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> Results: Madden NFL '07
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The waning days of August bring with them certainties of the annual cycleﾗback to school shopping, the furious rush to get in final summer vacation days, the overflowing bounty of farm-fresh fruits and vegetables at stands everywhere, and a new Madden NFL release. This is the second PSP iteration of the franchise, and it plays like the versions for other platforms. A lot seems to have been learned and fixed, but it is equally apparent that much work remains.
There are plenty of new features this year. ﾑLead Blocker' lets you burrow a hole in the defense and then take control of the running back to blast through. This stacks nicely with improved running back controls giving you increased flexibility. There is also a new Kick Meter and a mini-game called End 2 End. These are well implemented and enhance gameplay. Other core featuresﾗfrom practices to playing games to the extended ﾑfranchise' modeﾗare satisfying for fans of any part of the game. Controls are somewhat difficult to learn but become second nature through loads of practice. The two biggest complaints from last year's PSP gameﾗgraphics and load timesﾗare improved. Animations are generally smooth and authentic, and the overall feel is very realistic. This version compares well with the TV games. Graphical cues help you find open receivers, break tackles and blow through the line for a QB sack. You never get lost because of muddled or overly crowded graphics. But certain animationsﾗparticularly pass-catchingﾗare jerky and unrealistic. Load times have not been eliminated, but do seem optimized. You still encounter occasional lengthy waits, but overall the game seems like it loads fairly quickly. Even when there are approximately 30 second loads, you get a combination of music and trivia that makes the time pass quickly. It's more annoying that the game takes 15 to 30 seconds to ﾑwake up' and respond to input. Also, while the soundtrack is good, the sound effects and particularly the commentary are lackluster. At numerous times one of the commentators issues a comment that makes no sense, such as talking about a pass block when running in for a touchdown. Madden NFL 07 is still a very good game that will keep you busy for many hours across several months. A majority of issues from the first Madden PSP game are fixed and lots of new features and a cool mini-game are included, making this the best handheld football game yet.  
Right as kids are getting back to school, the last thing they want to do is get additional homework. Sure, you as parents might welcome the opportunity to further enrich them, but they are not likely to go willingly. The recently released Civilization IV provides some excellent ﾑedutainment' opportunities, but there is another one that they will never suspect of containing anything that they will learnﾗvideogame football.
What is it about this game that attracts so many people? Why do so many people buy it year after year? These are questions that trouble people who have little interest in sports games. They see football games as not much different than the latest Virtua Tennis gameﾗyou play the game and advance through winning. But that is where they are wrong. Certainly the video game is a simulation of the sport, with fantasy team and franchise modes that feed the annual fan frenzy. But it is more than that. Football as a game is a simulation of war, which immediately brings elements of strategy into any decent football game. The strategy comes in both real-time and turn-based varieties because of the way plays are called and executed. It is also a sport based on a combination of individual and team efforts, giving action a great impact. Madden seems to flesh out that combination of action and strategy more and more each year. The basic content is... well, football. The PSP screen shows the players as small figures, and even up-close they are no larger than an inch tall. There is all of the bashing and crashing, and even injuries ﾖ but none of the blood, profanity or tantrums. It is definitely less violent than watching football on the TV. Another couple of things that I love in games that I share with my kids are flexibility and a system that rewards practice. These are areas where Madden is excellent. For those who just want to play, the first menu item is ﾑPlay Now' and it launches you immediately into an exhibition game with your preferred team facing off against a rival of your choice. But unless you have prior experience, you quickly find yourself a bit lost in all of the options and controls. There are a wide variety of ways to approach playing Madden. Indeed there is even a ﾑhead coach' mode in which you simply call the plays and let your AI team execute. On the other end of the spectrum, you can snap the ball, take the lead block, and then switch to running back and power through the line. Similarly on defense you can control every aspect of the gameplay. The flexibility here is an excellent feature, and great for new players just learning the game. There is plenty of opportunity for learning, all of which rewards practice, practice, practice. There are two separate mini-camp modes to help you practice skills in all areas of the game as well as a basic ﾑpractice' area for running plays over and over. Offense and defense; speed, power and accuracy; everything you need to succeed in the action portion of the game you can learn in this section. There is an exercise for capturing flags that teaches you how to break through the line in a fast and efficient manner, a precision punting exercise as well as running and passing and all sorts of other skill drills. Each can be done in either a practice setting or in game mode. I cannot stress enough how important these drills become as you play more and more challenging games. I had particular trouble with the ﾑPocket presence' QB drill, but that was because after a year of heavy PSP use I still didn't really know which button corresponded with which symbol well enough to keep up. Speaking of learning, the game offers several ﾑassist' features such as ﾑpass assist', which help you catch the ball even when you are controlling the receiver. These help ease you into the game. If you plan to move beyond Rookie mode you need to learn how to do all of these things very well by yourself. This review edited by Dave Long Comments? Chat about it in our forums! Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Browse Amazon.com's selection of "madden nfl" themed games Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Madden NFL '07 |
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