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IGN Review of Madden NFL 07
John Madden is 70 years old. His game franchise is 17. Every year EA publishes a new installment, and every year it gets harder to put anything new into the design. Madden NFL 07 is the latest in the series for the Game Boy Advance, but there isn't much here that hasn't been seen before. It's Madden football, the same as it ever was.
There's no denying that the formula works. The series brings home great numbers in sales each year, and does so with an incredibly solid, deep and fun to play NFL simulation. Here on the GBA, Madden NFL 07 evokes memories of the franchise's past. The graphics and sound are reminiscent of the best to come from the early '90s 16-bit versions on the Super NES and Genesis. But that isn't to say no advancements have been made in 10 years - even here on a handheld, the complexities of the game's big console brothers are adapted and included.
So there's no argument that this isn't a satisfying portable football design. The argument, then, is one of value - because you've played this game before. You played it last year, when it was called Madden NFL 06. Or the year before that, when 2005 was the number. A new developer, Exient Entertainment, took over the GBA series two years ago and rebuilt it from the ground up. The result was a clear and obvious improvement between the 2004 and 2005 editions. But since then, no risks have been taken - the game has stayed the same.
Only two things have been added this year. An obligatory updated roster makes it into each game, and 07 has that - all of the trades, retirements and new player acquisitions of the current NFL season are reflected here. The second addition is an expanded Mini Camp.
Mini Camp was first introduced in Madden NFL 06, and included four arcade-like football challenges that could be played for high scores. You could play a passing exercise, throwing the ball to receivers through floating rings in the air, or kick a series of progressively more difficult field goals. Tackling and rushing games rounded out the offerings. New in this 07 edition are five more mini-challenges, bringing the Camp's total to nine.
Punting practice is the first fresh feature, where more points are scored the closer you can get the ball to land to the goal line without actually crossing it. Two wide receiver mini-games put you on both the offensive and defensive side of long pass plays. A 40 yard rush game is by far the most shallow, taking only about five seconds to complete (you hammer the L and R buttons to run straight up the field to the end zone). And a QB Rush design casts you as a defender trying to sack the opposing quarterback.
With now nine total mini-games, the Mini Camp feature is more robust and fun. It serves too as a great way to practice the game's controls, and playing a few rounds will likely increase your skills in the main game mode.
But that's it for new additions. Beyond the Mini Camp, the depth and complexity Madden is known for is present, of course. NFL fans with a lot of free time could spend hours pouring over the statistics, team lineups and historical factoids included in this cartridge. But it's nothing they haven't seen before.
©2006-11-09, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
There's no denying that the formula works. The series brings home great numbers in sales each year, and does so with an incredibly solid, deep and fun to play NFL simulation. Here on the GBA, Madden NFL 07 evokes memories of the franchise's past. The graphics and sound are reminiscent of the best to come from the early '90s 16-bit versions on the Super NES and Genesis. But that isn't to say no advancements have been made in 10 years - even here on a handheld, the complexities of the game's big console brothers are adapted and included.
So there's no argument that this isn't a satisfying portable football design. The argument, then, is one of value - because you've played this game before. You played it last year, when it was called Madden NFL 06. Or the year before that, when 2005 was the number. A new developer, Exient Entertainment, took over the GBA series two years ago and rebuilt it from the ground up. The result was a clear and obvious improvement between the 2004 and 2005 editions. But since then, no risks have been taken - the game has stayed the same.
Only two things have been added this year. An obligatory updated roster makes it into each game, and 07 has that - all of the trades, retirements and new player acquisitions of the current NFL season are reflected here. The second addition is an expanded Mini Camp.
Mini Camp was first introduced in Madden NFL 06, and included four arcade-like football challenges that could be played for high scores. You could play a passing exercise, throwing the ball to receivers through floating rings in the air, or kick a series of progressively more difficult field goals. Tackling and rushing games rounded out the offerings. New in this 07 edition are five more mini-challenges, bringing the Camp's total to nine.
Punting practice is the first fresh feature, where more points are scored the closer you can get the ball to land to the goal line without actually crossing it. Two wide receiver mini-games put you on both the offensive and defensive side of long pass plays. A 40 yard rush game is by far the most shallow, taking only about five seconds to complete (you hammer the L and R buttons to run straight up the field to the end zone). And a QB Rush design casts you as a defender trying to sack the opposing quarterback.
With now nine total mini-games, the Mini Camp feature is more robust and fun. It serves too as a great way to practice the game's controls, and playing a few rounds will likely increase your skills in the main game mode.
But that's it for new additions. Beyond the Mini Camp, the depth and complexity Madden is known for is present, of course. NFL fans with a lot of free time could spend hours pouring over the statistics, team lineups and historical factoids included in this cartridge. But it's nothing they haven't seen before.
©2006-11-09, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved