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66 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well look at that..., August 15, 2007
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
Ladies and Gentlemen... I give you Madden 06 for the XBox 360.
Madden 06? Well... yeah. This is the version that should have been for 06. 2007 at the least. But we won't harp on that - we'll just go off of this game and what we have here now. And what we have here now is a pretty good game, I must admit.
To start off, let's remember that Madden 07 SUCKED. Plain and simple. If you thought otherwise, then... well, to quote the late Rick James: "Cocaine is a hell of a drug." I reviewed it harshly, but accurately. (It's the first one that displays) I said - nay - SWORE that I would not buy another EA football or basketball title until they showed us, as consumers, that they were interested in putting out a quality product and less interested in that '#1 Selling Franchise' logo on the box every year. I missed playing football games, as I usually do around this time of year, so I picked up NCAA 08. I enjoy the college versions usually, and that one was no different. Some of the upgrades on there had me a little curious about what they had in store for this year's Madden, so I kept my eyes open. But I swore to myself - RENT first.
So I did... played a few games, different modes, etc. Then a funny thing happened. I went right back out and bought it. Wow... didn't see that coming. And even more surprising than that, I guess, for some - the FAR BETTER version is on the 360 and NOT the PS3.
So let's see... where to start. I'll start with the cons, since there aren't many of them this year, surprisingly. But the ones that ARE there are biggies, and keep this game out of the 'Great' category and firmly in the 'Very Good' area. (still better than last year's 'Rancid Camel $&?!#' rating)
New England is rated at a 97. Okay, that's not really a 'con' but COME ON... a 97? Really?? Anyway...
Presentation - pitiful.
For a game that has exclusive rights to the ESPN brand, this is really horrible. Games past utilized FAR superior presentation styles - including those that were ESPN licensed. With all of the classic on-air/broadcast personalities over at ESPN, all they could come up with was Marshall Faulk doing a glazed-over pre/post game two-liner? All-Pro Football 2K8 was a half-hearted attempt by the 2K Crew, yet it is not UTTERLY behind Madden - why? Presentation. The audio commentary, the little subtleties in the gameplay: players actually talking to one another and the ref, players getting out of the way of oncoming traffic while standing on the sidelines, etc. Why does this seem to remain just out of EA's scope of imagination? Play-by-Play is still a joke this go-round. Madden was never on par with the classic 2K series, but this radio broadcast thing - doesn't work for me, and from what I'm hearing - doesn't work for most others. I actually miss Madden's painfully OBVIOUS-isms. ("What you wanna do is... you wanna score more points than the other team, because THAT will put you in a better position to win the game." Thanks for that pearl of wisdom there, JM) Also gone is the ability to truly customize your menu playlists. I hate that. I want my own music. Period.
I don't play online as much as in the past, but one rather large omission I noticed was the lack of Online Leagues. Hmmmm... that seems like it would add MILES of replayability, yet again, it's nowhere to be found. Disappointing, moreso for some I'm sure.
And of course there are a few gameplay issues, but that's to be expected. AI has been drastically improved, but there are still moments when your DB's and LB's will prove to be mildly retarded.
You fumble FAR too often on this game - the ball is too easily jarred loose, thanks in large part to the Hit Stick controls, but after awhile you kinda get used to it a bit. (annoying in itself)
EA 4th Quarters are still in effect: No matter how badly you've been destroying a team for 3 quarters, they will manage to drive down and score on you in the 4th. Bumping the difficulty up a notch or two helps somewhat this year - I keep it on All-Madden. Speaking of AI - how about a little AI upgrade for the crowd, coach and sideline players? The fans are still there, cheering like psychos, even though their team is down by 48 in the closing seconds of the game. Not likely... The sideline players are still over there in their overly-generic animations, all moving in sync with each other - looks like an old Michael Jackson video. And my coach, even in the snow, is over there getting his Kanye West on with a short-sleeved polo shirt and a headset. 36 degrees out, Coach...
