Xbox 360 Review: Madden NFL 07
Published August 26, 2006
Expectations can be a tricky thing. For Madden fans who spent the money on EA Sport's first attempt at NFL football on the Xbox 360, they were less than satisfied. Missing features, little gameplay adjustments, and an underwhelming graphics engine were promised to be fixed in the 2007 edition. For the most part, they have been. Compared to the other versions on lesser consoles though, 360 owners still get stuck with a lesser effort.
For all its flashy, sparkling logos, fresh soundtrack, and live ESPN score ticker, this next generation version of Madden stumbles immediately. The menus look great, but they're nearly impossible to navigate. Nearly every button, including the analog stick, does something to move around the convoluted scheme. The right analog stick brings up media at any time, which is nothing more than credits and trailers. Why this actually needs quick access is unknown.
The triggers can bring up a sub menu, and in conjunction with the d-pad, can find more options. The left trigger can navigate or bring up a save menu. The bumpers flip stat categories, and the face buttons move things forwards or back a screen. This is miserable to deal with, and there's no reason for why it's so complex.
Thankfully, once into the game, things are toned down. The play selection menu is ripped from NCAA 07, and it's hardly user friendly either. It's become harder over the years to hide plays from friends playing alongside you, and while online play negates some of that, it's hard to fathom how the 16-bit versions of the game did a better job of this.
Gameplay changes include "lead blocker controls." This is the significant change to this year's Madden that separates it from its past cousins. By pressing the left bumper on the line, you can switch to any player on the field to set up a block. The right analog stick decides what type of block you'll perform. Once you've made the hole, you can rapidly switch back to the running back and regain control or let the AI run out the play. It's initially disorienting, though after a few runs you'll become used to this feature, and realize its enormous benefits to the running game.
The right analog stick is also used for running, and instead of a "truck" move like last year, flicking the analog stick in a certain direction performs moves more accurate to the running back under control. Smaller backs use finesse, larger ones use brute strength. It's necessary to know your players to put this into effect.
Matt Paprocki is the former reviews editor for Digital Press. The deep game collection, which spans nearly 30 systems and 2,000 games, lines his walls for research purposes. Matt strives to bring credibility to video game journalism, and to aid the industry in becoming respected with all forms of entertainment media. He currently freelances for GameArgus.com and MultiPlayerGames.com.
- Xbox 360 Review: Madden NFL 07
- Published: August 26, 2006
- Type: Review
- Section: Gaming
- Filed Under: Gaming: Xbox 360
- Writer: Matt Paprocki
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Comments on this articleComments
otherwise the article is very informative.
Not when trying the Live franchise. I found one game as I reviewed it. Standard exhibition versus play is of course packed.
that makes sence
this is dead on. anyone who says this is a 'great game' has no clue what day it is or doesnt play a lot of games. the play selection is confusing to go between inside running plays to play action to special teams plays. After a lot of games you still don't get used to it. Why they didn't keep what they had last year confuses me. I thought the same thing about the media and the right analog stick. The only worthwhile thing in it is a link to xbox live marketplace for madden, but nothing that needs a hot button.
Ya I bought last years madden on the 360 and the lack of features really irritated me (infact I disliked it so much I traded in about 4 months ago). Now after reading this review (and many others) I will not be bying Madden this year.This is a shame because I've been bying them since 1993 and usally look forward to it's august release, however this version doesn't sound that tantilising.
ur a dum ass u dont what ur sayin go to ign.com and ull get a true real review the features on current gen arent big enuff to not get the 360 version. this revier is and idiot and should be banned frum reviewing games.
1up, Gamespot, and Gamerevolution also gave the title lukewarm scores, simply because it's $10 more than the Xbox version which has more features. Nearly every site you'll visit will award the game a higher score on current gen consoles.
If you want to debate the topic, debate the topic. You did nothing to debunk the review other than criticize me and spell simple words wrong which only shows you can't defend your point.
haha this game is great u no it(i am fast typer so ill probably spell sum things wrong) but back to the point i think this review is bogus and inaccurate, although there should be more camera angles on ss, but i would probably use that view anyways.
Gamespot has always gave madden bad reviews ever since 2k got "kicked out" lol.
and im done debating i love the game, u dont because ur a 2k fanboy and as a reviewer u cant be a fanyboy....
You've posted twice now and have yet to say HOW the review is innacurate, instead heading into the realm of pointless personal attacks.
I own Madden 06 for the 360 and rented 07. The games are very similar and I don't recommend buying the 07 version if you have the 06 already. The biggest complaint I have about both 360 versions is the fact you can only have two players playing at the same time. What in the point of owning four controllers for the 360 unless you play alot of Ghost Recon. Along with what was stated in the review, if you play two player there is no hiding your play selecting from your opponent. They can see the offensive play you pick and then select a defence forcing you to call hot routes, motions and audibles constantly. Also a frustrating feature that I hoped was fixed but was not was the fact that when selecting a defensive or offensive player there is only one button. If you accidently go past the player you want, you cannot go back. You have to select through all eleven players again. I am a huge Madden fan but will wait till 08 and hope EA gets it right.
You actually can cycle thru players by holding the B button and selecting with your D Pad. A lot of people, including myself, were upset by the B only option until someone had posted this on another website. Ilike it extremely better because this lets you cycle left, right, up and down.
does anyone else have their franchise mode freeze up after halftime like mine does.what does anyone recommend?
I've played a lot of games with no lock up issues yet. Sorry, can't help you there. The only thing I would try would be to exchange the disc.
Madden '07 is going to be sweet! I found some other videos with behind-the-scene footage about the game while I was playing the AOL Gold Rush game! Check it out!!
is there anyway to change the menu so the person your playing cant see the play you choose? that feature is absolutly retarded! i mean why would they show you what play is coming? any information on changing that would help
You hold down the A button when you select your play, and you can still move the cursor. It will select whatever play you held the button on.
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it's hard to find people online cause the game just came out.