A Yard Away from a Championship: Madden 07 Xbox 460 Review

It's the time of the year any sports fan loves. The NFL season is right around the corner, MLB is heading into the playoffs, and the year's Madden is being stocked on store shelves. While normally a joyous occasion, last year's iteration on the Xbox 360 did not titillate fans as much as it enraged them. But did this years Next Gen gridiron juggernaut redeem its disastrous first year? Absolutely.

Gameplay:

With that being said, this years Madden 07 is far from perfect, but it does bring the best football experience that I have ever gotten from a football game. After the defensive additions in the past (some which have inexplicably been taken out) and last years beefed up passing game, EA felt it was time to give the old running game a kick in the ass. Here comes the big Gameplay addition this year, Run to Daylight. Unlike years of the past, you can no longer blame your lead blocker from going the wrong way (instead you ll be blaming your dumb AI running back for not running through the hole you made for him) because with the simple press of a button, you can take control of any blocker and lay the defenders out with the flick of a stick. While a nice addition that extradites the lead blocker woes from past copies, it can sometimes make the running game TOO easy, making bug rushing gains commonplace. I often found myself either disappointed in how easy busting my running back loose was or how screaming at my dumb ball carrier for not going where he was supposed to. Its definitely sometimes a hit or a miss when it comes to Run to Daylight.

Another addition to the running game is the new Highlight Stick which will let you put the moves on the defenders with a push of the Right Stick. While this feature claims to separate Power Rushers from Finesse Rusher, I was still able to truck over 300 pound defenders using Tiki Barber, which just isn't right. But aside from that, the HS is flawless and really gives you more control over your running game.
The passing remains the same as last year. You can still use the QB Vision if you feel like, but it is not on by default. Everything is the same.