There's still no way to save mid-game, though they did incorporate the SuperSim feature from NCAA 08. You can (pre-game or pre-play selection) choose to simulate the entire game, quarter, half, possession or play.
The other biggie (besides the presentation) is the Special Teams play. It effectively serves no purpose on this game. The kicking game is still overly simplistic, every kicker has the ability to kick the ball out of the stadium, there are no useful adjustments for kickoff/punt formations (wedge, etc.) Also, if the other team DOES manage to score, expect an onside kick. 50-point deficit in the 4th still? Onside kick... Why? WHY??? Football is, when you get down to it, made up of 3 elements: Offense, Defense and Special Teams. That's 1/3 of the game. 1/3 that they failed to represent. Can't have a 'Great' game with those percentages.
Thankfully, the rest of the game is rather outstanding.
Graphically, the game is so far ahead of last year's it's not even funny. Gone are the kickers with the 27-inch pythons. You can tell Peyton Manning apart from Brian Urlacher. Players are far more realistically portrayed in this installment. Slow down a HB in the open field just long enough for 2 of your DB's and a safety to swarm in and gang tackle him into the turf. (FINALLY!!!!!) The new animations (literally hundreds) make for a much smoother and free-flowing gaming experience, and the intuitive button configuration (fully customizable, of course) helps in just jumping straight into a game.
The stadiums are very nicely done, and the field looks phenomenal - PARTICULARLY during bad weather. You see the destruction of the field in the heavy traffic areas, and it progresses throughout the game. Even the rain itself tapers on and off throughout. One suggestion: how about some splashing, and more evidence of the messy weather on the uniforms/helmets. The lack of water splashing kind of takes away from the beauty of the huge pools of water that you are being forced to hike the ball from.
Aside from the radio broadcaster, the sound is brilliant. On-field trash talking, stadium announcer - everything is there. The tackling sounds will actually have you cringe occasionally... especially if it's one of YOUR players that just got their head knocked off.
I mentioned the AI - leaps and bounds over 07. Minus a few lapses here and there, you really have to use some THOUGHT when playing. I actually enjoy PUNTING now!! Throw to a receiver near the sidelines, and watch him (gasp) actually make an attempt to stay inbounds while catching the ball. Loose ball? Be amazed at how a mad dash will instantly ensue. Gone are the days when a goalline stand was a mere formality. 1st and Goal on the one? Don't be surpised if you end up with 3 points...
All of the other gameplay features appear to be back, more or less. Instead of a dedicated 'Owner Mode' you can check in the Front Office menu and observe how your Franchise is running. Check prices (can't adjust them though), revenue, expenses... even RELOCATE your team somewhere more profitable if your market is slow with the money. Drafts, stats, roster management - pretty much the norm. And all of the other little stuff, like the Rings, Trophies, yadda yadda - not that much into that crap, but they're there if you want them. Connect to XBox Live and the ESPN Ticker will keep you updated with current stats and news in real time. (I got several Michael Vick updates yesterday... nice)
Madden annually introduces some new gimmick to the franchise in an attempt to make it 'fresh' - this year brings us the Weapons System. While it can use some tweaking for sure, this is - to me - the single best addition to this franchise since the ability to change your pass coverage came along. Along with the traditional ratings system, you now have a Weapons system, labeling players by their strenghts and tendencies. No longer are two 99-rated WR's mirror images of one another. Steve Smith and T.O. are both great receivers for different reasons. L.T. and L.J. are definitely different types of backs, but you'd never know it on previous Maddens. Power backs play differently that elusive backs; Speed receivers go differently than possession receivers. For every Weapon, there is a counter Weapon. Hard Hitters can counter a Power HB by taking their legs out from under them consistently, but would have a harder time taking out an elusive back - while THEY would have more trouble with a Brick-Wall defender or LockDown defender. See? And it's up to you to set mismatches and play to your strengths and your opponent's weaknesses. Smart players - there's nothing you can really do to counter them outside of choosing a vast variety of plays - don't become predictable. Once your Smart Player's icon illuminates fully, they are able to see the play art of the opponent. QB's will see the defense's plan - LB's will see the offensive play between the hash marks. This all adds up to provide a football experience than Madden lovers haven't had, arguably, ever.
