Saturday, September 15, 2007

Madden NFL 08




It's safe to say that when Madden NFL 07 made its debut alongside the launch of the Wii last year, it was a real shot in the arm for the franchise. With development duties handed over to EA's Canada studio, the Wii version took the existing framework of the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox versions of the game and then turned the whole thing into a festival of gesture controls. Not only that, it did so well, transferring all the various motions and mechanics of football into a motion-based control scheme that made sense. In some respects, Madden NFL 08 manages to live up to being a sequel to such an innovative game, with some tweaks and additions to the various motion controls, as well as the addition of more minigames and an online multiplayer mode. By the same token, several aspects of this year's game also disappoint. The graphics have seen practically no noticeable improvement and the presentation is still lacking. Additionally, some irritating bugs and glitches rear their ugly head from time to time during gameplay. Still, 08 is great fun, especially when played with other people. If you liked last year's game, you'll certainly enjoy things this time around.

For the most part, Madden's much-vaunted control scheme has remained the same. However, there have been some tweaks to how a few of the mechanics work. Big hits and ball-carrier power moves are now mapped solely to the Wii Remote, instead of the remote and the Nunchuk in tandem. The power move has actually been rebalanced to depend on what kind of running back you've got. Power backs will bowl over defenders, while scat backs will use more nimble maneuvers to duck around their opponents. Defenders trying to rush the passer or get to the running back behind the line will now rip and spin past blockers when you move the remote back and forth in either direction. Also, certain actions, such as kicking and swatting at passes as a defender, feel a bit more responsive this year.


Some non-motion controls have been added as well, such as a strip-ball feature mapped to the 1 button, which will knock the ball from a carrier's hands when timed correctly. There's also a new mechanic that lets you focus in on specific receivers before the snap by zooming back and pressing a button that corresponds with a specific receiver. It's a neat move that has a bit of a risk-versus-reward feel to it because if you double up on one receiver, you potentially leave another open. Beyond these updates, the core controls are functionally identical to last year.

That's hardly a bad thing, given that last year's controls were incredibly fun to play around with, and they remain so here. If, for some reason, you find the Madden control scheme daunting, a new option has been included called family play. For all intents and purposes, this is literally a halving of the control scheme. You simply select the family-play control option and remove the Nunchuk plug from the remote. From here, the game becomes all motion controls. The computer takes over movement of the players, and all you have to do is manage the motion-based controls via the Wii Remote.

It's a really strange system for a couple of reasons. One, it's hard to believe most people would be so vexed by having to use an analog stick to move players that this option would be helpful to them. Two, the computer isn't really talented enough to move players for you. Quarterbacks on the verge of getting sacked sometimes don't even really try to move out of the pocket, and runners tend to have trouble moving past blockers when running between the tackles. Sure, you can stiff-arm and spin manually, but the artificial intelligence seems to have periodic issues with turning the corner to find the open holes. At the very least, the average player would likely do a much better job than the CPU does. While there might be some measure of appeal to this mode for people who have absolutely no idea what they're doing with the game, anyone who takes the time to learn the proper controls won't have much use for the family-play option. Considering the deluge of tutorials to be found in the game, it shouldn't take long to learn.

The gameplay is still a lot of fun on the field. The new "weapons" system from the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions is on hand in this version as well. You get all the same icons that depict whether a cornerback is a shutdown corner or a press corner, as well as whether your QB is a smart QB, a rocket arm, or an accurate passer. Interestingly, the differences in players and play styles don't seem quite as pronounced in this version.


Then again, the AI in this game has a rather antiquated feel all around, so maybe that's not entirely shocking. It's not that the AI is awful by any means; in fact, it's decent enough, save for the family play quirks. The main issues come from balancing problems. Specifically, the running game can be overpowered in Madden 08, but the passing game feels a little underpowered. Much as in the 360 and PS3 games, the defensive-back AI has a knack for gluing itself to receivers, so it can be difficult to get receivers open deep. Conversely, any team with a good running back should have no problems eating up huge chunks of yardage against would-be defenders. The defense sometimes seems powerless to stop running backs as they juke and power through the opposition. That isn't necessarily a huge knock against the game because it's still a lot of fun regardless of whether you run or throw, but it does make it decidedly less realistic than its counterparts on other platforms.

There are also some glitches to wrestle with from time to time. Sometimes snapping the ball too hard or fast will cause the QB to pass the ball instantaneously to the default receiver on the play, which often leads to an easy interception. Holdover issues still pop up again and again, such as the offensive line bunching up into a pile that looks like a mass of vibrating, electric football players. Likewise, defenders and wide receivers get hung up on one another when they cross into each other's routes (with no pass-interference calls, mind you). These are issues that have plagued the older iterations of Madden for quite some time and are really starting to stick out like a sore thumb by now.

But you can't really find much fault with the amount of content in Madden 08. With the franchise mode, superstar mode, minigames, and online play, it's unlikely you'll run out of things to do anytime soon. Though the franchise mode has gone basically untouched, it's still incredibly deep and has tons to do over the course of the 30 featured seasons. Superstar mode has seen a bit of adjustment, with the whole "randomization of your created player's parents" aspect of the mode cut altogether, as well as an added ability to pick from any of this year's rookie class in lieu of a created player. Do you want to experience the life of a superstar, such as Calvin Johnson? Or JaMarcus Russell? Or, god forbid, Brady Quinn? Now you can. The mode itself is still a little hackneyed in its concept of what the life of a superstar player would be like, but it's less silly than the last couple of attempts. If only EA would get rid of those stupid movie roles...

