Madden NFL 08 Review

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(More customer reviews)Ladies and Gentlemen... I give you Madden 06 for the XBox 360.
Madden 06? Well... yeah. This is the version that should have been for 06. 2007 at the least. But we won't harp on that - we'll just go off of this game and what we have here now. And what we have here now is a pretty good game, I must admit.
To start off, let's remember that Madden 07 SUCKED. Plain and simple. If you thought otherwise, then... well, to quote the late Rick James: "Cocaine is a hell of a drug." I reviewed it harshly, but accurately. (It's the first one that displays) I said - nay - SWORE that I would not buy another EA football or basketball title until they showed us, as consumers, that they were interested in putting out a quality product and less interested in that '#1 Selling Franchise' logo on the box every year. I missed playing football games, as I usually do around this time of year, so I picked up NCAA 08. I enjoy the college versions usually, and that one was no different. Some of the upgrades on there had me a little curious about what they had in store for this year's Madden, so I kept my eyes open. But I swore to myself - RENT first.
So I did... played a few games, different modes, etc. Then a funny thing happened. I went right back out and bought it. Wow... didn't see that coming. And even more surprising than that, I guess, for some - the FAR BETTER version is on the 360 and NOT the PS3.
So let's see... where to start. I'll start with the cons, since there aren't many of them this year, surprisingly. But the ones that ARE there are biggies, and keep this game out of the 'Great' category and firmly in the 'Very Good' area. (still better than last year's 'Rancid Camel $&?!#' rating)
New England is rated at a 97. Okay, that's not really a 'con' but COME ON... a 97? Really?? Anyway...
Presentation - pitiful.
For a game that has exclusive rights to the ESPN brand, this is really horrible. Games past utilized FAR superior presentation styles - including those that were ESPN licensed. With all of the classic on-air/broadcast personalities over at ESPN, all they could come up with was Marshall Faulk doing a glazed-over pre/post game two-liner? All-Pro Football 2K8 was a half-hearted attempt by the 2K Crew, yet it is not UTTERLY behind Madden - why? Presentation. The audio commentary, the little subtleties in the gameplay: players actually talking to one another and the ref, players getting out of the way of oncoming traffic while standing on the sidelines, etc. Why does this seem to remain just out of EA's scope of imagination? Play-by-Play is still a joke this go-round. Madden was never on par with the classic 2K series, but this radio broadcast thing - doesn't work for me, and from what I'm hearing - doesn't work for most others. I actually miss Madden's painfully OBVIOUS-isms. ("What you wanna do is... you wanna score more points than the other team, because THAT will put you in a better position to win the game." Thanks for that pearl of wisdom there, JM) Also gone is the ability to truly customize your menu playlists. I hate that. I want my own music. Period.
I don't play online as much as in the past, but one rather large omission I noticed was the lack of Online Leagues. Hmmmm... that seems like it would add MILES of replayability, yet again, it's nowhere to be found. Disappointing, moreso for some I'm sure.
And of course there are a few gameplay issues, but that's to be expected. AI has been drastically improved, but there are still moments when your DB's and LB's will prove to be mildly retarded.
You fumble FAR too often on this game - the ball is too easily jarred loose, thanks in large part to the Hit Stick controls, but after awhile you kinda get used to it a bit. (annoying in itself)
EA 4th Quarters are still in effect: No matter how badly you've been destroying a team for 3 quarters, they will manage to drive down and score on you in the 4th. Bumping the difficulty up a notch or two helps somewhat this year - I keep it on All-Madden. Speaking of AI - how about a little AI upgrade for the crowd, coach and sideline players? The fans are still there, cheering like psychos, even though their team is down by 48 in the closing seconds of the game. Not likely... The sideline players are still over there in their overly-generic animations, all moving in sync with each other - looks like an old Michael Jackson video. And my coach, even in the snow, is over there getting his Kanye West on with a short-sleeved polo shirt and a headset. 36 degrees out, Coach...
There's still no way to save mid-game, though they did incorporate the SuperSim feature from NCAA 08. You can (pre-game or pre-play selection) choose to simulate the entire game, quarter, half, possession or play.
The other biggie (besides the presentation) is the Special Teams play. It effectively serves no purpose on this game. The kicking game is still overly simplistic, every kicker has the ability to kick the ball out of the stadium, there are no useful adjustments for kickoff/punt formations (wedge, etc.) Also, if the other team DOES manage to score, expect an onside kick. 50-point deficit in the 4th still? Onside kick... Why? WHY??? Football is, when you get down to it, made up of 3 elements: Offense, Defense and Special Teams. That's 1/3 of the game. 1/3 that they failed to represent. Can't have a 'Great' game with those percentages.
Thankfully, the rest of the game is rather outstanding.
Graphically, the game is so far ahead of last year's it's not even funny. Gone are the kickers with the 27-inch pythons. You can tell Peyton Manning apart from Brian Urlacher. Players are far more realistically portrayed in this installment. Slow down a HB in the open field just long enough for 2 of your DB's and a safety to swarm in and gang tackle him into the turf. (FINALLY!!!!!) The new animations (literally hundreds) make for a much smoother and free-flowing gaming experience, and the intuitive button configuration (fully customizable, of course) helps in just jumping straight into a game.

