NFL Extras Electronic Arts Madden NFL 2006 Reviews

• I suspected this...

  
  By AINWD4W4NMO4Q on 2005-08-09
  I'm disappointed to say that I'm not surprised. As soon as EA signs an exclusive license deal with the NFL, they get lazy in their product. Sure, the new quarterback feature adds another level of realism, but it was poorly implemented and needs a lot of work to bring it to where it should be.
  
  Pros:
  - The new quarterbacking system (thankfully it can be turned off) is a pretty cool idea. Gone are the days when you can simply drop your quarterback 10+ yards behind the line of scrimmage and heave bombs to receivers you can't even see. Defenders will now read your line of sight, allowing you to 'look off' a defender, or throw easy interceptions because you telegraphed your pass by not looking to other receivers. I think this will be really cool when some of the bugs are worked out. It's just clunky and you have far too many controller operations to pull off in a short amount of time. Expect to be sacked 5 fold until you get comfortable with it.
  
  - The Superstar mode. The ability to create a player, follow and shape his career. Hire and fire your agent , determine your player's genetic makeup, score a part in a movie.
  
  - That's it...that's all that new in this freakin' game.
  
  Cons:
  
  This is where it get's fun...
  
  - Absolutely no change in presentation. The game looks and plays (other than the quarterback mode, which thanfully can be disabled) exactly as 2005. The only changes seem to be updated rosters and player ratings. A huge disappointment considering they have exclusive rights to the ESPN presentation formerly held by NFL2K. The commentary even seems to be identical.
  
  - Superstar mode kind of sucks. Decisions you make seem to have little or no impact to your players ratings. There just seems to be no logic in how different choices (and outcomes) affect your player. This mode, while cool in theory, really was not played out well.
  
  - In the quarterback mode, if you throw a pass to a receiver not in your line of sight, you'll throw the most ridiculous 'dead duck' that you'll ever see. These guys are NFL quarterbacks...I've see children that can throw a tighter spiral.
  
  - The online mode has a painful registration process. You basically have to pay $2 to keep ESPN from spamming your email. Infuriating.
  
  Bottom Line:
  
  Not only did EA get lazy as a result of the lack of competition in NFL video games (lack, how about none), but they bumped the price of the games back up to $50. Save yourself the money and rent first. I'll stick with 2005...
  
  

• Originally gave it a 3 - after further review, it's 4 stars

  
  By A2TOX3E4WZ8BSQ on 2005-08-10
  My initial reaction to this year's edition of Madden was 3 stars and highly critical. Now, after playing it for four days, I must say I was wrong. Here is my updated review. There still are some issues I have with it, but some of the original gripes have turned into positive points for the game and the game play itself. On the surface, the game may look like it hasn't changed, but what may seem like subtle "tweaks" have turned this into a much better football game than I initially thought. I blame EA on this one because a lot of this stuff is not spelled out clearly in the manuals nor in the on-line tutorials. I think this leads people to believe that the game hasn't changed much, but under the hood, it really has. Please read on to see how.
  
  First off, the commentary is about the same and at times, does NOT flow well. Voice inflections with Michaels are REALLY bad. He starts off sounding really excited when he says "We're here at the (insert field name) where" and then when he states the team name (such as the AFC South Champion Colts), his excitement drops and even when he's finished saying the team name, he sounds as if he wants to say something else but doesn't. Madden's commentary is exactly the same from last year. Not much new here and just as boring as ever. I've turned off the commentary because it's just not fun to listen to.
  
  Now, lets get to the good stuff. First off is QB Vision. At first, it may not seem that great. In fact, if you play against an on-line opponent, it could tip them off to which receiver you're eyeing if you stay focused on your primary receiver. You can make it so the cone just focuses out in front of you before the snap and doesn't tip your hand. With practice (go to the mini-camps and such), you can make it work and it actually adds realism to the game. At first, I didn't like it, but after much playing and practice, I've found that this actually can help improve your gaming experience and it makes you feel like a real QB, having to check off receivers. Moving the cone can be done with a combination of buttons presses (switching from one receiver to another, just like it used to be many years ago) or use the right stick to scan your field (the better option but takes practice). Don't throw to a receiver that is not in the cone (unless they're in the flats or running short slants) because you'll throw the most lame-duck pass you have ever seen. Fortunately, for Rookie and Pro mode, throwing outside of the cone is just like it was last year and you won't make the lame-duck passes and it provides an excellent playground for practicing with the cone vision. However, once you get to All-Pro and Madden level, you MUST use the cone. Still, don't write this off so quickly like I did.
  
  Next is the "precision passing". At first, I thought this was just like leading your receiver. It is in some respects, but with some excellent improvements. You can throw the pass low, making the receiver having to scoop up the pass (and you'll see him actually do this). You can throw high (which works great over the middle) and this stops the problem from last year where the D-line would swat the ball down. You can throw to the right, left, up-and-right, up-and-left, down-and-right, and down-and-left as well.
  
  Another new feature is the offensive blocking scheme shift. You can audible and make your o-line block in a spread formation, compress itself tighter, block to the left or right.
  
  The "truck stick" is nice, in addition to juking or spinning. Just don't abuse it or you'll end up fumbling. I find that hitting it once per play is enough and it's very satisfying when you see the RB throw the defender on his rear end.
  
  Another nice feature is the having ability to tell your receiver to extend his route on 3rd and long if his initial route won't make it to the first down marker. Just hit Y, select your receiver and then pull the right analog stick down. He'll alter his route to make it just past the first down marker. This also works in the reverse situation. If you are third and short and you discover a serious mismatch on a receiver running a 10-yard route, you can again hit Y, select the receiver and pull the right stick down. He will shorten his route to the first down marker. A really nice plus to all of this is you can do this to more than one receiver as long as it's not a half back route or an option route. It even works with playmaker adjusted routes.
  
