MADDEN NFL 08
FAQ
For the Nintendo DS
By Robert Johnson (Rej72380)
Created on September 12, 2007
Modified on November 18, 2007
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1) INTRODUCTION
2) CLASSIC CONTROLS
2.1) BEFORE THE SNAP
2.2) OFFENSE
2.3) DEFENSE
2.4) SPECIAL TEAMS
3) TOUCH CONTROLS
3.1) BEFORE THE SNAP
3.2) OFFENSE
3.3) DEFENSE
3.4) SPECIAL TEAMS
4) BASIC OFFENSIVE STRATEGY
4.1) PASSING
4.2) RUSHING
5) BASIC DEFENSIVE STRATEGY
5.1) CALLING A DEFENSIVE PLAY
5.2) CALLING AUDIBLES BACK
6) BASIC SPECIAL TEAMS STRATEGY
6.1) KICKING A FIELD GOAL/P.A.T.
6.2) PUNTING THE FOOTBALL
6.3) RETURING KICKOFFS/PUNTS
7) THE MADDEN CHALLENGE AND MADDEN CARDS
8) PAPER FOOTBALL STRATEGIES
9) PLAYING MADDEN ON WFC
9.1) CONNECTING TO THE WFC
9.2) PLAYING AGAINST ANYBODY OR YOUR FRIENDS
9.3) RULES OF WIFI FOOTBALL
9.4) WFC STRATEGIES
10) COMING SOON
11) CONTACT INFORMATION
12) LEGAL INFORMATION
1) INTRODUCTION
Welcome, folks to my latest guide. The subject matter this time around is
the DS version of this year's installment of the popular
Madden football series. It will give you basic strategies on offense,
defense and special teams, as well as strategies for Paper Football,
a new mini-game exclusivly on the DS version.
As it stands now, this guide will more than likely be a
skeleton-to-partial guide, due to the operating system I'm
currently using (Windows ME) and the fact I don't have
MetaPad on my computer. Without further ado, here's the guide.
2) CLASSIC CONTROLS
These are the controls most Madden vets are familiar with the
console versions of the series.
2.1) BEFORE THE SNAP
Y, X, L or R buttons--Calls an audible
B Button--Cancel the audible
Hold L+R--View playinf field
A button--Snap the ball (Offense only)
2.2) OFFENSE
Control Pad--Run the player with the ball
Y button (While running with the ball)--Dive
L or R buttons--Juke
X button--Truck Stick
B button--Spin
A button--Sprint
X button (while doing pass play)--Bring up passing symbols
A, B, Y, L or R--Pass ball to receiver
2.3) DEFENSE
Control Pad--run the defender
B button--Select defender closest to the ball
A button--Sprint
Y button--Dive
X button--Jump/Swat ball
2.4) SPECIAL TEAMS
Control Pad (While kicking)--Move aiming arrow
A button--Press once to start a meter, a second time to control
power of the kick and a third and final time to control
accuracy.
Control Pad (while receiving kicks)--move ball carrier
X button--Call a fair catch
3) TOUCH CONTROLS
These are the controls that ultilize the touch screen of the DS.
3.1) BEFORE THE SNAP
A icon--Call an audible
Cancel Audible icon--Cancel audible
3.2) OFFENSE
Slide up with Stylus--Dive
Slide left, right or down with stylus--Juke
Slide down-left or down-rightwith stylus--Spin
Slide up-left or up-down with stylus--Truck Stick
During passing play, touch receiver to pass or slide to aim pass.
3.3) DEFENSE
Touch player--Select a defender
Slide down--Dive
Slide up--Jump/swat the ball
3.4) SPECIAL TEAMS
To kick the ball, touch the power meter once to start it up, a second time
to control power and a third and final time to control accuracy.
4) BASIC OFFENSIVE STRATEGY
The goal on offense is to get your team down the field to either
score a touchdown or kick a successful field goal. Here are some
basic strategies when you have the ball.
4.1) PASSING
A general rule of thumb when passing the ball is to pass when you
really need to. doing consecutive passing plays will cause the
opposing defense to adapt to your strategy, which in turn makes
intercepting the pass a lot more frequently than you really need
it to be.
Keep passing plays to only one consecutive play. Also, passing is best used
when it is third down and at least 7-10 yards to the first down marker.
When you're trailing by a large margin, such as 21 or 28 points, let
loose a fury of passing plays to gain leverage.
4.2) RUSHING
Rushing is usually the play type you'll be using for the entire game.
Rushing the football is good in three ways--First, when you have a
large lead, you can rush to eat up valuable time off the clock which
the opponenet desperately needs.
Second, it'll take some of the pressure off of the quarterback,
who has the toughest job in the league, by throwing opposing
defenses off kilter. And third, it lets you get at least 1 yard
per rushing play if used correctly.
Especially helpful is the rushing play "QB Sneak", which gives the
ball to the quarterback without him droping back. This is
very usfull for scoring 1-yard touchdown runs.
