Gaming Trend

Gaming Trend Review

by John DeGiorgio

What can you say about the NFL? Nothing is more popular on the landscape of American sports. This translates to the world of video games very nicely, as Madden football is the biggest selling game most every year. Things were moving along well for both the league and the game. Sure, there was competition from other sports and other games but the NFL and Madden just kept sailing along until 2 years ago. That was about the time when the NFL made the decision to go with exclusive licensing for their product in the world of gaming. That was the time that the gaming community turned a cautious eye towards the league and EA. What was going on? No other NFL games!?!? No competition to push Madden next year? Sports gamers around the world were both shocked and angered at this turn of events. Even the most hardened Madden fan would at least like to see their game being pushed by another company. The NFL sold its video game soul to EA a few years ago and now, the second helping of the only NFL show in town is available for every console known to man. We can all assume that the league and EA have gotten their money’s worth, but will you?

It seems like we’ve seen this before. Was that my WR appearing under the ball without taking a step? Did that QB look left, aim left, and throw right? Those are all pretty bad and we’ve seen them before but the most infuriating thing to me is the damn ‘robot run’ run from your running backs. This bothers me so much I’ll be mentioning it in both the “Graphics” and “Gameplay” parts of the review...

Why does my running back insist on trying to climb up the back of his lineman if he misses the correct hole!!!?!? Why? What makes it even more inexcusable is, not only have we seen it for years in Madden, but it was something that the competition had fixed years ago. It seemed simple in Sega’s NFL 2K series, when  your RB was going to run into his teammate on the line, he stuck out his hand, pushed off, and went around him. How did they ever think of that? Actually running around your teammate instead of slamming into them? I would chalk this one up to the ‘no competition’ excuse for EA but they were doing this before Sega was around, while Sega was around, and since Sega has been gone. Competition has no effect on this issue. It’s like they’ve never noticed. Considering that the game's focus this year was the running game, I had high hopes that I wouldn’t see this anymore. No such luck.

On the bright side of things, the presentation is great, the aesthetics are good and the stadiums are near perfect. None of this will surprise you and has become standards of the series.

We’ve gone back to the well. While there are some of the classic NFL Films sounds scattered throughout, there are loads of hip-hop and alternative songs we’ve all grown tired of. Look, I’m a grumpy old bastard but I don’t mind this type of music. I understand that it’s popular at the moment and know that there’s something to be said about catering to your audience but is the audience that pathetic? We hear the same music from Fight Night to NBA Live to Madden to even FIFA. Can someone please show some stones and break the formula so I don’t have to turn off all the music before I start playing games? It all sounds the same and I’m bored. Some songs are even debuting on Madden this year. Please, EA, save some money and use one soundtrack for every game, every year. I can’t tell the difference anyway.

On to the big improvement: No Madden. Much like my suggestion for music in the game, for a few years it sounded as if The Coach never updated his in-game sounds. He’s a Hall of Famer now so maybe he doesn’t have the time. It’s more likely that his situation and partner were both up in the air at the time of recordings but I’ll take shots at him anyway. Now, on the field you hear a radio-like broadcast of the game. It’s so different that it almost took me by surprise. I know I like it better than John and Al droning on and on but still wish that maybe there was a less sterile approach to the commentary. Maybe two guys in the booth? I’m not going to complain too much since it could be a step in the right direction.

The biggest news is a bit less of a surprise since we saw the new kicking meter in NCAA ’07 a few weeks ago. The change parallels the changes to the golf swing in video games over the last 5 years. Kicking has gone for a succession of button presses to the ‘swinging’ of the right analog stick back and forth to create the kicking motion. It’s a huge change that may or may not be easily picked up, depending on if you play Tiger Woods or not. I found it pretty easy to pull off but I also had an awful time with the old kicking meter so take that into consideration.

The focus on the running game has also introduced a nice change of pace (that I will mention more about later), before the snap you can now select a blocker to help out the running game. This is a huge help and a worthwhile addition to a stagnant and ineffective running game over the last few years.

With the new blocker controls comes new running ‘special’ moves with the right stick. Not just the truck stick anymore the stick is now more aligned with the guy running the ball. Tiki Barber and Ron Dayne (Remember “Thunder and Lightning”?) will have different moves due to their different running styles which makes it more realistic than last year when guys like Brian Westbrook would be forced to try and stand up a linebacker because that’s how the stick was mapped.

