Madden NFL 07

Title	Madden NFL 07
Caption	North American cover art
Resolution	480i, 720p
Developer	EA Tiburon, EA Canada, HB Studios (Wii)
Publisher	EA Sports
Series	Madden NFL
Released	XboxNintendo DSXbox 360PlayStation PortableGame Boy Advance & GameCubeWiiPlayStation 3}}

| genre = Sports | modes = Single-player, Multiplayer, Online multiplayer | ratings = | platforms = PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Xbox, Xbox 360, Windows, DS, Game Boy Advance, Wii, Nintendo GameCube

| media = Blu-ray Disc, Game cartridge, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, GameCube disc, UMD, Wii disc | requirements = Windows 2000 or better }} Madden NFL 07 is the 2007 edition of the popular Madden NFL series. It is the first in the video game series to be released for the PlayStation 3 and Wii consoles. Former Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander is on the cover.

Features

Just as in previous titles in the Madden NFL series, Madden NFL 07 makes a few additions to the general game play. The most notable features include: Lead Blocker Control: After selecting a running play, the player will be able to cycle through the offensive players as they get into position at the line. The player can choose the athlete to control when the ball is snapped, and the game camera will zoom in on the fullback, tackle, guard, center, tight end, or wide receiver selected. With this feature, it is now possible for the player to open up a path for a running play, as the computer controls the halfback and tries to slip through the gap created. This feature also appeals to Madden players who do not wish to use computer assistance in any way, shape, or form. This feature allows the player to manually block with their fullback, tackle, guard, center, tight end, or wide receiver and quickly switch to their halfback to manually slip through the gap created, thus eliminating any computer assistance during the gameplay.

Highlight Stick: Players can now move the right analog stick in any direction to see an animation where the smaller running backs will duck, spin, or squirt out of a tackle. It is also possible to string such evasive moves together, piecing together a juke left with a hop step backwards (down on the right analog for stick on Ps2 and Xbox or for gamecube down on the C stick) to elude defenders. The Truck Stick animations still exist for the bigger backs, but also feature more variety of running moves with the addition of the Highlight Stick. For example, using the Highlight Stick with Tiki Barber, a smaller back not known for trucking, utilizes an array of moves to avoid and squirt out of tackles.

Juking and Spinning: Players can now choose two types of both Jukes and Spins to avoid would-be tacklers. For the PS2, players can either do a cut move to the left or right using the L1 or R1 buttons respectively, or a wider juke to the left or right by flicking the Right Analog stick left or right respectively. For a quick spin to allude a tackler the player simply taps the circle button. For a stronger spin which could possibly break a tackle, simply hold down the circle button.

FreeMotion Controls: The Wii version of Madden NFL 07, which was developed at EA Canada rather than Tiburon, features a unique control scheme that has been completely redone to complement the motion sensing capabilities of the console's Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers.

Franchise Mode issues

While simulating years in Franchise Mode, Defensive players attributes gradually drop while offensive players rise. Most notably on defense, the linebackers and defensive lineman show the largest decreases, while on offense the offensive line and wide receivers show the largest increases.

Players have found a glitch enabling them to get several achievements in the Xbox 360 version of the game. By choosing each team in the league then simulating all the games, they can gain Madden level achievements, Season Record achievements, and Game Record achievements without playing a single game. Most if not all of the achievements can be gained in this way. EA has not provided any updates to fix this issue.

Another changed detail doesn't affect the game, but the concession Beer has been replaced by Coffee, since it is an E rated game. Seattle, which originally served coffee, now serves 2 coffees, both with different pictures and prices.

Another trick that can be employed works usually for most players. The user simply changes the position of a player, usually causing his overall rating to heavily decrease. The user trades for that player, who's grade may have been an A+ but now is an F, and changes back to the original position. The same can be done to re-sign players to smaller contracts. These two issues began in Madden NFL 06 and remain to this day in Madden NFL 09.

Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and Wii versions

The seventh generation version of Madden NFL 07 featured the Superstar Mode and Franchise but the Tony Bruno Show was absent in this game possibly due to a contractual issue, but he was in the Wii and PlayStation 2 versions. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version also did not allow the player to edit the players appearance or attributes or change the numbers on their jerseys, but the Wii version and PlayStation 2 version did. Though, the Xbox 360 version did allow one to create a player. The franchise mode is not as deep as the previous generation versions, as Owner Mode is not present. Fantasy Draft and Two-Player co-operative play are missing as well. Also this game would be the last appearance of the NFL Europe teams in the Xbox version, next gen games came without the league teams.

Soundtrack

Reception

|IGN=X360: 8.5 of 10 GCN: 8.3 of 10 PC: 8.3 of 10 PS2: 8.3 of 10 PS3: 8.3 of 10 Xbox: 8.3 of 10 PSP: 8.0 of 10 GBA: 7.5 of 10 DS: 6.0 of 10 }} |XPlay=Wii: |GR=Xbox: 82.0% (28 reviews) PC: 80.3% (15 reviews) GCN: 81.6% (15 reviews) X360: 81.1% (59 reviews) Wii: 81.1% (39 reviews) PSP: 80.5% (20 reviews) PS3: 76.2% (27 reviews) DS: 70.3% (9 reviews) GBA: 63.4% (5 reviews) }} |MC=GCN: 82% (14 reviews) Wii: 81% (35 reviews) PC: 80% (15 reviews) PSP: 78% (18 reviews) PS3: 76% (25 reviews) DS: 70% (9 reviews) GBA: 68% (4 reviews) }} }} The Wii version of Madden NFL 07 won GameSpot's award for Best Traditional Sports Game and for Best New Control Scheme of 2006. The reason cited for this selection, particularly in light of other versions that feature more detailed graphics and online play capability, is the Wii version's FreeMotion controls, which provided a fresh take on play mechanics that the editorial staff felt had grown stale after years of minimal year-to-year adjustments. It received GameSpot's Award for Best Original Game Mechanic for the FreeMotion controls used in the Wii version. It was named the "Best Sporting Game of 2006" on G4's television series, X-Play. It was named the "Game with the most Game" on the Spike Guys' Choice Awards on June 13, 2007. It was named BB&B;'s Sports Game of the year on August 22, 2006.

US sales

In December 2006, all versions of Madden NFL 07 combined sold 1.9 million units, making it the best-selling title that month in the United States. Overall in 2006, the PlayStation 2 version of Madden NFL 07 sold 2.8 million units, making it the best-selling video game that year in the US, while the Xbox 360 version sold 1.1 million units in the US.

References

External links

Official Web site

Category:2006 video games Category:Game Boy Advance games Category:GameCube games Category:Madden NFL Category:Mobile phone games Category:Nintendo DS games Category:PlayStation 2 games Category:PlayStation 3 games Category:PlayStation Portable games Category:Video games developed in Canada Category:Video games developed in the United States Category:Wii games Category:Windows games Category:Xbox 360 games Category:Xbox games Category:EA Sports games Category:Sports video games with career mode