Madden NFL 06

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Madden NFL 06
Madden NFL 06 box cover
Developer(s) EA Tiburon
Publisher(s) EA Sports
Release date(s) August 8, 2005 (GC, PS2, Xbox, DS, GBA)
August 17, 2005 (Win)
September 20, 2005 (PSP)
November 16, 2005 (Xbox 360)
Genre(s) Sports
Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer, multiplayer online
Rating(s) ESRB: Everyone (E)
Platform(s) PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, Xbox 360, Windows, PSP, Game Boy Advance, DS
QB vision in Madden NFL 06.
Enlarge
QB vision in Madden NFL 06.

Madden NFL 06 is an American football video game which was released on August 8, 2005. It is also a launch game for the Xbox 360. It is the 16th installment of the Madden NFL series by EA Sports, named for noted color commentator John Madden. The product features Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb on the cover.

Contents

[edit] Significant changes

One of the touted additions to the 2006 version of Madden is Superstar mode, which allows the player to create and take control of an NFL player from his rookie year all the way to retirement. An athlete can be created by evaluating pairs of parents — judging, based on their IQs, occupations, and hobbies, whether their child would excel in the NFL — or by importing a player from NCAA Football 06 or NFL Street 2. Superstar mode is essentially Madden's Franchise mode seen through the eyes of this athlete. Rather than manage the team's front office, the player manages the career of his athlete: selecting movie roles, accepting product endorsements, and improving the athlete's attributes through practice. This addition has met with mixed reviews from video game reviewers. Although the idea is considered great in concept, many found the actual execution of the mode to be lackluster. The various glitches in the "schedule" of the Superstar make the experience very awkward and frustrating. For example, you could miss an interview because your schedule only made it visible after your simulated that day.

Madden NFL 06 also features the new QB Vision Control. A cone, appearing as a spotlight emitting from the quarterback, simulates his field of vision. To make an accurate pass, the quarterback must have his intended receiver in his field of vision. Passing to a receiver not in the cone reduces pass accuracy significantly. The size of the quarterback's vision cone is directly correlated to his Awareness rating; Peyton Manning and Brett Favre see nearly the entire field at once, whereas a mediocre quarterback such as JP Losman or Kyle Boller will see only a sliver of the field, however this has been very criticised by many fans because it may resemble some bias that EA Sports and the Madden series itself is frequently accused of (for example many players say that Ben Roethlisberger's stats were, to some extent, deflated). A player can shift the vision cone with the right analog stick, or focus the cone on a specific receiver by holding a shoulder button and pressing the button assigned to that receiver. (On the highest difficulty level, once a receiver completes his route, his button label disappears; to make it reappear the quarterback must look in his direction.) This change also met with lukewarm reception. Although the passing system adds a whole new level of realism, it also makes the game significantly more difficult for players playing teams with less-aware quarterbacks. These players will be forced to improve their reflexes in order to be competitive, as throwing outside the QB vision cone results in a very weak and inaccurate pass.

Accompanying QB Vision is Precision Passing. Pressing the directional button or left analog stick in a certain direction as you pass the ball will make the throw over the receiver's head (Up), behind him (Left), in front of him (Right), or at his knees (Down).

Perhaps the most critically acclaimed new feature is the truck stick, which functions like an offensive version of the hit stick from the previous year. When running the football, a player can push forward the right analog stick to run over the defender, at the cost of risking a potential fumble.Several features from previous titles return such as hot routes, playmaker features, and franchise features.

[edit] Overall reception

While the game received a generally positive reaction, some reviewers criticized the game's lack of new features, claiming the game plays very similarly to Madden NFL 2005 if the QB Vision cone is turned off. GameSpot reviewed the game with an 8.2 out of 10.