  Defense has some new things as well. Scrolling through your defenders is easier now. No longer do you have to cycle through with the buttons. Instead, press the A or B button and then move the stick in the direction you want to move. For example, if you highlight a player on the D line, press A or B button and then up on the D-pad or left analog and you'll now be in the linebackers. Do it again, you'll have the safeties. The same goes with moving the stick left or right. What could have taken six clicks now takes one button press and one or two analog stick pushes. Nice touch.
  
  There are also individual assignments, which allow you to view the assignment of one player without tipping off the opponent to what the other defenders are doing.
  
  Playmaker Zones have some new additional coverages. You can move the stick once to select one type of coverage for a highlighted player. If you do the same move again, you'll select a different coverage. For example, if you highlight your DE and then press right on the analog stick, he'll go into flat coverage. If you press right again, his coverage changes from flat to hook coverage.
  
  You can also do zone shading for the safeties so they can play certain routes better. Your safeties can play wide or tight, depending on what you think the offense will do. Your corners can also shade the receivers as well.
  
  With linebackers, you have the option of putting any linebacker or defensive back into man coverage as well. Just press the coverage audible button (Y), press the receiver you want to cover and then right on the D-pad or left analog stick. This changes the defender into man coverage.
  
  The option to adjust to a run or pass after the snap is back. This premiered in Madden '04 but took a hiatus in Madden '05. If you set up a defense and then after the snap, you know that the offense is running or passing, you can immediately press down (for the run) or up (for the pass) to shift your defense into a better position to stop the play. Kudos to EA for bringing this back.
  
  Franchise mode is great as usual. But, there are a few new tweaks that are very nice. When you are ready to play a team, you can actually get an overview of each key player on the team. This way, you can see how their defense and offense stack up against yours. Rather than having to go to the opposing team's roster, you can go to your PDA and view the information in the game plan section. This includes just about every player on their roster that is scheduled to play, including the kickers! It gives you their strengths and weaknesses and can identify key match ups between your team and the opponent.
  
  Another nice addition is you can rep through key plays against the opposing team's defensive plays. You still practice against your teammates, but they will set up in the defensive schemes that are considered to be key for the opposing team you will face that weekend. The more reps you do against that play, the more points you get which will help you play better in the upcoming game.
  
  I've noticed that with on-line, there are a LOT of false start penalties when you try the no-huddle. I believe this could be due to the new "fair-play" rule that states if you do the no-huddle too much or out of place where a team normally wouldn't, then it can result in false starts. Well, I was playing a game, getting waxed 14-0 with no time outs left. It was near the end of the game (3 minutes to go) and I was marching down the field. When I finally picked a play that had definite mismatches with the D, I immediately attempted to no huddle. I wanted to hot-route someone so I hit the Y button and I got whistled for a false start. 1st and 15 for my team. I then chose another play, again resulted in a first down and then no huddled again. Again, false start. Just way too many of these and I was using it in a situation that most teams would use it in. Even my opponent had it happen to him a lot when he tried the no-huddle, although he was doing it when he had the ball near the end of the game and was winning 21-0. It just seems it wasn't taking into account that I was trying to score quickly to hopefully tie the game up.
  
  Sound wise, nothing spectacular. They boast THX 5.1 surround, but it didn't seem to make much difference on my system. ESPN NFL, ESPN MLB 2k5 and even MVP 2k5 sound better than Madden '06 does. Still, it sounds a little crisper than Madden '05, but again, I didn't really notice it much. NCAA Football '06 has the best sound between the two of them.
  
  Graphically, there are no boosts here except with new animations. The players still look like they're on steroids. The RCA Dome in Madden 06 shows astro turf when in reality they've replaced it with the new fake grass! Even the local newspaper in Franchise Mode notes this change! Still, this isn't a game breaker, but it would have been nice to at least have some updated graphics.
  
  The DNA stuff takes a long time to set up, and even then, don't sim anything, otherwise you lose out on choosing various options that may come up in your players career that can affect the rest of his life. This appears to be more of a marketing ploy more than trying to "spruce up" the game. It's not that bad, but I'm not sure if it was necessarily needed.
  
  I have to admit, my initial review might have been a rush to judgment type of review. After playing for about four days, my opinion has changed. Sure, it would be nice to have it present itself like ESPN NFL 2k5 did, but in this case, the game play has improved drastically. On the surface, it may not seem that way, but you have to really give it a chance. If you're still not sure, rent the game, but you MUST play to it's fullest to really appreciate the "tweaks". They may seem like they are minor, but they really have improved this game to overtake last years edition by a long shot. A nice send off for the final edition of Madden for the Xbox.
  
  Now, if I could only change my original rating from 3 to 4 stars in this review.
  
  

• Whatever happened to TECMO BOWL?

  
  By ATR72FW8LEZV1 on 2005-08-15
  When I found out last year that EA Games had bought exclusive license with the NFL, eliminating their competition from the NFL2K series from Sega, I was upset.
  
  I mean, what a cheap shot! Rather than go all out and spend the money and energy to make the game better than the competition, they basically eliminated the competition by being the only choice for the gaming public. Thanks a lot, EA.
  
  My opinion is that NFL2K5 was better than Madden 2005, at least for the PS2. Superior in graphics, game play and price (at only $19.99). Sega finally did good and seemed to correct a lot of what people disliked about previous versions of NFL2K. I'm sure they would have only improved with the 2006 version, but EA knew that they had to do something drastic before the 2006 rolled around. And they did.
  
  Anyway, on to the game. I have to say I was relieved that EA didn't just sit on their butt and allow the series to swirl down the drain. The graphics are at least better than last years version.
  
  The passing game is probably the most drastic change. Now, to add to the realism, your QB's passing accuracy is affected by his vision. Your QB has more or less a "headlight" which shows which direction you're looking. This may improve the accuracy of the pass, and add to the realism, but if you're playing head to head, it would seem that you're basically telling your opponent "here's where the ball is going". You can switch your vision to another player fairly easily, and the better your QB (compare Brett Favre to Charlie Batch) the better your vision. This is a nice touch and does add to the realism.
  