The stadiums are very nicely done, and the field looks phenomenal - PARTICULARLY during bad weather. You see the destruction of the field in the heavy traffic areas, and it progresses throughout the game. Even the rain itself tapers on and off throughout. One suggestion: how about some splashing, and more evidence of the messy weather on the uniforms/helmets. The lack of water splashing kind of takes away from the beauty of the huge pools of water that you are being forced to hike the ball from.
Aside from the radio broadcaster, the sound is brilliant. On-field trash talking, stadium announcer - everything is there. The tackling sounds will actually have you cringe occasionally... especially if it's one of YOUR players that just got their head knocked off.
I mentioned the AI - leaps and bounds over 07. Minus a few lapses here and there, you really have to use some THOUGHT when playing. I actually enjoy PUNTING now!! Throw to a receiver near the sidelines, and watch him (gasp) actually make an attempt to stay inbounds while catching the ball. Loose ball? Be amazed at how a mad dash will instantly ensue. Gone are the days when a goalline stand was a mere formality. 1st and Goal on the one? Don't be surpised if you end up with 3 points...
All of the other gameplay features appear to be back, more or less. Instead of a dedicated 'Owner Mode' you can check in the Front Office menu and observe how your Franchise is running. Check prices (can't adjust them though), revenue, expenses... even RELOCATE your team somewhere more profitable if your market is slow with the money. Drafts, stats, roster management - pretty much the norm. And all of the other little stuff, like the Rings, Trophies, yadda yadda - not that much into that crap, but they're there if you want them. Connect to XBox Live and the ESPN Ticker will keep you updated with current stats and news in real time. (I got several Michael Vick updates yesterday... nice)
Madden annually introduces some new gimmick to the franchise in an attempt to make it 'fresh' - this year brings us the Weapons System. While it can use some tweaking for sure, this is - to me - the single best addition to this franchise since the ability to change your pass coverage came along. Along with the traditional ratings system, you now have a Weapons system, labeling players by their strenghts and tendencies. No longer are two 99-rated WR's mirror images of one another. Steve Smith and T.O. are both great receivers for different reasons. L.T. and L.J. are definitely different types of backs, but you'd never know it on previous Maddens. Power backs play differently that elusive backs; Speed receivers go differently than possession receivers. For every Weapon, there is a counter Weapon. Hard Hitters can counter a Power HB by taking their legs out from under them consistently, but would have a harder time taking out an elusive back - while THEY would have more trouble with a Brick-Wall defender or LockDown defender. See? And it's up to you to set mismatches and play to your strengths and your opponent's weaknesses. Smart players - there's nothing you can really do to counter them outside of choosing a vast variety of plays - don't become predictable. Once your Smart Player's icon illuminates fully, they are able to see the play art of the opponent. QB's will see the defense's plan - LB's will see the offensive play between the hash marks. This all adds up to provide a football experience than Madden lovers haven't had, arguably, ever.
So how does it rate? A solid 4 out of 5 for me. The...Read more›

