Madden NFL 07 (Xbox 360)
Manufacturer: Electronic Arts Inc. Part number: 16620
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Description:
- Throw the perfect block and create a running lane with all-new lead blocking control, and then take command of the tailback and rip off a big gain. Play your way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame by taking complete control of any position on the field. Your actions on and off the field determine your impact on the game. ... Read more
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Gamespot editors' review
Madden NFL 07 (Xbox 360) price range: $17.82 - $45.99
- Reviewed by: Alex Navarro
- Reviewed on: 08/22/2006
- Released on: 08/22/2006
When the Xbox 360 debuted late last year, so too did the newest iteration of EA-brand football, in Madden NFL 06. Rather than churn out a cheap and dirty port of its other console versions of the game, EA Tiburon built a new version of Madden from the ground up. The result was a much more attractive game of football, complete with a new menu presentation and excellent new player models, stadiums, and the like. The trade-off for that newness, however, was an incomplete game. It played like Madden, but it lacked the depth of its predecessors, offering only a barren franchise mode and online play as extra features. Madden NFL 07 builds off of that previous game, tossing back in some of the missing features from the other console versions, as well as including some new components. Unfortunately, Madden 07 comes encumbered with some quirks and bugs, as well, and it's still not nearly as complete of a football game as the other console and PC versions of 07 currently available. But despite all that, this is a definite step in the right direction for the series on the Xbox 360--just not a leap.
Madden NFL 07 brings back practically every feature that was in Madden 06 (not a tough feat, considering how little there was to the package), as well as the superstar mode, which was heavily featured in the other console versions of Madden 06 but was absent in the 360 version. On top of that, a number of new gameplay upgrades have been brought to the table, the majority of which are available in all versions of the game. By themselves, none of these individual changes or upgrades is particularly game changing, but taken as a whole, they add a nice dimension of depth to the gameplay experience.
These features include the highlight stick, a new kick meter, and lead blocking controls. The highlight stick is a new version of the truck stick used for runners on offense. Here, you can use the right analog stick to pull off the sorts of crazy jukes and steps that star running backs are so well known for, and on top of that, depending on the type of back you're playing, you can opt to use more-powerful moves, or more finesse-based maneuvers. This feels like the natural evolution of last year's truck stick, though most experienced Madden players will be able to get by just as easily using the button-based moves rather than making liberal use of the stick. But if you take the time to learn the stick and figure out how to use it and the button controls together, you can be a very hard runner to stop.
The new lead blocking controls are likely to inspire some new tactics from all types of players. Here, while on offense, you can opt to switch your controlled player to any of the available blockers during a running play. This includes offensive linemen, tight ends, fullbacks, or whoever else might be blocking on a play. When blocking, you can just do standard blocks, or you can even get dirty and do some mean-spirited cut blocks. This is an interesting mechanic, because it stops you from having to rely on CPU blockers, which as any experienced player will tell you, are not always the most reliable players on the field. You can also quickly switch back to control the running back once you've laid down your block, which is good, because the CPU running back doesn't always manage to find the holes you're creating. At first, you may find yourself unable to effectively use this feature, as setting up the right blocks isn't always the most intuitive thing in the world. But after some time, this control method gives the running game a really interesting new perspective, and those who love finding new strategies are bound to eat this up.
The other changes to the gameplay are less significant, but they're enjoyable all the same. The new kick meter is probably the most accurate representation of kicking available in a game thus far. With this meter, you use the typical arrow to line up your angle and then press down on the right analog stick to set up your power. The meter quickly fills up, and then you press forward on the right stick to set the power, as well as your accuracy. The accuracy is based on the angle at which you press up. If you press too far to the right or left, the kick will get away from you. If you land it within a set space, it'll go right where you want it to.
Much like NCAA 07 this year, Madden 07 gives you the option to try and jump the snap while on defense. Pressing a single button at just the right time lets your defensive player get a lead on the blocker in front of him and gives you an advantage while trying to get to the quarterback or runner. Of course, this is a risk-versus-reward situation, as opposing offenses will often try to lure you offside by using a hard count and faking the snap. The CPU tends to make very liberal use of this feature, and it tends to lead to far more encroachment penalties than are realistic for an NFL game. If anything, it ought to lead to more false-start penalties on the offense, since offensive linemen are notorious for jumping before the snap. Still, it's nice to see a key feature from the NCAA series find its way into Madden, and when timed properly, it gives a tangible advantage to the defense.