  Another new feature is the create-a-player which goes so far as to actually have you choose the PARENTS of your player! It's a nice touch, and my brother said it's fun (I haven't tried it yet), what are they saying here? Good genes equal a good player? That might be true in some instances, but what is this teaching here, that if your dad isn't a neurologist and your mom isn't a chemical engineer (if in reality your dad works at the local movie theater and your mom is a waitress), you're not going to turn out to be a good athlete? Give me a break. Half of the NFL have sob stories about their upbringing, and spent most of their time in jail. So if Madden is going to add extra realism to their games, why not add a parole officer or the occasional drug test?
  
  The background music continues to suck. I am so tired of rap and alt-rock music in the Madden games! You want big name artists to participate, fine, get AC/DC for "Back In Black" or some good old rock tunes that you might hear at an actual game. You're telling me you're going to hear crap like "Chamillionaire" or "Memphis Bleak" at a real game?? Maybe in the player's cars when they drive off, but not during the game! It couldn't possibly cost that much different to get decent music. One nice thing about the NFL2K series is they had their own original background music, no famous artists.
  
  Tecmo Bowl for the NES and even SNES was a classic. Cheesy music, poor graphics, but FUN!! If Madden kept the god-awful music and extra junk hogging up memory like the previews to other games, tutorials...etc..., nobody would ever complain about there not being any competition.
  
  If you want the most up-to-date version with current rosters, this is the game to get. It's either that or continue to play last years versions and make a bunch of trades or pretend it's last year! Thanks EA for the big menu out there!
  
  

• A decent game of football, but you might want to rent first...

  
  By ABAZFH25304ZG on 2005-09-26
  Playing Madden in the palm of your hand is a nice feeling, but if you're like me, it doesn't feel totally right. The controller setup for the PSP simply does not fare well with Madden PSP, or probably with any football game for that matter that would ever come out. The lack of a true analog stick hurts the control as football requires precision. But for what we get, it gets the job done. Due to the lack of buttons, they did away with the hit stick and truck stick on both offense and defense. There is also no longer any "play maker control" for your defense as you can't change their direction before the play. The the rest seems to be there, spin, head down, sprint, dive, etc.
  
  The game suffers from a plethora of "stuttering" throughout the game and it took me nearly 5 minutes to simulate through the "pre-season" games on the franchise mode. Simming games should take maybe a minute, but 5 minutes? At the beginning of a matchup, you'll think the game is crashed, but it's actually still loading, well after it's done loading. The game seems to hicup between different transitions of the game. For example, when my defender intercepted a pass, about a "2" second delay initiated, it somewhat takes the flow away from the game, and it happens more than it should. It also occurs on dropped passes, fumbles, turnovers, sacks, etc. It should have been fixed before leaving the doors of E.A., but they wanted their money fast. When it's not stuttering, it seems to play basically pretty smooth. It looks better than a PSOne game and probably not as good as PS2 title. It's somewhat in between, but the player models actually look very good. The passing game is pretty smooth and the running game works well too. But once again that controller might give you fits, especially on defense. I just can't used to the control scheme.
  
  The sound is pretty basic and the crowd noise is actually quite bad and reminded me of the old days of cartridge football. Fan reaction is basically non-existent as they don't seem to react after a big play or touchdown, E.A. defintely skimpped here. Al Michaels and John Madden say their still infamous, allbeit annoying commentary.
  
  As a whole, it still plays and feels like Madden in the palm of your hand, and fans of the series will like the ability to take this on the road. I actually liked playing the coach mode through a franchise that lets you choose the plays, line formations and let the computer make the play itself. It's kind of like being a coach, and I had fun with it.
  
  The controls are not feeling right at home with me though and most will want to stick with the console version. Some will divulge into the "Franchise" and mini-camp modes to keep themselves entertained, but me, I'm stickin with my console to get my Madden fix, at least this year anyway. I give it a 3, out of out 5.
  
  

• No better than 2005!!!!!

  
  By AJEOODML4ORI7 on 2005-08-09
  Basically the game play and graphics are equivalent to 2005. The quarterback vision mode is terrible. Who has time to hit ten buttons when the blitz is on????? The rosters, playbook, and additional defensive/offensive controls are cool. I really expected a lot more. At least better graphics would have been nice. Overall, very disappointed...
  
  
• Always fun but nothing new
  By A1OCE8X71PLVC on 2005-08-22
  If you liked Madden 2005 then you will enjoy Madden 2006 although the changes are minimal. The one large change is the QB vision and precision passing. I find the precision passing to be a very good idea but the QB vision is rather redundant and unnecessary. You (the gamer) in a sense already have QB vision rating. If you have good awareness then you can see the whole field and make good passes. On the other hand, if you are not very aware of WR routes, the opposing defense and the field in general then you tend to focus on one WR and your game is limited. If you blindly throw a ball then it will likely be incomplete or get picked. So YOU ultimately determine the overall QB awareness....so why be redundant by adding QB Vision? I understand that the vision of the QB is based on the QB you choose to use (Brady's cone is larger than Vick's for example). But the attribute ratings (accuracy, strength, durability....) that Madden assigns to QB's is plentiful and accurate. That should be enough since the QB vision is inherently up to the gamer just by the nature of playing the game. It is overkill to add the QB vision of each individual QB and far too subjective on the part of EA Sports. Too many buttons to press and too little time especially if you play All-Madden setting. The passing game becomes an annoyance rather than an enjoyment.
  
  So in summary the player (yourself) has a certain QB vision rating. There is no need to add this to the game since it just makes things more convoluted. The first thing I did was turn off QB vision. Other than that Madden 2006 is the same as Madden 2005 except for a few minimal changes. It is fun but nothing that is groundbreaking.
  
  
• No need to invest in improving the game anymore, right EA?
  By A2ETXQ7N4C38G on 2005-08-10
  NFL2K5 was better than Madden 05 and, sadly, it is even better than Madden 06. This is the first version in over a decade that I won't buy. I rented it and feel like that was a waste.
  
