If you are a fan of American Football, then this latest version of Electronic Art’s popular Madden series, designed specifically for use with the Wii controller, is going to be a joy for you to discover and play. If you are not familiar with either the Madden series or with the real world sport itself, this game may well be a very good place to start.
As mentioned, Madden NFL 07 has been specifically designed to work with the Wii’s motion-sensing Wii-mote and nunchuck controllers. For American Football virgins this Wii version of Madden contains a very good ‘Learn Madden’ tutorial to help you get stuck into the fun straight away.
The basic controls are what make this game really stand out. To pass the ball you flip the Wii-mote back and then select (using the directional pad on the controller) the person who you want to pass it to. Then you simply flick the WiiMote forward to pass, the harder you flick the further the ball travels. Easy. You can then make the guy at the other end jump up to grab the ball in the air by throwing your arms in the air.
When running down the field you can ‘juke’ (move to one side quickly) by flicking the nunchuck left or right. You can also ‘stiff arm’ (push an opponent) by flicking the Wii-mote in your right hand left or right. When defending you can quickly shove out both controllers in front of you in order to hit members of the offense side hurtling down the field towards you.
The kicking controls are a bit weirder and much less intuitive, as they involve having to flick the Wii-mote up to execute a kick. But you kind of get used to it after a few goes, although this is the one area of the game’s controls that really does need more thought given to it for future versions of the game.
Even if you are unclear as to the rules of ‘Mercan Football, which to the uninitiated is a mind-bogglingly intricate and strategic game, the mini games on offer here will still reward you with hours of fun, as you slowly familiarise yourself with the rules of the game.
The first of these is a simplified and hugely fun kicking game (in which one player kicks and the other three drum their controllers to affect the wind); next is a 2-on-2 featuring the basic set-up of QB, receiver, and two defensemen and, last but no way least, is a game called YAC (standing for ‘yards after catch’) which seemed to involve having all the fun of the actual game itself (scoring points for successful throws and catches in offense, or swats and interceptions in defense) without all the bother of the confusing strategy and tactics.