Lackluster performance

For what it is, Madden 07 is a solid football game, but EA's sophomore outing on the 360 falls well-short of what it could be.\nIn terms of pure play mechanics, 07 is as solid, challenging and addictive as any other Madden. Take more than about three seconds to throw after the snap and you're almost guaranteed to get laid out in the turf. And if you think about throwing before your receiver's open, it's going to be another interception for the defense.\nEven the controls seem to have improved in this version thanks to the new highlight stick on offense and kick stick for the point after.\nThankfully, the silly vision cone present in 06's current-gen versions was cut.\nWhere Madden fumbles this year is in presentation. Players look great up close, but from far out (90% of the game is played from a bird's eye view), this barely looks better than an Xbox 1 game aside from some cool weather effects.\nWorse, the game stutters for a second or two after most plays.\nThis is completely unacceptable for a 360 game. \nMusic and sound effects have also taken a step back this year. In the past few Maddens it really pumped up the atmosphere to hear a few riffs of the top-notch soundtrack after a big play. Music is strangely absent on the field most of the time this year for some reason.\nBut perhaps my biggest complaint is the lack of Mr. Turducken himself, John Madden. His name's still on the box, but like last year's 360 version, commentary is provided by some random boring asshat with some kind of fake filter that makes it sound like he's on the radio. To me it's not really Madden without senile comments.\nAlso, EA has an exclusivity agreement with ESPN, Madden 07 lacks the awesome half-time show of old rival ESPN NFL 2K5. \nHeck, the game lacks any kind of a half-time show sans a screen prompting you to continue the game. But a stadium announcer does periodically announce a contest winner and warn unruly patrons they're subject to "ejection and arrest."\nThanks EA, I really prefer threats of getting kicked out of a virtual football stadium instead of a good soundtrack or commentary.\nUnfortunately I have to call this the best football game on the 360, but there are much better versions of Madden on the current-gen systems.\nIf you really need a football fix this season it's Madden 07 is worth picking up, but otherwise try updating the rosters in an older version before plunking down $60 on this year's 360 edition.