Madden fans who like a little waggle in their game should enjoy Madden 08.
The bad: Disappointing online play. Old presentation. Boring audio. ////
Madden 07 for the Wii was supposedly a breakout game in the Madden franchise. When the franchise seemed to be dying a slow painful death and suffering from recycling, Madden 07 revitilized Madden in many ways by use of the Wii-mote controller. I wasn't able to get around to playing Madden 07 for the Wii, but have decided to pick up this year's Madden 08 to see what the waggle controls do for the Madden franchise. Being a big Madden fan and football gaming fan, I was excited to try Madden with the new controls and the online play. I have to say I am satisfied with at least one one of the two things I was looking forward to the most. The controls are tight, responsive, intuitive, accurate, and makes the game a little more realistic by making you feel more involved physically in this brutal sport. On offense you snap the ball by jerking the Wii-mote toward you, as if you were receiving the hike from the center. Once you are ready to pass you may take off by holding down on B, or pass to one of your receivers which are chosen by selecting one of the 4 directions on the d-pad, or by the A button. Once you select your receiver you must flick the Wii-mote forward to make your pass attempt. Flick it hard and your QB will shoot a bullet. Flick it lightly and your QB will put a little touch on the ball to make it float gracefully through the air. Having to do these multiple tasks before being able to release the ball makes the passing game more challenging and more tense while trying to avoid the defensive rush. Running the football on offense is pretty simple. You hold down on B to sprint, shake the wii-mote left or right to stiff arm, or press A to juke. You can have total control of your receivers as well. You can run your route and when the ball comes your way, lift up both the wii-mote and nun-chuck simeltaneously to make a catch. The control scheme certainly makes you feel more involved in the game.
On defense you are able to rip through the O-line as a D-lineman by flicking the Wii-mote toward you, and are able to dive with C, or do shift moves by pressing Z on the nun-chuck attachment. On special teams, when kicking the ball, you aim the arrow in the direction where you want to kick, and swing the wii-mote towards you while trying to keep it as straight and steady as possible to make an accurate kick. The harder you swing it towards you the harder the kick will be. With the controls not being a disappointment, I am sad to say that the other aspect of the Madden Wii franchise I was looking forward to was the online play. This would be my first online experience with any Madden game. First off, finding an oponent is usually pretty easy. It's rather or not you'll be able to connect or stay connected to your oponent that is the frustrating part. I have connected to an oponent in a matter of seconds at times, and at times I have tried for almost an hour with no luck. If you're able to get in the game, you'll have to deal with the constant lag and slow-down. It really isn't anything that makes the online play unplayable, but it's pretty close. You'll be able to get used to it. My record so far is 5-2. I did not lose any of those two games by the way. The connection was lost somewhere in the middle of the game and I was charged with the loss. But if you're able to get used to the lag and slowdown, and are able to make it through the entire match without being cut-off, then you may enjoy Madden 08's online play.....somewhat.
Graphically Madden 08 for the Wii looks like a last gen game with minor improvements. The game has some weird glitches such as the blur effect during in game play. Audio wise you'll hear the same boring commentary that you have heard the last 5-6 years (or more) from Al Micheals and John Madden. There is a music soundtrack with pop rock/rap....which didn't appeal to me at all. But if the music in Madden 08 is your cup of tea, then good for you. The game has a good bit to do. There is party mode which is like a number of mini-games that you play against other people by taking turns in certain events. If your grandma wants to play, and she's a Madden noob, let the old lady play it on family mode, which is a watered down beginner's control scheme that uses only the Wii-mote. There are tutorials for every phase of the game and every single positiion in the game. That pretty much says it all about Madden 08. A fun game with great controls, nice features, old presentation, and disappointing online play.