The More Things Change: Madden NFL 2006 - Part 1

By Jonathan Berohn

Few events in the world of video games are as anticipated as the release of a new Madden NFL football title by EA Sports. What started out as a clever marketing gimmick has become the most annually anticipated sports game.

Realizing, of course, that getting people to shell out 50 bucks a year for essentially the same game isn't an easy trick, EA tries to add new bells and whistles every year to keep the die-hards interested as well as appeal to each new generation of gamers.

This year's version of Madden is no exception, as several innovations make their way into the game.  All in all, this bodes well for Madden fans, but several annoying glitches and weak designs leave the new improvements a little wanting.

Don't get me wrong, it's still a great game, but with the bar they've set in the past, EA's 06 Madden offering is not quite what you might expect for your $50.

Exclusivity

This year, for the first time, EA Sports has the acquired the exclusive rights to make an NFL video game.  This means that Madden 06 is the only football game that can use real NFL teams and players.  What this also means is that any competition in football games is dead.  Kaput.  Done.  No can sell a football game with generic players, so no one else is bothering to produce a major football title this year.

Now, if you remember anything from your intro to economics course, you'll already be thinking no competition can only mean bad news for the consumer.  I'd like to say this isn't true and EA tries not to take advantage of their monopoly, but the first thing you'll notice about Madden 06 is that the price is back to $49.99.  With ESPN's 2K series defunct, EA has no reason to try match their $19.99 price (Madden 05 sold for $29.99 generally), and they wasted no time jacking their price back up.

Bugs

It would also seem that removal of competition has slackened EA's quality control standards.  There are numerous annoying visual bugs-such as coaches appearing with half black and half white skin or team logos in the middle of their foreheads, and a couple downright discouraging game play flaws.

First, punt returning is essentially dead.  unless you tweak punt distance manually, be prepared to fair catch 95% of all punts or fumble immediately.  For some reason, EA has nerfed your blockers AI on punt returns so they just stand and watch the coverage team streak downfield and pummel you as soon as you catch the ball.

Second, and even more annoying, a bug in the defensive backfield controls allows you to see if your opponent is running or passing every play.  Of course, you still have to stop the play, but when you know what's coming, it makes it a whole lot easier.

OK-now that I've thoroughly rained on Madden's parade, I want to reiterate that, at its core, Madden is still a great game, and some of the new features they've added this year do improve the game noticeably.  That's not to say all of the new improvements are home runs, to borrow another sport's metaphor, but most of them are a lot of fun.

Animations

First, they've improved the graphics and added several new animations.  Many players have custom celebration dances that mimic their actual celebrations (including a hidden TO animation you can unlock vs. the Ravens).  My favorite animation additions, though, involve big hits. Really crush someone and you'll see their helmet fly off.  Nail someone with a perfect hit stick, and you'll see them wobble and shake their heads to clear the cobwebs.

Precision Passing

The most hyped new feature in this year's Madden is precision passing.  This feature, obviously, affects how your quarterback passes.  No longer can you sprint left and throw a bomb to the right that lands right on the money.  In addition, the days of everyone playing Michael Vick are now officially over.  With precision passing, quarterbacks that have good field awareness once again outshine the runners who are more erratic with their throws.

In short, precision passing has two functions.  First, each quarterback can only focus on a part of the field.  Here's where awareness comes in.  Your Payton Manning's, for example, can see about half the field.  Your Michael Vick's on the other hand see what looks like a skinny slice of pie.  Note that you actually see the whole field, but the portion of the field your quarterback sees is highlighted.  What this means for you is that if you want to throw accurately to a receiver, you need to look at them.  You can set the receiver you look at before the play or change your view during the action, but you will want to make sure to look at your targets.

When you are throwing to someone you are looking it, the second half of precision passing comes into play.  When you make these throws, you can put the ball exactly where you want it.  You lead receivers or throw behind them or choose to throw high or low.  With a good quarterback, this lets you throw the ball into tight coverage and still give your receiver a real chance at hauling it in.  It also lets you hit open receivers in stride to break long runs into the secondary.

Of course, this takes a little getting used to.  If you just can't stand it, EA lets you turn it off, but it's really worth the effort to learn.  When playing the computer, I find it easiest (and very effective) to set the primary receiver based on the defensive formation and adjust the actual location of the pass if the defense is covering my guy.  When you play another person, you will want to look at other receivers to try to fool the defense, but once you have been playing awhile that becomes easier than it sounds.  Also, having a quarterback with high awareness lets you throw to more than one receiver without changing your field of view.

The Truck Stick

Last year's major addition was the hit stick on defense.  This year, runners get their version of power with the hit stick.  As much as I like the precision passing feature, the truck stick is by far my favorite improvement of the year.  The reason for that is a bit subjective-I like to run the ball.  But, really, this is football.  What could be better than running someone over on the way to the end zone?  I never did like the multiple button-pushing gymnastics you had to resort to spin or stiff-arm, but even my fat old fingers can nail a defensive back with the right stick.

Better yet, the slower stronger backs assume a place in the game they deserve.  There is still plenty of room for speed, but now Jerome Bettis is back to be reckoned with-just hop on the Bus, Gus.  OK-I'm a Steelers fan, so there's that, too, but what football fan hasn't wanted to be Bo Jackson, Earl Campbell, or Jim Brown.  Digitized defensive backs all over the world now live a little bit more fearfully of stepping up and filling the hole.

Superstar Mode

The final new feature is superstar mode.  This is EA's attempt to bring role-playing to football.  In short, you select a players parents (which determines his abilities), get drafted, train up, then play your career.  In the abstract, this sounds like it might be an interesting diversion.  In practice, though, the limited role-playing gets old real fast (you essentially get to decide if you are a decent guy, a jerk, or half-way in between).  And the game play is simply normal game play.  Had EA taken a page from its min-camp game situations and just had you run the plays that your superstar was involved in, superstar mode might be interesting.  As it is, is just franchise mode focusing on one layer instead of the whole team.  For my money, franchise mode has much more to offer than superstar mode.  Try it out, of course, but don't expect to be enthralled.

All in all, Madden's strong game play overcomes the annoying yet not fatal flaws in the game.  In a lot of ways, updated rosters make a new Madden release compelling.  Some of the new additions improve the game and some don't, but the heart of the game is still great football, and this year you can't find it anywhere else.