Madden NFL 07

Madden NFL 07 is an

• Lead Blocker Control: After selecting a running play, the player will be able to cycle through the offensive players as they get into position at the line. The player can choose the athlete to control when the ball is snapped, and the game camera will zoom in on the fullback, tackle, guard, center, tight end, or wide receiver selected. With this feature, it is now possible for the player to open up a path for a running play, as the computer controls the halfback and tries to slip through the gap created. This feature also appeals to Madden players who do not wish to use computer assistance in any way, shape, or form. This feature allows the player to manually block with their fullback, tackle, guard, center, tight end, or wide receiver and quickly switch to their halfback to manually slip through the gap created, thus eliminating any computer assistance during the gameplay.[1]
• Highlight Stick: Players can now move the right analog stick in any direction to see an animation where the smaller running backs will duck, spin, or squirt out of a tackle. It is also possible to string such evasive moves together, piecing together a juke left with a hop step backwards (down on the right analog stick for PS2 and Xbox or down on the C stick for Gamecube) to elude defenders. The Truck Stick animations still exist for the bigger backs, but also feature more variety of running moves with the addition of the Highlight Stick. For example, using the Highlight Stick with Tiki Barber, a smaller back not known for trucking, utilizes an array of moves to avoid and squirt out of tackles.
• Juking and Spinning: Players can now choose two types of both Jukes and Spins to avoid would-be tacklers. For the PS2, players can either do a cut move to the left or right using the L1 or R1 buttons respectively, or a wider juke to the left or right by flicking the Right Analog stick left or right respectively. For a quick spin to elude a tackler the player simply taps the circle button. For a stronger spin which could possibly break a tackle, simply hold down the circle button.
• FreeMotion Controls: The Wii version of Madden NFL 07, which was developed at EA Canada rather than Tiburon, features a unique control scheme that has been completely redone to complement the motion sensing capabilities of the console's Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers.^[2]

Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Wii versions

The

The soundtrack features 35 songs from various artists such as Audioslave, Rise Against, Keane, Wolfmother, Lupe Fiasco, Cord, Crime Mob, Thirty Seconds to Mars, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, and Trae tha Truth.

Reception

Critical reception

The game received "generally favorable reviews" on all platforms except the DS and Game Boy Advance versions, which received "average" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.^{[75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84]}

• The Wii version of Madden NFL 07 won GameSpot's award for Best Traditional Sports Game and for Best New Control Scheme of 2006. The reason cited for this selection, particularly in light of other versions that feature more detailed graphics and online play capability, is the Wii version's FreeMotion controls, which provided a fresh take on play mechanics that the editorial staff felt had grown stale after years of minimal year-to-year adjustments.^[91]
• It received GameSpot's Award for Best Original Game Mechanic for the FreeMotion controls used in the Wii version.^{[citation needed]}
• It was named the "Best Sporting Game of 2006" on G4's television series,
  X-Play.^[92]
• It was named the "Game with the most Game" on the
  Spike Guys' Choice Awards on June 13, 2007.^[93]
• It was named BB&B's Sports Game of the year on August 22, 2006.^[citation needed]

US sales

In December 2006, all versions of Madden NFL 07 combined sold 1.9 million units, making it the best-selling title that month in the United States.^[94] Overall in 2006, the PlayStation 2 version of Madden NFL 07 sold 2.8 million units, making it the best-selling video game that year in the US,^[94] while the Xbox 360 version sold 1.1 million units in the US.^[94] The game sold more than 7.4 million copies in the United States by August 2007^[95]

Legacy

In November 2007, Madden NFL 07 was included in