  
  
• What a Disappointment
  By AR5L2JEXAI0CD on 2005-08-09
  Wow, this game is really a major disappointment. I can't say I'm surprised, however. Basically, nothing has been updated. Graphics, presentation, tackle animations, etc-- all the same. The QB vision cone thing is stupid. It just allows you to be sacked more often and if you run a draw play or a delayed handoff it is painfully obvious to the defense. Plus, lets say you are watching a receiver run his route and then out of the corner of your eye you see you TE break open over the midle. Well, by the time you swing your vision cone over it will be too late to make the play. Also, the "truck stick" slows down the RB so much that even if he breaks the tackle, the entire defense will be on his back. Superstar mode is bizarre. Random, pointless things happen that are not at all influenced by your actions. Then, you receive emails and voicemails that have nothing to do with what you've been doing. What a waste. Of course EA would release a big crapola as soon as they get exclusive license.
  
  
• Highly disappointing
  By A2C04SSWL1QL9K on 2005-08-10
  It's 2005 repackaged, the new features like QB vision actually make it harder without adding anything to the game, and the Superstar mode is entirely random.
  
  Add in that the price soared back to $50, and the only reason this is selling is that it's the only NFL game with updated rosters (exclusive license).
  
  
• Give me my ESPN 2K6!
  By A1WIZ78S4T2AP2 on 2005-08-12
  I know that I may be a little biased from playing Visual Concepts' 2K version for several years, but when it came to playing a football game or not, I had to pick up Madden. I was never a favorite of Madden, and I still am not. I will be looking forward to the year that EA's contract runs out with the NFL and hopefully the 2K series can come back.
  
  Madden's main weakness is in its commentary. In 2K5, the two announcers would talk for at least five or more seconds with usually a funny line at the end. Madden is his usual dry self and here are some examples of his quotes: "If you throw it there, he'll catch it." "You'd better kick it here!" "This is a good special teams play." Madden and Al Michaels rarely speak in context, and there are no funny sayings at all. Their dialogue is very choppy with little flow. Being a guy, if you incorporate humor into a football game, what more could you possibly need? The game's franchise is also weaker than 2K5's. The radio show the game has is nice, but not very common sense. It took my team eleven straight wins for the radio show to mention them. We all know that the media would jump on an undefeated streak after the third game or so. The off-season work you do is a little more complicated, both visually and work-wise. While this may be great for fantasy football enthusiast, it is not for the average fan.
  
  Their gameplay is better than 2K5, with very smooth running and no glitches. Their "new" Precision Passing ability (2K5 offered it as an option called Maximum Passing, you had to activate it in a pre-game menu) is nice, if you're good at picking apart a defense, you can do it here. Their Superstar mode is fun at first, but it's virtually the same as a franchise mode. The movie and promotion deals you get really do nothing for you. You're better off creating yourself and friends and putting all of it into the franchise rather than starting a Superstar. Graphics are also weak. One little thing I always liked was when you would create a player; you'd see your name and number in the actual font of your team. While the number stays, the name is very generic on the back of the uniform, and just doesn't feel right. Also, the only unique faces of the people in the game are the coaches.
  
  So, if you're a die-hard 2K5 fan, you just might be better off continuing your franchise to oblivion. It looks like EA spent useless millions for the NFL registry. Madden fans will always continue to buy Madden, but 2K5 fans should be happy to know that their game is still better than Madden's 2006 version. And what does that tell you?
  
  
  
• More bugs in a day than in all other games for a year
  By A2GWRHSC35QW63 on 2005-10-13
  Essentially, that's the review. I have eight other games and only one of them has ever crashed the system on me. Madden does it regularly. Now I can cope with the annoying bugs mentioned all over the place, and the slow load times, and frequent pauses, becasue when it works, it's great.
  
  But when OUT-OF-THE-BOX, it comes up with a "load failure" message and then proceeds to crash on the second franchise game of the season every time, killing the system, this game becomes my first ever 1-star rating.
  
  Well done, EA. This sets a new low for production quality.
  
  
• Going LONG in Madden 2006: The Ultimate Game of the Year!!!
  By A12DLJESJKM1OQ on 2005-08-08
  After playing the game from a friend of mines at the EA Sports studio, I must admit that this is one of the best football game ever made in history. The changes of the game from Madden 2005 to Madden 2006 has significantly improved; however, the changes are not that extensive. The only thing new in Madden 2006 are the improvement in hand, new roster, new and better music, improved graphics, better gameplan and playbook, more action on offense and defense, formation specific audibles, better tackles, import players from NCAA Football and NFL STREET 2 player into NFL Superstar Mode, brand new Superstar Mode single player game, and the biggest new thing is the 'QB vision' - which allows the player to have better awareness and vision to pass the ball. Basically, go get this game because you will enjoy playing this game with your friends, families, or colleagues. Would definitely recommend!!! Overall, 9.5/10 = A!!!
  
  
• I just want to know one thing
  By AG2ZRFW9E48VG on 2005-08-12
  Where are the cheerleaders????? NFL2K had an overabundace of them. No where to be found in Madden!!!
  
  As far as this game goes. NFL2K5 at $19.99 and now probably half price, is still the game to get.
  
  The graphics on this game is a joke. It looks like you are playing on a PS One. The player models (not the close up's) look like they were built on the same person. There is absolutely no distinction of a QB to a DT besides the numbers.
  
  Also, I forgot how annoying Madden is listening to him constantly chatter throughout the game.
  
  Gameplay is the same as the last version I got, which was back in 99.
  
  *Update*
  Since having it for about a month now. Here are the things that really irritate me. Besides not having any cheerleaders (I guess EA is a bit on the heterophobic side, since the fans in the game stands are also all male based).
  
  - On some plays when you are on offense and hike the ball. The camera will all of a sudden pan out. This is especially irritating when you are trying to run through the gaps and it pans out. You end up losing yards or get tackled instantly.
  Whoever thought of this brilliant Francis Ford Coppola style shooting. It DOESNT WORK in video games!
  
  - CPU defense on run plays. Are they on Balco because my linemen dont move nearly as fast as they do trying to get to the runningback. It's like they are on hyperspeed while my Pro Bowl linemen look like they have 40lb ankle weights trying to catch the opposing running backs.
  
