Madden 08 is getting there, but it's still not quite right

Author's Rating:

Pros: animations look good, lots of action and franchise mode is still fun.

Cons: AI is not intelligent, some graphical oddities on challenges, fumbles-fumbles-fumbles.

The Bottom Line: 
A good buy for NFL fans, but it is late enough in the season to consider holding out for next year's version.

Author's Review
Basically there have been more steps made in the right direction, but there's still room for improvement.

Now, for the breakdown:

Graphics: They really came a long ways in the last two years. I think EA has finally gotten the hang of the next gen system technology. Not only are the graphics improved, but the animations as well. The gang tackling hits are nice, and some of the spectacular catches look great - as do the hard hits that ensue on these poor prone players. There are some great branching animations when shaking tackles, going into spin moves and sliding smoothly from juke to stiff arm.

Sounds: Average at best. The Xbox 360 is capable of great sound and the discs certainly have the storage capacity for decent music. So what happened here? One trend on the next-gen systems has been to replace the wacky "Maddenisms" that years gone by had, and instead of booth play by play from Madden and whoever, we get a very canned-sounding 'radio voice'. He's effective, but dry. Also, the music tracks have gone downhill the last couple of years in my opinion, but that's subjective.

Game play: I love how Madden and NCAA franchises handle on the nex-gen (how much longer can we use those terms? They're pretty much current gen now). It feels considerably more fluid and I enjoy how they handle. Out of game, I'm not quite as sold. They redid the menu movements from the older games, and I'm not sure if I'm sold on them yet. Maybe I'm just being a stickler for 'the way it used to be'. I haven't decided yet. Also, I've had minimal success with the online connectivity. I had this problem with NCAA as well. My router for some reason does not play nice with EA's servers, but it works on EVERYTHING else Xbox 360. It's not technically supported by Microsoft though, so the techs at EA in my two messages to them have been very quick to dismiss my problem and state that I need a Microsoft supported router before they can help me. That has been a less-than-stellar experience.

Intangibles: Overall, these are good. I really enjoy the franchise mode. It's always been my favorite mode in Madden, taking my poor Lions to respectability (take that, Matt Millen). Player progression is handled differently than on prior gen. Instead of doing a big batch of training camp drills, every week you can do drills that will improve a single stat partway. Also gone are the improvements at weeks 5, 11, 17 and with each week of the playoffs. There is just a single improvement at the end of the season. I'm a bit undecided on this. I think the old ways encouraged development that was too rapid, but there is a lack of logic so far to the current method. First off, a couple of these drills just outright stink compared to before, and are just not as much fun to do. Secondly, I fail to see why a backup tackle who is 27 years old can improve 8 points but the starter who is 25 doesn't come up any despite having had a great season. Also, while the block play of the offensive line is good, the pancake stat is woefully low for player teams, with some players starting the entire season but only 15 or so pancakes, while other less talented simulated linemen can get 60+.

I also think they've improved the Superstar mode, having smoothed out some of the rough edge that existed in least year's version. Also, as a side-note, importing draft classes and Legends from NCAA 08 into this year's Madden is quite a bit of fun. All in all, it adds a bit of extended fun to the whole experience.

Overall impression: All in all, the game is a lot of fun. I've entered season 5 already, and I'm currently playing on the hardest level of difficulty. There are some things I'd like to see improved, and it seems like fumbles happen a bit too often and that the game still favors scrambling quarterbacks too much, but the new 'weapons system' and other various tweaks have improved the overall game. My last thought - and it's not meant to be a complaint - is that they need to make stronger use of the ESPN license. There was a game a few years ago - 2K football - that made excellent use of ESPN namesake. I loved the generated highlights, the weekly sports center and the announcing. It really added a level of polish that Madden has yet to capture to their overall presentation.

Overall, I will say Madden 08 is a decent game, but not a great one yet.

(as posted by me on Gather.com)