5) BASIC DEFENSIVE STRATEGY
The object on defense is to stop the opposing offense for
three or four consecutive downs, resulting in either
a punt return or a turn over on downs. If the right play
is used, the ball could be intercepted or a defender could
hit the ball carrier so hard it causes a fumble.
5.1) CALLING A DEFENSIVE PLAY
In this game, the opponent, both human and A.I.-controlled,
will use many different offensive plays to confuse the defense.
For this reason, it is best to call the right play.
An example of this includes a team doing a rushing play and
the defense doing a blitz, which will send all of the defenders
running towards the quarterback. Because the running back is
in the middle of the melee, he'll usually end up getting tackled
and end up losing a few yards.
5.2) CALLING AUDIBLES BACK
On some occasions, the A.I-controlled offense will call an
audible when you do a certain defensive play, such as a blitz.
Because the they're doing it throw you off guard, you have to
call an audible back. The result is usually an incomplete pass, but
not all of the time.
6) BASIC SPECIAL TEAMS STRATEGIES
Once you've scored a touchdown, you get the chance to kick a
2-yard field goal to add one more point to your score. However, if
you're on 4th down and you're at least 25 yards away from the endzone,
you can attempt to kick a 3-point field goal, but at a usually a much
longer distance than the point after.
Another key aspect to special teams is kickoffs, punts and
their returns, which usually signals the change of
possession to the other team.
6.1) KICKING A FIELD GOAL/P.A.T.
When kicking a field goal, you have to keep three factors in mind--
the power of the kick, the accuracy of the kick and the
direction of and how hard the wind is blowing.
If you're facing in front of the wind, you might want to
add more power to your kick. Likewise, if the wind is behind you,
you'll have a much easier time.
Also, there's a note about domed stadiums--Because they have a domed
roof, wind doesn't factor into your chances of kicking a field goal
or P.A.T.
Of course, if the wind is blowing in, let's say northwest, it will
affect the accuracy of the kick, regardless of how well you kick
it. In this case, you'll have to move the aiming arrow the opposite
direction of where the wind is blowing to get better accuracy of
the kick.
6.2) PUNTING THE FOOTBALL
Should you ever end up on fourth down and you're at the 10 yard line
of your side of the field, it is most wise to punt the ball. An
excellent strategy in punting is to punt the ball to the 20 yard line
or less and have it land out of bounds. The ball will be spotted on
that part of the field, which in turn will give the opponent
a severe migraine afterwards.
Unfortunatly, the same can't be said for kickoffs, as kicking it out
of bounds will result in a illegal procedure penalty, which
will place the ball on the 40 yard line of the opposing side--
given the condition that the opponent decided to accept
the penalty.
6.3) RETURNING KICKOFFS/PUNTS
This play usually signals the change of possession to
your side. How you use the returns will help you win football
games.
Let's say an opponent punts the ball to your player in the endzone.
The best strategy is to stay in the endzone ultil the referee
blows the whistle. It will down the ball and automatically
bring the ball to the 20 yard line of your side of the field.
However, should you get the punt farther than your own endzone,
it is best to run the ball until you get tackled. On rare
occasions, you could end up returning the ball for a touchdown.
7) THE MADDEN CHALLENGE AND MADDEN CARDS
Ever noticed that you earn tokens during a game? Those are tokens
that you earn to spend then on new Madden cards.
The rate in which you earn tokens depends on two key factors--
The level of the play you've just made and the difficulty level
in which you made that play.
For the Madden cards, they come in four varieties:
Player cards--Cards that boosts the attributes of the player
whose name is on that card by a certain percentage. Player cards come
in three colors--bronze (3%(, Silver (7%) and Gold (15%).
Cheat cards--These cards will change certain rules of teh game,
such as needing five yards to get a first down instead of
the usual 10 and increasing the rate of fumbles.
Cheer cards--Cards that will get the home team's crowd cheering
througout the entire game. Keep in mind this is only used for
the team whose name is on the card, on the condition that team
is the home team.
Team cards--Cards that give you information of some of
the Super Bowl-winning teams in history. Unlike the other cards,
which disappear when used, Team cards have unlimited uses.
The following is a list of resell values for cards, based on their
rarity:
Bronze Player Card--1 Token
Silver Player Card--2 Tokens
Gold Player Card--3 Tokens
Cheer card--4 Tokens
Team Card--4 Tokens
Cheat Card--5 Tokens
8) PAPER FOOTBALL STRATEGIES
New this year to the DS version is the paper football minigame.
The rules of paper football are simple--You must score points
by flicking the ball to the edge of the table to score a touchdown.
Once a touchdown is scored, the player has a chance to kick a P.A.T.
To elick the ball, you have to slide the stylus across the ball.
The faster you slide it, the farther the ball will go.