  - Passing and buttons. Why is it when I'm about to get sacked and I press a button to a specific receiver. Nothing happens??? My receivers also dont run the proper route either. I am lucky to get 50% of my passes completed even the simplest routes.
  
  - Helmet straps. Do the players not straps to hold their helmet in place? I mean, c'mon. How many football games do you see on tv where a defender hits an offensive player and knocks their helmet off? I get about 1 helmet knocked off per game. That is just dumb.
  
  I'm done ranting. I'm just glad that EA didnt buy out David Stern and the NBA license. That would have really sent me over the edge if NBA2K6 was RIP'd, which by the way is still be $10 cheaper than that other god awful NBA Live series, but that's another review I thankfully will not have to write and to which, you will not have to read.
  
  
• Many glitches
  By A1YCK9VVFC0RBC on 2005-09-02
  Madden 2006 seemed promising. It has the new QB passing feature which is something I think could have been a great concept to have greater control over the action. You can select who to throw the ball to in addition to throwing a low, high, throw to the right OR left side of the receiver. The gameplay of Madden 2006 seems decent enough and the graphics on the XBox are greatly improved over previous years (2004 and before). Yet so many glitches and shortcomings remain. The commentary is as bland as ever (especially Madden's decade old lines). Also is the lack of overall realism on the field, no sideline detail or annimations, no stadium detail or realism, no cheerleaders, very little of anything other then whats on the field. PLUS, the sound affects on the field are awful. There is one generic sound for hits, collissions, etc and it's terrible. There is no halftime show, no after the game show, no on field commentary, there is nothing other then the gameplay itself. When you break it all down, this is a very boring game with poor presentation. This series has been out so long, that they put less and less thought and work into it as they go along. A TRUE football sim would be a thousand miles above this (much in the direction EA Sports was going in with their football francise). If they would really put some hard effort into this game (like Grand Theft Auto does for example) into their francise, it would be worth buying. A popular game series like this is suppose to be fun and exciting and for Madden fans, it's become "what we have to settle for". From 1998-2003, I looked forward every year to what Madden would hold next for their football series. Even back when the technology wasnt that great, they kept pushing the boundries for new features, animation, graphics, etc. But now for years, they dont provide anything new or interesting. I hope SOMEONE will come along and challenge EA Sports with a better football sim. Too bad ESPN is out of it now, EA Sports has a monopoly to produce BAD FOOTBALL GAMES and depend on the faithful who will buy it every year no matter what. Sad state of affairs!
  
  
• Madden for PSP is terrible
  By A2M5LM3L9J56P8 on 2005-09-29
  Everyone has reviewed this game expressing the shut-down bug. I will attest to it as well. It's terrible. I have already returned the game. My local store bent their rules and accepted the game back for a refund. Lucky for me or I would have been stuck with a terrible game.
  
  The potential for this game was great it just failed to deliver. I would consider picking it up again if the bug is fixed. Madden for PS2 this year is terrific. It's unfortunate EA took advantage of me by shipping a game full of bugs. I will think twice before I spend money on another EA product.
  
  I must add that EA's customer service is horrendous. The tech support department responded to my emails with suggestions like "try power cycling your PSP" and "try it out in another PSP and see if that still happens." Not to mention it's very difficult to find a number to call and once you find a number to call don't be surprised if the point the blame at Sony. That is what they did with my call. Lucky for Sony I am smart enough to realize that this problem is with the EA game and not the Sony PSP device.
  
  
• Theres Nothing New In It?????
  By A2XLYYVLHE3LKW on 2005-08-09
  what happened to madden these days its getting worse and worse. Basicly its the same as 2005, 2005 was way better, thats what i think but madden 2006 sucks, sound sucks and why do we have to use the light its hard trying to throw a ball and look at a open guy and to top that down everytime when i do it i get tacked/sacked i think people might be mad at that i know i'am. The gameplay sucks no new mini game basicly. Theres a mode that is good when you get to play games and get better and your name will be big and at the end youll get to be a super star and you get movie parts i think thats cool. Really thats the only thing good about it. Graphics are getting worse but still good. Like i said sound does suck kind of but the music is hot, with the game, get smashed, spider Loc, and more.... all songs are good. Value of this game isnt worth it, I think it should be 39$ shouldnt be 49.99$ since madden 05 is 30 and 06 is the same? so if you a madden fan i think you will be dissapointed a little but its showing that EA has no brains!!! at all why make the same as 2005? i do recommend it to beginners of madden that nevered played it before!
  
  sound 7/10 music is awsome
  gameplay 5/10 its the same as 2005
  value like 6/10 i said its the same as 05 and its cheaper so get that one its better
  controls 6.5/10 i dont know why they made the light?? its hard to see a person open and not be sacked!
  extra 5.5/10 bearly no mini games
  
  overall 6.2/10 a big gap from other maddens
  
  
• Same game as last year with a couple useless tweaks
  By A3PN7WXJQ64IL0 on 2005-08-10
  I not only agree with the others that if you bought this game last year, you will buy the same game again (for 50 dollars).
  
  Better sound.... Well, ok I guess...
  
  No better graphics.
  
  New game enhancements: You will quickly try to find a way of turning off quarterback "tunnel vision mode".
  Nothing else to say here.
  
  Commentary: I have memorized all the lines used over and over again from last year, and I have not found anything new added this year. And still commentary is sometimes out of place to what is really going on in the game.
  
  DNA creation of a superplayer: Well, this is a nice line of thought, but it is not created well enough yet in this year's version to make it very interesting. A pretty good idea for future games though.
  
  What ever happened to create your own plays from scratch? Why was this never integrated into franchise mode where it would be most effective? Makes no sense to me. A great idea used poorly and then trashed... Sad.
  
  Otherwise, if you bought this game, you bought last years game and payed about 40 dollars too much.
  
  Conclusion: just rent the game if you want for 5 bucks like I did, and then decide if it is worth paying alot of money for the new game and new enhancements. Unless you like to waste your money, you probably won't. Keep your old game.
  
