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I acquired this game the other day, and since it's summer, I've had a good chance to get playing time in. While it's one of the better upgrades of the Madden series, it's still lacking in many respects.
The largest improvement was from last year's superstar mode, which, in a word, sucked. This year, it's extremely entertaining, in that you actually play your player and only your player. You see close up, from just above him, so you see things from his perspective. You can block if you're a tight end, run routes, etc. Or you can drop into coverage if you're a CB. Most of this stuff is really hard. My current superstar is a spectacularly good strongside linebacker (I kept reselecting parents until I got a hall of fame LB for a parent.) Unfortunately, my guy got drafted by the hapless Houston Texans. His NFL debut was in a preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs. On his very first play from scrimmage, he was assigned to a Sam Blitz. The play was a sweep to the opposite side. My guy watched in horror as Mario Williams got manhandled by FB Ronnie Cruz, and Larry Johnson broke three tackles on his way to an 87 yard touchdown run. LJ would finish the game with 15 carries for 247 yards, all in the first half. Another rough moment for my guy was when he was assigned to man coverage on Dante Hall with no safety help. That wasn't pretty. On the bright side, he did manage to sack Trent Green, and he tackled LJ for a 3 yard loss on one play. (Unfortunately, that means that LJ ran for 250 yards on the other 14 carries.)
Later I'll try playing as an asshat WR. He will put TO to shame. If my asshat WR gets stuck on a crappy team, he's demanding a trade.
A lot of animations look a lot better, and the general game mechanics are improved. In earlier versions, a speedy end like Osi Umenyiora could just run around the opposing tackle on every play, and the tackle would just backpedal and look lost without throwing a block. Now he'll extend his arms and try to slow the rusher down. Linemen are better in general at run blocking. The running backs break tackles in better and more realistic-looking ways. And perhaps best of all, the defensive backs don't magically leap nine feet into the air every time you throw a deep ball. In my first game on All-Madden level with my new Fantasy Draft franchise, I read a cover-1 defense with John Lynch as the deep safety, and a linebacker in man coverage against my slot receiver, rookie burner Chad Jackson. I knew Jackson was speedier than either the linebacker or John Lynch (who covers like a linebacker). So I hurled a bomb out to Jackson, who caught it without the pass being defensed, and ran 40 yards before a cornerback caught up to him. It seems like 07 actually rewards reading defenses instead of just exploiting certain pass plays repeatedly.
Also, praise the lord, blocking works on both screen passes and punt returns.
Speaking of my fantasy draft franchise, the fantasy draft AI has taken a major step backwards. Basically, they will only take each position after a certain round. Only QBs and HBs can go in round 1. Then they'll go for DEs and DTs in round 2, CBs, Ts, and WRs in round 3, SS, FS, and LB in round 5, and so on. It's really pretty terrible. By using the 32nd pick overall, I was able to get a team with Dwight Freeney, Julius Peppers, Brian Urlacher, and Nathan Vasher all on the same defense. (I could have had the linebacker of my choice, or an elite safety like Ed Reed or Troy Polamalu, but I decided to take Vasher on the grounds that he's the youngest "shutdown" corner in the game.) The Shutdown Corner is one of the new Player Roles. Player Roles are traits assigned to different players, that can affect the game in various ways. For example, Adam Vinatieri has the Clutch Kicker role, which slightly boosts his 4th quarter kicking ability. Roles can also affect other players. For example, Kurt Warner's role as a Mentor gives a small boost to Matt Leinart. Not all roles are good. Joey Harrington is an Underacheiver and Terrell Owens is a Distraction.
My faith in Vasher was well-deserved. On the first defensive play from scrimmage, what else? I called a Cover 3, Chris Simms looked for a dumpoff pass to his fullback in the flat, and Vasher pulled it down and took it to the house.
There are some problems that persist, which is very frustrating. For years now, fatigue has not worked in simulated games. In other words, the starters never get tired. As a result, you can expect LaDainian Tomlinson to lead the NFL in rushing with about 563 carries for 2515 yards when you play a season. Other RBs will take similarly ludicrous workloads.
Other longtime problems have been corrected. Now there's free agency both before and after the draft in franchise mode, instead of just afterwards. This is much truer to real life, where most free agents get signed before the draft, and then the leftovers get signed afterwards.
The rosters aren't well-polished. Mario Williams doesn't have a portrait. The Raiders' 3rd round pick, Darnell Bing, is still in the free agent pool, along with several other rookies who were drafted. And there are poorly chosen ratings, of course. (Bears defensive tackle Ian Scott is rated at an 84, while their quarterback Rex Grossman is rated at an 85. Ask your friendly neighborhood Bears fan what he thinks of that.)
