Madden NFL 08 PSP Review

Check out the video below to see some Gameplay Footage from Madden NFL 08 for the PSP.


Football Season is here, and that subsequently means that another season of Madden NFL Football will be released across many platforms to fans who just cannot wailt until September to get their football fix. Madden NFL 08 is here, and I picked it up for the PSP to get a Portable NFL Football Fix. This is the first Portable Football Game I had purchased since i got Madden NFL 2005 for my Game Boy Advance. It was a great game in it's own right. I enjoyed how Madden 2005 seemed to get a whole new upgrade from the last Game Boy Madden I played, Madden NFL 2003. Madden NFL 08 is the greatest Portable Sports Game Since Madden NFL 2005 for the Game Boy Advance.

This Year, the big thing in Madden is "Player Weapons." Whenever you zoom out to see your team players, you will see an icon above their helmet, telling you what type of weapon they are. Peyton Manning, no suprise, is labeled as a Franchise QB. Spped Backs like Shaun Alexander and LaDanian Tomlinson are labeled accordingly. This systsem is supposed to have them play like their real selves, and for the most part, they do play a whole lot like themselves on the virtual gridiron. Expect plenty of Manning to Harrison, Brady to Moss, Tony Romo to Terrell Owens, and many other big hook ups.

Franchise Mode is great as always. A number of menus are condensed into a simplified main menu known as My Week. Team owners have access to their game schedules, preparation for the next week's opponent and their team rosters. Basic statistics and news from around the league are also simplified and presented in a tabbed menu bar that runs along the bottom of the screen, which updates with every single week's latest info. As a result, players that aren't interested in delving into more involved features of the mode can easily navigate their way through a pre-season and regular season with minimal use of sub-menus. It's an interesting concept that works well on the PSP for all of the wannabe GM's on the go.

The Mini Camp Modes and Mini Camp Competiton are a blast. If you are new to Madden on the PSP, then I suggest you go into the Mini Camp and Mini Camp Competition Modes, as they really do help teach you how to play the game.

Graphics are fantastic on the PSP. You really can make out player faces and player names. Commentary is done by Al Michaels and John Madden, and the chemistry these two have make you think you are watching a Sunday Night Football Telecast. That is, until you realize that there are no new last names is Al Michaels' Commentary. Expect to hear plenty of "Number 90" or in case of Joseph Addai, "Number 29." The On The Field Sounds though, are, as always, fantastic, and the Music of Madden is great. I especially love the NFL Films Music.

If you just cannot wait for the NFL, and you are so much on the move that the PSP has become your primary console, Madden NFL 08 is a must have.

(XBOX) Major League Baseball 2K7

It was April 19th, My birthday. And on my birthday, I purchased the XBox version of Major League Baseball 2K7.

Pitching in MLB 2K7 is fine,the Payoff Pitching System lets you press a single button to determine both speed and accuracy works fine. Batting is also spectacular in MLB 2K7. The Swing Stick is probably about as close as you can get to swinging a bat in a videogame.

Another great thing about MLB 2K7 is the Game Sound. The game has a telvision style atmosphere, with ESPN Commentators Jon Miller calling the action and MLB Hall of Famer Joe Morgan dissecting the action. These two have worked together on ESPN for a long time and it really comes through in the videogame. They will analyze plays, tell stories, and even have in-depth commentary for rare events, like perfect games and no hitters. Before the game begins, Jeannie Zelasko (MLB on Fox Pregame Host) and Steve Physcioc (Los Angeles Angels Announcer) do an in-depth pregame show. The things these two talk about is impressive. They will analyze the starting pitchers, talk about how a respective club did last season and how they can improve, and, when you place two historic teams against each other, they will talk about the historic team and the record, and the hall of fame players. The stadium sound is great as well. Umpires emphatically call balls, strikes, and outs, and the Public Adress Announcer announces when batters are up, and makes product and game announcements.

