Current Gen Xbox Questions and impressions.

[zephyr13]

Quote: Originally Posted by Lisa_Bonami

I guess if you didnt play 06, you will most likely enjoy this year's game. However if you own 06 and like it, I really and honestly haven't found a good enough reason to fork over another $50 to get this year's version...It's as fair as I can be without any bashing of this year's game. Is it a good game?....Yeah, but so was 06 for me. In fact, I enjoyed the slightly slower speed of 06 more because I enjoy the extra time I had to read and react to the play as it develops. It seems as if the 07 version is a bit faster...if not, perhaps some of the animations have been simply tweaked and sped up. Im not sure until I go back and play 07 and 06 side by side. After playing about 4 games into my Franchise this year with 07, I feel as tho I want to just go back and continue my longer franchise I had running with the 2006 version. Maybe it's because I had established more history there and I simply dont want to start all this over again or it could be that I just slightly prefer the gameplay of 06 over 07. I guess I'll know for sure when i play them side by side. A few of the people that are a bit underwhelmed with the 07 version make very similar points that I agree with. In all the versions of Madden that have come out on the Xbox, year after year, this version seems to feel as if it has the fewest enhancements & improvements from the previous season of all the versions I have ever played. Some people may not really mind that. But personally, I'm growing very tired of the Madden engine, player models, and duplicated presentations from the previous years and really felt that there really wasnt enough added to the game to warrant another $50 purchase this year. Perhaps the real diehard Maddeners will love it...but my feeling is that come Tuesday, many may be slightly dissapointed or underwhelmed and probably expected a bit more for their money. I think the way to go is the 360 version if you want a newer and different experience. However, I havent played that version yet. I hope its a much better game.

A solid review... thanks! I will have to wait until Tuesday to see what I think but I am still excited about this years version.

[Methlab]

Quote: Originally Posted by sroz39

Are you talkng next-gen or current gen? This is a current gen thread. They're talking about current gen not having much changes.

I know, I was too, but I mistyped ...doh. havent played next gen yet. but not really amped about it.

[biggdaddypeep]

Maybe I was just spoiled by this years NCAA, but Madden hasn't been able to keep my interest thus far. When I first loaded up NCAA, I was geeked and surprised by how many changes were made. With Madden, it feels like the same old Madden we are always used to. Maybe it is just me, but the players in Madden are just huge! The game also moves very slowly and seems sluggish when it comes to on the field action. I have seen that some people are calling the lead blocking a gimmick, but I am having a lot of fun with it. When I'm in a 3rd and short situation, I almost always use lead blocking(and man have I laid out some pretty mean blocks). There are a lot of new animations for running backs and some nice new animations in other areas too. While playing on all-pro default, the AI is actually pretty good. Again, it could just be because I need to adjust to Madden after playing so much NCAA, but the AI is challenging for me on all-pro. It also seems like you literally have only 3-4 second every play to get rid of the ball before you get sacked. All in all, this may be the best Madden we have seen on current gen, but it is debateable whether or not it is worthy of its $50 price tag.

[ramenite]

Yeah, I'm going to toss a "me too" post here.

I played a few games of this today, and it's the same game as 06. If you were looking for some improvements, there really aren't any to be had.

"NFL Network Mode" for instance is the Madden 101, except it's Sharpe telling you the plays and not Madden.

The "Highlight" stick is the same thing as it always was. the only difference is that up will either do a spin move, or a stiff arm, depending on the guy. The stick is a moot point anyways, considering to hit a hole, or to get around the corner you need the sprint button, and it's too clumsy to keep changing thumb positions.

I'm also going to say this about the "sprint" button in general. This is a holdover from when there were digital controls in sports games, so you had a speed difference between a jog and a full sprint. With analog sticks, this button should be obsolete, and "sprint" should just be the analog stick fully in any direction. NHL '07 is doing this now. I don't know why it has taken this long to be rid of it.

Franchise mode also seemed to be the exact same. I didn't notice anything different with it.

So if you have '06, there isn't a reason to get '07. Save your money. if you have '05 it may be worth it. Or you could just get '06 for $5 out of the used game bin now and have pretty much the same game.

[Spongedaddy]

I played the opening game between the Giants and the Colts and Manning audibled a fair amount of the plays. I didn't remember him being so Manning like in last years game. I am finding little improvements (such as less Mario running and better kick returns) that are making the game more enjoyable for me. I also think Tony Bruno's show is mostly new stuff in the franchise mode.

During a pre-season game after I ran in for a touchdown Madden said "That was a pretty good run a little more and he probably could have gone all the way." In the same game where I was the visiting team he said about my team when we had the lead and the ball in the 4th "that's the advantage of being the home team..you can take time off the clock".

[renojedi]

Is there any difference between the XBox and PS2 versions besides the obvious graphical advantages the X-Box has?

I've always wondered this since I always played Madden on the PS2 but just picked up 06 for the Xbox so I have never had both to compare.

Any comments would be appreciated.

[myownsun]

Quote: Originally Posted by renojedi

Is there any difference between the XBox and PS2 versions besides the obvious graphical advantages the X-Box has? I've always wondered this since I always played Madden on the PS2 but just picked up 06 for the Xbox so I have never had both to compare. Any comments would be appreciated.

Saving/Loading/soundtrack All better on the xbox version

I like the analog stick placement of the xbox controller/but the button lay out of the ps2 controller

[xylocaine]

Couple things I noticed from playing 2 games in 07 on the xbox version of Madden 07.

My initial thoughts were it just felt better than 06 not sure how to explain it but the controls seem a little more responsive. I didn't notice ANY stutters in framerate against the cpu this happened alot to me on ps2 version of 06.
While it does seem alot like 06 I thought that the player models looked better and had more of a 3-D depth to them ala 2K series, previous versions had a slightly 2D pixel look to them.... I do agree that the colors look extremely WASHED OUT... Not sure what happened there.
I like the cut scenes, like an above the head angled view of the O-Line coming to line of scrimmage or the defense lining up for a play... these are easily skipped if you want to by pressing A button.
I liked the first person perspective they added to punt returns on NCAA 07 and wished they had added this to Madden 07. The lead blocking feature is really nice and adds so much more fun to running. Nothing like pulling a guard from the offside and filling in the hole...
I did return a kick off on All pro setting which had me totally pumped up, had to break a tackle and hurdle another one to go all the way!!!
Seems like the presentation is better than 06 madden especially the pbp on replays etc, I don't remember EA doing that (could be wrong), I always liked the way the commentators in NFL 2k5 would call out a key block etc on replays and I saw this happen on madden a couple of times.
Like has been said previously the passing game seems EXACTLY the same, don't see any changes to that. I do like all the overlays that pop up on the right side of the screen to remind you what buttons do what hot routes, or what options are at your disposal... LOVE THAT... I know all you experts have memorized all that but it helps the casual gamer and anyone new at madden for sure.
Overall it seems like a very clean and improved 06 version. Probably not worth the full price but I think it's going to be a blast online... I'd score it a 8.5/10 and actually I enjoyed it more than NCAA 07 for the 360.
I'm patiently waiting my preorder of Madden 07 for the 360, if it is as good as the xbox version but with prettier graphics I'm going to be very very happy!!!