Madden 08 Xbox 360 Review

Here’s my quick and dirty review of Madden 08 after having played for a few hours.

Presentation

An improvement over Madden 2007. Menu system is very similar to other next-gen EA Sports (NCAA 2007) titles. Player models have been improved (read:animations). Frame rate is at a solid 60FPS. The same no-name radio announcer is calling the play-by-play and Madden continues to provide his take when you “Ask Madden” for advice.

You’ll also notice in game that all of the pre-play options are given to you on screen in the top left or right corner (depending on which side of the ball you’re on). This is nice because it allows you to see just what you can do (do you want to pinch your d-line to bunch up the middle to stop the run, or spread them out and provide holes for your blitzing line backers?). While these options have been in the series for sometime now, it’s nice to have them on the screen.

Gameplay

Strong emphasis has been put on defense. Defensive backs are much improved, so thowing the long ball is a lot more difficult. In my time with the game playing as the 49ers (on all-pro), interceptions were thrown very often. Perhaps a little too often. Granted, this is Alex Smith, and the ‘9ers wide receiver corp isn’t the greatest, but interceptions did seem a littler easier than years past.

I found running the ball was very easy (especially running up the gut), yielding on average of 5 yards a carry with Frank Gore. Running the ball to set up short passes seemed to work well.

The defensive AI was very keen on me running the same play. I’d normally be shut down with too many run calls up the middle. Likewise for the same reciever being thrown to.

You’ll also notice in game there are various icons underneath certain players. These are designated weapons you’ll have on field at your disposal in Madden 08’s brand new Weapon System. There are numerous weapon categories that I won’t go into here, but EA went pretty in depth with this system and it appears to work very well.

Supersim is also included in Madden 08 (it was first introduced in NCAA 07). This feature will allow you to skip ahead to spots in the game where you want to. You can skip to next change of possession, next quarter, next half, or end of game.

Superstar mode has been revamped slightly. You can now control someone in this year’s rookie class and build them up. You can also import your campus legend from NCAA 2007.

Online

New netcode has been added to Madden 08 which has provided a lag-free online experience over Xbox Live. With the addition of 60FPS game play, Madden over Live is a treat to play. New this year is Gamecast, which allows you to see how the top players in the world are fairing against one another. You can see the box scores, but can’t view the games or see replays, however my guess is that this feature may be improved upon in coming years. Unfortunately, leagues have yet to be implemented.

All in all, Madden 08 is a huge improvement over Madden 07. It took EA a few years to get Madden right on the next gen platforms, but this year they’ve got a great game on their hands. If they can happen to get online leagues in Madden 09 going, that will greatly improve the longevity of the title.

Score: Thumbs up.