The obligatory new things

Skill Drill is the only new game mode available.

The new features listed on the PC game box for 2008 include such amazing breakthroughs as "New Widescreen Support" and "Players Smarter Than Ever Before". With features like these, you just know that the changes from the last year are going to be very minor. Yes, Madden 2008 is the first PC version to actually support widescreen resolutions, and I guess the AI controlling the players on the field has been polished slightly. Not to the tune of the $40 asked, but I guess EA Sports thinks that's beside the point.

The first actual difference in gameplay is that the controls for kick-offs and field goals have changed to use the analog stick of the controller instead of button presses. This reinforces the fact that the Madden series on the PC is firmly designed to be played with a dual-analog joypad such as the Xbox 360 controller or one of the PS2 pad look-a-likes from manufacturers such as Logitech. This has been true for the past few years, so it shouldn't be a shock to anyone.

While you can, in theory, play with keyboard, the sheer number of buttons and the lack of analog control makes it unfeasible. On the upside the game recognized every joypad we had on hand, and automatically assigned all the buttons, and even changed the in-game button icons to reflect the type of pad you are using - a feature worth copying for all the other developers doing pad-designed console ports on the PC.

The rest of the gameplay tweaks are limited to polished "Hit Stick 2.0" control scheme for tackles, and some new ways to tweak the play before the snap. These additions give a few new tools to rough up your opponents and add more ways to react when you recognize the play picked by your opposing team. New "special weapons" icons on players help you to recognize favorable match-ups on the field that could be exploited by tweaking the positioning pre-snap. Sadly the pre-snap controls have evolved to be so convoluted during the past couple of years that only true Madden fanatics really care about the changes at this point.

Some players have Special Weapons icons, indicating special skills.

Skill Drill - train against Robot Football Dummies!

The only new game mode on the PC is the "Skill Drills" mode, adding a new way to practice basic elements of play on the field. For some reason these drills are run against huge "robot football dummies", so practices look very silly. What's wrong with practices against normal players? Oh, and the rosters have been updated once again. In total, nothing here justifies the full-price tag if you have any of the Madden games from the past three years already.