Customer Reviews
Loved this game when it first came out, not so much now.
I remember LOVING this game when it first came out, especially because it seemed you could run the ball more successfully then in the newer ones. I lost the game a while ago, and got into the newer madden games since. I decided to buy this just for old times sake, and I didn't remember the graphics being so TERRIBLE! i mean I know its an older game, but its still a 360 game. I guess you could blame my memory on the fact that I was in my drug phase during college when it came out, but wow, i would highly suggest not getting this unless you are a diehard fan. I played it once and tossed it aside.
Shows promise, but far from great
Another year, another Madden that thousands of football fans will mindlessly run out and buy. This is what EA Sports counts on every year, and this is what I did...again.
First off, let me ask you - is it just me, or do these games actually get WORSE ever year? I enjoyed Madden 05, but not as much as 04. And when I bought 08, it was decidedly worse than 05.
The worst aspects of this game are by far the presentation. The sound is basically non-existent. You get a tinny, anonymous radio announcer giving a half-assed play-by-play. No John Madden or Al Michaels, or any other recognizable sports voice. Just some dude. It's horrible and unavoidable, so your best bet is to turn down the sound or just work on ignoring it.
Secondly, the menus, and display settings are apparently configured for those people that have a TV no smaller than 3 yards across, because I can barely see anything on my 27" Sony. It's like looking at 4pt font on a 30" computer screen from 10 feet away.
The wide receivers frequently run off the screen on out routes, so it's virtually impossible to tell whether they're covered or not unless you are eyeballing them from the start of the play. For the love of God, Tecmo Super Bowl solved this problem 20 years ago!
Oh, and then there's really basic stuff the geniuses at EA Sports never thought about. Like, say...finding out how many timeouts the other team has. Apparently this is top-secret information because there's nowhere I've found that displays this information. Your best bet is to listen to the announcer say "The defense calls a timeout...they have one timeout remaining." But if you miss that, you're on your own.
Superstar mode is a joke - barely worth playing. It takes genetics into effect, but unless you start with a RB who had Jackie Joyner Kerse and Michael Jordan as his parents, you're in for a long, tough, boring road to mediocrity. Honestly, the game would be better off without this mode at all.
Then there's the classic Catch 22 dilemma of play difficulty. You can go with Pro (where you can easily outscore your opponent 55-3) or All Pro, where you will be pummeled, beat up, abused, and insulted while your QB and RBs will have a competition between themselves to see who can have the most number of turnovers. I'm all for 'realistic' game play, but that shouldn't mean you have 5-6 turnover before the half. Unless your players are wide open (and I mean WIDE open like your WR has bird flu / deadly body odor) your passes are going to consistently fall short or (more likely) into the CB/safety's hands for a pick.
If you can get around these issues, the game isn't terrible and it IS football, so it's still fun in a pinch. But when you think of how long the Madden franchise has been around, it's amazing they could put so little effort into upholding their legacy. Nope...better to just cut the development budgets, release a lukewarm (at best) game, and sit back with confidence that people will rush out to buy it, even if it does suck. Shame on them, but shame on me too for buying this game on the assumption that it was going to be good.
Don't waste your time with this flop...
I was excited to finally get my first Madden game since 03 and what did I get...none other than a horrible game! The gameplay is slow, the announcing is abso-freaking-loutely terrible I feel I am watching a crapy game with the mute button selected! Fortunately, I bought the game with a buy 2 get 1 free deal... I consider this to be my free game... because I got rid of this game quickly!
Unreal
I was playing a franchise with the 49ers and threw picks left and right. Even when alternating the quarterbacks I was throwing 60 or 70 times a game. The running back fumbles a lot on 15 minute quarters. I put it on 15 minute quarters to give me enough time to come from behind. This is based on stats going into the 2007 season. Overall, at 15 minute quarters you get unrealistic gameplay, as I was allowing opposing quarterbacks to throw for as much as 500 yards on me. My running game was getting in excess of 200 yards a game. Overall, a decent game but too unrealistic when using 15 minute quarters.
Great Game
great game, the one thing i dont like is the new play picking system. If u play split screen (the best way to play) people can see what ur calling. But the audible system is so good that it makes up for it.
All Information about products including images, descriptions, editorial reviews and customer reviews © Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