The word is that this is a well-improved Madden, relative to EA's usual laziness, but it's still got many of the nagging issues that drive people crazy.
The largest improvement was from last year's superstar mode, which, in a word, sucked. This year, it's extremely entertaining, in that you actually play your player and only your player. You see close up, from just above him, so you see things from his perspective. You can block if you're a tight end, run routes, etc. Or you can drop into coverage if you're a CB. Most of this stuff is really hard. My current superstar is a spectacularly good strongside linebacker (I kept reselecting parents until I got a hall of fame LB for a parent.) Unfortunately, my guy got drafted by the hapless Houston Texans. His NFL debut was in a preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs. On his very first play from scrimmage, he was assigned to a Sam Blitz. The play was a sweep to the opposite side. My guy watched in horror as Mario Williams got manhandled by FB Ronnie Cruz, and Larry Johnson broke three tackles on his way to an 87 yard touchdown run. LJ would finish the game with 15 carries for 247 yards, all in the first half. Another rough moment for my guy was when he was assigned to man coverage on Dante Hall with no safety help. That wasn't pretty. On the bright side, he did manage to sack Trent Green, and he tackled LJ for a 3 yard loss on one play. (Unfortunately, that means that LJ ran for 250 yards on the other 14 carries.)
Later I'll try playing as an asshat WR. He will put TO to shame. If my asshat WR gets stuck on a crappy team, he's demanding a trade.
A lot of animations look a lot better, and the general game mechanics are improved. In earlier versions, a speedy end like Osi Umenyiora could just run around the opposing tackle on every play, and the tackle would just backpedal and look lost without throwing a block. Now he'll extend his arms and try to slow the rusher down. Linemen are better in general at run blocking. The running backs break tackles in better and more realistic-looking ways. And perhaps best of all, the defensive backs don't magically leap nine feet into the air every time you throw a deep ball. In my first game on All-Madden level with my new Fantasy Draft franchise, I read a cover-1 defense with John Lynch as the deep safety, and a linebacker in man coverage against my slot receiver, rookie burner Chad Jackson. I knew Jackson was speedier than either the linebacker or John Lynch (who covers like a linebacker). So I hurled a bomb out to Jackson, who caught it without the pass being defensed, and ran 40 yards before a cornerback caught up to him. It seems like 07 actually rewards reading defenses instead of just exploiting certain pass plays repeatedly.
Also, praise the lord, blocking works on both screen passes and punt returns.
Speaking of my fantasy draft franchise, the fantasy draft AI has taken a major step backwards. Basically, they will only take each position after a certain round. Only QBs and HBs can go in round 1. Then they'll go for DEs and DTs in round 2, CBs, Ts, and WRs in round 3, SS, FS, and LB in round 5, and so on. It's really pretty terrible. By using the 32nd pick overall, I was able to get a team with Dwight Freeney, Julius Peppers, Brian Urlacher, and Nathan Vasher all on the same defense. (I could have had the linebacker of my choice, or an elite safety like Ed Reed or Troy Polamalu, but I decided to take Vasher on the grounds that he's the youngest "shutdown" corner in the game.) The Shutdown Corner is one of the new Player Roles. Player Roles are traits assigned to different players, that can affect the game in various ways. For example, Adam Vinatieri has the Clutch Kicker role, which slightly boosts his 4th quarter kicking ability. Roles can also affect other players. For example, Kurt Warner's role as a Mentor gives a small boost to Matt Leinart. Not all roles are good. Joey Harrington is an Underacheiver and Terrell Owens is a Distraction.
My faith in Vasher was well-deserved. On the first defensive play from scrimmage, what else? I called a Cover 3, Chris Simms looked for a dumpoff pass to his fullback in the flat, and Vasher pulled it down and took it to the house.
There are some problems that persist, which is very frustrating. For years now, fatigue has not worked in simulated games. In other words, the starters never get tired. As a result, you can expect LaDainian Tomlinson to lead the NFL in rushing with about 563 carries for 2515 yards when you play a season. Other RBs will take similarly ludicrous workloads.
Other longtime problems have been corrected. Now there's free agency both before and after the draft in franchise mode, instead of just afterwards. This is much truer to real life, where most free agents get signed before the draft, and then the leftovers get signed afterwards.
The rosters aren't well-polished. Mario Williams doesn't have a portrait. The Raiders' 3rd round pick, Darnell Bing, is still in the free agent pool, along with several other rookies who were drafted. And there are poorly chosen ratings, of course. (Bears defensive tackle Ian Scott is rated at an 84, while their quarterback Rex Grossman is rated at an 85. Ask your friendly neighborhood Bears fan what he thinks of that.)
The word is that this is a well-improved Madden, relative to EA's usual laziness, but it's still got many of the nagging issues that drive people crazy.
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