Keep in mind that a ball that is partially off the table is considered
on the edge of the table and results in a touchdown.
To kick the ball, repeatedly tap the stylus in the red box to fill up
the meter, then kick on the small cirlce to kick it
through the uprights.
The ball is turned over to the other player when you
use all four downs or the ball falls completely off the table.
The best way to master this mini game is to play against the
computer, then use what you learn against human opponents.
9) PLAYING MADDEN ON WFC ***ADDED 11/18/2007***
One of the newer features for this year's version of Madden--
at least the DS version--is the ability to play against
anybody on Nintendo's WiFi Connection (WFC). This section of
the guide will show you how to connect to the service,
two different methods of finding opponents, general rules
for online play and strategies on how to do well against
your human adversary.
9.1) CONNECTING TO THE WFC
First off, from the main menu, tap "Multiplayer". Next up,
tap on Nintendo WFC. This will give you a couple of key
options--WFC Game and WFC Setup. If you're new to online
gaming, select "WFC Setup" before going to "WFC Game".
Once you've gotten your DS set up and the connection test is
successful, tap on "WFC Game". After going through
the ESRB notice stating that "Game experience may change
during online play", tap "Yes" on the next screen, then
the A icon, the game will try connecting to the WFC.
Once it has found an connection, read the next section to
learn of your choices.
9.2) PLAYING AGAINST ANYBODY OR YOUR FRIENDS
Once you've gotten the neccessary connection, you have two
choices of finding an opponent. These are as follows:
PLAY AGAINST ANYBODY--This is the preferred choice for newer
gamers and will have the WFC search the entire database of
all DSs that are connected to the WFC with this game.
PLAY AGAINST FRIENDS--This choice is for when you want to play
against any of your buddies, given the fact that you and your
firends exchanged Friend Codes for this particular game. The WFC
will search the database and reduce it to just players who are on
your friend roster.
9.3) RULES OF WIFI FOOTBALL
As with the case of any other popular game with online
competitive multiplayer modes, for every John "Fata1ity"
Wendle, there's at least 5-7 Cory Rouses. With this in mind,
here are some rules to go by in this game:
1) What ever teams are picked, by either you or your opponent,
it will be those teams. Don't go whining that your opponent
picked the Miami Dophins as your team and the New England
Patriots as his/her team.
2) Never quit in the middle of a game, especially when you're
being trounced by at least 21 points, in the middle of the
first quater. That is a sign of cowardice and your
opponent will brand you a quitter and unofficially
credit him/herself with the win.
3) Never intentionally disconnect from the WFC in the middle
of a game. This is the same thing as quitting and will
incite the wrath of your opponent.
4) Never turn off your DS in the middle of a game. This
is the same thing as quitting and disconnecting and will
be shunned upon by the gaming community.
5) Never use any cheat devices, such as the AR. Stuff like that
could alter the atrribute of the players during WFC
gameplay and could get into trouble with the WFC administrators
at Nintendo.
6) As always, remember to abide to the terms of use (TOU),
which is located in the separate instruction manual for this
game and on Nintendo's WFC website (
http://www.NintendoWiFi.com).
9.4) WFC STRATEGIES
Remember, folks, unlike games played against the computer,
playing against human opponents is completely unpredictable.
In order to be the best, follow these strategies:
1) KNOW THY OPPONENT--To ensure you have a chance against your
opponent, take a look at his/her first offensive and defensive
series. Is he/she a running type of coach, or is he/she more
of a armchair quaterback? Remember, the best kind of Madden
player is one that equally mixes up rushing and passing plays
and tries different defensive plays to keep
the opposing offenses on their toes.
2) GO FOR IT ON 4TH DOWN--While this may seem irrational, alot of
online players go for it on fourth down, even when it is
20+ yards away from the first down marker. Conversely, run your
normal defensive plays on fourth down, based on that
type of opponent.
3) USE TIME-OUTS WISELY--Because of the fact that you're facing
an human opponent, the use of time-outs is at a
premeium here. Try using time-outs if you're down by 7 and
there's only a minute left in the fourth quarter.
10) COMING SOON
As I said earlier, this is a skeleton guide, due to the operating
system I use. When I do install Metapad, you'll see these future
features:
Player lists
Stadium lists
List of all the Madden cards.
Until some major upgrades occur, thank you for viewing my guide.
11) CONTACT INFORMATION
If you got any questions about this guide or any other of my
guides, drop me a line at the following Email address:
[email protected]
12) LEGAL INFORMATION
This document is the copyright (c) 2007 of Robert Johnson. You are
free to post this guide on your site, as long as you keep the
original author's name in your copy.
Madden NFL 08 is the trademark of Electronic Arts. The NFL, it's logo
and the teams of the league are trademarks of the National
Football League. Nintendo and DS are registered trademarks of
Nintendo of America.
This guide is not endorsed, created nor licensed by Electroic Arts,
the National Football League nor Nintendo of America.
