Madden NFL 07 (Sony Playstation 3, 2006)

People know John Madden in one of three ways. First, there are the die-hard football fans who remember him as "Coach," from his days with the Raiders. Then there are the NFL fans who know John Madden by his commentary for all those years on Monday Night Football, and welcomed "John" into their homes. Then there is the videogame generation, who know him simply as "Madden." John Madden is a veritable institution, quite possibly the most recognized man associated with the greatest of all professional sports. (Please write in to correct me on this.) EA Sports has been churning out their yearly Madden games since 1990, and this latest game, just like all the others, is supposed to be the latest and greatest yet.

Shaun Alexander is on the cover of the game this year, following up on a record-breaking season. Last year was without question the year of the running back, and Madden NFL 07 follows suit, focusing the improvements in the game engine this year on enhancing the running game. The first upgrade is the highlight stick, which replaces the truck stick. The highlight stick enables those game-breaking moves that allow the top backs to evade tackles and break those huge runs. There are forty new broken tackle animations, allowing you to lower your shoulder and smash through a defender, spin your way around them, or perform one of a slew of other tricks to avoid being brought down.


The top running backs in the game have their own unique ways to avoid defenders, and this is taken into account, as the highlight stick enables context-sensitive moves based on your back's size, ability and tendencies. Bruising running backs like the Chiefs' Larry Johnson can knock aside linebackers like bowling pins, while wilier backs like the Steelers' Willie Parker are better at dancing, darting and slipping tackles before breaking big gains. The downside to using these flashy moves to get past defenders is that you increase your chances of fumbling the ball (which I found out all too often while challenging human opponents on Xbox Live).

These new animations are the visual highlight this year, as the character models and fields don't look much better than what we've seen on previous current-generation entries in the Madden series. This is a sharp-looking game, though, and the series has been for years. The grass in the middle of the field will deform and get muddier and worn as play goes on, for instance, and even on the regular old Xbox, it's hard to find fault with such great-looking character models, excellent use of reflective surfaces and some really well-designed stadiums.
The new gameplay features steal the show here, though, particularly the aforementioned highlight stick and the new lead blocker control. With lead blocking, you can take control of an offensive lineman, tight end or fullback, and lay down the lead block for your running back, clearing a path towards a big gain. Teams (and their corresponding halfbacks) with excellent fullbacks will probably benefit the most from this, like the Chargers and their stud blocker Lorenzo Neal, who runs point for Ladainian Tomlinson, serving as his eyes and leading the charge through the defensive line (no pun intended). The system works well, for the most part, and there's some strategy to deciding what kind of block to utilize based on your situation. You can cut block to take someone's legs out from under them, and you can even intentionally hold the defender.
Overall Rating: A 10 out of 10.

I bought the game as my roomate and I are huge football fans and have been a fan of EA sports for some time now. This version is the best so far and I will never regret buying it. It is getting to the point where Madden 10 will be like being in the game!

A number of key features missing in Madden 06 have returned; highlight stick, lead-blocker controls are useful gameplay additions; superstar mode is reasonably compelling this year; having the hall of fame players is also a nice addition. This is an excellent game and definitely a step foward for the playstation 3.

The graphics are great, better than anything put out on ps2, but they changed way to many things in this next version of madden. They came out with a whole new game it seems, and for madden lovers it was a unneeded and unwanted change. If they took the controls from Madden 07 on ps2 and added with the graphics of this game, it would be the best madden ever. My favorite part of the game for many years, The franchise mode, got ruined. They took away the fantasy draft and all the GM responsibilities. You can't create a new stadium, set ticket prices. The graphics make up for all that, and as soon as you get used to the new controls, its a great game. Since madden is a game you buy and not rent, I would recommend buying it.

I have been a huge fan of the Madden series. Madden 06 was ok, but it started to get a little repetitive. Madden 07 confirmed my original fear that having an exclusive license for EA Sports will hurt the game because they have no competition.

Even if you dont mind that the game doesn't have many new features from '06, no person can possibly handle the problems with presentation. There are numerous times where the game gets choppy.

To top it off, the audio is horrible. They have ESPN radio announcers announcing the game, which is ok, but they actually make it sound like you are listening to a game on the radio! Why would you watch a game in high-definition but want to hear the sound of AM radio?

If you have the PS2 version, stick with it. If you are not familiar with the Madden series, you might like this game, but if you are a big Madden fan, you may be disappointed.