Madden NFL 06

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Madden NFL 06
Developer(s)	EA Tiburon
Publisher(s)	EA Sports
Release date(s)	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)
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, Xbox 360, Windows, PSP, Game Boy Advance, DS

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 1 Significant changes 2 Overall reception 3 Soundtrack 4 Trivia 5 Awards 6 References 7 External links

[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 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 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 (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 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

• All-American Rejects - "Night Drive"
• Avenged Sevenfold - "Bat Country"
• Bullet for My Valentine - "4 Words (To Choke Upon)"
• Bump J - "Move Around"
• Chamillionaire - "Hate in Ya Eyes"
• Disturbed - "Ten Thousand Fists"
• Fall Out Boy - "Dance, Dance"
• Finch - Ink
• Foo Fighters - "No Way Back"
• Funeral for a Friend - "Streetcar"
• Godsmack - "Bring It On"
• Hot Hot Heat - "Pickin' It Up"
• Memphis Bleek - "Like That"
• Nine Black Alps - "Cosmopolitan"
• Papoose - "Born to Win"
• Rev Run - "Mind on the Road"
• Sam Scarfo - "Tear 'Em Up"
• Sam Spence (NFL Films) - "A Chilling Championship"
• Sam Spence (NFL Films) - "A Golden Boy Again"
• Sam Spence (NFL Films) - "A New Game"
• Sam Spence (NFL Films) - "Classic Battle"
• Sam Spence (NFL Films) - "Magnificent Eleven"
• Sam Spence (NFL Films) - "Ramblin' Man From Gramblin'"
• Sam Spence (NFL Films) - "Round-Up"
• Sam Spence (NFL Films) - "Salute to Courage"
• Sam Spence (NFL Films) - "The Equalizer"
• Sam Spence (NFL Films) - "The Final Quest"
• Sam Spence (NFL Films) - "Up She Rises"

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

• Slim Thug - "Get It Started"
• Spider Loc - "When I Get Angry"
• Stat Quo - "Rock Da Party"
• Tech N9ne - "The Beast"

[edit] Trivia

• 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.
• Due to a contractual obligation, Bill Parcells cannot appear in the Madden NFL series until his television contract with ESPN actually expires. Currently, the game names him "Dallas Coach." New England Patriots head coach, Bill Belichick, is also not in the game because he is not a member of the NFL Coaches Association, which sells the rights to have the coaches' names in the game.
• A spinoff 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.
• As in previous games, draft classes can be imported from NCAA Football 2006. (This feature is not available in European version, as 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, Herm Edwards and Jeff Fisher also make appearances on the show.
• The trailer for Madden 06 on Xbox 360 features Donovan McNabb barely escaping Michael Strahan's pressure while throwing to Terrell Owens for a touchdown.
• 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, 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 in the game, it says he has no touchdowns; in fact, Gates set an NFL season record in 2004 (the season prior to this game's release) for most touchdowns by a tight end (13).
• Deuce McAllister's loading screen shows that he had 1600+ yards rushing in 2004. However, Deuce had 1074 yards rushing in 2004.
• Troy Brown's defensive stats are listed as N/A, while in reality Brown had several tackles and 2 interceptions as a result of injuries suffered by the New England 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,suffered from the so-called Madden curse, with a highly publicized feud with teammate Terrell Owens, season-ending surgery on a sports hernia, and a 6-10 record overall (after four consecutive years of making it to at least the conference championship, with a Super Bowl appearance the year before).
• Former professional wrestler Brock Lesnar is in the game as a free agent.

[edit] Awards

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

[edit] References

1. ^ 2005 Winners. gamecriticsawards.com.

[edit] External links

• Official EA Sports website for Madden NFL 06
• Madden NFL 06 at MobyGames

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