by: John Olin

September 07, 2005

At E3 I got a chance to see some stadiums on the 360 version of the game but it wasn't until the game came out for the first Xbox. I could really start to know some more about it until I tried it on Xbox. Madden NFL 2006, the latest rendition in EA’s football series debuts for the first time in quite awhile as the only officially licensed football simulator for the National Football League. The biggest change in the game play this year is the QB vision, which shows exactly where you are looking as the quaterback. Depending on how good of a QB you are the size of your cone is bigger. It makes the game easier to get the hang of, and will help you figure out who the better QBs are much quicker. In order to pass, you have to have the guy receiving the ball in the cone. You control it with the right analog and cycle through who receives with the R-trigger. There are a few imbalances with how it works, but for something completely new introduced, it works extremely well. A side effect to all of this however, is the A.I. is much harder as well, since you have QB vision to be more precise I found them to be much harder as well. Running defensive line can be frustrating and you will find yourself actually thinking about the plays rather than just playing the game. Overall though the game just seems much more realistic in the way you pass, defend, and run through with plays.

There is a sort of sim thing in the game as well with you taking your player through the beginning to the end of his career. This new mode, NFL Superstar Mode has tons of rooms to improve but it definitely will keep those pigskin loving fans coming back for more than just updated rosters. After going through some oddball tutorials you then will get offers, and then you choose a team. Then you practice some, play some games, and eventually be in the full-fledged NFL. You also have your own house in which from there you can touch up your appearance, have a social life, or cut better deals with your agent. Eventually you will hopefully win the Super Bowl with your player.

Truck Stick is the other big improvement in the game and it basically lets you has the person with the ball charge through a defender by hitting the right analog. The trade-off with this is, the smaller runners normally move faster but can’t push guys out of the way as easily. The bigger guys while they can push them away will be a bit slower. The multiplayer is back on the 360 and while not everything has been revealed you can bet there will be plenty of competitions and downloadable content via Xbox Live.

Obviously the biggest change in the 360 version is he visuals. The best way to describe them is, "that one Nike commercial with the snow". They aren't quite real but they are definitely unique, and definitely next-gen as you can see from our screens. Check out more about Madden NFL 2006 on Xbox 360 later this year when we review the game.

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