Madden '08 Gets "Weapons"

Taking a great deal of criticism (not all of it unwarranted) for Madden '07, EA Sports is adding a bunch of new features for its 2008 installment. One of them is inspired by a concept EA has used in its NBA Live series of games. Those games give players designations like Playmaker or Outside Shooter in addition to whatever individual player ratings they might have.

EA Sports is now instituting superstar archetypes into Madden, where it's arguably even more needed. Field generals like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have a completely different skill set from Michael Vick or Vince Young and this system hopes to show that accurately.

Manning, for example, will have the "Smart Quarterback" attribute. If an opponent keeps running the same defense out there, Manning will adapt and get stat bonuses that allow him to pick it apart. These weapons, of course, appear on both sides of the ball so it should be quite the chess match pitting say, a shutdown corner against a wideout with the spectacular catch ability.

Like in NBA Live, the true superstar players will fall into multiple categories. EA has revealed one player from each weapon category to get the discussion going. Remember folks, this is only a partial list and we didn't pick it, so no shooting the messenger.

Cannon Arm (Brett Favre - Packers)
Hands (Marvin Harrison - Colts)
Spectacular Catch (Chris Chambers - Dolphins)
Power Back (Larry Johnson - Chiefs)
Press Coverage (Ty Law - Chiefs)
Pass Blocker (Walter Jones - Seahawks)
Finesse Move Defensive Lineman (Dwight Freeney - Colts)
Route Running (Torry Holt - Rams)
Power Move Defensive Lineman (Albert Haynesworth - Titans)
Possession Receiver (Muhsin Muhammad - Bears)
Shutdown Corner (Champ Bailey - Broncos)
Smart Quarterback (Peyton Manning - Colts)
Stiff Arm Ball Carrier (Lawrence Maroney - Patriots)
Smart Safety (John Lynch - Broncos)
Speed (Devin Hester - Bears)
Smart Corner (Ronde Barber - Buccaneers)
Smart Linebacker (Zach Thomas - Dolphins)
Big Foot Kicker (Sebastian Janikowski - Raiders)
Accurate Kicker (Adam Vinatieri - Colts)
Elusive Back (Reggie Bush - Saints)
Big Hitter (Sean Taylor - Redskins)
Accurate Quarterback (Drew Brees - Saints)
Brick Wall Defender (Ray Lewis - Ravens)
Crushing Run Blocker (Jonathan Ogden - Ravens)

[From GWN]