Madden 07

EA has been producing Madden American Football games for years, this is actually the 17h incarnation. With each release EA tinkers with the formula and with the release of a new generation of consoles, they are able to put more on the game DVD than ever before.

I will say this now, if you do not understand American Football you will find this very difficult to get the hang of, but, give his game a chance and you will find this is a great sports game with more depth and realism than most other titles.

The initial title menu is a bit of a minefield as there is just so much to choose from. NFL Superstar would be the best place to start. With this you are able to customize you own player, right down to your parentage. If you feel that a lawyer father and nurse mother is not good enough to get you into the Hall of Fame, choose another. Your player will then start as a rookie and begin training, this takes the form of some mini games like the 40 yard dash, weight lifting and an IQ test. You are then able to hire and fire an appropriate agent who can represent you to the big teams as you progress through your career. All this information and training is used to find your best position, and hopefully you will get picked to play for a team. The default option is that you only control your player and do not have to worry about anything else. If you have been chosen as a wide receiver, you will play in attack, but only when the manager chooses. The manager will advise you of all of the plays. This helps some of the newer players of the sport to learn what is going on. When you are on the bench you are also able to offer advice to the team on the pitch. During play you gain more personal stats, this is by tackling, assisting and completing passes. With the more points you earn, the players around you will take notice of you and pass you the ball more.

Once you have got a feel for the game, you should try out the franchise mode. This enables you to choose your favourite team and then play the seasons and play offs to get your team to the top. You control the game all of the way through, from the initial kick off to defence and attack. At the beginning of each play you are able to choose which tactics to use. You are able to have assistance from your manager or even the legendary Madden himself. Each play tab clearly shows where each player will go and their role, and when attacking, which player corresponds to which button.

The graphics are excellent on this title and are truly next gen, showing very clearly and close up images of the players as they run about the playfield. As the play progresses the pitch actually gets worn down starting as lush green and then slowly deteriorating to a muddy brown. The player models are spot on, with animations for each of the more well know players, they even run differently.

The graphics and processing power of the 360 really come in on the replays, you are able to zoom in close to the action and see the excellent collision detection in slow motion.

Overall this game will be best suited to fans of the sport, however, if you want to look for something other than football and tennis then this is worth a try. With a higher level of tactics and control you will not be disappointed with this title.