Nintendo Wii Impressions (Got it , played it)

[SWVA-Football]

Alright guys, I feel that I've played Madden 07 enough to give a decent amount of impressions and thoughts on the game.

I've not played every mode (not even NEAR that far) or checked out every feature, but I have experienced what the game is like thus far. I have the XBOX 360 version of Madden 07 as well, so I can compare them side by side.

The first thing I noticed when comparing Madden 07 on the Wii to the XBOX 360 was just how many more features were there. Long forgotten (and sorely missed) features such as Create-A-Team and Mini Camp were back, making this game a more complete package and automatically well worth the money. Owner Mode is even included, which is something that I've honestly not had much experience with since I hadn't been keeping up with the other Madden games for the PS2/GC/XBOX that included more modes.

As soon as I hopped into a game ("Play Now"), I realized just how hard the game was to control. I couldn't run or even pass because I had no idea what I was doing.. the game was just a real PAIN to do anything with.

I was afraid at first.. ..until I discovered a feature that I'd somehow missed on the main menu: A "Learn Madden" mode, that teaches you everything you need to know in terms of how to play Madden 07 with the new controls on the Nintendo Wii.

This mode is unique in that it allows you to choose which aspect of the game to learn (OFFENSE-PASSING, OFFENSE-RUNNING, DEFENSE, SPECIAL TEAMS, etc.), then it presents you with a dialog box first and inside the dialog box you can do little drills in which it tells you how to move the controller or what buttons to press, and as you successfuly complete these dialog boxes, you can automatically skip the dialog box and then go straight to the field where you actually act out the play with the controls you just learned.

At first I was struggling even after I'd been taught what did what, and I will never forget how bad I did on the "Pocket Presence" (QB) drill in Mini Camp the first time, but I quickly learned that passing the ball on the Wii takes MUCH more concentration and awareness than it ever did before on any other system.

Hell, the entire game takes more concentration now.

Instead of tapping a button to throw a pass, you first flip the controller upwards to snap the ball, then you look for an open receiver, and once you find one, you press the corresponding direction on the D-Pad (or the A Button) for that certain receiver, and finally you flip the controller downwards to throw the ball.

This system is very tough to learn at first because you have to be much more coordinated (as I just said.) Since the nunchuck's joystick is used to move the QB and the Wii Remote is used to actually select a receiver and pass the ball, it's a skill that almost reminded me of learning how to "juggle" or concentrate on many things at once, since you're:
1) Dropping back
2) Looking for open receivers
3) Attempting to avoid defenders via the nunchuck
4) Attempting to make a pass while precisely navigating your QB via the nunchuck, and actually throwing the ball by using the remote.

What I didn't expect, however, was to quickly master the controls for passing -- and I feel that I already have. It does take about 10-15 minutes to develop most of the coordination required, but after that it just really feels great being able to drop back and complete a pass with two snaps of your wrist instead of two taps of a button.

In fact, snapping the ball is something that seems so simplistic, but that adds so much more to the Wii version. Before, you just tapped a button and the play started. This time, you snap the ball by snapping the controller backwards, giving you more of a feel as if you're actually DOING something.

I would catch myself trying to snap the ball by hitting 'A', and as soon as I realized I was making a mistake, I'd snap the controller backwards and get a much more satisfying feeling than when I was pressing the button, expecting a snap.

The running game is also a blast to play, and is another difficult thing to learn. The nunchuck (left hand) can make your guy juke left or right, depending on which way you quickly snap it (this can be achieved with a snap of the wrist), and the Wii Remote is similar, only instead of juking it stiff arms to the left or right, and the A-button performs a spin, while the B button (found on the bottom of the remote where you'd expect a 'trigger' to be) performs a dive.

Pushing both controllers towards the screen causes your runner to do a power move, and "drumming" with the controllers (going up and down with one after the other) allows you to have the possibility of breaking a tackle if a defender is slowly making a tackle.

As you can imagine, the running game is probably just as intense, if not MORE intense than the passing game, and the controls are what make it so. Now, it's actually FUN to run the ball because you really have to use your arms to make plays happen instead of your fingers. I found myself swinging my wrists to the left and right, pushing the controllers toward the screen to run over defenders, and drumming the controllers up and down like a mad man to attempt and break tackles.

And believe it or not, throughout this, I actually didn't feel tired at all -- it just felt BETTER because just like the snap of the ball, it made me feel like I was really DOING something this time instead of just moving a joystick in a certain direction and pressing a number of buttons to make my guy automatically do moves.


Special teams isn't really anything to write home about. To kick the ball, you just swing the Wii Remote upwards AFTER choosing the kick direction by using the nunchuck's joystick.

Defense is an exciting part of the game as well because you can actually push both controllers toward the screen to make harder hits, and you can even do such things as jump up to knock down or intercept a pass by raising both controllers above your head.

