Madden NFL 07

Madden NFL 07 is the 2007 edition of the popular Madden NFL series. It is the first in the series to be released for the PlayStation 3 and Wii consoles. Former Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander is on the cover.

Release

To mark the debut of Madden NFL 07, EA Sports released Madden NFL 07 in Madden, Mississippi, the only community in the United States to have the same name as John Madden. Each resident received a free Xbox 360 gaming console and a free copy of Madden NFL 07. NFL stars in attendance were Jerry Rice, Warren Moon, and Marshall Faulk.

Madden NFL 07 was released for more formats in a single year than any previous version. In addition to its appearance on the PC platform and cell phones, versions of the game were produced for every game console of the previous generation, including the Xbox, the PlayStation 2, and the Nintendo GameCube. Hand-held versions appeared on the PSP, the Nintendo DS, and the Game Boy Advance. It is also the second iteration of the series to appear on the Xbox 360, and the first to appear on the PlayStation 3 and Wii consoles.

After John Madden's induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, EA Sports released a version of Madden NFL 07 called the "Hall of Fame Edition" with John Madden on the cover. It contained two discs, one with the normal game and the other a DVD with special features. Special features included an interview with John Madden, a behind the scenes look at the making of Madden NFL 07, and a sneak preview of the new PlayStation 3. To go along with Madden's inception into the Hall of Fame, there are special Hall of Fame teams that players can unlock with credits earned during the game. These teams are statistically superior to the default NFL team rosters.

Features

Just as in previous titles in the Madden NFL series, Madden NFL 07 makes a few additions to the general game play. The most notable features include:

Lead Blocker Control: After selecting a running play, the player will be able to cycle through the offensive players as they get into position at the line. The player can choose the athlete to control when the ball is snapped, and the game camera will zoom in on the fullback, tackle, guard, center, tight end, or wide receiver selected. With this feature, it is now possible for the player to open up a path for a running play, as the computer controls the halfback and tries to slip through the gap created. This feature also appeals to Madden players who do not wish to use computer assistance in any way, shape, or form. This feature allows the player to manually block with their fullback, tackle, guard, center, tight end, or wide receiver and quickly switch to their halfback to manually slip through the gap created, thus eliminating any computer assistance during the gameplay.

Highlight Stick: Players can now move the right analog stick in any direction to see an animation where the smaller running backs will duck, spin, or squirt out of a tackle. It is also possible to string such evasive moves together, piecing together a juke left with a hop step backwards (down on the right analog for stick on Ps2 and Xbox or for gamecube down on the C stick) to elude defenders. The Truck Stick animations still exist for the bigger backs, but also feature more variety of running moves with the addition of the Highlight Stick. For example, using the Highlight Stick with Tiki Barber, a smaller back not known for trucking, utilizes an array of moves to avoid and squirt out of tackles.

Juking and Spinning: Players can now choose two types of both Jukes and Spins to avoid would-be tacklers. For the PS2, players can either do a cut move to the left or right using the L1 or R1 buttons respectively, or a wider juke to the left or right by flicking the Right Analog stick left or right respectively. For a quick spin to allude a tackler the player simply taps the circle button. For a stronger spin which could possibly break a tackle, simply hold down the circle button.

FreeMotion Controls: The Wii version of Madden NFL 07, which was developed at EA Canada rather than Tiburon, features a unique control scheme that has been completely redone to compliment the motion sensing capabilities of the console's Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers.