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57 of 65 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Originally gave it a 3 - after further review, it's 4 stars, August 10, 2005
Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars
My initial reaction to this year's edition of Madden was 3 stars and highly critical. Now, after playing it for four days, I must say I was wrong. Here is my updated review. There still are some issues I have with it, but some of the original gripes have turned into positive points for the game and the game play itself. On the surface, the game may look like it hasn't changed, but what may seem like subtle "tweaks" have turned this into a much better football game than I initially thought. I blame EA on this one because a lot of this stuff is not spelled out clearly in the manuals nor in the on-line tutorials. I think this leads people to believe that the game hasn't changed much, but under the hood, it really has. Please read on to see how.
First off, the commentary is about the same and at times, does NOT flow well. Voice inflections with Michaels are REALLY bad. He starts off sounding really excited when he says "We're here at the (insert field name) where" and then when he states the team name (such as the AFC South Champion Colts), his excitement drops and even when he's finished saying the team name, he sounds as if he wants to say something else but doesn't. Madden's commentary is exactly the same from last year. Not much new here and just as boring as ever. I've turned off the commentary because it's just not fun to listen to.
Now, lets get to the good stuff. First off is QB Vision. At first, it may not seem that great. In fact, if you play against an on-line opponent, it could tip them off to which receiver you're eyeing if you stay focused on your primary receiver. You can make it so the cone just focuses out in front of you before the snap and doesn't tip your hand. With practice (go to the mini-camps and such), you can make it work and it actually adds realism to the game. At first, I didn't like it, but after much playing and practice, I've found that this actually can help improve your gaming experience and it makes you feel like a real QB, having to check off receivers. Moving the cone can be done with a combination of buttons presses (switching from one receiver to another, just like it used to be many years ago) or use the right stick to scan your field (the better option but takes practice). Don't throw to a receiver that is not in the cone (unless they're in the flats or running short slants) because you'll throw the most lame-duck pass you have ever seen. Fortunately, for Rookie and Pro mode, throwing outside of the cone is just like it was last year and you won't make the lame-duck passes and it provides an excellent playground for practicing with the cone vision. However, once you get to All-Pro and Madden level, you MUST use the cone. Still, don't write this off so quickly like I did.
Next is the "precision passing". At first, I thought this was just like leading your receiver. It is in some respects, but with some excellent improvements. You can throw the pass low, making the receiver having to scoop up the pass (and you'll see him actually do this). You can throw high (which works great over the middle) and this stops the problem from last year where the D-line would swat the ball down. You can throw to the right, left, up-and-right, up-and-left, down-and-right, and down-and-left as well.
Another new feature is the offensive blocking scheme shift. You can audible and make your o-line block in a spread formation, compress itself tighter, block to the left or right.
The "truck stick" is nice, in addition to juking or spinning. Just don't abuse it or you'll end up fumbling. I find that hitting it once per play is enough and it's very satisfying when you see the RB throw the defender on his rear end.
Another nice feature is the having ability to tell your receiver to extend his route on 3rd and long if his initial route won't make it to the first down marker. Just hit Y, select your receiver and then pull the right analog stick down. He'll alter his route to make it just past the first down marker. This also works in the reverse situation. If you are third and short and you discover a serious mismatch on a receiver running a 10-yard route, you can again hit Y, select the receiver and pull the right stick down. He will shorten his route to the first down marker. A really nice plus to all of this is you can do this to more than one receiver as long as it's not a half back route or an option route. It even works with playmaker adjusted routes.
Defense has some new things as well. Scrolling through your defenders is easier now. No longer do you have to cycle through with the buttons. Instead, press the A or B button and then move the stick in the direction you want to move. For example, if you highlight a player on the D line, press A or B button and then up on the D-pad or left analog and you'll now be in the linebackers. Do it again, you'll have the safeties. The same goes with moving the stick left or right. What could have taken six clicks now takes one button press and one or two analog stick pushes. Nice touch.
There are also individual assignments, which allow you to view the assignment of one player without tipping off the opponent to what the other defenders are doing.
Playmaker Zones have some new additional coverages. You can move the stick once to select one type of coverage for a highlighted player. If you do the same move again, you'll select a different coverage. For example, if you highlight your DE and then press right on the analog stick, he'll go into flat coverage. If you press right again, his coverage changes from flat to hook coverage.
You can also do zone shading for the safeties so they can play certain routes better. Your safeties can play wide or tight, depending on what you think the offense will do. Your corners can also shade the receivers as well.
With linebackers, you have the option of putting any linebacker or defensive back into man coverage as well. Just press the coverage audible button (Y), press the receiver you want to cover and then right on the D-pad or left analog stick. This changes the defender into man coverage.
