RockTheCasba
06-18-2007, 01:14 AM
this is a lot of information on a game that i have high hopes for. I love football games and im hoping madden finally comes up as a big hit. They have installed some new features and i hope this one turns out amazing.
Madden 08 (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/797/797066p1.html)
June 15, 2007 - The last two years of Madden on next-gen have not lived up to the hype. It was the only pigskin offering out there so we tolerated it, enjoyed it as much as we could, and had several nights of heated matchups between friends - though never with two people on one team. This year Madden is back in a big way, with all of the trimmings that you'd expect from a true next-gen football experience. EA just recently played host to its big, blowout pre-E3 event. Nineteen games were in attendance and Madden was easily among the best shown.
First off, this year's game isn't skipping out on the features that we've become accustomed to on the original Xbox offerings. Fantasy draft is back for all the fantasy gurus out there, owner mode is in, though EA was mum about the details when we spoke to David Ortiz, the lead producer on the game. Even though we couldn't squeeze out the specifics, it's just good to know that our old favorites are back.
At this latest event EA was stressing nothing but gameplay. Editors were commanded to just sit and play, and I was eager to obey. I got a solid hour-or-so in, just enough time to play two full-length games with my hometown Jacksonville Jaguars. Aside from the requisite new camera angles and presentation elements, the game just feels much more like pro football than it ever has on next-gen consoles. Players now respond to your every touch, so there's no more getting caught in catch animations on out-routes and jogging haplessly out of bounds. Running now feels much more natural as well, thanks to some new foot planting technology. The days of sliding around the field are all but over.
There are also a bunch of nuances that are original to this year's game. Like different run animations for when your running back is trying to make his way through the offensive and defensive line. There's no more running in place like the Wiley Coyote when you hit the back of your O-lineman. The highlight stick has also been redefined to utilize player specific abilities. A smaller back won't be able to truck over a safety, so flicking up on the right analog will now allow him to break off a nasty little juke move, while bigger backs will still lower the boom.
Receivers have also been retooled to allow for several different situations that were previously impossible. Now balls over the middle are genuine health. In past years jumping catches over the middle granted your wideouts invincibility, but this year they can get popped like never before. Now you'll get up-ended if the hit lands just right, knocking the ball out of your hands in the process. Also, like we said before, there's no more getting caught in a catch animation, so as soon as the ball hits your hands the receiver is in your control, and the added responsiveness of the controls really helps in this regard. One instance of the increased sense of control came as I was playing against Dave Ortiz. He was using the Panthers, and I was the Jags. Steve Smith snagged a ball over the middle, and unlike last year where he would have gotten tackled because of being stuck in the same old catch animation, he was now able to immediately use his speed to cut away from a linebacker and then posterize my DB by using the highlight stick to maneuver his 5'9" frame to duck under a would-be tackler. It was an impressive display; it's just too bad it was against me.
Defense has also been retooled a bit so that your impact players (known as weapons this year, we'll detail that in a bit) actually have the proper impact on the game. Defensive linemen now play more of a role than simply being a body on the field. You can execute a nice repertoire of moves to try and get past the opposition, or disengage and roam free. Marcus Stroud, a perennial pro bowler at defensive tackle for the Jags, racked up two sacks during the game against the Panthers thanks to some crafty manipulation of the newly bestowed moves. In previous years defensive ends had a tough time having any kind of an impact, much less defensive tackles. The gang tackles were also in full effect, though it doesn't seem that more than two or three players can get in on a tackle at one time, but it's still cool to see the ball carrier realistically react to multiple impacts.
The weapon system is totally new to this year's Madden, and feels a bit like the Superstar abilities in past NBA Live titles. Certain players can be one or several types of weapons. There are things like brick wall defenders, smart quarterbacks and linebackers, big hitters, and blanket corners with 24 categories in all. Though players can be more than one type of weapon, only one icon is displayed at a time. The aforementioned smart defensive or offensive players have a special ability of their own that allows them to figure out the tendencies of the other team. Once their icon fills up you can tap the left bumper and the play art (routes, blocking schemes, etc…) of the opposing team will appear, but you can only do it once so you'd be wise to save it for a crucial third-down conversion attempt.
There have also been plenty of changes made to the presentation side of things. Like the addition of Marshall Faulk, who now delivers pre-game audio commentary as the players take the field. He gives a breakdown of strong points for each squad as the game highlights the main weapons for a given team, and also hands out a quick score prediction. Thought it is a small addition, it still adds to the legitimacy of Madden 08.
There are also two new achievements for players to work towards, and we don't mean things to up your gamerscore. This year you'll be able to earn trophies for certain on-field accolades, and then turn around and bet them before on and offline games. On top of that you'll also build up your own championship ring. When Marshall hands out his score prediction you'll notice a clear ring floating next to your user name. As you continue to progress and up your EA Gamer Level your ring will get more and more blinged out. Things like diamonds, rubies, and a platinum finish will all be unlocked if you're good enough.
It was very clear what EA's true emphasis is for this year's Madden, and that is gameplay, gameplay, gameplay. The title harkens back to past Madden titles in that its gameplay is extremely fast, fluid, and responsive. User jukes are back in the sense that you don't really need the highlight stick to make someone look stupid, just contort your player and create your very own juke move. While there are plenty of new bells and whistles that will please a lot of players, the real star of the show is finally the gameplay.
