Madden 08 Review
- Posted August 17th, 2007 at 11:05 EDT by
- 15,127 views
- 17 Comments
Review Score
- PSU Review Score
- 7.0
- Avg. user review score:
- 6.5
Summary
Though the feature set is identical to the 360, the drop to an unstable 30 frames per second hurts the game a lot. If you are a hardcore football fan - then buy this game. If not it's a renter at best.
We like
- Animations and textures have been slightly improved.
- AI has been improved, a bit.
- Better camera positions.
We dislike
- Madden gameplay is mediocre at best.
- Does not present anything different or innovative.
- 30 frames per second.
See PSU's review on Metacritic & GameRankings
(continued from previous page) ...but they can affect your income. Sponsorships are back, though all offers come from advertisers that are already over Madden 08.
The idea with the weapons system is that while there are many talented players in the NFL, there are some who excel in very specific areas. Quick Receivers are great at running routes and shaking coverage Left Side Running-backs are more likely to heave through the offense; and Smart QBs can make a strategy accordingly to the defenses structure. The weapons distinction is linked to specific ratings. Anyone over a 90 rating in one of the categories earns the weapon tag. Basically, the weapon tag coincides with a sort of “secret weapon” the team has, just that in this case there are more than one.
In previous iterations, there was a move to counter move priority, clearly seen in Madden 08. On offense you have strong route options and on the other side, you have more defensive coursework. If you see a hole in the defense, expect to dive in. You can order a player to leave his zone assignment and instead blitz for the hole. You can adjust the entire D-line, linebackers, or corners in one play, but the flexibility in improvised plays is impressive.
The weapons become a key component to this system. Holding L2, you can search for a weapons mismatch. It's then up to the defender to try and compensate quickly before the ball is snapped. At the same time, the player can call a strong route, or put a receiver in motion to try and create a mismatch situation.
This flexibility strap plays better against in online, though. The computer AI, while enhanced, is still unimpressive. There will be idiotic calls on both offense and defense that really open things up for a skilled player. On the default Pro difficulty, the AI does catch up quickly, making the perfect call against your defense and performing some extraordinary plays in the game. The AI still screws up, but it is a slight and minor improvement. For anyone, Madden 08 will still remain a challenge in some form.
Another area Tiburon neglected is special teams. You still can't do a reverse, your blockers don't know many terms and every kicker has to ability to boot a kickoff out of the end zone, which happens too much---even for a skilled player. There are only three aspects to football: Offense, defense, and special teams. Coaches will tell you that special teams often decide the game. In Madden 08, special teams are completely and utterly pointless. If anyone has a tremendous effect, it's purely you.
As usual, the announcer presentations remain bland, and dull. As with all years, we are forced to suffer through a radio broadcast. Despite having the ESPN license, Madden 08 is sour in delivering a broader variety of announcers to truly make our game come alive. We want an uproar when we make a touchdown from center field. We don't want a mark by mark "at the 30, the 20" count. We want the announcers to exclaim realistic emotion---like on TV football games with extraordinary plays.
Finance Mode serves one function: the ability to relocate your team. There are dozens of locations for your NFL franchise to move. You'll have to propose a new stadium and find funding. Your proposal will be approved, with luck, and you can move elsewhere for more money. You can even change names and uniforms later on. The best thing, to me about the change, is you can play any unlocked Hall of Famer.
Superstar Mode is similar to Madden 07’, but with a couple of key changes. You can choose to take the role of any member of the 2007 rookie class. You can now, most importantly, import your superstar from NCAA 08 and play them in Madden. The training elements (which are used to boost your Weapons ratings) are almost all identical to 07’. The camera is a bit better this time around. !
Despite the negatives, Madden 08 is a decent game for any football fan. With the certain improved AI factors, the animations, and the texture details, this Madden video game definitely is more impressive than the previous iterations. The PlayStation 3 version of Madden 08, however, just suffers from ... (continued on next page)
Comments
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k_nice_66_11_77 |
k_nice_617- 11:33am BST - August 17th, 2007
- 3
wow, I like the game. Its a good game. but when you compare it to X and Y, you don't see overall it's a good game....I really like the animations, especially the mid air collisions....
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NoStop |
k_nice_617- 3:48pm BST - August 17th, 2007
- 4
when playing this i dont know if im playin last year version of madden 07 or 06 gamplay wise i dont see improvements, same goes for tha graphics. everything is the same they just twiked something here and there.. oh by the way it glitches too.. nice work madden!!
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alterego318
- 8:52pm BST - August 17th, 2007
- 6
man im not into fram rate bull everyone looking into that way to much foreal put it like this if you never got a football game and you just entertain it every year dont buy it especially if frame rate is your thing i dont care about frame rate, can the game play be better than last year, is the graphics nice, whos online playing, those are my big 3, with over 2500 people playing madden daily online on ps3 i think the majority is satisfied so i can care less the game is good, if you watch and love football, preseason, training camp and you concerned about your team daily madden 08 is your football fix, again if you just barely like football
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Liltri1213 |
Liltri- 10:06pm BST - August 17th, 2007
- 7
I have it and i love it especially the new hit stick 2.0 so just get it and it will keep u satisfied and if u are a real football person like me
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Nemesis_08
- 12:44pm BST - August 18th, 2007
- 8
Dude Are you kidding me.......Frame rate?Just play the game enough said! The Game is completely Great love the 2.0 stick and the highlight....PeAcE!
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soldier one
- 10:39pm BST - August 20th, 2007
- 9
This game is defently worth buying, unlike previous years.
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D3v1lwqer23 |
Jay_R77- 11:26pm BST - August 28th, 2007
- 14
I got to play Madden side by side with the 360 version, yeah greatly noticeable and dissapointing difference, both running HDMI, on Sony Bravia's. Go f*** yourself EA, and shove some dynamite up Peter Moore's a** while you are at it.
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Streeks1984 |
Streeks1984- 11:26am BST - August 30th, 2007
- 15
DOWN WITH EA. I cant believe that put out this piece of s*** for the us madden loyalst. This game was horrible and its my opinion that EA is biased against Sony for whatever reason, get ALL pro football 2k8 way better game. EA can kiss the fastest part of my A***...........
PSN: Streeks1984
Warhawk Clan: Blackice add me as a friend and lets raise havoc with my my and your new clan.
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franckribery07
- 11:16am BST - September 10th, 2007
- 16
this game sux because it simulates one of the most boring sports around.
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Pipes75 |
Pipes75- 1:33pm GMT - February 16th, 2008
- 17
I also get the new madden, ever since my sega genisus days. Every year Madden seems to only make very slight improvements. I am a huge football fan, so this game is a must for me, but it woulda seen alot more time if it was up to par! Being a big football fan, I give it a sloppy 8 rating.
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