Madden equals money, so it should come to no surprise to anyone that of all the EA Sports Xbox 360 games, Madden is the game with the most money put behind it.
I'm talking head scans of 170 of the top NFL players to capture everything from the black eye paint on Ahman Green's face to the breathe right on his nose (there are over 1,500 accessories) to any scars on his face.
I'm talking voices of the real quarterbacks barking out audibles and hot routes at the line. That's right, with the help of NFL Films, EA Sports was able to capture 18 starting quarterbacks shouting their signals (as long as it's Kurt Warner and not his wife, I'm cool), so when a player like Carson Palmer changes the play, you're actually going to hear Palmer's voice giving the instructions while seeing a closeup of his face on PIP in the corner of the screen.
And to top it off, it's a Madden game without Madden. In fact, in a surprising (and refreshing move), there's no sign of Madden or Al Michaels calling the plays. Instead the game is left to a PA announcer and the grunts and groans of action on the field. You'll hear players like Ray Lewis talking trash (again, it's actually Ray's voice), helmets smash, and a biased home-town radio announcer who calls the game with passion.
In terms of the game's look, Madden 360 features three times the animations of the current-gen systems (there are now 5,000 total), and you can really see this evidenced in catching and tackling. Wide receivers now sport 140 catch animations (current gen is only 45), and receivers will now be able to use articulated hands and fingers to reach up or down, left or right while dragging their feet in bounds or trying to grab a throw before it hits the turf. And when a receiver does haul the rock into his body, expect to see a host of new tackle animations including gang tackles and body shivering shots so fierce you can actually see the runner wince in pain.
Also added to the game is a brand new play-calling screen. There is a PIP window where you'll see the coach, the quarterback, or even Madden himself if you have a question for him. On the left side of the screen is a list of options: Formation, Ask Madden, Ask Coach, Key Player, and Last 5 Plays. From asking Madden for a good play to run to hearing the plays in coach speak and NFL terminology (X right, 32 left), the choice is yours.
Other highlights include controls that have been changed to specifically utilize the 360 controller. Sprint has been changed to the right trigger, juke is now the A button, and depending how hard you press the D-Pad in conjunction with A will determine the kind of juke you perform. You will also see a motion-captured Ed Hochuli calling the penalties and throwing flags when you grab facemasks or rough up the quarterback.
In terms of Franchise play, there is no Owner mode in the game, but you can still take your favorite team on a 30 year journey to greatness, including breaking records and changing the official record books to inducting your players into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. There are all new box scores for every game in franchise, making it easier for you to check up on stats for your games and which matchups you should exploit next time you play your rival.
One thing that has been missing from NFL videogames in the past is the feeling that the stadium was a character in and of itself. This will all change with Madden 360 as these stadiums are so spectacular, they even make dumps like Monster Park look good. No game has ever captured anything like the intricate level of stadium details in Madden 360, including everything from random moss-covered sewer drains to functional scoreboards to the actual views from any seat in the stadium (complete with thousands of 3D fans). That's right, if you have a season ticket, you can actually find your seat and compare views. It's that realistic. As is the new lighting, weather, and time of day features. Time of day now updates after every play instead of every quarter, and the dynamic weather will drop rain and snow as the climate changes, changing the intensity throughout the game.
And if you were worried about current-gen features and gameplay controls not making it into the next-gen Madden, you can breathe a sigh of relief as everything from the Truck and Hit Stick to Vision and Precision Passing are in the game. The only difference is that the Vision Cones will now be optional and turned off at default, but you will still be able to utilize the precision passing (throwing high, low, left, right) without the cones.
With the most intense player models we've ever seen, from the scar on Shaun Alexander's chin down to the red in Ricky Williams' eyes (okay, he's the Visine Ricky with white eyes, but I couldn't resist), Madden is a system seller, no doubt, and it looks like EA Sports is doing everything to make sure that Madden's not just an afterthought of people buying the system, but a reason to buy the system outright.
Money talks, and right about now, Madden is yelling louder than just about any other game out there.
up. You didn't like Halo 2, then that's you, but it did live up to it's hype.
At least wait until we get first impressions of games for the launch before making brash comments like that.
