by: Andrew Thornton

January 15, 2008

Graphically, Madden 07 is a step up from Madden 06. Everything just looks so much smoother. The fine details have been paid more attention to. Animation is far better. Collision detection still needs some work but they're getting there. I also like that more and more players actually have their own faces, though by now I think everybody should, as it's been done in other sports like basketball for years. The few that don't have their own faces yet stick out like sore thumbs. Even with that, Madden looks better than ever this year.

I've always hated John Madden's commentary in football, but I do like that as years go by he's taking a lesser place in his own series. The music in this game is solid, though any sports game is the perfect place to break out your own custom soundtracks. I also think the soundtrack in Madden is weaker than in past years, which may be the start of developers not wanting to pay big money for songs when people can just listen to their own music, and singers not caring if they're on the soundtrack if any music can be played instead of theirs. For several years I've speculated that custom soundtracks were the end of great gaming soundtracks, and I may soon be proved right.

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Madden 07 is the first Madden game in years that I feel I can actually recommend. There are some serious flaws that need to be addressed, especially the problems in Superstar mode and the lack of Owner mode, but the addition of Superstar mode in and of itself as well as Gamer Levels and a higher level of polish than I've seen in this series in years makes Madden 07 a football game that fans will love despite its flaws.

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