Three yard runs become six yard runs too often. Playing with LT or LJ is always going to help you net some yards on the ground, but you'll see such talented players stumble and sometimes even slide along the ground for a few more yards than is reasonable. But it also allows for strong backs to fall forward and gain extra yards where, in real football, they often wouldn't. In many ways, this creates a more organic and altogether more realistic version of football from what we've seen from Madden in the past. Just hold up LT for a second so Asante Samuel can speed in and lay down a hard lick. While open-field tackles by competent defenders is certainly possible, it's more likely that the first only tackler will slow down the ballcarrier. Gang tackling is also a big part of Madden 08. You can still play and mostly enjoy Madden, but beware that on PS3 the game does not run smoothly. And, let's face it, no one wants to see a runningback pause for a second in mid air as the framerate stutters. This can cause a lag in the Hit Stick sometimes. There are plenty of framerate hitches that will likely frustrate players. It makes a huge difference, as you lose a lot of the subtleties in the animations. Madden 08 runs (sometimes) at 30 frames per second.

The end result is some of the most varied tackling ever seen in a football game. Depending on a player's skill, positioning, and momentum, a large variety of animations become possible. The new branching animation system works in tandem with some new, more realistic football physics, to dictate the outcome of such contests.

Just because you see Ray Lewis wrapping his meaty arms around Shaun Alexander doesn't mean the same overused tackle animation is about to kick in. Gone are the majority of pre-canned animations. The biggest and most notable improvement this year is in the animation and tackling system.

Madden 08 pc gameplay