Beyond that, the changes from 06 to 07 are mostly ancillary, and fundamentally, the game plays very much as its predecessor did. The basic feel of the game seems a little bit on the easy side, especially on the default difficulty. Namely, the defensive-back artificial intelligence doesn't seem terribly adept at handling certain types of routes, so it's possible to exploit those routes for easy gains on a regular basis. However, upping the difficulty to all-pro and all-Madden tends to fix that right up. On defense, there are a few more available options in terms of positioning your DB, LB, and DL corps, and you can commit your defense in a certain direction the moment the ball is snapped. But individual defensive-playmaker controls are still missing, which is unfortunate. The quarterback vision cone, which made its debut last year, is still available, though it's not a required feature. You can tap the right analog stick after snapping the ball, and the cone will pop on, letting you use it for a little accuracy boost. No, it's not any more fun to use than it was last year, but that's not altogether surprising. It's also worth mentioning that the achievements in this year's game are decidedly more interesting than in Madden 06. Most of them actually require some effort to get, though few are unattainably hard.
In terms of features, Madden NFL 07 brings back the franchise mode and online play from last year's game--literally. The franchise mode is practically untouched in most every way, with only a basic off-season menu list to mess around with and none of the presentational pizzazz of the other console versions--no Tony Bruno radio show, no newspapers, no e-mail dialogue with your roster, no owner mode. It's certainly functional as is, but that's about all that can be said for the mode. The online play hasn't evolved terribly far, either, with the usual list of EA Sports features included, such as the usual head-to-head play, lobbies, the EA Sports locker, and such. One new feature that sounds very cool on paper is the live franchise game. While in the franchise mode, you can opt to play one of your franchise games against an online opponent by switching on a toggle in the team-select menu. This sends an invite to players sitting in a live franchise game queue on Xbox Live. You also have the option of inviting friends to a game. Unfortunately, we were never able to connect up with one of these games. Every attempt we made resulted in an immediate connection drop, both by inviting friends and going through the player queue. Fortunately, all our head-to-head games played just fine, and we experienced little, if any, lag.
The big new addition to the feature roster this year is superstar mode. If you played the Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube, or PC version of Madden last year, you're probably already familiar with this feature in its basic form. You take a fresh rookie player, of any position, through his NFL career, facing the various trials and tribulations that are typical for an NFL player. The version last year suffered from some annoying quirks and interface issues. Some of those problems still exist in the other console versions of Madden 07, but less of them appear on the 360. You no longer hang out in a cheesy hub area modeled after a player's house, nor do you have to worry about taking on movie roles or getting haircuts, and so on. Instead, the sole focus of the mode is on making your player one of the greatest NFL players of all time and eventually getting him into the Hall of Fame.
User reviews
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Flaws prevent it from being good.
by XDerkaX on January 8, 2007
Pros: Good Replay Value
Cons: Missing features from the original xbox game, online problems, glitches
Summary: This game is missing features from the xbox equivilent. Why? THis is the version for the superior console, you imagine they would try to make this the premire game. Online ...
Summary: This game is missing features from the xbox equivilent. Why? THis is the version for the superior console, you imagine they would try to make this the premire game. Online play is extremely laggy no matter how good you connection is ( I have T1, no lag on every other game except this). Many glitches supposedly fixed with a patch, I feel it created more.
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Great but not Excellent
by bmmayhew on January 4, 2007
Pros: Graphics, realism, gameplay
Cons: graphics and gamplay
Summary: My pros and cons seem inconsistent, but there are aspects of the graphics and gameplay that are great and some that leave more to be desired.
The Good - player ...Summary: My pros and cons seem inconsistent, but there are aspects of the graphics and gameplay that are great and some that leave more to be desired.
The Good - player animations, both during gameplay and post-play animation (e.g., TD dances, first down and big play animations, etc.) are fantastic. The in-game play is very good, offering realistic football simulation. In fact, I would say that this is the best gameplay of any Madden game thus far.
