With the most recent iteration of Madden NFL Football, Tiburon and EA Sports offered their fans a third attempt at making a standout NFL game on the next generation of home consoles. With Madden NFL 06 and 07 both receiving limited critical acclaim, it had been suggested that Madden NFL 08 was the next generation Madden game that we had all been waiting for. If that is the case, why does the number of individuals online pale in comparison to earlier years? Why do rock-solid online communities that have shifted attention from current to next-gen seem to be struggling? Why, ultimately, is the next generation version of Madden NFL 08 losing the interest of gamers before the actual NFL season is even halfway over?

The first and most obvious reason would have to be the positive press the game received prior to its release. It sounds odd saying that but it's true; many gamers had already purchased an Xbox 360, a Playstation 3, or yes even a Wii and were just itching for a reason to slide a football game into the disc tray (or disk “slot” for the latter two). While Wii owners may have gotten their reason through Madden 07, 360 and PS3 owners were left with an improved product from the previous year but still, a game that could hardly be described as “fulfilling.” Madden 08, it seemed, would change that.

Gamers began committing en masse to an entirely new direction. Gone were the days where the Playstation 2 was the format on which a gamer could best feed his or her Madden hunger. Now, many anticipated a stellar next generation 08 product.

You decide to pick the game up for the Playstation 3, your buddy down the street decides to buy it for the Xbox 360. Online leagues (not EA set-up ones obviously since that's still a lacking feature) began switching over from the Playstation 2 (leaving many last generation gamers behind) and committing to a single next generation format, splitting the fanbase even further. Both in real life and online, the division had begun.

As such, this season’s Madden offering was a true milestone. Tiburon could no longer rest on its laurels with support from a fantastically large Playstation 2 user base. In years past if people weren’t pleased they could stop playing the game and no one would really notice. The percentage of Madden gamers committed to playing the PS2 version was so large that, whether it was your buddy down the street selling the title to Gamestop for dirt cheap or somebody dropping from an online league, it was never a difficult task to find someone else to play or take over a vacant coaching spot.

Need proof? In 2006, Madden NFL 07 for the Playstation 2 was named the best-selling game of the year (despite being available for less than five months) after selling 2.8 million copies. Madden’s second best-selling format? The Xbox 360, which sold less than half the amount of copies at 1.1 million. None of the other formats came close to matching those numbers. 

Now Tiburon had to please four smaller groups of individuals playing on various systems, while if they failed to do so they no longer had the mass appeal of the Playstation 2 to fall back on. In other words: If people didn’t like the game, it was going to show. Who would you play if those around you purchased the title on a different format, or if they lost interest altogether? Who was going to fill those online vacancies?

In August this year, 896,600 copies of Madden NFL 08 were sold for the Xbox 360. 643,600 were sold for the Playstation 2. 336,200 were sold for the Playstation 3. “The Great Divide” it seems, is no longer conjecture; it is a reality. However, with this divide now a reality, the only way for Tiburon to prevent interest in its title from quickly and visibly wearing off was to put out a fantastic professional football game that would make finding the title on used game racks virtually impossible. Unfortunately, just two and a half months after its release here in the US, it is clear that they failed to do so.

For a next generation game where things should be presumably bigger and better, there were initially some aesthetic shockers as well as some blatantly obvious glitches. We were presented with a game that looked as good as any before it, yet in Madden NFL 08 there is no such thing as a field goal net. Why? A better question, perhaps, is which is more distracting; watching random Playstation rendered teammates do a choreographed dance on the sideline or Brett Favre doing the moonwalk which, through a glitch in the game’s programming, puts Michael Jackson himself to shame?

There were, of course, some more obvious online game-changing glitches in the title’s design. These, however, can be avoided by finding the proper online community or friends who may not even know what a glitch is. Yet when these individuals are not available, Madden gamers are left with no other choice but to venture online and roll the dice by playing a random opponent who could very well capitalize on such programming blunders.

PS3 owners who also have a preference toward online gaming need not be reminded of the “patch debacle” where a patch which presumably would fix some of the game’s flaws actually caused their games to temporarily stop working entirely.

With all of that said, many of these issues were, are, and will be found in current generation versions of Madden. No game’s flaws, it seems, are safe from consumer exploitation. Next generation Madden NFL 08 is a game with some great perks which point toward tremendous potential for the future. The foundation of any game is the gameplay, and this is an area where Madden does shine on occasion. Animations for example have been greatly overhauled, even allowing a defender to disrupt them while they occur. The offensive line occasionally blocks with more realism and efficiency than in years past, while quarterbacks can no longer throw the ball into triple coverage with consistent success. What’s not to like about that?

Yet for all that is good in this game, does it outweigh the bad? When discussing the game’s flaws, many will point to the case of “fumblitis” that seems to have struck each and every running back. This is a non-issue on the surface, in my opinion, because if those whining about their running backs fumbling would cover up the rock when plowing through a pile (as running backs really do), they would find fumbles to be much more of a rarity. 

Others will point to the “super-human” defense which makes interceptions that should only be possible in realm of Mutant League Football seem very feasible. This is also a non-issue on the surface, and largely overblown in my opinion. I think that certain people are so used to having “money plays” or “money routes” that worked at such a high percentage for years on end while playing on the current-gen systems that they’ve forgotten that the same plays don’t always work against the same coverages in real life; nor should they in video games. Defenders will occasionally jump an out route and make the pick, even if they were burned by it earlier in the game and even if that particular throw was perfectly timed. Of course, I would be a fool not to acknowledge the amazing leaping ability you occasionally see from a linebacker intercepting a pass that should have been well over his head.

