Madden NFL 06

Madden NFL 06 made its passing game more complex, but in this case "harder" turns out to be "better."

When you're the only player in the game all you have to compete with yourself. So even though Electronic Arts locked up the NFL license for videogames this season and beyond, the Madden football franchise isn't just standing on the sidelines. Developer EA Tiburon opened up the hood of its game engine to significantly modify gameplay and even career mode.

Watch Your Passes
Much has already been reported about the new Vision and Precision passing system, but let it be known right now that it works like a charm. The "vision" part means you have to use your eyes to actually see an open receiver. Then you use the right joystick to swing a virtual vision "cone" across the field onto him before pressing the correct icon button to make a pass. If you don't think he's open you have to swing the stick through your reads to find another open receiver.

The "precision" part means you can now throw the football where only your receiver can catch it. If you hit the directional buttons as you pass you can toss it above his head, at his shoelaces, behind him, or ahead of him. But now you have to work hard during every pass play. Whether you're using Xbox, PS2, or GameCube, you're using every button and stick on your controller and that means practice, practice, practice.

On Your Game
Vision and Precision controls can radically change the way your approach Madden football. Of course, you can keep V&P locked-on to your primary receiver all the time, but when he's covered you have to learn to see someone else. Those extra milliseconds of decision-making can mean the difference between making a play and being crushed like an aluminum can. You have to be just a little more conscious of the defense, particularly of pass coverages and blitzes, and you have to focus on pass patterns a little more carefully. Madden NFL 06 just upped your videogame football workout. Size matters, too, and in this respect not all quarterbacks are rated equally. For example, Michael Vick's (Falcons) vision cone is modest compared to Brett Favre's (Packers) and Tim Rattay's (49ers) is a sliver compared to everybody else's. You can still make your blind passes in a pinch and you might complete some, but more often than not they are going to fall short or sail like wounded duck.

In Your Face
Of course, the defense isn't going to just lie down for you. One of the coolest new features on the defensive side of the ball is Man Lock. At the play call screen, a simple button press enables you to make your defenders in man-to-man coverage stick to the receivers they are covering if they go in motion. That can thwart the mismatch that motion attempts to create. If you're in a zone defense, Man Lock makes your defender move with the motion man, while the rest of the defense shifts the zone to compensate.

Additionally you can adjust individual pass defense at the line scrimmage. You can make linebackers help double-team any receiver or make defensive backs shade their coverage to the inside or the outside of a pass route to get better position on the ball. These new moves paired with the existing coverage audibles and defensive Playmaker moves make Madden 06's pass defense as formidable as they come.

In Your Dreams
For 06 not all of the action and the drama takes place on the field, either. NFL Superstar enables you to create a player from his DNA up and the guide his career through the NFL. You select an agent who helps you get a contract and build up your popularity. In fact you have the opportunity to shoot movies and do interviews, how well you perform in these affects your superstar status. Don't worry it's not all about non-football activity, you still have to excel during regular games and you get graded in weekly team practices, too. NFL Superstar is an entertaining addition to Madden's usual Franchise mode business managing.

For Your Football Pleasure
Madden NFL 06 would be a great upgrade even if weren't the only NFL-licensed football game around. Kudos to EA Sports for not being afraid to juice the complexity factor of an already complex game. Rookies will have to pay their dues, but veterans get treated to a brand-new challenge. And if you're somewhere in between you should just enjoy the game.

KEY MOMENT: Your fullback's running to the outside and you use the Truck stick to flatten the DB like a pancake.

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