However, from a "cons" aspect, and this may be nitpicky, is that the people in the crowd are duplicative of one another and that the scale to which the players compare to stadium height can be off in some frames. Additionally, the mini-game play seems redundant to the "practice" mode utilized in-sesason, so I'm not sure why this was included as a gameplay mode.
So, it is a truly great game, but could use some enhancements in terms of graphic scale. One of the best Madden games created. I guess I expected perfection in Madden's first iteration on the 360, so will look forward to next year's installment. -
Never have played a madden so good.
by the 4077th on December 26, 2006
Pros: Superstar challenge and many more upgrades.
Cons: No play creator still waiting for it to come back.
Summary: Suggest renting this game if this is the first madden game your going to buy, if not suggest buy.
Summary: Suggest renting this game if this is the first madden game your going to buy, if not suggest buy.
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Best version of Madden yet
by sarfdawg on October 15, 2006
Pros: Graphical wonder
Cons: Something seems a bit slow.
Summary: This game has it all. Graphically, I didn't think NCAA 07 could be topped - I was wrong. Madden 07 is a wonderful game to play, and it actually ...
Summary: This game has it all. Graphically, I didn't think NCAA 07 could be topped - I was wrong. Madden 07 is a wonderful game to play, and it actually gets played more than NCAA for me, which never happens. That said, there is something slow about this game, and I can't put my finger on it. It seems like every play in NCAA can go for a long gainer, while everything in Madden has something that slows it down. Maybe parity...
Also, the only other thing I'm not crazy about is that the annoucer is still the dufus radio guy instead of having Madden and maybe Michaels on there. I wonder how that can happen.
Great game...will play this one year round. -
Needs improvement.
by eddy820 on September 20, 2006
Pros: Right trigger sprint, even for QB.
Cons: Lots of missing features.
Summary: I have been playing Madden Football since 1994. So far the best game has been Madden 2005. Of the two 360 versions, I must say that 2006 was awful, due ...
Summary: I have been playing Madden Football since 1994. So far the best game has been Madden 2005. Of the two 360 versions, I must say that 2006 was awful, due in part to the QB cone device, and 2007 is a bit better but does not match 2005. Everyone is going nuts over the graphics on Madden 2006/7 for the 360. Well I don't care about the graphics if the game is missing some of the features that I grew to love. How can there be less features on a game built for the 360, which is a next generation console, and supposedly faster and more powerful. Where is the Football 101 feature? Where is the selectable camera view? Where are my toggleable lines for scrimmage and 1st down? Where are the select by number or name for the players? How come I can't save at any time? Why should I have to play an entire game (impossible when you are married with kids ,like I am) before I can save a game? What makes this a $60.00 next generation game? If the answer is the graphics , then I would rather play with black and white Xs and 0s, but have all the features that I asked about. Game manufacturers have to realize that games are not just played by wide eyed teenagers, who are easily excited by nice colors. I play Madden for the strategy and challenge. For $60.00 I really expect more not less from a next generation game.
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It's all about the gameplay
by Coconutchuck626 on September 4, 2006
Pros: Create-a-character, player-specific moves added. Great game-play
Cons: No existing player customizations, No create a team. FRUSTRATING WR and DB minigames.
Summary: Last year's model was more of the "stand still and look pretty" approach. This year actually has improved over last year. Better gameplay (lead-blocker control is cool), and character ...
Summary: Last year's model was more of the "stand still and look pretty" approach. This year actually has improved over last year. Better gameplay (lead-blocker control is cool), and character models.
The WR and DB drills are too difficult to get a hang on. How can a QB with a rating of 91 and above continue to miss you. The saving grace to this is that you can do any drill before a game to improve a player, making you actually want to practice.
And the gameplay. Sweet gameplay.
Now if only those EA guys can accurately put pile-ons into the game. -
Could have been the best football game ever made next to real thing
by vedder2929 on August 31, 2006
Pros: looks great, great digital sound, Nice to play in HD
Cons: no fantasy draft, the computer signs up all the hall of famers, cant keep the HOF of rosters unless you dont save the roster
Summary: I have been a fan of Madden since I can remember. Always looking forward to the improvements from one season to the next. This could have been best of them ...
