Like democracy, Madden 08 is far from perfect but it's the best we've got.
Lurking in the Shadows - a plethora of turnovers; uninspired, recycled commentary; no custom plays or playbooks; only one camera setting; retarded linemen/fullbacks; so many straws, one's bound to break the camel's back; completely tacked on sideline/crowd people.
The quickie version
Madden is Madden. If you enjoy the series you'll enjoy 08. Like any sports game franchise, usually little changes from year to year so knowing when it's time to invest in the new version is key. With the exception of making player adjustments after you've gotten settled at the line of scrimmage and additional similar defensive adjustments, Madden 08 doesn't really offer anything new. I myself was playing the 360 launch version, Madden 06 and felt it was time to update. Nice for certain, but not a major improvement. Those still playing 07 can probably pass. Those new to the series or looking for that first football title for their 360 or PS3 can forgo getting a cheaper deal on the older versions and just go straight for the latest.
The tantric version
Madden 08 has solid handling - better than anything in the past. Part of this is due to the increased number of break points in character animations that allow characters to make quick adjustments whilst in the middle of another animation. This means that the players on the field will react a little more realistically when hit or when juking. From a spectator point of view, you're going to get some great replays of big hits and amazing catches - seeing players' bodies get tossed and flipped just as they should.
The most difficult part of any football game is just becoming familiar with the playbooks and different plays available. But with a limited understanding, anyone should be able to pick up the game and have some success. Follow your blockers, run through the holes, find the open receiver.
At the line of scrimmage, after you've called your play, you'll be able to make adjustments as audibles, changing the direction of a run play, coverage changes, shifting the line and linebackers to a particular side as well and adjustments to individual players like changing a receiver's route or telling a safety to blitz. This alone is an awesome addition to the game and really makes up where Madden fails in other respects. Changing passing routes on offense can really expand your playbook and gives you hundreds, if not thousands of play options. That may seem like an exageration but if we're talking combination mathematics, well...
The idea works for defense as well but not quite as well. The greatest limiting factor is that on defense you're bound to the fact that you have no control over when the play will be called which only magnifies the fact that trying to select a particular player before the snap is a pain since you have to cycle through every player until you find the one you want - then call the player's adjustment. Accidentally go past the player you want and you're kind of screwed. Getting a change to one player is usually doable but forget about editing two players.
So while the game handles and plays better, not to forget that the defensive A.I. has also been ramped up a bit, there are numerous faults that add up enough to make you wonder if those previously mentioned improvements are actually enough to make 08 a better game.
The most obvious of the gameplay issues is the high rate of turnovers - both fumbles and interceptions. The interception rate you can adjust; fumbles on the other hand, you cannot. After a few games I turned my interception rate down to 10 (down from 50 out of 100). Playing as the Denver Broncos with Champ Bailey as my barometer I worked my INT rate up to about 17. (When Champ is dropping easy picks you know it's time to up the slider.) Despite this, on multiple difficulty settings, my defense regularly scores more TDs than my offense. (After one season on the All Pro setting I led the league in wins and points scored yet my offense was one of the worst - mostly because my offense never gets a chance to touch the ball.)
Unless you're choosing your plays based on what John Madden suggests you're not likely to be impacted too much by him. But, as if the developers/publishers/Madden himself felt like he wasn't getting enough in-game action they opted to force his opinion on you when it comes to forth down. If teams are punting or going for the field goal he'll stay quiet. But as soon as the opposing team tries to go for it on forth, Madden will chime in with his play suggestions. Annoying but not a big deal if it weren't for the fact that your playbook is suddenly fixed on his suggested plays and the only way to get to the play you want is to back out to the main play selection screen then work your way back in. When time is of the essence, this can be a killer.
It also illustrates another behavior of the game to reset your playbook ever time it's opened. Say you're ten pages into your playbook and the quarter ends, a timeout is called, or the 2 minute warning hits. Your playbook is reset and you have to dig 10 pages in once again. Oh, and say you're at the 37 and want to kick the field goal? Nope, not an option. Again, you have to back all the way out, then find your special teams plays, then pick field goal.
One of the highly touted additions to Madden this year were "Weapons." Marking high performance players as threats with the potential to have dramatic impacts on a game. Those elite players that truly stand above the NFL crowd. Yeah, well it certainly labels them. That's about it. Really all this boils down to is a way of marking players with high ratings so that you don't have to remember who's good on your team. For as much as it was advertised, I think it's a pretty cheap gimmick. It does nothing for gameplay and just serves as a reminder that if you throw to Terrell Owens, he's probably going to catch the ball.
Before and after each game you'll get some dialogue by Marshal Faulk or a couple other former players giving their predictions and stroking their own ego after the game - whether they "guessed" the outcome right or wrong. This is entertaining, maybe... once. What they have to say is just far too limited and uninteresting. Not to mentioned repeated over and over. It won't matter what the final spread is, if they called the winner, well then they "called it all along."
Other dialogue during gameplay is better and it was good when it was fresh 3 years ago. Honestly, I don't think EA even touched the sound bites and just threw in what they already had. It's not offensive or annoying in anyway which is better than some quirky comment being repeated over and over. But as before, it's simply monotone, unenthusiastic and recycled. At the end of each game you'll also get some update as to your "ring builder" progress. Apparently it's necessary for Faulk to inform you of this every time as well. It may not sound like a big deal, but leaving it out would have been one less straw.
