Madden NFL 07

"Madden NFL 07 is a roster update of Madden NFL 06"

The Madden NFL series is one of the best sports games series. But now without the NFL 2k series, Madden has no competition. So they just decided to put a new cover guy, with updated rosters and ratings and put it on the shelves. Every NFL fan will buy it though, because there isn't any 2k series to compete with it. I concede that Madden has made some minor improvements, but they aren't major.

Superstar Mode: Hall Of Fame
As you choose your parents or import your character from NCAA football in this feature, you find yourself in Canton, Ohio with an opening cut scene. I personally like it. It had a great feel to it. And you move into your apartment. You are an NFL rookie and you do workouts, sign an agent, do the IQ test and get drafted by a NFL team. If you have played 06, you'll know the drill. And you start your journey to the Hall Of Fame.

As you play in superstar mode, you'll find the camera angle goes around you. When you play MLB, you can't see the running back blow past you before it's too late. That is very annoying. And you play as you; e.g. if you are a QB, you can only play QB. That is one of my most favourite improvements. Want to play defense when you're a QB? Sure, just change the CPU play to user.

There is one huge problem for me for Superstar though. The 'Aaron Brooks glitch' where the computer throws the football behind himself for a safety every single time (in PAL versions only). This ruins Superstar Mode for Europeans and Australians

Also the coach chooses the play and you get no input of what play you choose. Sounds realistic until you find the computer choosing the Hail Mary play on fourth and inches.
7/10

Play Now Mode/Play mode in Franchise
EA have made no improvements in this mode except for lead blocker control, where you control an O lineman, blocking TE or FB as you fight in the trenches to make a hole for your HB/FB to run through. The rest is the same except for the kicking meter. I find it utterly hard to kick right accurately with this, where you use the right analog stick to kick.

You get to chose all 32 teams' defensive play-books now. Instead of choosing the simple 4-3, 3-4, 46 or any other defensive play-books, you choose real coaches' play-books, with the same name as the offensive play-book eg STL-S. Linehan.

There is also slight improvement in the truck stick, renamed the highlight stick. Instead of only trucking your away to yardage with the right analog stick, you know can juke, cutback, fake juke your way up now.

The game levels are disappointing. The gap between All Pro and All Madden difficulties is massive. You can easily win All Pro by 20 points while losing All Madden by 20 points. They should add a Madden difficulty to improve this.
7/10

Franchise
Absolutely the same as last year, except for player roles, and new rookie scouting. You'll find the Tony Bruno commentary the same with the same features etc. This is not an improvement. This is Madden NFL 06 franchise with Madden NFL 07 rosters. A huge disappointment.
5/10

Sound
This is alright. Many songs in the game are good once you've listened to it once or twice and have a feel for the song. If you don't like the songs on the game, you get another kind of music-NFL films and Autumn Thunder by people such Sam Spence with that bumps up the sound rating.

The play now sound rating, however brings it down. Same commentary as last year in my PAL version. I don't even need to explain it more.
6/10

I'll just repeat my tag-line: Madden NFL 07 is a roster update of 06

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 10/04/06, Updated 06/11/07