Another Year, Another Madden

Another year, another Madden. Madden is back again with all new modes and gameplay features,,, but does it live up to the hype?? The brand new gameplay trend this year is the QB vision. It has it's ups.... and it has its many, many downs. I personally do not really like this gameplay trend as I find it a little too difficult and clunky. It seems that EA was trying just to think of something new for 06. Fortunatley though, you can turn it on and off so it really isn't much of a problem. Another new addition to 06 is Superstar mode. In it you have a Vegas style slot machine in which determines your parents careers, hobbies and other stuff and it determines what postition your best suited for. Then you determine what postition you play, your name, college, build, etc. and you move in to your apartment. From there, you meet your mentor (who is a particular someone that many of you Bronco fans will like) and sign an agent and take an IQ test. However, don't be expecting any real life agents, they're mostly develpers from Tiburon whose picture is in the game. (DrewRosenhouse is not here.)The IQ test is pretty easy with a few tricky math questions here and there that you really won't feel like answering. And the other questions consist of player numbers, color of fields, rules, and length of the field. This and your father, mainly depend on where you're drafted. (Your father influences it because of his NFL experience.) After that you have training camp (which all that is is practice with points.) And then you have the option of accepting movie offers. This is actually kind of dull but is cool at first. But all it is is memorizing whats on screen. Well I've probably talked enough about Superstar mode. Can't spoil it all for you. :) The Franchise mode you love (or hate) is back again with very very few changes. You still have the newspaper and the radio from last year. And Owner Mode is (STILL!!!!!!!!) the same exact thing. Actually there's still absolutley nothing different from when it first debuted in 2004. Still Franchise mode is still the heart of the game and will keep you busy for a while. There are no new mini-camp additions or anything of the sort in 06. Although you can now go head to head in 2 Minute Drill. But that is nothing that will keep you up all night long. One of the best parts though, is the Burnout Revenge demo included in the game (Please see my review for Burnout Revenge. COMING SOON.) which is fun. Madden 06 is still a fundimentaly sound game, but the problem is that it just isn't as addictive and fun as previous games were. And sometimes, you just can't shake the feeling that you've already played this games dozens of times already.