The much anticipated release of Madden 08 has passed and everyone who called in sick for the release date are back to work. If you hold Madden in the highest of esteem as I do this was to be the version to save the series. The rush job and failure of the last 2 Maddens for the next gen consoles had left the franchise a bit tarnished. It would have been better to not release it at then give us such a shoddy game.

But the ray of sunshine that is Madden 08 has come into our lives and we couldn’t be happier. First and foremost the game is actually fast again. The gameplay is back to the fast quick format that has set Madden apart. The biggest ad on is the gamebreaker feature. This got ragged on by some people but I liked it and thought it was a good idea. My complaint with it is if you’re playing against the computer its gamebreakers seem to work much better then yours, not so much that it hurts the game but it does suck none the less. The Gamebreaker is certain players who are super high rated in a particular stat. Like your QB can be a smart QB (guess what Rex Grossman isn’t one) where if you call the same plays on defense he will pick up on it and counter with a play to beat the defense. There are also smart players on defense that do the same. There are also things like brick wall defenders, bull rush pass rushers, hands receivers, and shut down corners to name a few. It adds a bit of fun to your games and when building a team in franchise mode you can’t help but get as many if these players as possible.

Back is the create a superstar mode which can be frustrating because you really can’t control your team. For me i enjoy the GM aspect of the franchise mode.

Of course most of the person versus person playing is done on xbox live, but if you happen to be playing the game with a buddy on the same TV you will have a hard time hiding what play you have chosen. They removed the 3 choice system for a 1 play at a time system. It can be hard if your buddy is a cheater.

Also added was a build a ring feature seems like a good idea but is really just wasted space. This is what a next gen football game should be it looks good runs good and will keep you coming back time and again. Keep playing Madden 08 because it is pretty darn strong. And next year lets make its release date a national holiday!!!!