Unlike MLB 07: The Show's soundtrack, which Totally Rocks, the Soundtrack for Major League Baseball 2K7 Absolutely Sucks! Wolfmother Nerf Herder, and Nirvana round out the "known band" part of the soundtrack. Wolfmother, Nirvana, and Nerf Herder are okay, not spectacular, but okay. It's all of the Unknown bands rounding out this soundtrack that make it bad. It's almost like MLB: 07 took all of the good artists, leaving MLB 2K7 to go with all of the Indie Rock groups.

MLB 2K7 is a good game of baeball, whether it is the Payoff Pitching, the Swing Stick, or the Franchise Mode. MLB 2K7 is a solid game of baseball, although if you have a PS2, PS3 or PSP, MLB 07: The Show is a better game.

(PSP) MLB 07: The Show

Click on the video to see a preview of MLB 07: The Show for the PSP.




On Saturday, I bought myself an ealy birthday present, MLB 07: The Show for the PlayStation Portable. I had heard very good things about the game, and I decided to check it out for myself. I put in the game and I first thing I noticed was the graphics are abseloutely amazing, particularly for the PSP. Stadiums are dead on, from historic Wrigley Field, to the new Busch Stadium in St Louis, to the monuments of the Great Yankees beyond the bullpen at Yankee Stadium. Players look like their real life counterparts, their faces and stances are dead on. Onto the actual game itself, the game has the new Pitch Command System. If you throw more strikes, it will be easier to throw that pitch. Throw balls, and it will be harder to throw that pitch accurately. It works fine for the PSP. Another new part of the game is the Umpire System, you will have three sets of umpires, one that has a tight strike zone, another with a wide strike zone (these umps are called the Pitcher's Best Friend), and an ump that will call it right down the middle. It keeps the game realistic. Another new mode in MLB 07 is "Road to the Show", which is where you make a player, and work through his ups and downs, from the majors to the minors, and hopefully, when you retire, you will have enough votes to make it to the Hall of Fame. You play the game only from your position. When you are not involved, the game fast forwards to the next time you are involved. The game's presentation is amazing, the graphics are spot on. Some game reviews have talked about a frame rate issue, but I haven't seen it my copy of the game. Also great is the sound. Matt Vasgersian handles the play by play and does a great job. Dave Campbell and Rex Hudler handle the analysis, and they also do a fine job. The commentary team as a whole has many different team and player specific nuggets, which adds to the rich presentation. I would be remiss if I did not also mention the umpires also sound great, as they will emphatically call players out and safe and call balls fair and foul. The crowd sounds great as well. As expected, they cheer the home team, boo the visiting team, and cheer for their favorite players and boo the opposing teams. I would also be remiss if I did not talk about the great Musical selection in the game. From Chevelle ("Antisaint") to Switchfoot ("Oh Gravity!") to My Chemical Romance ("This is How I Dissapear" ) to Wolfmother ("The Joker and the Thief") to Fall Out Boy ("Carpal Tunnel of Love") the game's tunes rock from the first inning to extra innings. The game has a season mode, where you can lead your favorite team to the World Series for Multiple Seasons. King of the Diamond is another fun mode in the game, and it is perfect for people who want to bat and pitch but do not want the pressure of an actual game. A batter will face a pitcher, and they will get singles, doubles, triples, or homeruns depending on where they hit the ball. When the turn of that team is over, their pitcher will face the opposing teams hitter, where he will try to prevent the opposing hitter from scoring any runs. This is another mode that is a lot of fun. For those that want to only slug the longball, yes the game does have the Home Run Derby, and the game's Home Run Derby is just as realistic as the actual derby. You have ten outs to hit as many home runs as possible. Hit enough homeruns to continue advancing through the rounds, and win in the final round, and you will be able to call yourself Home Run Derby Champion. If you want to get into a game without playing a game, the game has a manager mode, where you can choose to watch the game from the dugout, the pitcher, or the press box. You can do anything an actual manger would, from telling a pitcher to hit a batter,to calling for the intentional walk, this is a lot of fun.

In short, MLB 07: The Show is just plain fun, from King of The Diamond, to Road to the Show, to Manager Mode, to playing as the great legends like Nolan Ryan and Babe Ruth, MLB 07: The Show really is "The Perfect Game."

Score: 9/10