Madden NFL 08

by Electronic Arts

Product Features

• Customizable stats summaries
• View gameplay with greater realism at up to 60 frames per second
• Control the lead blocker on running plays - Throw the perfect block to create a running lane, then take control of the tailback and rip off the big gain
• Play your way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame by taking complete control of any position on the field

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000P0TBUA
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches ; 3.8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: August 14, 2007
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,107 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #10 in Video Games > Wii > Sports > Football
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Why just watch NFL football on TV when you can take an active role in the game with Madden NFL 08 by Electronic Arts? Madden NFL 08 lets you control the running game like neverbefore. Step up as the lead blocker to create a hole, then take control of the tailback and smash through, overpower, or slash away from would-be tacklers as you fight for every yard. Innovative rushing controls give you a game-breaking ground attack featuring all-new jukes, cutbacks, and the distinct running styles of your favorite backs. Between the tackles or in the open field, run to daylight with Madden NFL 08. Bust out player-specific running styles matching those of real NFL players (e.g., smaller backs slash to break tackles, while bigger runners bowl over defenders in the open field). All-new jukes, cutbacks, and power moves Scout collegiate prospects with the all-new NFL Draft Scouting System Watch players impact their teams with the new Franchise Player Roles feature Use actual plays from your favorite team's defensive playbook to shut down the running game, pressure the quarterback, or force key turnovers

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Online mode is great!, August 27, 2007

By 

Mike (Washington, USA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Madden NFL 08 (Video Game)

I was hesitant to buy this game after reading of the glitches and about how EA really didn't seem to put enough effort into making it work well and look good on the Wii.

Well, I haven't had it long and maybe my opinion will change, but for now I'm very glad that I bought it.

The online mode is really a blast. It is a MUCH different feeling for me to know that I'm playing against another human instead of the CPU. The fact that you can play in games that affect your ranking adds to the thrill/pressure. It's nice too that you can specify that you only want to play people who are at your same skill level.

I guess I could have just been lucky so far, but the online mode has worked very well and I didn't notice any lag.

As for the rest of the game, yes it would be nice if EA would make the graphics look as good as they can on a Wii, but my old fashioned non-HD TV isn't going to do it much justice anyway, so I don't worry too much about that.

The glitches are at least rare enough that I've played several games so far (offline and online) and haven't seen any. Perhaps the first time I do I'll change my opinion of the game. For now, though, the few games I've played online have realy made the purchase worth it.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Madden Makers were LAZY, November 19, 2007

By 

Joshua Iversen "einar3000" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Madden NFL 08 (Video Game)

I've owned every Madden since the beginning and I wanted to cry when I started to see all the flaws these people put into this game. A very lazy job by everyone who was involved. You can't sort STATS, it doesn't record broken records, the Newspaper section doesn't show the cool pictures anymore, no freakin CELEBRATION WHEN YOU WIN THE SUPERBOWL, give me a break. All the cool little things that made Madden more that just a game are gone. They took what was suppose to be the greatest game off the year (In my opinion Madden is always the greatest game of the year) and went backwards like 4 years. This game would be pretty cool if it came out in the year 2000. It's like they thought if you own a Wii you must hate Madden. I couldn't be more disappointed.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Decent offline play, but online mode has *serious* bugs, August 22, 2007

By 

I S - See all my reviews

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Madden NFL 08 (Video Game)

The control scheme on the Wii makes this the most enjoyable football game out there, and you'll have a fun time playing the offline mode with friends. The online mode, however, is terrible, and brings the entire game down.

The online mode is plauged with bugs that make the game a remarkably frustrating experience. Remember those pictures of broken TV screens that popped up every other day when the Wii was first released? Unless you have the patience of a saint, you'll be intentionally duplicating that expereince in your home, throwing your Wii remote at the TV in helpless anger.

As others have mentioned, setting up a match can be a pain. I wouldn't put the failure rate I've experienced as high as others here, but I'd say at about 30% of the matches fail to start for me. I can live with that. The real problems begin when the game starts.

1. False start penalty any time you try a 'no huddle' in online mode except during the final seconds of a quarter. This might be part of EA's obnoxious 'Fair Play' system where they try to keep you from running 'unrealistic' plays, but 'no huddle' offenses are used frequently enough under normal circumstances in the NFL that it's absurd to prevent them. Again, this is something you could probably live with, except that the 'no huddle' option is mapped to the 'B' button, which also sprints. So if you happened to be sprinting when the last play ended and don't *immediately* let go of the button, your offense will rush to the line and automatically trigger a 5 yard penalty.

2. Random audibles. Multiple times I've lined up to kick a field goal or punt, and notice my formation change right before I hike the ball. It costs a time-out to get back to play-book and reselect a kicking play, unless you give up two of your audibles to be punt/field goal.

3. Disconnecting players. This is hardly exclusive Madden on Wii, but the treatment is. Rather than letting you complete the game against the PC, the game will freeze for about 10 seconds, tell you the connection was lost, and force you back to the menu. Even worse, it will actually increase your "Did Not Finish" percentage, even if you're not the one that disconnected. When you play a close game for 45 minutes to an hour and are seconds away from winning, this is infuriating.

4. Fair Play restrictions. As in #1, except these aren't exclusive to the Wii version and have been around for a while. With all of the other problems though, it really starts to get annoying. Online, the game will prevent you from doing anything except kicking if it's 4th and 1 unless you're down and it's near the end of the game.

If you plan on only playing this game offline with local friends, then I could recommend it when the price drops a bit. You should definitely stay away from this if you have any intention of playing online though. Visit the EA forums for the Wii version of the game to get an idea for the scope of the problems; they extend well beyond online play, and even include errors with autosaving the game. When a major feature of the game is as broken as online play is, I cannot justify paying full price for the game. Wait until next year's version if you can, or if you don't care about the roster updates, pick up last year's Wii version. The game is nearly identical and in some ways better than this year's, and you can pick it up used for a few dollars.