Madden NFL 06

Let me start by saying that this game is much better then last years dismal Madden 05. For starters, the soundtrack in this game is one of the greatest that I have seen. As for every other sound in the game, its about the same as last season. Same old announcers saying the same old things. And the same old grunts from the players on the field.

The graphics haven't really improved much and are actually starting to seem a little dated (at least on the PS2) but then again I've been looking at alot of next gen screens so there is not much out right now that impresses me much. Anyways, there are a few new animations on the field and EA seems to have ditched the camera angles that they used last year in-between plays for some high angle views.

The gameplay has improved over last year, but then again I thought the gameplay in 05 sucked. The controls are as tight as they could be and some additions that were added to the R stick are actually useful. Like being able to push up on the R stick when your the RB and plowing over a defender. Or as the QB you can press the Square button and then flick the R stick left, right, up, down to select and audible within the current package. Its really useful when you see the defense is going to blitz and you just switch over to a passing play without having to move any of your players.

And now for the vision cone. I know that most of you people seem to already hate the vision cone. But, I'm here to tell you. Its not bad at all. I personally like having to be looking at a reciever to make an accurate pass. Although there were some occasions when I had an open back off to the side of me and I just zipped a pass to him and he caught. It has really made my passing skills better. Since in the past I've had trouble with looking at my different recievers without realizing that they are triple teamed.

Some of you have said that the precission passing has been around for years. And you are right, this is one thing that I think EA has wasted good PR on. Besides that there are a few other good tweaks, like being able to shift the offensive line by pressing L1 and then moving the L stick or directional pad left, right, up, or down. This helps to defend againest the blitzing defense. Also the hit stick on defense is back and just as good as ever. And if I may say so a hell lot more responsive then that crap that was in NCAA 06.

The franchise mode is pretty much the same as last years. So, if you knew what you were doing in 05 you'll know what your doing in 06. As for the Superstar Mode...eh...its ok. But, I did get pretty bored with it pretty fast. On another note I do believe that the Superstar Mode is a good start. I believe with alot of work this could become a mode that will captivate me for more than two hours.

Overall I believe Madden 2006 is a good football game. It may not be as good as it could have been, but, to be honest with the Xbox 360 and PS3 coming I believe that Madden on the PS2 and Xbox will suffer like it did on the PSone. I just hope that three years from now, I'm not still playing Madden 06 on my PS3 to get my football fix.