As an editor we're never supposed to pass judgment on an unfinished game, but when it comes to Madden 08, we're hard pressed not to chalk it up as a huge win for EA Sports.
Madden 08 (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/797/797066p1.html)
June 15, 2007 - The last two years of Madden on next-gen have not lived up to the hype. It was the only pigskin offering out there so we tolerated it, enjoyed it as much as we could, and had several nights of heated matchups between friends - though never with two people on one team. This year Madden is back in a big way, with all of the trimmings that you'd expect from a true next-gen football experience. EA just recently played host to its big, blowout pre-E3 event. Nineteen games were in attendance and Madden was easily among the best shown.
First off, this year's game isn't skipping out on the features that we've become accustomed to on the original Xbox offerings. Fantasy draft is back for all the fantasy gurus out there, owner mode is in, though EA was mum about the details when we spoke to David Ortiz, the lead producer on the game. Even though we couldn't squeeze out the specifics, it's just good to know that our old favorites are back.
At this latest event EA was stressing nothing but gameplay. Editors were commanded to just sit and play, and I was eager to obey. I got a solid hour-or-so in, just enough time to play two full-length games with my hometown Jacksonville Jaguars. Aside from the requisite new camera angles and presentation elements, the game just feels much more like pro football than it ever has on next-gen consoles. Players now respond to your every touch, so there's no more getting caught in catch animations on out-routes and jogging haplessly out of bounds. Running now feels much more natural as well, thanks to some new foot planting technology. The days of sliding around the field are all but over.
There are also a bunch of nuances that are original to this year's game. Like different run animations for when your running back is trying to make his way through the offensive and defensive line. There's no more running in place like the Wiley Coyote when you hit the back of your O-lineman. The highlight stick has also been redefined to utilize player specific abilities. A smaller back won't be able to truck over a safety, so flicking up on the right analog will now allow him to break off a nasty little juke move, while bigger backs will still lower the boom.
Receivers have also been retooled to allow for several different situations that were previously impossible. Now balls over the middle are genuine health. In past years jumping catches over the middle granted your wideouts invincibility, but this year they can get popped like never before. Now you'll get up-ended if the hit lands just right, knocking the ball out of your hands in the process. Also, like we said before, there's no more getting caught in a catch animation, so as soon as the ball hits your hands the receiver is in your control, and the added responsiveness of the controls really helps in this regard. One instance of the increased sense of control came as I was playing against Dave Ortiz. He was using the Panthers, and I was the Jags. Steve Smith snagged a ball over the middle, and unlike last year where he would have gotten tackled because of being stuck in the same old catch animation, he was now able to immediately use his speed to cut away from a linebacker and then posterize my DB by using the highlight stick to maneuver his 5'9" frame to duck under a would-be tackler. It was an impressive display; it's just too bad it was against me.
Defense has also been retooled a bit so that your impact players (known as weapons this year, we'll detail that in a bit) actually have the proper impact on the game. Defensive linemen now play more of a role than simply being a body on the field. You can execute a nice repertoire of moves to try and get past the opposition, or disengage and roam free. Marcus Stroud, a perennial pro bowler at defensive tackle for the Jags, racked up two sacks during the game against the Panthers thanks to some crafty manipulation of the newly bestowed moves. In previous years defensive ends had a tough time having any kind of an impact, much less defensive tackles. The gang tackles were also in full effect, though it doesn't seem that more than two or three players can get in on a tackle at one time, but it's still cool to see the ball carrier realistically react to multiple impacts.
The weapon system is totally new to this year's Madden, and feels a bit like the Superstar abilities in past NBA Live titles. Certain players can be one or several types of weapons. There are things like brick wall defenders, smart quarterbacks and linebackers, big hitters, and blanket corners with 24 categories in all. Though players can be more than one type of weapon, only one icon is displayed at a time. The aforementioned smart defensive or offensive players have a special ability of their own that allows them to figure out the tendencies of the other team. Once their icon fills up you can tap the left bumper and the play art (routes, blocking schemes, etc…) of the opposing team will appear, but you can only do it once so you'd be wise to save it for a crucial third-down conversion attempt.
There have also been plenty of changes made to the presentation side of things. Like the addition of Marshall Faulk, who now delivers pre-game audio commentary as the players take the field. He gives a breakdown of strong points for each squad as the game highlights the main weapons for a given team, and also hands out a quick score prediction. Thought it is a small addition, it still adds to the legitimacy of Madden 08.
There are also two new achievements for players to work towards, and we don't mean things to up your gamerscore. This year you'll be able to earn trophies for certain on-field accolades, and then turn around and bet them before on and offline games. On top of that you'll also build up your own championship ring. When Marshall hands out his score prediction you'll notice a clear ring floating next to your user name. As you continue to progress and up your EA Gamer Level your ring will get more and more blinged out. Things like diamonds, rubies, and a platinum finish will all be unlocked if you're good enough.
It was very clear what EA's true emphasis is for this year's Madden, and that is gameplay, gameplay, gameplay. The title harkens back to past Madden titles in that its gameplay is extremely fast, fluid, and responsive. User jukes are back in the sense that you don't really need the highlight stick to make someone look stupid, just contort your player and create your very own juke move. While there are plenty of new bells and whistles that will please a lot of players, the real star of the show is finally the gameplay.
As an editor we're never supposed to pass judgment on an unfinished game, but when it comes to Madden 08, we're hard pressed not to chalk it up as a huge win for EA Sports.