So how does it rate? A solid 4 out of 5 for me. The...
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Gamers Irate Over NFL Madden 2008 Glitches, October 9, 2007
Fun:1.0 out of 5 stars
Gamers Irate Over NFL Madden 2008 Glitches
Bugs make nation's most popular video game "unplayable," fans complain
By Joseph S. Enoch
ConsumerAffairs.Com
September 19, 2007
NFL Madden 2008, the nation's most popular video game, has so many glitches that consumers are saying the Electronic Arts game is "unplayable."
"After purchasing a video game produced by EA Sports titled Madden NFL 2008, and playing the game, I came across many problems in the programming which resulted in the inability to continue gameplay," wrote Paul of Wildomar, Calif.
The game, which is available for almost every game console, freezes, miscalculates statistics and suffers enormous amounts of lag during online play, consumers say. For the Nintendo Wii version of the game, consumers on EA's forums page have listed over 50 glitches.
Although every system including Sony's PSP and PlayStation 2, Microsoft's Xbox, PC and Nintendo's DS appear to have glitches, it is the Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 ports of the game that have engendered the most angst.
The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, which cost $60, were created by the same studio, said EA spokesman Tyrone Miller. So many of the problems with those versions, are found in both systems.
The major complaint from Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consumers is that in Franchise mode, when a team drops a player for whatever reason, he does not reenter the game through free agency, but rather, disappears. Over the period of two or three seasons, which amounts to playing about 40 games, the player pool becomes so slim that the mode can no longer continue.
In an e-mail yesterday afternoon, Miller wrote that EA was aware of the problem and that a patch would be available for the PlayStation 3 this morning to fix it. On EA's forums, consumers said that their systems did download the new patch, which in turn, completely froze their consoles.
By 1:20 p.m. all the complaints on EA's forum in regard to the patch's error, were removed.
EA has issued a release warning consumers not to go online with the game and to delete the patch if it has already been downloaded.
Miller said it is OK to get back online now, but that there will be no "fixed" patch available until "maybe another week."
Xbox 360 consumers can expect a patch later today, he said.
On the Wii, consumers say that in SuperStar mode, kickers only make about a third of their kicks, including extra points, while the computer they play against makes nearly all of them, like in real life. Because of this glitch, consumers say it is almost impossible to win a game.
Wii consumers also say the system frequently freezes and that the game often confuses the system's unique motion controls.
Chris Faylor, a reporter for Shacknews.com, an online gaming publication, said he's not surprised the game has so many errors.
"Word of glitches and problems in the game does not surprise me at all, as its development is constrained by the yearly release schedule and will be pushed out the door when that time comes, regardless of its state," Faylor said.
He said that while later prints of the game can be fixed, many consumers who own the game now may be stuck with a broken product.
"It's not that uncommon for games to be fixed in later pressings and shipments after their initial release," Faylor said. "Most companies do this silently -- a minor bug is discovered and resolved before the next batch of manufacturing."
Sending out downloadable patches is the easiest way for EA to fix the game, but that may not fix everything and will probably only work for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 users, Faylor said.
The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 have hard drives that can load some of the data and initiate a patch. But because most of the data is still loaded directly from a DVD, it's difficult to patch everything, Faylor said. For the other systems, which do not have hard drives, it is nearly impossible to offer patches. Miller said it's impossible to patch the Wii version.
The other problem is that in order to fix the game through a patch, a user's console must have a broadband Internet connection. Miller said about 80 percent of Xbox 360 owners have a broadband connection.
The only option for consumers, whose systems cannot be patched and for those without broadband Internet, would be if EA would offer consumers an exchange for a later, "fixed" print of the game's DVD.
"A disc exchange is definitely possible," Faylor said. "It's been done before, but it's costly and time-consuming."
Electronic Arts offered a disc exchange last year for its NCAA Football game for the PSP and for the 2006 version of Madden, again on the PSP. Miller said the game would spot the ball at wrong points on the field.
