Football video game junkies have been anxiously waiting for this week's release of "Madden NFL 07" by Electronic Arts Inc. The annual release of this video game franchise has become an event in itself.

But is this year's supposed latest and greatest any good? After all, spending $59.99 on a new E-rated Xbox 360 version of the game is asking a lot — especially if you were burned by last year's crummy version, which lacked many of the key features found in the older consoles.

A lot of annoyances remain, and there's plenty of room for more polish and refinement. But at least the only "next-gen" console on the market finally has a decent football game.

Visually, you'll be hard-pressed to distinguish "Madden 07" from a live TV broadcast at times. From grass that eventually gets trampled into mottled splotches of dirt to the reflective shine of stadium lights on players' helmets, the graphics overall were very good, especially on a high-def television.

But there are moments of inexplicable ugliness and some unexpected performance problems, creating an overall sensation that can be sometimes jarring.

Compare, for example, the uncanny realism of players mashing it out on the field to the freakish sameness of the gyrating fans. (During some spectator close-ups, I just had to look away, they were so crudely rendered).

Perhaps the biggest shortcoming is the game's lack of fluidity. Overall, the animations tended to stutter quite a bit, as if the Xbox 360 was choking on more pixels than it could spit out on the screen.

These issues aside, anyone who's played sports video games can tell you that the graphics don't matter if the controls stink.

Fortunately, this is where "Madden 07" shines.

The controls are probably going to be a bit overwhelming to newcomers, but they become incredibly precise with practice.

New this year is a much-heralded ability to quickly switch to your lead blocker during a running play to make way for the ball carrier. Finally, players don't have to rely on sometimes stupid artificial intelligence to clear the path for them — failure or success is your call now.

Few games have the pick up and play appeal of Madden, especially with a group of friends or roommates. Not even a regular-season National Football League Sunday afternoon of real games can top the appeal of a friendly rivalry with pals on the virtual gridiron.

Despite the sometimes troubling graphical and performance issues, the overall experience, the depth and complexity offered here make "Madden 07" an odds-on winner for Xbox 360 owners.

Three stars out of four.