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NHL 08 Review

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(More customer reviews)I have never before seen a game so perfectly improve on every issue its predecessor had. I'm not going to compare NHL08 with 2K8 because, frankly, most of the time that ends up becoming more a review of the companies than the product. Instead I'm going to compare 08 to 07, both EA games, and show the improvements in this game.
Graphics:
There is little difference between the graphics in 07 and 08, but that's not a bad thing. One of the main strengths of 07 was, in fact, its graphics engine, which looked beautiful, especially when running it in full hi-def. The models in 08 have a little more detail, but not much. One thing you will notice is how smooth 08 feels, though, as it runs at 60 fps instead of 30.
AI:
Here's the first major change. The AI in 07, both on your team and that of your opponent, was dumb. I didn't mind so much that your opponent AI was dumb, since I play most of my games versus a human player, but your teammates were incredibly stupid. You could have a 2-on-0 break and you might as well deke the goalie yourself, because the chances your player would be smart enough to skate with you were slim. In 08, however, the AI, both on your team and that of your opponent, is really good. First, that of your opponent. Defensemen will challenge you often. You may find that at the beginning of the game you can skate into their zone along the boards and setup, but after a bit they'll adapt to your style and make it difficult, which creates a fun (albeit sometimes frustrating) challenge. Your teammate AI is vastly improved, as well. Your teammates will setup at the point, which is my favorite pass to make. You really get the feeling that you can setup in the offensive zone, which, when you pass the puck effectively there, feels REALLY good. Powerplays now actually give you an advantage, since your teammates setup so well. Your teammates no longer run offsides like morons.
Skating:
If they had only improved the AI from 07, I would have been happy. That was my main complaint about the game. When I read the previews about this game and EA said they revamped the skating engine, I said "meh." Didn't seem like such a big deal, but I was completely wrong. You'll notice it as soon as you start to play, the skating is extremely fluid. You have total control of where your player goes, and it's extremely realistic. It makes it easier to avoid someone trying to check you. Since you can skate sideways, it makes it so you can skate around the blue line without accidentally pulling it back behind the line. Checking was revamped, too, and it's now much more difficult to line up a player, however it's realistic about it. If an opposing player is coming in along the boards you can line him up pretty easily; it's the open-ice check that's become difficult. That's a good thing.
Goalies:
One thing I loved about 07 was that the goalies moved realistically. You got the feeling that they actually were on ice and would slide. There were a lot of complaints about the bad goals in 07, and the were extremely frustrating. Most of the bad goals, however, were not from stupid goalies, but an unrealistic physics engine. I play goalie. It's pretty rare that you make a save and the puck just goes two feet straight up into the air, coming down on your back. Those things happen, but rarely. Typically, if you only get a piece of the shot, the puck will deflect AWAY from you. Of in FRONT of you. More often than not it'll go way out of play. In 07, though, the physics weren't quite right, and so those tough deflections when the goalie would just get a piece of it often led to bad goals. In 08, they didn't really play much with the physics engine, they just made the goalies better. And sometimes it's obvious that the goalie cheated so as to not let in a bad goal (the puck will be sitting on the back of his neck and he'll flop down onto his back to tie it up...without it falling into the net...?). The goalies now cover the post, which is an extremely nice touch. Goalie controls are much easier, now, as you're limited in how far you can move. You can only stay within the crease, which makes it much easier to stay in position. Goals that you score can quite literally come from anywhere; you don't have just one or two options in how you score. So a lot of the frustrating aspects of the goalies last year have been fixed; it just would have been nice to see the physics engine tweaked, as well.
Sound:
Gary Thorne and Bill Clement announce again in this year, and they've added a LOT of things for them to say. They still get a bit repetitive, just not nearly so much as last year. They do have great chemistry, and are not a burden to listen to like some other announcers (Madden, anyone?). One thing I noticed which baffled me is that Gary Thorne (he's the commentator, not the play-by-play...unless I got it backwards) sounds muffled in a lot of the things he says. The things from last year that are recycled sound just fine, but a lot of his new lines literally sound as if he phoned them in. It's not a huge complaint, but I just thought I'd mention it.
Online:
There's no lag. There's no lag!!! Finally you have total control over your players when online. There are new modes, one with team play and one with co-op teams, and online leagues have been added, which is a pretty cool feature since it means I can now play with my brother who lives thousands of miles away. One VERY annoying thing, however, is that the game will freeze here and there when connecting to the other player, and you end up having to reset the game. It's not extremely common, however I'd say one out of ten games will do this. After awhile it becomes frustrating.
I've never really gone too deeply into the other modes of sports games. I like to play the dynasty modes but I never really pay much attention to contract negotiations and the like. What's important to me is that the actual game is fun to play; everything else is secondary. All in all, after playing about thirty games of 08, I can honestly say I have very few complaints. The freezing glitch I'm sure will be fixed in a patch. Other than that it's a great game, and incredibly fun to play.