"That made the game unplayable," Miller said.
"What it comes down to, as always, is the relationship between how much of this will actually affect their sales and reputation," Faylor said.
While consumers have filed complaints with ConsumerAffairs.Com and on message boards, the Better Business Bureau in California's Bay Area, where EA is headquartered, has received 443 complaints in the last 36 months regarding EA, and the company has an "unsatisfactory" rating.
Here's a list of a few of the problems consumers say they've encountered on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 ports:
* Players disappearing from free agent pool in franchise mode
* Connection problems during online play
* Substantial lag during online play
* System freezes
* Changing a player's uniform number changes his age
* Yearly player statistics are greatly inflated, sometimes giving a quarterback 50 or more touchdowns in a year
For the Wii:
* Kickers missing many of their field goal attempts in SuperStar mode
* Regular system freezes
* Connection problems during online play
* Substantial lag during online play
* Offensive players, including quarterbacks, being placed on special teams plays
* Quarterbacks often don't hand off the ball as they are supposed to during running plays
* 'No huddles' occur at random
* "No huddles' result in offsides penalties
* Quarterbacks automatically throwing the ball as soon as it is hiked
Many disgruntled consumers have posted videos of the above glitches, and others, on YouTube. One video shows the ball soaring through the air and then making a 90 degree turn, midair, into the stands.
Miller said consumers should expect some glitches.
"The nature of games is there are always bugs," he said. "We try to minimize them and make sure they don't interfere with gameplay."
For those consumers who cannot receive patches, their only defense is to complain, Faylor said.
"Make a big fuss about it," Faylor advised. "Complain on their forums. E-mail them. Call their customer service department. Companies, especially those as big as EA, have people reading forums and e-mails all over the internet. They are definitely aware of the issue."
Many consumers say they wish EA would have shipped a working game, even at the expense of extending the deadline.
"I am positive that EA is aware of the issues with their products," Jonathon of Independence, Mo. wrote to ConsumerAffairs.Com. "But a combination of greed, laziness, and poor product testing results in continually releasing sub-par and beta-like games,"
Link:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/09/ea_games.html
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16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Good Potential, But Frustrating, September 4, 2007
Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars
This game had a lot of potential. Improvements include new animations for things like spins, deeper franchise mode, and a better superstar mode (mostly because the camera is pulled back more). So, basically, EA tried to add some content to a bare bones 07 game.
Unfortunately, I found the game to be basically unplayable in franchise mode--or at least hard to enjoy. I'm a casual madden player, but I'm usually half decent. However, even at All-Pro the game starts breaking down for me. If you have a merely good running back, even with great speed (like Willie Parker), it's hard to go anywhere without a good line. And if you don't have a running back with good carrying, you'll fumble a lot. You also need a good line to protect your Quarterback, or you'll get sacked repeatedly. You also need a great Quarterback, since a middle of the road one (with, say, accuracy in the high 80's or low 90's) will cause a ton of interceptions. Then on defense you obviously need great players at the key positions. Now, this isn't anything new, and you can never have great players at all the positions (you just can't afford it). However, in past games, your great players could cover for the average players; but that's not the case in this game.
Another problem is that the game just gives too much skill to the CPU. I had Devin Hester as my 3rd string WR, this guy has a 99 speed rating. And DB's STILL not only kept up with him, but would often be able to cut in front of him and make interceptions. Not just leap and knock the ball away or make a pick, but actually run faster than Hester and catch the ball. There is also the lack of times that you can succesfully make deep throws. There was only one time in the game where a guy going deep was wide open. Much more common is double or triple coverage--and with the DB's almost always in perfect position to make a pick or knock the ball away. Well, there are other problems (like 95% of my kickoffs were so deep in the endzone that there was no return, which is obviously unrealistic), but they are minor gripes compared to the above. If you're a hard core Madden player, you might be able to get past the difficulties I had; however, if you're just a casual player like me, you'd be better off going with the PS2 version from 07 or one of the past old gen versions.
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