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Wii

North America

Madden NFL 07

by Jon Lindemann - May 10, 2006, 3:08 pm EDT
Total comments: 6

Worried about Madden on Wii being hard to control? Worry no more.

Madden NFL 07 was the first Wii game I played on the show floor. Madden can be a challenging game to play for the uninitiated, and while I've played it a number of times, I'm by no means a Madden guru. If I could pick up Madden and get used to the controls right off the bat, that'd be a good indication of just how good the Wii's control scheme could be. After all, if you're going to use the Wii Remote for the first time, you might as well put it through its paces right?

I'm pleased to report that Madden controls pretty well on Wii. There's a learning curve involved, but it isn't so much the usual "Oh, OK, when that happens I hit B"; it's more about getting an idea of how to hold the remote, and the best way to do the actions in order to get the result you desire. Luckily the demo that I was playing crashed near the end of my first run, so I got a second play-through (much to the chagrin of the crowd around me).

The demo consisted of three parts: a Quarterback Passing Drill, a Field-Goal Kicking Drill, and a time-limited exhibition game between Seattle and Pittsburgh. The Quarterback Passing Drill is first up and serves as an introduction to the controls. Using the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk controller, you move your QB using the analog joystick and keep him within a circle (he can only move around within a confined area). There is a series of five targets, representing receivers, that light up at different intervals. Each target corresponds to a direction on the remote's D-Pad and the A button. To throw to the selected target you press the appropriate button and then flick the remote forward. Depending on how quickly you flick it forward, your quarterback will throw the ball harder or softer (indicated by a Miles Per Hour reading for the speed of your pass). The goal is to hit as many targets within the alotted period of time as possible, racking up as high a score as you can based on your speed and accuracy.

The next event is a field goal kicking drill. You move the direction arrow left and right using the analog stick, hit A and then kick by sweeping the controller upward while keeping it level. The more you tilt the remote to the left or right, the more slice you'll put on your kick. One of the EA Sports representatives told us that some people don't actually move the directional arrow, but instead put lots of slice on their kick to achieve the same objective. The kicking was a breeze and I was letting loose perfect kicks in no time.

The third part of the demo was an exhibition game between the Seahawks and the Steelers. You choose an offensive/defensive set and play with A, and of course you have the options to get help from John Madden or flip your play. Once you've made your selections you're into the game. To hike the ball you flick the remote upwards with a quick motion, and then select a receiver with the D-Pad and A (the Z-button on the Nunchuk shows you your receivers). You flick the controller forward, fast for a bullet pass and slow for a lob, to throw the ball. Once your receiver catches your pass, you hold down B on the Nunchuk to sprint and quickly move the remote left and right to juke/stiffarm.

I was skeptical that Wii's controls would work well with Madden. I must admit I was really impressed because its controls are very natural and easy to pick up and run with. It was a little difficult to see the difference between a hard pass and a soft pass (they all seemed to look the same), but from a straight control standpoint it was a whole lot of fun. The biggest adjustment for me was clicking on the D-Pad/A to select a receiver and then having to remember to actually perform a physical action to throw the ball. Like everyone else I'm used to doing a series of button clicks, not having to move my arm. Once I trained myself to do that I really got into the swing of things. The controls were really responsive and I never got the feeling that things "weren't working". I actually found it easier to do things like stiffarming, because remembering to move the controller left and right is a lot more natural than having to remember a certain button.

While the graphics weren't on a level of the PS3 or XBox360 versions, Madden on the Wii is a sharp game. I didn't get to see any weather effects (the exhibition game took place in a domed stadium), but everything looked and played great. Of course, the new style of control is the main draw here, and in that department Madden is certainly looking like a success.

Talkback

trip1eXMay 10, 2006

Wow that's awesome news. It means EA is seriously working on making Madden play great on the Wii. Great News.

I'm not even a Madden fanboy and I liked it. I haven't bought a Madden game since the original John Madden Football on the SNES, yet I found the Wii version really simple to pick up and play. I may even buy it. For me, the real difference is the juking and stiff-arming with the Wii-mote...it's so much easier, and more intuitive, than doing it with a joystick. Plays always developed too quickly for me to remember to juke or stiff-arm on previous console versions, but with the Wii-mote you can do it automatically. It's very cool.

Jdub03May 10, 2006

question about passing. Are the passing speeds just fast pass and slow pass/lob. Or can you have more then two varying speeds. Say i want to throw a fast pass but not a full strength pass. Does it recognize that. Also how does the wii verion compare to the xbox version.

CalibanMay 11, 2006

I watched some off-screen footage of the game, graphically it looks pretty damn good, now all I need is to actually play it but fom what I've been reading it plays really well with the remote and nunchaku.

Avinash_TyagiMay 11, 2006

I'm pleased with most of the impressions I've read of Madden Wii (with the exception of Joystiq's), it looks like its shaping up to be an amazing game.

Jdub03: From what I saw, the throwing mechanic wasn't refined to that point. You could only throw a bullet pass or a lob pass from as far as I could tell. I wasn't expecting much going into it, but I was surprised at how well the controls work. I'm sure that in future editions they'll take things a step further, like giving you the option to throw sidearm passes and stuff like that. For a first crack at using the Wii remote I thought that EA did a pretty good job.

If you mean the XBox360 version, the Wii version doesn't look as good. It has more jaggies and the models don't have as many polygons. It's still a sharp-looking game though, no doubt about that, but the 360 version is graphically superior (as it should be). If you're not sure that you want to buy it, I'd say rent it for Wii when it comes out to see if you like the way it controls compared to the 360 version. That's the real differentiator here.

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Madden NFL 07 Box Art

Genre Sports
Developer Electronic Arts
Players1 - 4

Worldwide Releases

na: Madden NFL 07
Release Nov 19, 2006
PublisherElectronic Arts
RatingEveryone
eu: Madden NFL 07
Release Dec 08, 2006
PublisherElectronic Arts
Rating3+
aus: Madden NFL 07
Release Dec 07, 2006
PublisherElectronic Arts
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