Visually stunning (by handheld system standards) that it is, Madden NFL 07, the second installment in the football series for the PSP, still has its share of bugs, both new and old, minor and major; enough to make even the most die-hard football fan think twice about purchasing it.

Clearly, Madden 07 pushes the limits of the PSP--both visually and with content voluminousness--boasting almost all the same features as the console versions (excepting Owner’s mode, radio show and newspaper). Though technically it's been "downsized" to suit the PSP format, the game doesn't lose much graphically by comparison. In fact, it looks like last year's Madden for PSP, which was arguably the best looking sports game available for PSP, so a tough one to top. Still, while it only looks as characteristically gorgeous as last year's, it actually flows a little better to boot.

So as it keeps pace with its console brethren, so too does 07 suffer the same problems--then goes on to distinguish itself with a couple of unique bugs of its own.

And several key issues from last year's game are still present, annoying as ever, which is odd because the whole point of a sequel is to improve upon the predecessor. But still with the painfully long load times and the even more painful length of time it takes to simulate a season (as in: start a sim, go off and do something else, grab a bite, come back later and wait).

New glitches, meanwhile, include Quarterbacks that take delay-of-game penalty after delay-of-game penalty and passing icons on certain pass routes that will inexplicably change after the ball is snapped.

So though it looks great and packs a wallop of console-caliber features, the bogs and bugs make playing Madden 07 more frustrating than fun, because it looks like it could be so much more. It just isn't.