 |
| Playstation 3 | |||||||||
Madden 2008Reviewed by John Burrell Jr.
Playing Madden Football year in and year out has become somewhat of a religion for a large number of gamers. It has caused more destroyed controllers of mine than any other game I have ever played. It has caused me as much stress as it has caused me joy. The stress was much more prevalent in the 2007 version of the Madden franchise on PS3, but it was their first attempt on the system so I gave it a slight pass. I had even gone so far as to go back and play the PS2 version of the game because of the far superior game play mechanics. When I began to hear of the improvements made to this year’s game I became extremely optimistic, but did 2008 pick up the next gen version from Ryan Leaf to John Elway status? The game running in 30 frames per second on the PS3 as opposed to the 60 frames per second on the 360 is a minute difference, if any. The game runs great on either system. The animations are an extreme difference from last year due to improved collision detection. For example, my stepbrother used a rookie quarterback with no accuracy that threw a ball to the end zone and the ball bounced off the field goal post. The addition of features that were included in the last 5-7 years of Madden was welcome but long overdue, causing joy and a big “Bout damn time.” Bringing the game play back to the likes of Madden 2005 was the best thing they could’ve done. Like the old adage says,” If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” They did try adding some new stuff to the game with the weapons system, but it doesn’t really impact game play. In fact, I don’t know many who use the weapon system to its full extent. I have encountered many glitches in the game like trying to do training drills and the controller won’t control the player on screen without the other controller being turned on. I also experienced while drafting players using traded picks that the players were signed to the teams I got the picks from instead of even allowing me to try signing them. A large number of game freeze ups are one of the things I’ve seen. During a game, the game began to continuously pause itself which made us have to restart the system and the game (worked out for me because I was losing but really pissed off my brother). I also don’t like the fact that they took out in season progressions for the training drills because it was easier to develop talent by giving play time. Instead, you now run forty-yard dashes and lift weights because that’s not realistically the main way of advancing your players skills. If they want to hold true to their motto then if it’s done in the game like that, let it be done in the game like that. Oh and by the way if you’re going to call it Madden Football, get John Madden to give his two cents on commentary instead of that annoying radio guy (seriously he sucks).
More Screenshots (Click image to enlarge) :
|
|||||||||
Overall, the game gets a medium Evo Factor due to the fact that they seem to be getting their act together, and given a few more years, they will produce a new standard for next gen football games. With all of its glitches and high points, Madden 2008 will be marked as a turning point for the series on next gen consoles. The question is will it be for the better or the worse? From what I see, it’s headed in the right direction.