Another awesome feature in terms of using the controllers is the fact that as a Quarterback, you can 'quiet' the crowd by moving the controllers up and down, and as someone such as a linebacker, doing this will pump up the crowd.

Talk about sweetness!

I can't comment on much more of the game since I've got many modes to explore and many things to do, but as of now I am definitely happy with how Madden 07 plays.

The controls actually take practice to master, and once you get the hang of them, the game feels much more intense than on any other console.

When you take the first snap or complete the first pass or even power over the first defender by using a "pushing" motion with both controllers, you'll understand just how awesome this game really is.

SET.. HUT!

[MikMo]

Who the heck wants to go through all that just to pass the ball?

[SWVA-Football]

It's really not bad when you learn it. When it all comes down to it, you basically press the D-pad in a direction and make a downward motion with the controller.

Of course, using the nunchuck to scramble at the same time can be a bit frustrating and confusing, but once you play that way for a bit, you get used to it. It's like learning something totally new.

But hey, it's football! It isn't supposed to be easy! [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

There are alot of people on the Gamespot forums saying that the Wii version of Madden is definitely the best this year though.. the Gamespot review pretty much implied it as well.

http://www.gamespot.com/wii/sports/m...ml?sid=6162055

From the review:
[ QUOTE ]
One of the big complaints about sports games year after year is that they just don't change. Especially in the last few years, EA's Madden NFL franchise has weathered the brunt of many of these complaints, largely in light of the mild upgrades made to older console versions and the "tear it all down, build it back up" approach the company took with its Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions. To some extent, though, it all boils down to one question: How do you update football? The answer may very well be found in Madden NFL 07 for the Wii. At first glance, this looks like a pretty basic port of the older console iteration of Madden 07 released earlier in the year. But once you get your hands on it, you'll find a highly revamped experience that makes great use of the Wii's unique capabilities. And it's not just a few things here and there, either. Tons of the various moves and actions of football are mapped to the motion-sensing controls, with largely positive results. There are a few things that maybe don't work quite as well as they could, but by and large, Madden on the Wii is a successful reenvisioning of how football is played on consoles.

[/ QUOTE ]

For anyone getting a Wii, I'd highly recommend the game. It feels more like a true football simulation than any of the other consoles could have ever accomplished.

[MikMo]

Passing fad. When people get tired of it, they will realize that pushing x to hike the ball then pressing another to pass is the only way to go.

[SWVA-Football]

Could be, but I personally prefer having to do more work because it makes me feel more like a player carrying out orders rather than someone just giving the orders and sitting back, watching them being carried out.

Who knows how it will hold up in the future, however.. you could be right, people may get tired of it and go back to the classic style.

Way too early to tell.

[MikMo]

Not trying to be a smart-aleck by saying this, but since I've been playing games longer than you've been alive, I'd say I'm right. Seems like Nintendo came out with some kind of glove apparatus early on with the original NES that did somewhat the same thing. That didn't fly. 3rd party company came out with a glove with buttons on it for the PSX, hardly a whimper out of that.

[SWVA-Football]

That wasn't Nintendo, that was 3rd party (Mattel) and failed due to lack of support and lack of recognition in Japan. The funny thing is that during the Wii launch that Gamespot was covering Live, the guy first in line (the one with the middle name, "Triforce") was actually WEARING the Powerglove, haha. (Here's the pic of him)
http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids...KUFU8JWxGhvw--

The Nintendo Wii is much more mainstream, and is being put out by Nintendo themselves.

Though the Virtual Boy did fail quite miserably (as an example of something Nintendo can totally go wrong on), the Wii seems to be pleasing people much more and has already sold twice as many units as the Playstation 3.

But as I said, it's probably way too hard to tell right now whether or not this style of gaming will last for long.. but I believe that despite the unappealing graphics, this style of playing games may win over many people.

[MikMo]

Well, the sales figures should show Sony that they have an overpriced console on their hands. Like I said in an earlier post, that price will come down before one comes to my household.

[1inStripes]

But didn't Nintendo also introduce a lot more units for the opening market than what Sony did with the PS3?

Just how many WII's are selling for even a grand on ebay? That should tell you something right there about demand.

[imported_Counts]

Personaly I am not planning on buying ANY think right now however at this point in time if I were to it would probably be a Wii based on price and potental......I to worry that the whole motion control thing could be just a fad but it does seem to be getting really good reviews and honistly games like Madden that are on all systems seem to be getting better reviews on the Wii IMHO alot of this is probably novalty but if it is not it could be a BIG blow for sony.

The thing that will make or break any of these consoles will be there 3rd party support and in the short term if the Wii get twice as many units into households (whatever the reason is) they will have better 3rd party support.

IMHO you will see XBoX360 have a price cut in the near future and that will IMHO force a price cut to the PS3 (I don't care how many people over pay for one on EBay the AVG Joe is not going to buy one until they know a coupple of hundred off that price Heck at least get it under a house payment LOL)