I haven't had the current version of EA Sports' Madden series since Madden 2003 (for Windows). As that review makes clear, I have been waiting for an iteration of this venerable franchise to offer challenging game play in addition to the top-notch graphics.
With Madden 2007, EA Sports delivers. As you read this review, please keep in mind that I haven't had a new Madden game since 2002. Things that are new to me may not necessarily be new to the series.
Graphics
Some will say the PC version of the game got the short end of the graphics stick, and that may be true. But, to my eyes, Madden 2007 looks really good. Player moves are super realistic, details are high, the stadiums look amazing, and nothing feels out of place.
Gameplay
The big question mark. After getting reacquainted with the game and controls, I launched into a season. I ended up selecting the Arizona Cardinals as my team, surprising myself a bit. But, I like Edgerrin James, Matt Leinart, and the rising crop of receivers.
As is standard for most sports games these days, Madden 2007 offers sliders to adjust AI for both the human and the CPU team (offense, defense, and special teams). The first couple games I played were skewed too far to my advantage, as Arizona easily won and my offensive stars put up big, unrealistic numbers.
After making some small adjustments to the sliders, I played two very exciting games that went to over time. I lost the first, against Kansas City, as Larry Johnson shredded my defense. I actually had a chance to win with a field goal as time expired, but I missed.
The next "week", I beat Chicago in OT, this time making the field goal. Although I won, there were some frustrating aspects to the game. The Chicago defense seemed a little too good, a little too ready for the plays I ran. For example, even with decent production from my running back, the defense would not bite on play action passes. After faking the handoff, my QB would be clobbered because the defense had an extraordinary ability to sniff out the play.
So, I made some additional fine tunings to the sliders, but the next few games were, again, too far in my favor. It would be nice, therefore, if the game would make the sliders/difficulty settings more intuitive, so we could have the games we want.
What I really like about football games is the passing game. I love to go deep with big plays, or peck away with timing routes and double moves. Having said that, I like to use the running game fairy often. My personal style is primarily runs off tackle. With Madden 2007, these kinds of runs work pretty well. Counter plays even produce positive yardage most of the time.
One new feature is that the player can control the lead blocker. The idea is to help blast a hole for the ball carrier. Overall it works well. The problem I have (and admittedly I haven't used it as much as I should have to get good at it) is that, while I have a general idea how the play is designed and where the ball carrier should go, I'm not sure if he will go that way. Once the block is delivered, you can easily switch to the ball carrier, accompanied by some Matrix-style slow mo.
So, while admitting that I need to make further adjustments to the AI sliders, the game play is very strong; the strongest I have seen in a Madden game.
Gameplay Modes
Players can choose from exhibition, franchise, career, superstar, 2-minute drill, situation, and practice modes. Superstar mode allows you to be one player for a full career. Each choice of player has a genetic make-up that predisposes him to a certain degree of success. Once drafted, you hire an agent and then work through pre-season and training camp.
This feature has a lot of potential and can be very addicting, but I had one major issue with it. I set up two superstars, a QB and a wide receiver. When playing as these two, the default camera angle was very awkward, almost impossible to use. For example, as the WR, the camera angle is to the rear and angled toward the sideline. The QB (and, hence, the ball) are not in view. You follow your route as an arrow on the grass, and that's easy enough, but because of the goofy camera angle, it's hard to know when the ball is coming.
To be fair, I haven't spent a great deal of time with this mode, but I have no reason to believe this camera angle can be changed.
With practice mode, instead of practicing the same play a few times and then picking a new play, you can have the offense and defense practice random plays, thereby more closely approximating the feel of a real game. You can even practice one specific formation and choose runs only, passes only, or all. Practice mode is now more useful than ever.
Audio
Well, it's the same Al Michaels and John Madden. The audio is by no means a detriment in the game, but it is also nothing special.
Plusses
• Players can modify plays and playbooks to create the types of plays you’ve always wanted to try. There are, however, some drawbacks: You can only modify the “general” playbooks (as opposed to the team-specific playbooks), like “run balanced” and “west coast”. And, once you create it, each formation will have its own “page” in the playbook, rather than grouping similar formations. For example, I-Form will be one page, and I-Form 3 WR will be another. It makes it a little harder to find the play you are looking for.
Minuses
• I play with a joystick, but the game offers extremely limited support to joysticks. I don't get half of the control options that I would have with a gamepad. You may be asking why I don't just switch to a gamepad. I could, certainly, and I have tried them on the past. But, I am so used to directing players by joystick that it is very hard to adjust. We'll see, maybe I'll try it again.
• Insufficient documentation. In Madden, players take on different roles that can increase or decrease performance. For example, kickers who have the Clutch Kicker role have increase accuracy in the 4th quarter and over time. Apparently, each player's role is explained by an icon on his profile. But, there is no explanation what the icons mean! Can we have an icon glossary or something here?
• If the CPU receivers get behind your defense with the ball, you can forget about catching them. My perception is that the CPU receivers are consistently faster than their human counterparts, as well as human defensive backs.
• Aside from the camera angle issue mentioned above, the only choice for viewing and playing is behind the offense. Going way back to my Front Page Sports football days, I am of the strong opinion that it is MUCH easier to play defense with the camera behind the defense. You can maneuver the player while still keeping an eye on the action. Is too much to ask to have the option of setting custom cameras?
While I do find the minuses highly frustrating, they aren't enough to overcome everything this game does well. For gamers (like me) who haven't purchased Madden for a few years, this is a great year to take the plunge again.
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