The option to adjust to a run or pass after the snap is back. This premiered in Madden '04 but took a hiatus in Madden '05. If you set up a defense and then after the snap, you know that the offense is running or passing, you can immediately press down (for the run) or up (for the pass) to shift your defense into a better position to stop the play. Kudos to EA for bringing this back.
Franchise mode is great as usual. But, there are a few new tweaks that are very nice. When you are ready to play a team, you can actually get an overview of each key player on the team. This way, you can see how their defense and offense stack up against yours. Rather than having to go to the opposing team's roster, you can go to your PDA and view the information in the game plan section. This includes just about every player on their roster that is scheduled to play, including the kickers! It gives you their strengths and weaknesses and can identify key match ups between your team and the opponent.
Another nice addition is you can rep through key plays against the opposing team's defensive plays. You still practice against your teammates, but they will set up in the defensive schemes that are considered to be key for the opposing team you will face that weekend. The more reps you do against that play, the more points you get which will help you play better in the upcoming game.
I've noticed that with on-line, there are a LOT of false start penalties when you try the no-huddle. I believe this could be due to the new "fair-play" rule that states if you do the no-huddle too much or out of place where a team normally wouldn't, then it can result in false starts. Well, I was playing a game, getting waxed 14-0 with no time outs left. It was near the end of the game (3 minutes to go) and I was marching down the field. When I finally picked a play that had definite mismatches with the D, I immediately attempted to no huddle. I wanted to hot-route someone so I hit the Y button and I got whistled for a false start. 1st and 15 for my team. I then chose another play, again resulted in a first down and then no huddled again. Again, false start. Just way too many of these and I was using it in a situation that most teams would use it in. Even my opponent had it happen to him a lot when he tried the no-huddle, although he was doing it when he had the ball near the end of the game and was winning 21-0. It just seems it wasn't taking into account that I was trying to score quickly to hopefully tie the game up.
Sound wise, nothing spectacular. They boast THX 5.1 surround, but it didn't seem to make much difference on my system. ESPN NFL, ESPN MLB 2k5 and even MVP 2k5 sound better than Madden '06 does. Still, it sounds a little crisper than Madden '05, but again, I didn't really notice it much. NCAA Football '06 has the best sound between the two of them.
Graphically, there are no boosts here except with new animations. The players still look like they're on steroids. The RCA Dome in Madden 06 shows astro turf when in reality they've replaced it with the new fake grass! Even the local newspaper in Franchise Mode notes this change! Still, this isn't a game breaker, but it would have been nice to at least have some updated graphics.
The DNA stuff takes a long time to set up, and even then, don't sim anything, otherwise you lose out on choosing various options that may come up in your players career that can affect the rest of his life. This appears to be more of a marketing ploy more than trying to "spruce up" the game. It's not that bad, but I'm not sure if it was necessarily needed.
I have to admit, my initial review might have...
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't believe the negativity....Passing cones improve realism., December 23, 2005
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
As a long time Madden fan I was hesitant to buy the new version due to all the backlash over the new passing system, but trust me when I say that it is well worth the initial frustration. Between the ability to extend passing routes beyond the fist down marker, being able to lead a receiver with "precision passing", and the aforementioned passing cones, the passing game is far more robust and improvisational. Each Touchdown pass feels like an actual accomplishment that you earned based on skill and attention to detail.
As an avid Giants fan, I couldn't be more aware of the effect that a players stats now have on the game. While Peyton Manning can see roughly the entire field while dropping back to throw, Eli has to meticulously select which receiver to focus on before throwing. The game becomes more interesting because often you will have to select a receiver before the snap to focus your passing cone on if you are running play action, or if you O-Line stinks. I've never spent more time scanning defenses and making adjustments pre-snap before, and it's all because it is integral to your success on offense.
Beyond passing, the computer can actually run the ball against a human opponent now. In previous versions the opposing team would usually end up with some absurdly low rushing total despite the caliber of running back, but (at least on All-Pro Difficulty) I can tell you that stopping the run is as legitimate a concern as it is in real football.
In conclusion, I say that if "looking off" receivers is a central part of real NFL games, then let it be a central part of virtual ones.
Personally I think the new features rule.
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10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Highly disappointing, August 10, 2005
Fun:1.0 out of 5 stars
It's 2005 repackaged, the new features like QB vision actually make it harder without adding anything to the game, and the Superstar mode is entirely random.
Add in that the price soared back to $50, and the only reason this is selling is that it's the only NFL game with updated rosters (exclusive license).
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