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Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 Review

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(More customer reviews)Okay, first things first. The gameplay in Tiger Woods PGA Tour doesn't change all that much from year to year, and the 2008 edition is no exception. Sure, there are some new features and more golfers to choose from, but the improvements in gameplay itself might not be worth upgrading if you've already got Tiger 2007. Where this game does come through, however, is in the online options. The ability to play a match online is great, and Gamernet, which allows you to post challenges for other people to attempt and beat, is a lot of fun.
THE GOOD:
-If you're a fan of the franchise you'll enjoy the gameplay in Tiger 2008
-The inclusion of more LPGA golfers is a nice development for female players
-Gameface, when/if it works (the site seems to be unstable and many people haven't been able to make it work), allows you to use a picture of yourself to customize your golfer's face!
-online options are great, and the Gamernet challenges should appeal to people seeking producer points for posting difficult challenges, and those who want to earn player points by beating or "busting" those challenges.
THE BAD:
-New features are, for the most part, good, but Tiger Woods '08 is still basically the same game. Some more innovation would be nice.
-Gameface doesn't work very well for a lot of people, and I've found Gamernet to be pretty buggy as well. You can only have 3 clips up at a time, and taking down your old challenges so you can post new ones can be frustrating. EA seems to offer little to no support for anything related to the online portion of the game.
-The game is STILL buggy. EA released an update that fixed a bug preventing the Tiger Challenge from being completed, but the game still freezes up at times and some of the animations don't work. I've played entire rounds where my opponent didn't have a ball--he was just swinging at the ground and launching nothing into the air.
Overall, Tiger Woods 2008 is probably worth picking up if you don't own any of the recent titles. If you're thinking of upgrading from '07, however, you might want to rent this one first and see if the new stuff is really worth the price of a new game. Personally, if it weren't for the online aspect of the game I'd recommend buying '07 and saving the money, but if you like to play online this one might be worthwhile.

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NBA Live 08 Review

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(More customer reviews)After quite a few years of dissapointing releases the NBA Live series has done itself proud with NBA 2008. The biggest improvement being the realistic games play, and the shotting, passing and all-round movement graphics.
GAMEPLAY - Simply outstanding. With 100s of different moves and the control you have over the dribbler with the right analog stick, the gameplay is more realistic then ever. The rebounding battles are fantastic. The new OWN THE PAINT feature is great, with posting up giving you an array of options to use in order to create your shot. The artificial Intelligence is also greatly improved, with defensive covers switching and helping each other out, and back door cuts etc.
GRAPHICS - Looks better than ever. Not as huge an improvement as the gameplay but it really looks great, and the players have their own features and facials are great.
LONGEVITY - Fantastic, you can play untill the end of time with the great dynasty mode with more features than ever, statistics and management options making it even more enjoyable.
FEATURES - The new international mode has been introduced. As yet only 8 countries to choose from but a big step in the right direction with world championship mode. As well as this feature all the usuals, practice, dynasty, all star weekend etc.
SOUND - The commentry in particular is excellent this year. With far less repetitions, and far more natural talk in what is actually happening in front of you.
OVERALL - BUY THIS GAME!! Finally an NBA game with non stop enjoyement and realism, you wont be disapointed.

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Electronic Arts XBOX360 NBA Live 08 Video Game.

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