This is the best Madden game since 2005, with great new features that make it worth buying, yet it could be better.

User Rating: 8.5 | Madden NFL 08 X360
Ever since Madden NFL 2006 was released, the series has kind of been on a downfall. In Madden NFL 06, the QB Vision was seen as biased and is still not liked by many players today. In Madden NFL 07, there was a highlight stick and a few other small features, yet nothing in particular. The 360 was especially hard hit, and their games usually scored lower than the PS2 and XBOX games.

However, there are enough new features in Madden NFL 08 to make it a huge improvement in the series, with tons of new features, great graphics and the updated roster.

The biggest new feature is the Weapons Feature. Certain players have certain skills that can be used on the field. For example, Smart Quarterbacks like Tom Brady can read plays occasionally on the field, and Power Runningbacks like Larry Johnson can truck through defenders better than everyone in the game. You can tell if these players have these Weapons in the game if there's an icon below them. Some players can have more than one Weapon. LaDainian Tomlinson, for example, is both a Power Back and an Elusive Back.

There is also a new showcase in the main menu. This allows you to track ring progress (which you get progress for in games) and tropies earned (which are earned by doing certain accomplishments in the game). It's a small feature, but still pretty nice.

The Franchise has had several new features. The Busts and Gems feature allows you to see how effective drafted players were. Within 2-4 years upon being drafted, a gem or bomb icon will appear beside their name. A gem means that the player was a great draft choice and will perform better than his stats indicate. A bomb icon is the opposite, with it being a poor choice and perform worse that his stats indicate, yet you can always improve them with good playing.

In the franchise mode, you take control of one or more NFL teams on the way to making a dynasty. There are championships to be won, records to be broken (can be game, season or career records. For example, you can try to get LaDainian Tomlinson the most rushing TD's ever or Peyton Manning the most TD passes) and after retirement players can be entered into the the Hall of Fame. You can sign free agents and trade players to make your team even better.

In the season, you can even try to possibly shorten injury times by trying them in a drill or two. It will show their progress depending on how they do, and can shorten the time of injury. Using the same feature, you can try to get players more Weapons in one drill per week. Using this properly can give you many talented players.

However, there are some flaws in the franchise mode. Progression over years isn't as realistic as it should be. Certain players like Derek Anderson don't seem to improve much don't seem to improve much depending on how much you use them, yet players that you should be using but don't still seem to go up. Another thing that is unrealistic is that many teams don't seem to let go of many talented players, with only about 2-5 players every off season worth getting. This is unrealistic, because teams always lose players, and it feels out of place.

In Superstar Mode, you take control of a rookie (either custom or a real NFL rookie) and try to get them into Canton. A bar indicates how close you are. You must perform well during games and meet goals for this to go up. This is what makes the feature a decent feature, as you can try to put yourself in the shoes of a players career. You can only take control of your player on the field, yet you can gain influence by doing certain accomplisments. If your a Quarterback and you complete passes for positive gains or touchdowns, it will go up. If you get sacked or get intercepted, you will lose influence. Beware, as many of these, such as yard games and fumbles that were done by others, affect you as well.

The graphics in the game are spectacular. The players look sharp, with the colours, realistic motion and smaller things like detail in helmets and other equipment. Especially if this is your first Madden game and at first glance, you can see that they are great.

The sound is so-so. There are some good sound effects on the field, yet none worth mentioning. The announcer is horrible, as he is a radio broadcaster for your team, and he sounds horrible. Madden (I forgot who was with him) wasn't that great himself, yet it felt in place with them announcing, while this is completely out of place. Madden only talks when you get him to choose a play for you. The music selection in the main menu can be better, but when you choose the songs that you want to listen to, its fine.

Overall, Madden NFL 08 is a huge step forward in the series, the best since 2005 and the first great Madden game for the XBOX 360. The new features are welcomed, yet some smaller issues prevented this game from being better.