Madden is coming to the Wii. That alone should make football players happy. But of course, the big question is…how is the Wii-mote going to work with this game? Is this version at the same level as all the other console versions? I hope to answer some of your questions in this preview.
First of all, Madden will make full use of the Wii's unique controller and motion sensitive capabilities. What does this mean? Well, here are a few examples: Make a passing motion to pass, make a snap motion to snap the ball, lift your arms over your head to make your defender jump for an interception. Add a swap to that motion to make your defender attempt to swat the ball down. Use a similar motion before the snap to make the quarterback attempt to silence the crowd, or make a defender wave his hands in an attempt to make the crowd go wild. While running the remote controls your arms and the nunchaku controls your legs. What does this mean? Well, move the remote left or right to stiff arm in that direction, move the nunchaku in those same directions to juke.
A pass motion will actually pass!
The game will do it's best to help you out by including a video tutorial that explains the required motions for every single thing in this game. Better yet, you can access it any time, even mid game! And better than that, you can practice the motions before returning to the game! What this means is that, let's say, you forget how to kick a ball. You can access the video tutorial and watch how is done, then practice it a few times before returning to the game you where playing and executing the kick. Sounds really helpful!
Too bad there is no controller for your feet
Play calling and overall strategy have also been retooled for use with the Wii-mote. Play calling is as simple as pointing the remote at the play you want and clicking a button. The same thing will happen for in-game strategy, such as calling an audible or shifting the offensive line. You just point at the screen and press a button, which opens up a small menu with the audible plays, or the shift formations, and then you point and click at the one you want to do. Just like the mouse of your PC.
Madden 07 is shaping up to be an incredible experience for football hungry Wii owners. We will keep you updated at how it turns out en route to the Wii's launch on November 19.