  
• Madden 06 = More of The Same!
  By A1N85K51GIK3WG on 2005-08-10
  YES. I am still playing ESPN 2K5 because it is still the best gridiron game on the market. I rented the new Madden and I want my $5 back. You would think with how popular ESPN 2K5 was that the clowns at EA would have stolen some of the graphics, animations or ideas from the game. But noooooo! They stay with the same old formula with a few different ideas (i.e. QB vision) which stinks. I can't believe I actually got my hopes up for this game.
  
  We can only hope they will improve this game for the release on the XBox 360 and PS3.
  
  
• Fun and Realistic
  By A1FZ9A71RY4ZOE on 2005-08-11
  The thing you've probably heard of the most is QB Vision which really makes the game more realistic. In the NFL a QB can't be looking one way...pass in the opposite direction and expect to land a 50yd completion. It's not hard...you just press two buttons to throw to the guy you want to and you can lead the pass, throw it high, low, or behind the guy. Plus, you can turn it off if you don't enjoy using it(if you use the tutorial you'll get the hang of it).
  
  Then there's Superstar Mode were you create a player based on your parents and go through an NFL career. You start with living in an apartment and can move up to a mansion. The first thing you have to do after making your player is to get interviewed about your personality, then you take an IQ test which is pretty stupid because your not gonna find rocket scientists playin the game(one of the questoins was in like Spanish and another was a word I've never heard of). After that you get drafted, usually the third round. During this whole process you pick an agent who's gonna suck but it'll be the best you can get. You go to practices, you can get tattoos, haircuts, pretty much control your life. You can even be in movies. After a while practices get boring but they boost your players stats and are worth it.
  
  There are new offensive controls like Truck Stick which allows you to plow through defenders but slows you down and there's more depth in audibles. On defense they have switched the change players buttons but you'll find that out soon enough and there's defensve hot routes. There is a better soundtrack and the details have imroved a little, but tatoos get smeared sometimes on created players so it looks like they spilled junk on their arms. Rosters have change as well as players abilities but a lot of things are similar to '05. Overall, it's really fun and detailed with some upgrades but still more room for improvment. Don't worry about QB Vision and what other people say they just don't understand what it's like to be a QB like I do and they're lazy.
  
  
• don't listen to these guys
  By AF8FIC0ER4H90 on 2005-08-19
  oh my god. all you who say that the qb mode is too hard, you must really suck at this game then and have no talent. plus, it's realistic that they throw ducks when they're not looking at a reciever, you try throwing to someone 20 yards down-field without even looking at them. Super star mode is decent, but i like to manage a team, so i do both superstar and franchise. the problem with superstar is that you're not sure if you wanna do more than one season. the truck stick is soo cool. the hit stick is also still in the game. but how can you say that the QB thing is too hard (brian forrester *cough*) i mean, you have to suck to not get it. and if you're having trouble with it, go to practice mode and watch the tutorial and you'll get it in 15 minutes, MAX. this is a great game, way better than ESPN. and the price is $50, which is worth it. people complain about it being too much, but all the good games are that price. all the sucky ESPN games are cheap. great game, get it or rent it.
  
  
• I wish EA had a mind...
  By A1SWXV2A9X1G1V on 2005-09-19
  This game is pathetic. All these new sports games, including Madden 2006 just come out with new features...or what they claim to be. This doesn't stand out from the past three years of the Madden Series in my opinion. I bought Madden 2005 and NFL 2k5 for my xbox. After playing both, I really enjoyed 2k5 a lot better. It looked a lot crisper, and was even ahead of the game with the whole first-person view.
  
  Electronic Arts is nothing but a monopoly. It doesn't even give little studios chances to produce sports games. It just buys exclusive licences because they got scared that there might be a superior game out there in the works.
  
  I am offically boycotting EA, and am going to be doing some research into their corporate strategies to see what else they have done. Soon, a website will be launched, where everyone can sound off their opinions.
  
  I wish they would have actually tried to make a football game instead of this crap they keep shoveling out every year. Some may say its great, but it can only be great if its the only one out there.
  
  Pathetic...
  
  
• Ridiculously buggy game
  By A3I7PR95KIVTJH on 2005-09-27
  This is the buggiest game I have ever had the misfortune to own on any portable system dating all the way back to the original gameboy.
  
  Here is a laundry list of some of the problems:
  
  - NFL Icons load screen appears with a name but no picture or a seizure inducing picture that flashes on/off spastically.
  
  - The kick meter sometimes doesn't appear properly. You can work around this by pausing and unpausing.
  
  - Pre-game commentary does not work half the time.
  
  - Assistant coach points don't work properly. Sometimes your point allocations are rejected for no apparent reason.
  
  And finally for the coup de grace:
  
  - Franchise mode games will either lockup or shut off your PSP randomly throughout the games. I've never been able to fully finish a franchise mode game. The closest I've got is the clock ticks down at the end of the 4th quarter and then boom... it's locked up. You can save your game frequently and try to tip toe through the mine field but it's still going to happen sooner or later. Some of the time when it crashes it will corrupt your profile meaning you can't even load your savegame because it's toast.
  
  Imagine having a DVD that randomly powers down your entertainment system near the end of the movie. Imagine a book with the last 50 pages torn out. Now you are getting the picture.
  
  I'm not even going to get into the other problems with this game such as excessive load times and stalling because those I can live with. But when you can't even finish a game that is what's called a "game stopper" and it's the worst kind of bug there is. How this thing was released to the market is beyond me.
  
  DO NOT BUY THIS GAME UNTIL EA EITHER DOES A RECALL OR COMES UP WITH A DOWNLOADABLE PATCH/FIX FOR THE CRASHING PROBLEM.
  
  I cannot stress this enough. Without the crashing problem even with all the other faults I would give this game a 4/5. With the crashing problem it's not worth the aggravation.
  
  Finally, if you think I am exaggerating or making this up, I encourage you to visit any of the PSP forums out there where you will see my comments echoed by countless other frustrated Madden 06 owners.
  
