The one and only football game that makes you feel like an actual player
As soon as I hopped into a game ("Play Now"), I realized just how hard the game was to control. I couldn't run or even pass because I had no idea what I was doing.. the game was just a real PAIN to do anything with.
I was afraid at first.. ..until I discovered a feature that I'd somehow missed on the main menu: A "Learn Madden" mode, that teaches you everything you need to know in terms of how to play Madden 07 with the new controls on the Nintendo Wii.
This mode is unique in that it allows you to choose which aspect of the game to learn (OFFENSE-PASSING, OFFENSE-RUNNING, DEFENSE, SPECIAL TEAMS, etc.), then it presents you with a dialog box first and inside the dialog box you can do little drills in which it tells you how to move the controller or what buttons to press, and as you successfuly complete these dialog boxes, you can automatically skip the dialog box and then go straight to the field where you actually act out the play with the controls you just learned.
At first I was struggling even after I'd been taught what did what, and I will never forget how bad I did on the "Pocket Presence" (QB) drill in Mini Camp the first time, but I quickly learned that passing the ball on the Wii takes MUCH more concentration and awareness than it ever did before on any other system.
Hell, the entire game takes more concentration now.
Instead of tapping a button to throw a pass, you first flip the controller upwards to snap the ball, then you look for an open receiver, and once you find one, you press the corresponding direction on the D-Pad (or the A Button) for that certain receiver, and finally you flip the controller downwards to throw the ball.
This system is very tough to learn at first because you have to be much more coordinated (as I just said.) Since the nunchuck's joystick is used to move the QB and the Wii Remote is used to actually select a receiver and pass the ball, it's a skill that almost reminded me of learning how to "juggle" or concentrate on many things at once, since you're:
1) Dropping back
2) Looking for open receivers
3) Attempting to avoid defenders via the nunchuck
4) Attempting to make a pass while precisely navigating your QB via the nunchuck, and actually throwing the ball by using the remote.
What I didn't expect, however, was to quickly master the controls for passing -- and I feel that I already have. It does take about 10-15 minutes to develop most of the coordination required, but after that it just really feels great being able to drop back and complete a pass with two snaps of your wrist instead of two taps of a button.
In fact, snapping the ball is something that seems so simplistic, but that adds so much more to the Wii version. Before, you just tapped a button and the play started. This time, you snap the ball by snapping the controller backwards, giving you more of a feel as if you're actually DOING something.
I would catch myself trying to snap the ball by hitting 'A', and as soon as I realized I was making a mistake, I'd snap the controller backwards and get a much more satisfying feeling than when I was pressing the button, expecting a snap.
The running game is also a blast to play, and is another difficult thing to learn. The nunchuck (left hand) can make your guy juke left or right, depending on which way you quickly snap it (this can be achieved with a snap of the wrist), and the Wii Remote is similar, only instead of juking it stiff arms to the left or right, and the A-button performs a spin, while the B button (found on the bottom of the remote where you'd expect a 'trigger' to be) performs a dive.
Pushing both controllers towards the screen causes your runner to do a power move, and "drumming" with the controllers (going up and down with one after the other) allows you to have the possibility of breaking a tackle if a defender is slowly making a tackle.
As you can imagine, the running game is probably just as intense, if not MORE intense than the passing game, and the controls are what make it so. Now, it's actually FUN to run the ball because you really have to use your arms to make plays happen instead of your fingers. I found myself swinging my wrists to the left and right, pushing the controllers toward the screen to run over defenders, and drumming the controllers up and down like a mad man to attempt and break tackles.
And believe it or not, throughout this, I actually didn't feel tired at all -- it just felt BETTER because just like the snap of the ball, it made me feel like I was really DOING something this time instead of just moving a joystick in a certain direction and pressing a number of buttons to make my guy automatically do moves.
Special teams isn't really anything to write home about. To kick the ball, you just swing the Wii Remote upwards AFTER choosing the kick direction by using the nunchuck's joystick.
Defense is an exciting part of the game as well because you can actually push both controllers toward the screen to make harder hits, and you can even do such things as jump up to knock down or intercept a pass by raising both controllers above your head.
Another awesome feature in terms of using the controllers is the fact that as a Quarterback, you can 'quiet' the crowd by moving the controllers up and down, and as someone such as a linebacker, doing this will pump up the crowd.
Talk about sweetness!
When you take the first snap or complete the first pass or even power over the first defender by using a "pushing" motion with both controllers, you'll understand just how awesome this game really is. It actually takes time to master, but once you've mastered the controls, you'll feel just like a quarterback throwing a pass or a linebacker pumping up the crowd, then rushing in violently for a sack.
Madden 07 is the best football game for any console this year; there is simply no comparison.
Set... HUT!