Outside of the players themselves, the graphics are mediocre. The field looks great and it's fun to watch how players and the field itself will get beat up over the course of a game. But for everything else (the stadium, the players on the sidelines, and the fans) it's simply disappointing. Especially considering how much attention is often drawn to these elements. During replays or while calling plays, the camera will float around view the stadium and everything in it, only bringing focus to how little attention was spent on other aspects. At least give more variety to these characters' actions and make it so they don't all do it at the same time.
FRANCHISE AND SUPERSTAR
For me, the reason I play Madden, or any sports game for that matter, is the franchise mode. Now I'm not all big on the off-season aspects, and I'm really not that into making trades and draft deals. I simply like playing through a season, evaluating my team, fixing holes and watching players progress. In that regard Madden does a fine job. It has an improved trading system and negotiating contracts is easy as there's no penalty for having a player decline an offer. Just adjust your proposal and see if they'll accept the new one.
An interesting side-effect of the Superstar mode is that it will impact your Achievements. While playing as Viking rookie running back, Adrian Peterson, I earned several passing achievements. Personally, I would have rather earned these myself rather than just being part of a CPU game that they occurred in.
Madden 08 also has a number of team owner related features to make use of during the off-season. You can make sponsorship deals, add a number of amenities to your stadium, or even move the team to a new city. Sponsorship deals will obviously bring in more money - as long as you fulfill the contract obligations. I assume upgrades to the stadium will have an impact on ticket sales as well but they also include yearly maintenance costs as well as the upfront construction fees so you have to choose wisely. Most of the upgrades are pretty ridiculous and quite costly.
Unfortunately, one of the biggest aspects of both the season and the off-season is completely broken. Scouting. For as much as it's supposed to play an integral part of the game (you have to hire a scouting agency for crying out loud), scouting players appears to do absolutely nothing. Now this may not be true as I've heard some people say that have played multiple teams in the same franchise that they'll get slightly different reports when scouting the same player. But frankly, it's something you can avoid. You can look at any player at any time and get a scouting report. And when it comes time to draft, you should have a pretty good idea of your team priorities already and be able to use the ample amount of time given to you to find the player you need.
For all those other aspects of the off-season already mentioned? Well, if you want to even touch them, you'll have to play through an entire Franchise season first since starting a new season doesn't even give you the option of an off-season.
Most disappointing of all, the biggest game in US sports is treated as just another ordinary game. If you don't realize your team is going to the Superbowl, you're likely to forget you're there. The home team is treated like the regular home team and the away team as if they're nobodies. Worst of all, Faulk's little pre-game commentary will claim that there's "no trophy on the line in this one so it's all about bragging rights."
New this year is the inclusion of Superstar mode. It's similar to Franchise only you play as a single player and can choose to only take part in the game when your player is called upon. Your involvement on a play will also have an impact on how the team responds to you. If the team does well while you're on the field, players on both sides of the line will come to respect you more and you'll gain the ability to not only increase your stats but also affect the stats of those around you through your "influence." It's a pretty cool concept and because it doesn't require you to take part in a complete game, it's a great way to play a season when you don't have time or the patience to sit through an entire regular game.
I think the one drawback of the mode is the camera angle. EA tried to make you feel more apart of the game by placing the camera lower and closer to your player, and often offset from center. The angle makes it a bit difficult to run in the proper direction and throwing passes turns into a matter of luck. It's an interesting take but I wish EA had included the option to use the normal camera setting. In that way, Franchise mode would have been a great way to practice and focus on certain aspects of the game.
Personally, the biggest thing missing is the lack of any kind of customizable playbook. Not even the chance to edit existing playbooks by removing or adding plays. It would be nice to be able to get rid of the plays I never use rather than have to sift through them ever time. Better yet would be the ability to create your own plays. (Such as a cover 2, 2 man under - why does this play not exist?) I know NCAA Gameday did this a few years back but it was only limited to three plays. Heck, that was better than nothing.
I don't like to buy games outright. Those I do buy are ones that I know will have some lasting replay value. For me, Madden falls into that category. I wasn't there on launch day, and I may not have been so willing to buy it if it wasn't a free game for me. Initially, it was hard to qualify it as being significantly better than 06. However, despite the number of turnovers, annoying commentary, lack of custom plays, and the fact that I have to manually to the away jersey when I'm the away team, I do think it's a better game and I'm glad to be playing it. The smooth frame rate is easy on the eyes (try going back to an earlier version and your eyes will feel funny) and it's a more solid build with fewer crashes - though is does still freeze or give me unreadable disc errors.
Madden 08 isn't a must buy by any means. But it is the best out there right now. EA made vast improvements to how the game handles and how CPU opponents react. Now if only they'd work more on improving what they have instead of continually adding sugar coated "features" maybe we'd finally get ourselves a real game of football.
Most disheartening is that EA continues to live up to their standard of mediocrity. Many aspects of the game could have so easily been fixed or improved and yet EA is complacent about the issues that plague their entire lineup of games.