enjoy that my playstyle seems to affect the way the AI reacts to the game.