I still want to mention the smart move by EA from the last few years and let you know that the speed burst is the same button on offense and defense, proving that they will steal some things from the competition.

In line with past versions of Madden, you should get your fingers warmed up because every button on the controller is in play here. Before the snap, after the snap, on the play calling screen, you can do just about everything you’d want if you’re able to remember it.

Ray Lewis was on the cover a few years ago and we got the Hit Stick. I think this was kind of gimmicky and still wish they’d dump it. Last year Donovan McNabb was on the cover and we got the Passing Cone. This was gimmicky and it’s like they did dump it by hiding it as an option. This year Shaun Alexander is on the cover. This could only mean one thing: The focus is on running.

You can run this year. Last year I would routinely play games where the total rushing yards were under 30 combined. Yes, I’ve heard it all before, “You’re doing something wrong. You need learn how to run in Madden.” I need to learn how to run? I’ve been watching football for 30 years and playing football video games since they’ve been available, but somehow, in the last few years, I had it wrong and the wonderful people at EA actually had it all figured out? Please. They needed to fix it. We can start with my old favorite of running in place behind your blockers and go to the problem of your line releasing their blocks WAY too early to mention a few issues. Although you still run in place behind your blockers, you can pound the ball with some effectiveness this year. Your line seems to be a bit more intelligent and allow you to get some things done. They hold their blocks longer and show some intelligence even when plays break down. All this and I haven’t even gotten to the best feature for the running game yet.

No Hit Stick or Passing Cone in Madden ’07, this year you get to strap it on and play the game as a 350 pound O-Lineman and it’s no gimmick. Before the snap you can pick any player and use them as a blocker. It’s great. Not only can you be a lineman but you can also take the fullback position and blow someone up in the hole. You can take a tight end and seal the corner. It’s new, it’s fun and it works. This is a rare combination.

Beefing up the running intelligence and allowing you to take control yourself has added a legitimate running game to what was a ‘pass only’ offense. This isn’t to say that you should be running all over the place every game. It’s still way too easy to pass in Madden. The QBs dominate still and you can pass your way to victory with almost every offense. The ‘Niners and Texans can throw all day with good results. At least there is the option to run the ball even though you may not need to.

Once you get past the running innovations it’s painfully obvious that everything else has stayed pretty close to the same. EA claims that the defense is helped by the “Authentic Defensive Playbooks.” While it’s nice to have the actual plays that your team runs on D, it doesn’t help too much no matter the play call when the passing game is dominant and the running game is improved. I’m expecting a new focus on the defense next year and that would be welcomed.

It’s all here for you. You’ve got seasons, franchise and a re-vamped Superstar mode in which you can pick a position and play out through your career in hopes of winding up in Canton when it’s all said and done.
There’s online where you can beat up on others from all over the world but still no replay online. When should we expect a fix for that? The whole package should provide you enough football until next August, but then again, you really have no other choice, do you?

Where do you begin when summing up a review of a game that sold 2 million copies in a week? On one hand, I see myself among the 2+ million people with an opinion who will be putting this game under the microscope and picking it apart for the next year. Every detail, every money play and every rating will be dissected and analyzed by a giant audience of rabid fans. Any miss-steps or mistakes will be hammered because we love to criticize. While it seems a bit unfair, because there really is no such thing as a perfect game, this is the position you put yourself in when you sign a 5 year deal to be the only representative of the biggest sport in the country. In the end we should all stand back and put everything into perspective in the worst case scenario. While Madden ’07 is far from being awful, what if it was? What if it was a really bad game? How many of the 2 million copies would that even affect. This is the tightrope that EA walks when they throw the money down to take on the job. How much effort do you put into something if it doesn’t even matter?

To wrap it up, for me, I’ll say that Madden ’07 does make an effort at improvements at the running game but everything else seems to be a bit stale. From the graphics to the defense to the lack of Madden himself, it seems like EA is almost playing out the string. Is it because they know you’ve got nowhere else to go or, on the positive side, are they just putting all their effort in revolutionizing Madden for the next gen? Here’s hoping we get wowed next year.

Gaming Trend Score

81

1. Graphics: 75
2. Audio: 65
3. Controls: 85
4. Gameplay: 85
5. Value/Replay: 90
6. OVERALL:81