Minigames are as fun as ever, and now there's a whole party mode dedicated to them. You can play all four of the games from last year, including YAC Attack, Kicking Combine, and 2-on-2. There are actually 22 different minigames this year, though many of them are just the games featured in the minicamp drills, such as Precision Passing and Chase and Tackle. With these minicamp games, you simply take turns against other players. It's a little bit of a bummer that there's no new or unique minigames in this year's Madden, but the older games, combined with the minicamp challenges, are plenty of fun when played with a group of friends. The party mode also contains a couple of new modes, including a standard game of football that comes included with a telestrator feature, as well as a trivia game where you and your friends can test your knowledge of the sport. The trivia game in particular is awesome if you've got a room full of pigskin prodigies with you.




Posted by wii-play at 1:38 PM
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Call of Duty 3




Ah, another console generation, another Call of Duty game. Call of Duty 2 really set the world on fire when it debuted alongside the Xbox 360 last November, and the sequel has been eagerly anticipated by armchair generals with itchy trigger fingers ever since.

Now, Call of Duty 3 has been released on the Xbox 360 and PS3, and it's bigger, prettier, and just as popular as ever before. But, what of the Wii version? Clearly, it won't be able to stack up visually, but can Nintendo's trusty Wiimote and a novel control scheme make up for this shortcoming? There's no unequivocal answer to that question, since the control scheme can be just as frustrating as it is liberating, but Call of Duty 3 on the Wii packs enough great gameplay to rise from the trenches with honor, nonetheless. As with every Call of Duty game before it, Call of Duty 3 focuses on real battles fought during World War II, placing players in the shoes of various soldiers from different armies on the Allied Front.

This third entry in the series focuses on a particular brutal string of engagements in France, where the Allies attempted to wrest control from the Nazi forces. Through the course of the game, players will play through the eyes of a soldier in the American, British, Canadian and Polish armies, respectively. Each stint is accompanied by its own storyline, but none of the passively relayed characterizations or plot developments are especially noteworthy. That's not to say that the game is dull, however, as the overall narrative is-like other games in the series-rife with unexpected events and exciting set pieces.

The Wii version of the game is controlled using the Wiimote and attached nunchuk. The analog stick on the nunchuk moves the character forward, backward, left, and right, while the Wiimote is used to aim at the screen and control the player's perspective. The Wiimote trigger is used to fire weapons, and buttons on the nunchuk provide for other movement actions like ducking and jumping. There is an option to either toss grenades with the press of a button, or to use an overhand motion with the nunchuk to effect the same goal. Other features include the ability to switch weapons by quickly gesturing the nunchuk to the left or right, or reload with a similar movement up or down. All of this is pretty standard for FPS games on the Wii thus far, and players familiar with Red Steel will feel right at home. To its credit, Call of Duty 3 does add a few additional novelties, like the ability to wrestle guns away from opponents by holding both controllers out in front of you and shaking them back and forth.

On the whole, the controls on the Wii are very enjoyable to work with. Aiming takes a little getting used to, especially since the game uses the same "bounding box" mechanic seen in Red Steel, but it is ultimately much more accurate than using dual analog sticks. One nice feature is the ability to zoom in on particular targets by pressing the ‘A' button, which dispenses with the bounding box entirely and allows free movement around the screen without shifting the player's overall perspective.

Aiming in this mode is highly accurate and almost akin to using the traditional mouse-and-keyboard setup familiar to PC players. Less common actions like tossing grenades and grappling with enemies prove to be less precise, and accordingly more frustrating, but practice with the game makes these actions more than manageable, and they remain enjoyable despite occasionally inconsistent controls.

Visually, the Wii version of Call of Duty 3 is a decent showpiece for the system. It definitely illustrates how modest the Wii's capabilities are, but the visuals are roughly equivalent to those in the Xbox version of the game. The particle and smoke effects are especially nice, and the environments are large and varied. On the audio front, there's quite a lot of activity in the game-from the whining zip of passing bullets to the concussive boom of nearby artillery or explosions-and the robust soundscape really adds to the excitement in the game. Fully positional, digital audio would nice, but the basic Dolby support is more than acceptable.

The biggest fault to be found with Call of Duty 3 for the Wii is the complete lack of multiplayer support. Considering the fact that Nintendo, as a company, has yet to take advantage of the WiiConnect 24 capabilities of the system (aside from the awesome Virtual Console), it might not be fair to lay too much blame at Activision's feet for this drawback, but the omission hurts, nonetheless. The single player portion of the game is worthwhile and enjoyable in its own right, but the franchise has made huge strides on the multiplayer front and there is no good reason why the Wii version should not benefit from this as well.

Ultimately, the decision of which Call of Duty version to buy is going to come down to a matter of taste. If gamers have the option of purchasing the gorgeous 360 and PS3 versions over the Wii version, there's certainly a good argument for the value of improved visuals and presentation. However, Call of Duty 3 on the Wii is one of the best examples of the system's ability to make up for substandard visuals with really engaging control. The Wiimote is a fluid and, mostly, precise method of directing all of the carnage, and there's no denying the fact that pointing and shooting is infinitely more fun than weaving around with two analog sticks.


Posted by wii-play at 12:16 PM
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