Sure, we all know that video games have been a big part of pop-culture around the world, but little did we know that one concentrated sports game would become the flagship title for that bold statement. Madden football games come out year after year; sometimes with only minor changes, but consistently earns its spot at the top of the sales charts annually. Why? It’s quite simple actually. America loves football; and when you’re not able to bench 250 pounds, throw a football 50 yards with pin-point accuracy, or tackle a person coming full speed at you, a certain popular football video game becomes the only option for getting involved with the pigskin. When Madden NFL 07 releases this August, there’s no reason to believe that the entire gaming nation will be thirsty for that virtual football world.

With a near-final version of the highly popular EA Sports flagship title available on hand during EA’s Studio Showcase 06 last Thursday, AMN was able to see just how much the mammoth publisher refined their much-talked about best-selling product. So what’s new in Madden NFL 07? Well, for starters, it’s the next-gen consoles that received the most focus, with both the Xbox 360 and PS3 getting fully upgraded features. The new Madden Gamer Level, included only for the next-gen systems [presumably including Wii], gives players the opportunity to compare their skill sets against each other regardless of the various game modes played. This way, those who played the Franchise modes more-so than the head-to-head games would receive percentage points. The game already includes much more than previous years, so accomplishing all of them requires a bit of dedication. These specific in-game tasks will be check-marked as you progress along the various modes, and these percentage points accumulate eventually to unlock certain things such as Hall of Fame players. The Madden Gamer Level allows players to truly have a sense of where they stack as a Madden Gamer. Of course, the rewards are there also, and if you’re still not satisfied, maybe bragging rights about who’s the better Madden player would suffice.

The user interface for the new system is an overall progress screen that will show gamers what level they’re at. These fifty different levels are progressed with rankings starting from bronze, and eventually to gold. Each section will include a certain percentage of what has been completed in each mode, and these tasks range from simple requirements for first down counts, completing a certain amount of passes or completions, and so on. Of course, the challenge within these tasks gets gradually harder as gamers improve their rank, but everything is tracked on this single progress screen. Evidently, the ranking system also gets tallied online, but is separate from the accomplishments in-game. According to an EA representative we talked to, this ranking will be a big factor in how opponents are selected for you when taking the game online.

One difference between the current-gen versions of Madden will be how things get unlocked. Next-gen versions will of course use the Madden Gamer Level system [which ties with the Xbox Live achievement system as well], while the current-gen editions will continue using the Madden Cards.



Dropping back to pass.

Now, the new Hall of Fame mode for the game will include nearly 150 players. Based on how well you do in your Gamer Level, groups of players will be unlocked after sets of achievements are accomplished. One of the cool things within this mode is a bio feature, which allows players to check out their favorite retro-players, including their own accomplishments and NFL history. Some of these bios include videos courtesy of NFL Films, which takes players like Barry Sanders or Joe Montana and idolizes them with why they belong as NFL Hall of Famers. This includes current players that retire in Franchise mode (e.g. Brett Favre), and automatically places them in this area as well. Clearly evident was EA’s utilization of the ESPN license in ensuring that gamers learn about the players they’re unlocking as well –- an excellent view of the past years of football.



We all know that Madden will sack the competition.

And low and behold, the Superstar: Hall of Fame mode is back, allowing gamers to work custom football players into NFL Superstars, with the inclusion of the ever familiar sports agents, player mentors, training camp, and IQ test. You’ll be drafted by a team that truly needs you at your specified position. One of the biggest changes in this mode is the different controls that you’ll be entitled to based on the position chosen at the creation of your player. Say you want to play as a wide-receiver. In Madden NFL 07, you’ll be called during specific parts of the game just to play that one position, with route/block assignments dependent on what the coach wants you to do. Plain and simple, the coach will be calling all the shots, meaning to say you won’t always get the ball. The extra piece of realism puts a sense of gratification once your team ends up on the other end of the field. When you do get the ball or the special assignment (for defensive backs or offensive lineman for instance), you’ll have to do that job to the best of your ability. And believe us, blocking players in a simulation-sports game hasn’t been this fun in a long time.