OK, first things first, take a look at the Madden NFL 08 Stage Video from Gamespot.com.  Now at around the 7:30 mark or so they start talking about the ability to edit stadiums and what not, then they go into the fact that you can create your own custom teams via fantasy draf, which also includes Hall of Fame players.  No big deal right?  I mean, this was done before, but not with the Hall of Fame players.

Well, the thing they bring to the table now is the ability to take those created teams and created stadiums online! After they made the stunning declaration, the Madden producer (I forgot his name at the moment) also said that they have a pretty deep uniform editor as well. I think you can pick your logo, change the team colors, the uniforms, whether you want the logo on both sides of the helmet or not, etc. So, basically what Madden is going to have sounds like about 75% of the entire APF2K8 football game.  The thing that i really wished Madden had was the ability to actually have online leagues with those teams. 

Overall I think this is rather big news that has flown relatively under the radar at this point. 

Did you enjoy this article? Please bookmark it onto:

EA’s NCAA Football 2008 is the seventh release of the highly regarded football series on the Playstation 2 hardware.  That said, we need to get one thing on the table right now: the graphics are definitely last-gen. 

(lets pause a moment as the graphics-first/Next Gen only people stop reading this review…)

Okay, still with me? Good.  Now, let me state one other thing from the beginning:  NCAA Football 08 for PS2/XBOX is probably the richest, deepest, most on-field feature-centered NCAA offering to-date.. even more so than its next gen cousin in some key areas.

That’s refreshing news (at least if you are a PS2/XBOX owner..)  Its nice to see that EA didn’t mail this one in as a roster update with one new feature, because I doubt few expected otherwise…given the late age of the current gen hardware and the influx of next gen adopters.  But they didn’t.  To me, NCAA Football 08 for PS2/XBOX (i.e. “current gen” for the sake of brevity) is the culmination and the evolution of the 6 previous releases that came before it, and us hardcores appreciate that.

So what does that mean?  Well, all the things we’ve received as incremental features in the game since the Chris Weinke coverboy year are included in NCAA 08 Current Gen.  To the hardcore crowd (which I consider myself to be in) that’s what we ask for in every release, no matter what “gen” the product happens to fall under. Overall NCAA 08 Current Gen does a good job at this.  It does have its rough edges and its share of issues, but overall I don’t think most PS2/XBOX  NCAA fans will be disappointed.

Graphics wise, I do notice what looks to be a higher level of detail on the player close-ups.  This seems particularly true of the uniforms when zoomed-in.  Granted, its not 360/PS3 level by any stretch, but it looks very good in relation to other games using the same hardware.  The game still looks “good” after all these years, and that ol’ familiar football engine still can play a more than competent game of football.

Did you enjoy this article? Please bookmark it onto:

There's a new Ian Cummings Madden 08 Next Gen blog up HERE at EA Sports, and it looks like some good stuff.   He covers team specific celebrations, weather effects & how it will cause less agile players to slip in the mud/ice, new defender fakeout logic, and enhanced play action effects.

And, to top it all of, he's got video showcasing all of the above.

Be sure to check it out..
I can't wait to get to Orlando and see this game first-hand.

QC72
 

Did you enjoy this article? Please bookmark it onto:

"The largest adjustment that's been made to this year's title is the inclusion of Player Weapons, a new system that evaluates the skills and abilities of every single athlete on a team. Essentially the evolution of the Playmaker system from previous years, Madden 08 assigns one of 26 separate classifications to athletes that exemplify certain traits on the football field. Each one of these rankings, from the Precision Passing stat for Matt Hasselbeck to the Possession Receiver boost for Tony Gonzalez highlights actions that these athletes are well known for. Of course, there are the star players as well, who possess multiple skills and attributes that can't be classified by one simple award. That means that Go To Guy receivers like Randy Moss or Defensive Enforcers like Ray Lewis will standout as they shred offenses and defenses alike.."

Read full story HERE from IGN.com.

Did you enjoy this article? Please bookmark it onto: