Madden NFL 06

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Madden NFL 06
Madden NFL 06 box cover
Developer(s) EA Tiburon
Budcat Creations (PC)[1]
Publisher(s) EA Sports
Platform(s) PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, Xbox 360, Windows, PSP, Game Boy Advance, DS
Release date August 8, 2005 (GC, PS2, Xbox, DS, GBA)
August 17, 2005 (Microsoft Windows)
September 20, 2005 (PSP)
November 16, 2005 (Xbox 360)
Genre(s) Sports
Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer, multiplayer online
Rating(s) ESRB: Everyone (E)

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. It is the first Madden game for the Playstation Portable and Xbox 360. As of September 25, 2007, Madden NFL 06 is the fourth best-selling video game in the United States with 6.5 million copies sold, according to the NPD Group.[2]

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. This player is 18 years old at the start of his career. 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 you 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, Aaron Brooks or Kyle Boller will see only a sliver of the field, however this has been very criticized 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 (a recurring complaint), 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 was 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 early 2006, Madden — at the time under contract as color commentator for ABC's Monday Night Football — moved to NBC to join their Sunday night NFL coverage beginning in the 2006 Season. The Xbox 360 version of Madden 06 features neither Al Michaels nor Madden in the announcing booth. Criticism was also added because 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

[edit] Spinoffs

A spin off of the game called NFL Head Coach, which allowed the player to call plays from the sidelines as an NFL head coach, was met with less than enthusiastic reaction and reviews. It featured longtime Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher on the cover the game takes place after the 2005 season.

[edit] Notable Free Agents

All free agent's years pro are as of the 2004-05 season

[edit] Tony Bruno Show

In franchise mode, Tony Bruno hosts a radio show called the Tony Bruno Show. Players Lamont Thompson, Brandon Lloyd, Napoleon Harris, Lawyer Milloy, Reggie Wayne, Edgerrin James, Akin Ayodele and Marcus Trufant and head coaches Dick Vermeil, Jim Mora, Jr., Brian Billick, Jack Del Rio, Marty Schottenheimer, Herm Edwards, Andy Reid, Bill Cowher, and Jeff Fisher also make appearances on the show. The show features the EA Sports "Question of the Day" where Bruno asks an assorted amount of NFL questions to listeners like "Which college did Jerry Rice attend?" to "Which linebacker returned three fumbles for touchdowns?". Bruno also speaks his mind on issues about players in the NFL, with topics ranging from players skipping out on training camp to contract issues. The Playstation 2 version of Madden NFL 2006 has this feature and the Xbox 360 version came without it.

[edit] Cameos

The videos which play while the game is initially loading (immediately following the "EA Sports--it's in the game" screen) feature rabid football fans, cheerleaders, and players Jerome Bettis, LaDainian Tomlinson, Sam Adams (American football), Kevin Mawae, Takeo Spikes, Brian Dawkins, Ahman Green, Julius Peppers, James Farrior, Roy Williams, Adam Vinatieri, and several others from the 2004 Pro Bowl.

[edit] Awards

E3 2005 Game Critics Awards: Best Sports Game[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ GameZone: Madden 05 PC.
  2. ^ Jonathan Sidener (2007-09-25). Microsoft pins Xbox 360 hopes on 'Halo 3' sales. Signonsandiego.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-19.
  3. ^ 2005 Winners. gamecriticsawards.com.

[edit] External links

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