When I was a boy I used to sit with my dad in front of the TV and watch football games. He would explain the rules and tell me about the teams and the important players while I tuned him out, distracted by what looked to me like a chaotic free-for-all. I never had the slightest idea what was going on in the game and usually wasn’t even sure where the ball was.
Unsurprisingly, I care neither for football nor for most football video games. But this year I’m making an exception for Madden NFL 08 for the Wii.
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I find it much easier to focus on what’s going on in the game when I don’t have to think about which controller button lets me tackle or throw. Madden’s Wii version cuts out some of the artificiality inherent in sports video games, allowing you to play the game through physical movement. I don’t understand football, but I do understand what it means to throw a ball.
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I still don’t know what an audible is or why I would want to call one, but that doesn’t matter. Despite all that, I had a lot of fun playing the Wii version of Madden.
I don’t mean to denigrate the other versions of the Madden games. I’m simply amazed at how beautifully the game has been tailored for the more physical gameplay people expect from the Wii. Nintendo created the console to make gaming more intuitive and accessible, and Madden’s designers have embraced this concept wholly.
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If a friend invited me over to play the game, I wouldn’t hesitate to play for an hour or so. And for a football hater like me, that is high praise indeed.