Off the Shelf: November 2007 Archives

When you browse the HMV shelves looking for a new Wii game to buy, current sales suggest that it's very unlikely your arm will reach for Madden 08. In fact, if Amazon's current Wii rankings are anything to go buy, it'll be 97th in your top 100 list of Wii stuff to buy. There, it rubs shoulders with Telly Addicts (which, I must admit, sounds strangely tempting) and "Controller Graphix Masks 7-Pack". Yes, people would prefer to customise their Wii Remote with some brightly coloured plastic than play American football.

All of which seems a little unfair. Madden 07 was, by all accounts, one of the best Wii games released last year, taking full advantage of the console's unique controls: a flick here, a thrust there, and before you knew it you were crossing the line screaming "Touchdown!" at an embarrassingly high volume. And Madden 08 adds a number of enticing features - including online play. Don't start imagining 22 of you hooked up to a communal game, this is strictly one-on-one stuff, but it does mean you can challenge friends, family and other Madden fans to truly test your skills. There's even a friendly "rookie only" area, so you don't have to rough it with the big boys straight away.