  
• Causes PSP to crash after almost every game
  By ABQ1823BGCOL8 on 2005-10-01
  There's only one way a glitch as bad as shutting down the PSP could get through testing: EA didn't do any testing. That's right, in its haste to get the game out as quickly as possible, there's no way that EA could have tested this game. If they had, they would have experienced the shut down that everyone else has. It is incredibly frustrating when you finish a great game only to have the PSP shut down before you can get it saved. The first time this happened to me I had to start from the beginning and redo training camp. Totally unacceptable. If EA had competition, they would be crushed. But they don't and they know it. They know that they can put any junk out on the market and people will buy it because they have no other alternative if they want to play football. The sad thing is that if it weren't for this major and a few other minor glitches, this could have been a great game.
  
  
  
• its NOT in the game! Playoff format still incorrect.
  By AE86PCVL3B2YP on 2005-10-31
  I agree with the other reviewers saying that this game cheats just to keep the game close. However what irks me the most is that this game can't even get the correct playoff matchups in the post season. It is apparant that this game developers don't know a thing about football, are lazy have, or a poor QA department or all of the above. I have emailed EA on this issue for Madden 2003, but they are so arrogant they ignored my bug find so its pretty clear that they never fixed the bug and it appears in 2006 as well. They claim "if its in the game", but apparantly its not. See below:
  
  I am the Dolphins and I had the top seed in the AFC. And here are the final regular season seedings for the AFC
  
  1. Miami (16-0-0) AFC EAST winner
  2. Cincinnati (12-4-0) AFC NORTH winner
  3. Denver (9-7-0) AFC WEST winner
  4. Indianapolis (8-8-0) AFC SOUTH winner
  5. Baltimore (11-5-0)
  6. Pittsburgh (10-6-0)
  
  Wild Card
  ========================
  
  6. Pittsburgh defeats 3. Denver
  4. Indianapolis defeats 5. Baltimore
  
  According to the official NFL playoff rules, the lowest seed winner from wildcard weekend plays the number 1 seed. And in my case that would mean I should play Pittsburgh (6th seed) in the divisional. However the game matches me up with Indianapolis. It seems the game is doing the match ups by record instead of playoff seeding. The same thing happened in the NFC the previous season.
  
  I also noticed that the game does not follow the tiebreaking rules. this year the falcons and panthers were tied at 10 - 6 in the NFC South. The split the season series and also have the same division record, so the next tie breaker is best W-L-T percentage in common games. The panthers won this tie breaker however the game put atlanta ahead of carolina. This is also wrong.
  
  To test this out on madden 2006 I picked up a rental to see if the same bug appeared, and unfortunately it does. see below
  
  I simulated an entire season and ended up with the following playoff teams with their playoff seedings
  
  1. Eagles 12 - 4 NFC east champ
  2. Seahawks 11 - 5 NFC west champ
  3. Vikings 10 - 6 NFC north champ
  4. Falcons 9 - 7 NFC west champ
  5. Giants 10 - 6 Wild card team #1
  6. Packers 10 - 6 Wild card team #2
  
  I simulated the wild card and here is what happened.
  
  6. Packers defeat 3. Vikings
  4. Falcons defeat 5. Giants
  
  Again according to the current NFL playoff format, the #1 seed plays the LOWEST seeded winner from the wildcard week, and the #2 seed plays the HIGHEST seeded winner from wild card week. In this case the #6 Packers should play the 1. Eagles, and the #4 Falcons should play the #2 Seahawks. However the game puts the #4 Falcons against the #1 Eagles, and the #6 Packers against the Seahawks. This is clearly incorrect and it seems that the game is matching up teams based on record rather than the seeding as the NFL does.
  
  This game claims to be so perfect, but it can't even follow the NFL rules! I can't believe the NFL gave these people an exclusive license.
  
  
• When it isnt a Game EA Sucks
  By ASEC0BLLTP6UN on 2005-11-23
  The designers of this game shouldn't be proud of this game. It's one of the longest running football video games, yet they never make any significant changes to the game. I believe they are still using over half of the original commentary from 2 or 3 years ago. The graphics improve gradually with each season but for the most part all they do is update the roster. They were challenged by the 2K series of games and instead of making their product better they bought exclusive NFL rights to make the game. Instead of trying to monopolize this industry they should improve the game. It makes me wonder, how lazy are these programmers? If churning out a quality game is too hard, perhaps they can lower the selling cost of each game. This effort to monopolize the industry is forcing football fans to play this lame excuse for a football game. If your looking for a quality football game for that special someone this holiday season you should look elsewhere and they'll thank you for it later. Save your money or buy blitz the league.
  
  
• Almost, but not quite
  By A1QR1M85Z2QBIV on 2005-12-14
  Graphics : Amazing
  Gameplay : Excellent
  Bugs : LOTS
  Load Times : Pretty Long
  Online Play : Buggy
  
  I had high hopes for this game... I'm no sports game addict, but I do enjoy a football game or two. I purchased this game with hopes of playing online, running a franchise, and just enjoying the game. The graphics were amazing and the gameplay itself is pretty decent. And that's where the good stuff stops..
  
  Load times were the first thing I noticed. I can understand the game loading the field, players, etc at the beginning of the game. But must we access the UMD between EVERY SINGLE play? This totally kills the enjoyment for me.. I suppose it's loading the announcer voices, but I'm not sure...
  
  Next I tried online play. After about 20 tries, only once getting into a game and having it die at the coin toss, I've given up. Buggy. Broken. ARGH! (The internet connection was fine, by the way. I played World of Warcraft instead. On a laptop, using the wifi connection)
  
  So, I went after franchise play. Little tip here. When you have about 5 seconds left in the game, save it. When the game is over and you choose "End Game", chances are the game will crash and reset the psp. Extremely annoying. The workarounds EA posted are laughable and just don't work.
  
  Overall I think this game had *HUGE* potential, but crashed hard just after the starting line. Perhaps if they tried playing the game before they shipped it?
  