Madden NFL 06 will be 2006's only NFL-Licensed football videogame, due to the 2004 deal between the NFL/NFLPA and Electronic Arts. The deal grants EA exclusive rights to the likenesses and names of all players, stadiums, logos, and jerseys. Electronic Arts also signed a long-term deal with ESPN, complicating the game's relationship to its titular announcer. In 2006, Madden — currently the color commentator for ABC's Monday Night Football — will move to NBC to join their Sunday night NFL coverage. The Xbox 360 version of Madden 06 features neither Al Michaels nor Madden in the announcing booth. Criticism was also added due to the fact that several features were cut out of the Xbox 360 version of the game, although this was likely due simply to the fact that EA rushed the game so it could be released as a launch title for the new system when it debuted in November 2005.[citation needed]

[edit] Soundtrack

Da Riffs also provided remixed versions of all Sam Spence songs except "The Final Quest".

[edit] Trivia

In order to meet Wikipedia's quality standards, this article's trivia section requires cleanup.
Content in the trivia section should be integrated into other appropriate areas of the article.
  • The Super Bowl win animation has been upgraded, now a win in the Super Bowl results in a confetti shower and the presentation of the Vince Lombardi trophy.
  • Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells are not in the game but are as named "NE Coach" and "Dallas Coach" instead.
  • A spinoff of the game was called NFL Head Coach with the player calling plays on the sidelines as a NFL head coach however it did not receive a positive reception as its predecessor.
  • As in previous games draft classes can be imported from NCAA Football 2006. (Not available in European version, because NCAA Football is not available in Europe)
  • In NFL Superstar mode, former Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis is always the player's mentor.
  • The player in Own The City Mode in NFL Street 2 can be imported to NFL Superstar Mode. His age is 18 years old meaning the players in the game are teenagers.
  • In franchise mode, Tony Bruno hosts a radio show. Players Lamont Thompson, Brandon Lloyd, Napoleon Harris, Lawyer Milloy, Reggie Wayne, and Marcus Trufant and head coaches Dick Vermeil, Jim Mora, Jr., Brian Billick, Jack Del Rio, Marty Schottenheimer and Jeff Fisher will make appearances on the show.
  • The trailer for the Madden 06 on Xbox 360 features Donovan McNabb barely escaping Michael Strahan's pressure while throwing to Terrell Owens for a touchdown.
  • The Cameos("EA Sports it's in the game") featured rabid football fans, cheerleaders, and players Jerome Bettis, LaDainian Tomlinson, Sam Adams, Kevin Mawae, Takeo Spikes, Brian Dawkins, Ahman Green, Adam Vinatieri, and several others.
  • In NFL Superstar Mode, sponsor endorsements are from the same sponsors in NASCAR 06: Total Team Control.
  • When you look at Antonio Gates' stats it says he has no touchdowns when he had record for all tight-ends with 13.
  • Deuce McAllister's loading screen shows that he had 1600+ yards rushing in 2004. However, Deuce had 1074 yards rushing in 2004.
  • When you look at Troy Brown's defensive stats it reads N/A while in reality Brown had several tackles and 2 interceptions as a result of injuries suffered to the Patriots' secondary.
  • Al Michaels calls SS Brodney Pool of the Cleveland Browns "Brodney Pope".
  • Terry Tate is one of the many computer-created players for player-created rosters
  • Donovan McNabb, who graced the cover of Madden 2006, also suffered from the dreaded Madden Curse with a highly publicized feud with teammate Terrell Owens, a season ending surgery on a sports hernia, and a 6-10 record overall after 4 consecutive years of making it to atleast the conference championship with a Super Bowl appeareance the year before.

[edit] Awards

E3 2005 Game Critics Awards: Best Sports Game [1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ 2005 Winners. gamecriticsawards.com.

[edit] External links

Madden NFL Games

John Madden Football | John Madden Football | John Madden Football '92 | John Madden Football II | John Madden Football '93 | Madden NFL '94 | Madden NFL '95 | Madden NFL '96 | Madden NFL 97 | Madden Football 64 | Madden NFL 98 | Madden NFL 99 | Madden NFL 2000 | Madden NFL 2001 | Madden NFL 2002 | Madden NFL 2003 | Madden NFL 2004 | Madden NFL 2005 | Madden NFL 06 | Madden NFL 07
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