Madden 07 (Wii) Preview

With C3 being a UK site the vast majority of readers may not truly understand how massive the Madden series is. It's a major niche title over here, findings copies can be tricky and they generally stop manufacturing them pretty sharpish. However in the land of apple pie, Thanksgiving and cheerleaders the Madden series is revered as the definitive American Football experience. You could compare it to Fifa in terms of popularity, except Madden is of greater gaming pedigree and actually offers an experience close to the real thing (opposed to Fifa's arcade style). The Wii getting a specialised version of Madden 2007 is therefore a spectacular coup for Nintendo and could help the console settle in across the pond.

So why is it specialised? Well no prizes for guessing that the game is tailored around the Wii mote, in a game mechanic EA are calling "Free Motion Controls". This works by splitting gameplay into 4 areas: running, passing, kicking and defending and the Wii mote controls all at times. Running is done through both the remote and the nunchuck with A, B, Z and C with controlling spins and sprint with the motion sensing of the two pads controlling jukes and stiff arms.

Hooking the Wii mote upwards does kicking, and it is an amazingly accurate system. You can use a cursor to aim, however EA reps at E3 were simply applying slice and direction with the Wii mote showing excellent accuracy in doing so. You hike by snapping the control towards you and tackles are done by thrusting the nunchuck/Wii mote combo towards the screen emphatically.

Of course, American Football is all about epic passes across the field that leave your opponent quaking in their boots. And of course the Wii mote is used extensively and to fantastic effect in this area of the game. The dream of being able to spike the ball with the Wii mote is realised and it's as simple as it should be. You tap up, down, left, right or a to select a receiver then make a throwing motion with the control. It is that simple and early indications state that it works superbly well. Easy enough to be inviting to newcomers, but deep enough that you can start to perform pretty incredible passes with practise.

Graphics wise the game is certainly one of the better-looking Wii titles we've seen so far. Granted, it is a bit behind the Xbox 360 and PS3 but it still shows a level of detail that is ahead of the GC and the action shows little in the way of slowdown. Even at this early stage the cutscenes in game are suitably cinematic and it should continue the tradition of Madden games being as engrossing as the likes of Pro Evo. Atmosphere is a huge part of American Football and it's a great relief that the supposed weak Wii can recreate this atmosphere. This great atmosphere will certainly be needed in the various game modes supplied. EA are never stingy when it comes to game modes and Madden is no different. There is a Hall of Fame mode where you take complete control of the one position on the field and try to be the best player you can on and off the field in an effort to become the next entry in the hall of fame. Franchise mode is back and expanded with college players and teams playing a larger role. Scout the college teams for the next big star and then watch them impact on the league with the new player role feature. The game modes aren't the only thing to be tweaked; tactics have also received one or two upgrades. Player specific running styles are now in the game as are team specific defensive books for those who love their tactics. So you will be able to use actual plays from the NFL teams that only that team is able to use. Whoever said Wii games would be shallow...

In order for the Wii to succeed it needs to get big brands on board and combine classic style gameplay with some sort of innovation. So far the likes of Metroid, Mario and Sonic have all made the jump in this manner and are looking excellent as a result. Madden is a slightly different case in that you simply cannot innovate too much without moving away from the simulation nature of the genre, however the folks at EA have done a smashing job of balancing innovation and simulation. The controls add a new open-ended nature to skills in the game, with it moving closer to the real thing than ever before. This combined with the usual plethora of game modes and multiplayer mayhem could make this the definitive version of Madden. So rugby, footy, Aussie rules and cricket fans prepare to swallow that pride and put this on your to watch list...the American's sport of choice may just be worth a peek.