Madden 07

Microsoft XBOX 360

Click HERE for screenshots. 

Madden 07 improves upon its predecessor on the XBOX 360, but still leaves quite a bit to be desired.  My initial impressions upon starting the game are that the menu interface is similar to 06 – crisp and easy to read.  However, I was confused by the fact that the controls on the menu screen seemed choppy and not very smooth.  This isn’t anywhere near as bad as it was in Madden ’99, but is still worth noting.  These menus also seem overly complicated to me, with layers upon layers of different menu trees to sort through.  The music is once again angsty and terrible. 

For my Wildcard matchup, the Pats hosted the Kansas City Chiefs.  I could see that a number of my complaints from 06 were to be repeated here- Tom Brady looks like a huge brute, the pre-game intro is very choppy, and Madden is once again absent as a commentator and replaced by a generic radio voice.  On the upside, they managed to fix the ridiculous camera angles so that the defaults are usable, and a number of little graphical improvements have been implemented (improved grass texture, the helmets sparkle, etc.) 

The opening play of the game sums up my entire experience playing Madden 07.  I generally open games with a conservative call in an effort to settle into the controls and whatnot.  I opted this time for an inside run to the left with Corey Dillon.  I snapped the ball and Dillon ran untouched for an 80 yard TD.  Wow- those were some easy points.  It could have been an anomaly, or so I thought, given that long runs do sometimes happen to start a game (see Pats vs. Ravens in 2009 playoffs). 

However, on the Chief’s very first offensive play, they threw an interception that I returned 25 yards for a TD.  On two plays, I was winning 14-0.  Less than 1 minute had passed on the game clock.  These two plays proved to be the rule rather than the exception as I raced to a 27-0 lead at the half.  In my notes, I wrote: “I’m not really doing anything well, it is just the CPU giving me all these turnovers and big plays”.  The only positive comment I had written down was that they had reinstated the “end of quarter” and “2 minute warning” screens, which were oddly missing from Madden 06.

My lead hit 34-0 going into the 4^th when I focused on just trying to run the clock out.  The anemic Chiefs offense showed a little something at the very end and managed to surprise me with a couple of quick scores, but the game was long over at that stage.  My comments following this 34-14 domination were as follows: “I don’t feel like I’m really in control, more like a spectator” and “This game is boring as shit.”  There were 8 turnovers in the game, which is a ridiculously high number.  It also took just over an hour in real time.

The divisional matchup was in Pittsburgh.  This game was surprisingly competitive following the blow out against KC.  With the score tied at 3 into the second quarter, the game’s AI got a little bit weird.  I dropped back with Brady and saw that Deion Branch had a half step on the Steelers CB and was streaking down the right sideline.  Brady let the ball fly and inexplicably, the cornerback peeled away and started running away from Branch rather than move in to bat the ball away.  As a result, Branch was left wide open and hauled in a 70 yard TD catch.  This play was weird for two reasons- one was the AI misfire, but the other was that Brady threw the ball 75 yards in the air.  He has a strong arm, but 75 yards is kind of nuts.  I managed a couple more field goals and took a 16-3 lead into halftime. 

The second half featured a decent attempt by the computer to come back.  They narrowed the lead to 16-6 by the end of the 3^rd and were able to score a TD with 4 minutes left in the game, which made it 16-13.  For some reason, at this point, the game started to have frame rate issues.  It wasn’t consistent, but for some plays, the game would slow to a crawl, adding an unexpected layer of difficulty to the experience. 

Regardless, the attempted comeback ended as I was able to run out the clock and preserve the 16-13 win.  All in all, it was a pretty good game and the first competitive one I had had in awhile.  Was this the start of a positive trend?

The answer turned out to be “no”.  The AFC Championship game in San Diego started out promising, with my posting a modest 10-0 lead at the half.  Although it was a bit fluky - there were 4 turnovers – the game was at least competitive.  The second half was a different story. 

While my defense continued its domination, I sprang to life on offense.  A major difference was that I finally started to implement the “dual analog stick” controls whereby the right analog stick is used for jukes and “highlights” while running and as a “hit stick” on D.  While I know that this has been around for a few years by this point, I had never really used it before.  Once I started to use these controls as they were intended, my offense exploded in a way reminiscent of the 2007 Patriots (before the devastating loss in the Super Bowl).  I put up another 28 points to close out the game with a 38-0 win. 

The game was a shellacking and felt like it could have been 70-0.  It reminded me of my Super Bowl game back in Madden ’96 vs. the 49ers.  Once again, there were 9 turnovers in the game- an unusually high number.  I had five interceptions on defense.  This was pretty silly, but at least I was wrapping my head around all the controls. 

Super Bowl XLI featured the Patriots vs. the Seahawks.  As had been the case in Madden 2003, 2004,  and 2005, I was playing in a championship game against the player featured on the cover art- RB Shawn Alexander.  I took a moment to revel in how great the stadium/field graphics looked.  The field was decked out for the big game and looked fantastic. 

My praise for this particular game ends about there.  As was the case in the Wildcard game and the Championship, the Super Bowl was a one-sided romp.  I opened the game with an 80 yard TD run by Corey Dillon.  I raced to a 14-0 lead before Seattle managed to score a FG late in the second. 

With the score 14-3, I thought the momentum might swing away from me when it was ruled that Corey Dillon had fumbled the ball on a run up the middle of the field.  I challenged the play, and for the first time ever in a Madden game, I won the challenge and the ruling was overturned.  Rather than giving Seattle great field position and a chance to pull within 4 points, I kept the ball and ended up scoring again.  The score was 21-3 at the half. 

Just moments into the 3^rd quarter, I scored again to make it 28-3.  In spite of my efforts to run out the clock at that stage, I tacked on two more TDs by the time it was over and won 42-10.  My notes included “I have learned the controls and am apparently unstoppable” and “this is pretty boring”.  After the final gun sounded, I was rewarded with nothing.  There was no Super Bowl celebration whatsoever, just the typical “end of game” screen.  Jeez.

The final statistics were pretty warped- Corey Dillon finished with 208 yards rushing and 5 TDs.  I noticed while playing Madden 07 that there was something called a “Madden level” that I think has something to do with a scaling difficulty.  I started at a level 1 when I played the Wild Card game vs. the Chiefs and after I won the Super Bowl, I was told I had reached level 5.  If this leveling system is indeed intended to make the games harder as you “get better”, it didn’t work very well as I won both my first game and last game in equally dominating fashion. 

I imagine that this issue had more to do with the difficulty setting- “pro”.  I didn’t switch this to “all-pro” for the sake of continuity.  In all of these Madden reviews I have played through the Super Bowl using the default settings, so I didn’t want to change it up here.  Based on that scale though, Madden 07 is way too easy and as a result, a forgettable installment in the Madden franchise.