08 marks another year of Madden. And the turning point for the game on next gen consoles.
First off, one of the best improved parts of the game, is the core game itself. On the 360, we have 60 FPS, and the PS3 is stuck with 30 FPS (sorry guys). This makes the game faster and so much smoother just like in NCAA Football 08. This will make your game experience more realistic and more fun. In this years game, the new feature is the weapons system. This system actually does work, and has an impact on the game. A shutdown cornerback can make your passing game a living hell, or an elusive back can make your defensive look like fish out of water as they attempt to take down the back. This system adds another element of strategy to the game, making you have to plan accordingly to what your offense/defense will do to win. Also along with the weapons, there are now a boat load of things you can do before the snap both on offense and defense. Of course on offense you can do hot routes, switch the run play, audible and fake snap the ball to name a few. But the main ones are on the defensive side of the ball. You can switch your defense to show blitz or pull back like in the last game, but now you can do a little something called receiver spotlight. This is where you highlight a certain receiver that you can then double cover, and keep your eye on (this is also a counter to a hands receiver). This feature along with a number of things to do before the snap adds a realistic feel to the game.
The only problem with the gameplay, is that it's a little more punishing than the other games in the series. In last year's game, you could just light up the defense with your passes since the corners wouldn't really exactly cover the receiver unless the user was helping him out. Now the corners are actually good at what they are paid to do, but the problem is, they are almost to good. It seems as if they stick to the receiver, covering him like paint covers a wall. Although you can complete passes, sometimes the corner makes INT's in situations when he really shouldn't. But once you are over that hump, you've got yourself one heck of a game.
The Franchise mode brings some things back from the old owner mode that was in the last generation's games. You can now see how much money you are making from ticket sales, and from sponsors, and also see what is costing you the most. You can also see players that are on their contract years, so that you know when to sign them again. The Superstar mode is mainly the same as last year's game. But they did zoom out the camera on the player which makes the mode more enjoyable and playable. This also allows you to play positions you couldn't play before in the last game since the camera was so zoomed in. It could be zoomed out a little more, but hey it's an improvement.
As for the graphics, the player models don't really look any different from last year. But besides the 60 FPS upgrade, the animation system has now been upgraded. In the last game, players never really tried to stay in-bounds to catch a ball, they would just simply run out of bounds going for the ball. Now when the player sees a sideline close by, he will attempt to catch the ball with two feet in. This makes the game a lot more realistic, and thankfully, this has been figured out. There are also some cool catch animations for the receivers with a weapon icon for spectacular catch. There are some amazing, jaw-dropping catches that will make you say "Holy $%&@, did he just do that!?" This really adds a cool element to the game that should have been in previous titles.
As for the sound in the game, you still have the same radio guy from "EA sports radio." At least he gets excited when something happens, unlike the monotone Al Michaels. Speaking of monotone, Marshall Faulk does some pre-game analysis (oh that was cold, great running back though). He sometimes will make the most out-there predictions, and gets really boring after the first time you hear him. As for the on the field sounds, you have your usual grunts of the players. Although sometimes during penalties, you can here chatter amongst them. This a cool little element they have in the game.
The online mode was pretty much left alone. You have a standard 1 on 1 match, and then you can play again. Not much of anything which is a little disappointing. Hopefully the leagues thing works in NHL so we can use it here. Overall your bound to get a lot out of this game with the Franchise mode, and the Superstar mode. All in all this game looks great and feels great. Its great to see that Madden may have just found its legs on the next-gen consoles.