Summary: I have been a fan of Madden since I can remember. Always looking forward to the improvements from one season to the next. This could have been best of them all. But to lack some key features that are on other systems, doesnt make sense to me. The game also tends to lock up. I ve played one game 4 times cause of this problem. I know I have not been the only one to have this happen to them. Also the game is madden!!! Yet there is no Madden doing play by play. All you can do is ask Madden and that is it!! Having Madden doing the color comentary was always something to look forward to. Then there is the HoF players, that when released, the computer signs them up to their roster. Superstar modes is unique in that you can see the field from your positions p.o.v. Its great if you are a Qb or MLB, but not so great for other positions. To me, its just disappointing to know the Madden on my friends Gamecube has more features than the 360 version. I have been really debating whether to hold on to it or take it back. I just think since EA got the exclusive rights to the NFL that they are slacking. I also want to believe maybe EA and Microsoft have something going on behind closed doors that has not gotten out yet. I understand the 1st Madden on 360 lacking some features, but c'mon on man, you had a little over a year to get this done and done right. Maybe Madden 2010 will be finally done right, or maybe the NFL will grant rights to some other Co. to bring in some competition
Updated
there are no alternate jersey except for home and away. You have to purchase the additonal jersey through ea/market place from what I was told. I was wondering why could put on alternate jerseys or please correct me if I am wrong.......... -
let down, no training camp, no fantasy draft. whats up with that
by jjboltz77 on August 25, 2006
Pros: graphics are pretty good, and the game play seems smooth
Cons: missing options, the online locker (for franchise mode) isnt the same. no fantasy drafting, and no training camps
Summary: i probably would have gave this game a higher rating but i was so disappointed that ea left a few things out. first of all, why did they leave out ...
Summary: i probably would have gave this game a higher rating but i was so disappointed that ea left a few things out. first of all, why did they leave out the option to have a fantasy draft in the franchise mode? that was one of my favorite options on the game (previous years) second, they left out the training camp,whats up with that? and third(if im wrong and just dont know how to do it) why is there no locker to play a franchise online with your friends like they had last year? can you still save the game and send it to your friends(ex. for the draft?) i just felt it was a big let down after waiting almost a year for the game to be released.
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Fun...laggy though, would have been nice to have EA locker and say opponents record when challenged.
by auburntigersfan on August 22, 2006
Pros: superstar mode, good franchise, hall of fame is a plus, and live opponent.
Cons: low frame rate at points,
Summary: Sure this game is fun and comes with Superstar mode, and has some nice details...But it didn't quite live up to my expectations. Don't get me wrong, ...
Summary: Sure this game is fun and comes with Superstar mode, and has some nice details...But it didn't quite live up to my expectations. Don't get me wrong, this is a great game but could have been much better. Low frame rete can get annoting at times and should have been fixed from madden 06. Pre-game is really cool with player introductions and minigames are awesome, but challenging. overall this is a great game, if you are a football fan, buy it!
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Electronic Arts Inc.
- Part number: 16620
- Description: Throw the perfect block and create a running lane with all-new lead blocking control, and then take command of the tailback and rip off a big gain. Play your way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame by taking complete control of any position on the field. Your actions on and off the field determine your impact on the game. Bust out player-specific running styles matching those of real NFL players (e.g., smaller backs slash to break tackles, while bigger runners bowl over defenders in the open field). All-new jukes, cutbacks, and power moves. Scout collegiate prospects with the all-new NFL Draft Scouting System and the College All-Star Game, or watch players around the NFL impact their teams with the new Franchise Player Roles feature. For the first time, use actual plays from your favorite team's defensive playbook to shut down the running game, pressure the quarterback, or force key turnovers.
Product Basic Spec
- Platform Xbox 360
- ESRB rating Everyone -
- Genre Sports
- Elements Sports - football simulation
- Context Realistic
- Number of players 1-2 Players
- Connectivity Scoreboards
- Difficulty Variable
- Learning curve About a half hour
- Customization Downloadable Content,Custom Soundtracks
- Offline modes Cooperative
- Sound Dolby Pro Logic II
- Resolution 480p,1080i,720p
Game
- Developer EA Tiburon
- ESRB Everyone
- Max number of players 2
- Release date 2006-08-22
Manufacturer info
- Electronic Arts Inc.
- Manufacturer profile
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- Website: http://www.ea.com/
- Address:
1450 Fashion Island Blvd.
San Mateo, CA 94404 - Phone: 650/571-7171
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