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Madden NFL 06

Score: 96%
ESRB: Everyone
Publisher: EA Sports
Developer: EA Tiburon
Media: DVD/1
Players: 1 - 4
Genre: Sports (Football)/ Online


Graphics & Sound:

I’m probably going to get chastised for this, but here goes: Madden NFL 06 is basically Madden NFL 2005, just with a couple tweaks. Is this going to stop you from buying the latest version from the most successful football franchise? Probably not. However, let’s face the facts. Things just aren’t very different from a year ago. There are some new facets to the game (which I’ll get into later on), but there’s nothing new with the graphics. Don’t get me wrong, Madden 06 is beautiful all around. Player models are clean, stadiums are very detailed, and the animations couldn’t look more realistic. However, I think I basically said the same thing last year. And things won’t look different anymore on Xbox. I’m suspecting that will change in a few months with Xbox 360.

Once again, the biggest aural highlight for the Madden series has to be the soundtrack. 06 offers up a unique mix this year: NFL Films music with a hip hop beat. It’s definitely catchy and adds a nice flavor to the series. Besides that, the commentary of John Madden and Al Michaels sounds right on, as do the other standard sound effects within the game.


Gameplay:

So here’s what’s different. Madden NFL 2005 was the year of the defense. Madden NFL 06 is the year of the quarterback. What does that mean exactly? QB Vision and Precision Passing are the new tools designed to create realism within the passing game. Here’s how it works. Each quarterback has a different rating involving their vision. The higher the rating, the more they can see of the field. For example, Packers QB Brett Favre’s vision highlights about one-half of the field, whereas a rookie QB may only be able to lock onto one receiver, which is comparably smaller. When throwing to a receiver within the quarterback’s vision, you can pass to a certain location with the analog stick. You can lead your receiver or throw it behind him, make him jump for it or make him go low. It’s a bit tricky at first, but I found it made a world of difference when dealing with individual defenders.

The thing with the QB Vision is that you can’t lead a receiver that your quarterback can’t see. So if you throw to a receiver that’s not in his vision, the pass could be way off and end up in the hands of a defender. This is why it pays to have a QB with a higher vision rating. They could potentially see three or four receivers on a given play, whereas a lower rated QB may only be able to look at one receiver at a time.

The other new thing in Madden NFL 06 is the NFL Superstar mode. Instead of running an entire team, you control the actions of one player. First you select your parents, which help determine your status as an NFL prospect. Then you must hire an agent and take an I.Q. test which can improve or deter your draft status. After that, try to make the squad and carve your niche on the team, all in the hopes of one day becoming an NFL superstar, complete with interviews, endorsement deals, and a movie career.

But things just weren’t clean enough in the Superstar mode. When I tried out for a movie, I found a key error. To get the part, you must remember a line from the script by selecting one of four choices. In one instance, I kept getting denied for the part because I only got three of four answers right. However, I was determined to land a job in Hollywood, so I replayed the test. It turns out that there either is a typo or the wrong answer is designated as the “correct” answer, because it doesn’t match the script. It’s safe to say I got the part, but only because I was resetting and replaying the test over and over until I got four of four... even though I was right (in theory) the first time.

I was also a little disappointed with the limited way to improve my superstar. You can only improve some areas through practices. However, I was hoping for some training camp drills as well. Unfortunately, those are only available in the NFL Superstar mode via the Performance Institute, and your improvements only work on a weekly basis throughout the regular season.

Meantime, the other standard modes are all there including Franchise, Online, Play Now, and Mini Games.


Difficulty:

If you’re already used to the typical degrees of difficulty, the hardest part for Madden NFL 06 will be getting used to the QB Vision. It may be a little overwhelming at first, but nothing that can’t be overcome by watching the tutorial. Rich Eisen of the NFL Network lends a hand to get you acclimated with the new passing control system.

Of course like other settings, you can turn the QB Vision off, but then why shell out the $50 for an updated roster version of Madden NFL 2005?


Game Mechanics:

The other little tinker to the controller is the addition of the “Truck Stick,” which is the offensive version of the defense’s Hit Stick. Use this to bowl over defenders or as another way to miss them entirely. It’s a nice extra to have when you’re trying to gain a few extra yards.

Besides that, I’ve got to rave about how much faster Madden NFL 06 loads on the Xbox than it does on PS2. I knew it would be faster, but I didn’t experience any lags whatsoever on the Xbox like I did with the PS2 version. But besides that, everything else is pretty much the same.

So once again, there are new features with Madden NFL 06, but really, it almost feels like the same game from a year ago. Is this review going to sway you one way or another? Probably not. But I hope it does give you an idea of what you’re spending your money on. Either way, Madden NFL 06 is one of the best football games you can buy today... until the Xbox 360 version comes out.


-Red Dawg, GameVortex Communications
AKA Alex Redmann

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