  
• A huge letdown
  By ADF7TQSOOGRWT on 2005-08-10
  The moneygrubbers at EA have done it again. If you bought 2005 last year and were dissapointed the game had just a handful of changes from 2004 the same has happened again this year.
  This is the last time I will spend my money on the same game Ive already payed for twice. Considering the amount of time I put into playing Franchise mode I cant believe the programmmers cant be bothered to add even one new feature! Until people stop buying this game EA will just load the same lame, tired commentary and the same features we have already spent hundreds of hours playing for the last two years and expect us to fork over our cash again and again.
  Truly, 95% of the content is a straight cut paste onto the new version and the new features are an absolute joke. Whats the point of the "Superstars" when actions/logic have nothing to do with the results? Why not completely patronise the football fans as 15 minutes with the feature will show you its just a random set of happenstances. Sometimes I feel the people who signed off and approved this game couldnt be fussed to spend two or three hours playing it, but they expect us to be happy playing it for days on end and not realise we've been duped.
  And another thing Im sick of people giving this a 5 star review when they havent even played it. "Its going to be awesome, I hope/think 5 stars". EA have sqashed the market on offically licensed NFL games so fans have a choice of throwing away good money on a game they already have or nothing. ESPN2k5 and Madden 04 are every bit as good as this for a much lower price.
  
  
• ANOTHER BAD EA GAME
  By APFVCVP3Z3O2P on 2005-08-10
  Hey guys its yet another madden title. the same as 05? 04? 03? yep. EA makes the same crap over and over. ESPN sold better then Madden, last year becuase 1. it was a better game, also was rated higher in 75% of ratings. better graphics and acurate models. That is why they bought the licencse to the NFL. Beecuase if they didnt ESPN would sell better AGAIN this year.If EA sees failure, they find the quickest way out. They do not improve their game, they buy a license so that they do not have to improve their game. Pethetic. Madden is lame and EA is a retarded game maker. All EA games are bad, and cheap. Get ESPN 05 becuase its better then this lame title. Why spend 50$ on the EXACT same damn game as the other years?
  
  
• $50 for new rosters, 'The Sims' superstar mode, and annoying QB vision
  By A3V6AHV8C6ENNV on 2005-08-11
  My recommendation is to NOT buy this. It is NOT worth $50! It appears that EA spent most of it's time developing this 'Superstar' mode, where you play the game solely as a player vs. as a team. I don't like it. If I wanted to play The Sims, I'd buy the Sims. As far as the franchise goes, no improvements at all really. The only thing they added is this computer generated Pre-Game Analysis, which is about as accurate and helpful as the 5 year old recycled Madden quips during gameplay.
  
  There are two changes to the gameplay, both of them nuisances IMO. The first is this QB vision, which requires you to lock this 'flashlight beam' onto a receiver in order to throw an accurate pass. I know it's more realistic, but this is a game. It's annoying. IT'S NOT MORE FUN!!!!!!
  
  The second is the controller layout - they changed it! I don't know why they do this, it's a huge P.I.T.A. You can switch it back to last year's layout, but I'm having trouble getting the stupid game to load last year's layout automatically. You have to change it every time.
  
  Other than that, same 4 year old graphics engine, same 4 year old animation locked gameplay engine (they added a few new animations), and basically the same game as 2002.
  
  The gameplay on PS2 is choppy at times and scrolling through the menus is slow and cumbersome. They have this stupid animation constantly going in the backround on menu screens that adds nothing to the game. Why not get rid of it and speed things up?! I've also noticed some slow down / chop during actual games.
  
  Overall I'd rate the new version about 2.5/10. As a stand alone game for those who don't have prior years of the game, maybe 7.5 - 8 /10. I stongly suggest that those who don't have old copies of this game check out Sega NFL 2K5 or Madden 2004 - 2005. You can pick up both used for less than the cost of renting at Blockbuster.
  
  
• Big Picture
  By A1T78AKCW45PY7 on 2005-08-15
  If it's not broken, don't fix it. For all of you who claim to be long time Madden fans, what do you think is truly wrong with this game? If you liked last years, you should like this years. Yes, it has the QB Vision which makes the game more complicated. Oh boo hoo, now you can't win game 105-0 in 5 min quarters anymore. Now the game is realistic. While it is only high school football, I've played and know that the game is more complicated then dropping back 10 yards and throwing it crossfield to your fullback running a fly pattern. This game actually requires a football IQ to step-up.
  
  It is a game for the hardcore football fan, not the arcade style fan. If you want to run up the score, go play NFL Street or something like that. This is a true to life game, a simulation. What EA really did with this game is attempt to cut-down on the loopholes that made the game unrealistic in the past. The people who complain now are the same ones who used to use the Vikings and scramble with Culpepper for an hour, send Michael Bennett on a fly pattern, and lineup Randy Moss as a tight end. This is designed to restrict you from being too unrealistic.
  
  I saw a complaint about not having all the penalties built into the game. How many times do you have opponents running receivers out of bounds and then coming back in to catch a pass? And yeah, you can't throw past the line of scrimmage, you tuck it in instead...but who cares? If you threw it past the line of scrimmage, it would be a penalty anyway. They save your ass a couple of yards.
  
  Football is a complicated game and EA still has not come close to bringing all of its intricacies into play yet...but they are getting closer. Eventually those penalties will be included...eventually there will be runningback vision.
  
  Imagine that, if you had to look off defenders and give legit shoulderfakes and sidesteps to get through a hole. Imagine when having a runningback like LaDainian Tomlinson who wears a visor over his eyes is an advantage because your opponent can't read your eyes as quickly or as well. These are features that should come in the future to provide realism.
  
  I am disappointed that EA bought the rights for all of the NFL. Not because they got lazy with Madden, but because all of the unrealistic players have been sucked into Madden now. It was better when they all played ESPN. I played both games last year. While ESPN was flashier, it was not as deep as Madden, and if you want the closest thing to reality - you want Madden. Football is not easy, Madden shouldn't be either.
  
  

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