Yet ultimately it seems as though patience is the key. If you take the time to cover up the ball, you should be able to keep it off the turf; if you make appropriate reads when passing and don’t force any throws out of habit, you should be able to keep the ball out of defender’s hands. That is in theory, of course.

It is when one digs beneath the surface, however, that these two flaws and a handful of others become very serious, if not crippling issues. The biggest flaw in this game, in my opinion, goes hand in hand with one of the biggest strengths—the offensive line. This next generation version forces you to use the pocket and your blockers wisely on passing downs. It forces you to follow your blockers with patience when running the ball. Yet something that I noticed in Madden NFL 08’s first week of release and still persists to this day is the sporadically absent-minded interior of the offensive line.

There is a well-known glitch in the game which allows immediate pressure up the gut of the failing offensive line, but even when an opponent doesn’t use such underhanded tactics the pressure still remains. Who hasn’t seen a defensive tackle blow past the guard and center to sack the quarterback, almost as if there were nothing but air between the two? Who hasn’t seen two defensive tackles cross the line of scrimmage immediately after the snap, effectively stuffing the running back for a four yard loss?

Such clueless blocking occurs all too sporadically yet all too frequently as well. It has been said that in this version of Madden when it rains it truly does pour. When something goes wrong, everything starts to go wrong. I tend to agree, and it all goes back to the frustratingly random disappearance of the interior offensive line.

Remember my ultimate solution that is “patience?" Patience, by obligation, goes out the window when this begins to happen. If the defensive line is getting instant pressure on rush plays, a player is either sacked before the hand-off or stuffed for a loss. The natural reaction is to hit the speed burst to get away from the pressure, meaning the ball is exposed and more likely to be fumbled than if it were covered up. If the defensive line is getting instant pressure on pass plays (and the player doesn’t have Vince Young who can get away from it), the QB either has to take a sack or make a quick read.

But unfortunately even making a quick read isn't that easy because, such pressure frequently comes without the assist of a blitz. If an individual is making a quick read under duress against a non-blitzing defense the player will rush throws, he or she will throw into coverage, and with the aforementioned patience ceasing to exist, the Madden player will throw interceptions to the incredibly improved defensive AI.

Fumbles and interceptions begin to occur in excess and neither can be avoided when the offensive line takes plays off. 

What’s worse, it inevitably impacts every game for one team or the other. What that means is that a near impossible task presents itself to one team or both teams: running a balanced and efficient offense. If you're on the "bad side" of this problem you’re obviously going to struggle; if you're on the "good side" the odds are that you're going to get interceptions and maybe even defensive touchdowns, but you'll probably find yourself with a big lead. That being the case, you're not going to air the ball out; you're going to pound it.

Think about it. How many times have you played a game of “next generation” Madden 08 and honestly thought, "that was a good offensive series,” either by yourself or by your opponent? How about a great offensive series not set up in a short field by a turnover? I’m talking about a drive that starts with an average kickoff return and ends about twelve plays later with a near even mix of the run and the pass. It happens of course, and when it does it can be a thing of beauty. But such offensive series are an extreme rarity and ultimately all because of the Jekyll and Hyde blocking of the offensive line.

No matter how flawed the game may be, it is the NFL video game and unfortunately, it is our only option. What can Tiburon do then to make this game more complete and give it more longevity? 

For starters, bring back the field goal nets. Once again it sounds weird to say but the little pieces of realism sometimes go the longest way in terms of keeping people immersed in the experience.

Second, I have little insight into the business world so this comment may be ill-advised, but how about some quality assurance? I understand that no game will ever be glitch-free, but at least eliminate the obvious flaws. And of course, should some flaws surface and it is determined that a patch is necessary; the patch’s presence not prohibiting the game from loading would be a definitive plus.

Also, make equal games for equal formats. There is no reason for a game to be running better on inferior technology, as is the case with Madden 08 on the Xbox 360 in comparison to the game on the Playstation 3.

How about an online franchise mode? If I want to trade Brian Westbrook for some help at wide receiver in an online league, why shouldn’t I be able to do so?

There is an ESPN license printed on the cover of the game. Why, then, is it so sparingly used? Why not provide us with some ESPN-licensed commentary? How about REAL pre and post game shows, along with halftime shows? Most importantly perhaps, the “Superbowl Victory Celebration” continues to be a serious Achilles heel for franchise mode. There needs to be more atmosphere surrounding that game.

Lastly but certainly not least, fix the offensive line! The fact that it may only falter a few times a game means nothing to me. It is true what they say: the game of football is won and lost in the trenches. While defensive linemen do get instant penetration on occasion in the real NFL, allowing such things to take place in a video game (on a somewhat consistent basis) truly blurs the line between realism and fun.

Indeed, what we have in Madden NFL 08 for next generation consoles is a game that shows tremendous potential for the future, but is sorely hobbled by some very serious flaws in the present. As time moves forth and more and more people pack away their old Playstation 2 consoles, next generation versions of Madden are going to get a sales boost almost by default. Yet if Tiburon and EA Sports truly want to enhance their product and keep it in the limelight until its successor debuts, and if they really want to conquer “The Great Divide,” they better be working hard to fix all that is broken as well as improving that which is not.