 I have been playing the newest installment in the Madden franchise, 2007, and it is a lot of fun. The game was released on August 22, and I made sure to get the game as soon as it came out. Madden uses a tuned up, improved version of the NCAA 07 engine, which in turn was an update version of Madden 06 on the XBOX 360. Shaun Alexander, the 2005 MVP, and running back of the Super bowl losers, the Seattle Seahawks, is on the cover of Madden 07. Many people wait to see if the “Madden curse” will affect him. Historically, players featured on the cover of Madden games have had less than positive seasons.
The big new feature of 07 is the Lead Blocker mode, in which you take control of a lineman to block for your running back, and then switch back and control your back. One of the other new features also has to do with the running game. It’s called the highlight stick, and you use it to ovoid the defense. The bigger, more powerful backs try and power through the defense, and the smaller, faster backs evade and juke out the players. The best feature is not new, but was missing from the 360 version of Madden 06. This feature is the Superstar mode, which was added at the last minute. The main thing that makes this year's Superstar mode different is how you play on the field. If you play a receiver, you only play as the receiver, so while you make the catches, you do not call the plays or make the throws. This adds some great variety to the mode, making the gameplay different from all the others.
The game still has a few collision problems, but it is much less than it has ever been, and much less than NCAA Football 2007. Characters have fatigue, and will get tired if used a lot. Unfortunately, the characters do not sub in and out like they used to, so fumbles will happen frequently if you use one player too often. Another problem relates to a new feature, in which you unlock Hall of Fame characters by achieving things. What is bad about this is that the characters become part of the roster and can be signed in Superstar and Franchise mode, which taints the rosters for many, many years.
Wikipedia has a great wiki (or entry) for the entire Madden Franchise, as well as having one for Madden 2007.
Team Xbox has a great review of Madden 2007 for both the Xbox360 and for the original Xbox.
IGN has a great site that lists the Madden rankings of all the players on all 32 teams in the NFL.
  Wikis are the blogs of 2006. Properly supported and updated, they can be one of the best sources of information second only to a good Google search. They are great for subjects that require databases but provide a much friendlier front end than sites that simply put you in front of a search box.
Nearly two years after release, various sites still strive to be the best information source for World of Warcraft, the massive (and I do mean massive) online RPG based on Blizzard’s uber-popular Warcraft franchise.
One of the best online sites for quick one to two click information for WoW is the official WoWWiki. For anyone that has used Wikipedia (is there anyone that hasn’t?), it provides an extremely easy to use tool for just about anything WoW-worthy. Need a recipe for those Volcanic Shoulders? How about where to find sungrass? Maybe you would like a map for The Deadmines? Check WoWWiki.
One of the best features of the wiki technology is how things are hyperlinked. If you’ve used a CD-based encyclopedia, common terms are clickable and those that require their own pages will have one. For example, with quests on WoWWiki, you can search on the quest title and a page will display. Links within the page for that particular quest include information pertinent to that quest (NPCs you need to visit, locations, etc). These links take you to pages with information on those topics specifically.
Yes, the other database driven sites do this too, but wikis tend to load faster since they are simply Web pages, which means you arrive at the information faster. As information changes, the wiki pages get updated by moderators. Since the pages are visible to everyone on the planet, data can easily be validated by players so that everything is as factual as possible.
In particular, their character chart is of interest, especially if you are trying to figure out what type of class/race to play.
Another excellent area is their Burning Crusade pages, with constantly updated information on the first official expansion.
Be sure to check out our new World of Warcraft page for links to excellent WoW resources.
  Call of Duty 2 is a shooter that came out for the PC, PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube. It was recently ported to the Xbox 360, so I had to try it.
The game is based during WWII, like its predecessor. It has three campaigns, Russia, America, and Britain, all of which are quite fun. The best part, though, is the multiplayer mode. The only problem I have with multiplayer is that Xbox Live only supports 8 players, but the maps are huge, so it can get a little slow at times. I have never had problems finding people to play with, however, even late at night. If you have friends with 360s, you can link four of them together to play with up to sixteen people, which is simply awesome.
Xbox Live allows you to purchase bonus maps, which is great, but it seems a little lame that you have to purchase the maps on top of the price of Xbox Live Gold. One of the best features of playing on Xbox Live is the headset, which allows for better tactical, real-time strategies with teammates. Not surprisingly, the game also looks stunning. All in all, the game is one of the best on the 360, and a must buy for fans of the franchise, fans of WWII shooters, or fans of FPS games in general.
Visit GameFAQs.com a full walkthrough of Call of Duty for the Xbox 360
Also, Visit Gamespot for a full review of Call of Duty on both the 360, and the PC
|
