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Madden NFL 08 Review (X360)

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By , About.com Guide

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EA’s third attempt at Madden NFL football on the Xbox 360 is as close to the glory days of last-gen Madden as we have seen so far. It looks great, and the gameplay has been tweaked to where it is just as good, if not better, than ever. Sports fans, you really can’t go wrong with Madden NFL 08 on the Xbox 360.
Quick Hits

  • Title: Madden NFL 08
  • Platform:Xbox 360
  • Publisher: EA Sports
  • Developer: EA Tiburon
  • ESRB Rating: “E” for Everyone
  • Genre: Pro Football
  • Pros: Nice graphics and sound; fast paced, solid gameplay; challenging AI; plenty of features and modes
  • Cons: Way too many turnovers; choppy menus and overlays; no real commentary

Features

Madden 08 brings back all of the popular features fans of the series have enjoyed over the years, and all of them have been improved in some way. You get a quick play option as well as minigames, player and team creation, and all of the other standard modes we have come to expect in sports games. Of course, there are also some improvements here and there as well. Franchise mode lets you play through a number of seasons to try and win a Super Bowl, but it also brings back owner options to keep things interesting. You have to keep track of finances for the team, scouting, and you can even choose to move the team to another city. Superstar mode is also improved with a better camera angle and the option to play as a member of this year’s real life rookie class rather than creating your own player. Online play rounds out the feature list, but it is pretty much unchanged from years past. It plays just fine, but no option for league play is a definite letdown.

Gameplay

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The area where Madden 08 shows the most improvement is in the gameplay. The first big change comes from the new weapons system. Star players have been designated as “weapons” which give them special abilities other players don’t have. There are counters to these playmakers on the other side of the ball, of course, and the whole feature is actually really balanced and well implemented. The weapons ensure that gifted players really play differently from other players, just like they do in real life. Another change to the gameplay comes in the form of presnap controls for the offense and defense. You can adjust hot routes, defensive schemes and coverages, and much more on the fly so you can react to what you see on the field. The artificial intelligence has also been cranked up this year, which makes playing the AI much tougher than it has been in years past. They simply play smarter and better and really present a challenge on all but the lowest difficulty. This also has the unfortunate side effect of causing many more turnovers, which is downright annoying, but you can adjust your play style to play smarter and more carefully so it isn’t a huge problem. Overall, the gameplay is a sharp and as fun as ever, but offers a lot of tweaks and new features to really challenge veteran players. Novice players might struggle a bit at first with all of the options and extra controls, but once you get used to it, Madden NFL 08 is football bliss.

Graphics and Sound

Graphically, Madden 08 is a nice looking game, but it isn’t a dramatic improvement over last year. The animation, on the other hand, definitely looks better than ever. Just like NCAA 08, the tackling and the play on the line are absolutely realistic and great looking. Everything just moves more fluidly and realistically this year. One problem does crop up, though, and it is the way the menus and stat overlays chug and stutter onscreen. It isn’t as bad in Madden as it was in NCAA, but it is still very noticeable.

The sound is pretty good for the most part. The sounds of the game down on the field, and the roar of the crowd are very nice. It is disappointing, however, that there isn’t any real commentary once again this year. It is sort of a conundrum because everyone whined about how moronic John Madden’s commentary was in the past, but it was also a fun and funny part of what made the Madden videogames cool. To not have him, or any other real commentary team, makes the experience feel a bit empty. Sure, we have the EA radio guy, but it just the same.

Bottom Line

EA
Overall, Madden NFL 08 is easily the best pro football game on the Xbox 360. It is a big improvement over 07 in terms of features and gameplay, which make is pretty easy to recommend. The graphics and sound aren’t quite as nice as they should be, but progress has been made here as well with some greatly improved animation. Football fans, Madden NFL 08 is as solid as ever and well worth a purchase.
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