This year Ea Sports is hoping to redefine the air attack by making things a bit more realistic and much more precise. As before, you’re met with an assortment of play calling options, hot routes, audibles, practice modes, a dynasty to manage and now, you’re very own superstar. Start from the ground up and make the ultimate player. Create him, draft him, and get him the big bucks. It’s just another way EA Sports sucks you further into the game.

The added bells and whistles are always a welcomed addition but let’s not kid ourselves. Every year EA does something with the gameplay that fans either love or hate. This year it’s the passing system. The new QB Passing system requires players to look before they throw and cuts out the majority of “lucky passes” that people, including myself, would complain about last year. There will be no more running to the left sideline only to throw the ball all the way over to the right sideline for a completed pass. Now, QBs have a cone of vision that players can manipulate by using the right control stick. Moving the QB’s head left or right will move his line of sight to the proper wide receiver. The better the QB, the larger the cone is, which in turn, makes throwing a little less difficult. I use the word difficult because the passing system is indeed one of the hardest learning curves I’ve had in quite some time in any video game. For starters, EA, for whatever reason unbeknownst to me, felt like changing the control scheme around. Now you need to hold down A to run as the QB (last year you would press Y). Yes, it is possible to change the controls back to what they used to be in 2005, but I have to question why they would even change it in the first place. After a few games with the new passing system, I have to say that the realistic approach is met by both enthusiasm and disappointment. For starters, the old passing system wasn’t all that bad to begin with. If it’s not broke don’t fix it right? I suppose some kudos should go to EA for trying to take the initiative in creating something fresh and new. And later down the line that’s what we have to look at. After so many years of making football games, you can’t expect EA to throw the same type of gameplay year after year. So they tweak it and see what happens. In the process they’ll lose some fans but not after they’ve gained a few as well. The passing system doesn’t make or break the title, and there’s always the option to go back to the old system (unless you’re playing online). My advice to gamers is to give it more than two or three games and I think you’ll begin to get the hang of it, or at least appreciate what EA is trying to accomplish.

Also added in this year is the ability to use the Big Hit Stick on offense. Using the hit stick as a running back (known as the truck stick), you’ll be able to barrel over weaker defensemen to gain those few extra yards. If you’re lucky and strong enough, you might knock him out of the way giving you some much desired space towards the end zone. Though this sounds all very good by my little description, I haven’t really seen too much pizzazz from using the truck stick. I suppose, like a lot of things this year, it’ll take some time to truly get used to and master.

Online play is back and features all the bells and whistles we grew accustomed to in Madden 2005. Unfortunately, EA Sports really didn’t do anything to make online play any better from last year. My biggest gripe, from a presentation perspective, is the lack of replays or even the ability to challenge a call. For starters, how nice would it be to see that great interception one more time; just for the sake of rubbing your friend’s nose in it. Or what about a crucial 4th and 1? What’s to say a challenge wouldn’t overrule the referee’s decision? And for the life of me I can’t understand why they took out the ability to knock down the guys who hold the first down poles! Ok so it might not be a crucial part of the game but it’s one of the things I enjoyed from 2005. Making changes when they don’t need to be changed and not making changes where they were most needed.

While we shouldn’t expect to be blown away this year with revolutionary graphics (at least until we see a release on the Xbox 360), Madden 06 still adds a few little tweaks and sparkles that make the game looking as good as ever. New animations add to the fluidity of the game. And with new animation comes some very eye pleasing bone jarring hits. Let us remember football is not a game for the faint of heart and Madden 06 proves it once again everytime you use the Big Hit Stick. After playing awhile I took notice to some of the subtle differences between the 06 and 2005. As I said before, there isn’t a whole lot to get excited about with respect to new additions, but 2006 does seem to have a crisper feel overall. As always EA Sports has done a great job of capturing the realism of the players, their movements, celebrations, tackles, and even the stadiums.

Apparently players now make a vomiting sound whenever you use the Big Hit Stick.
It’s inadvertently one of the funnier things in the game. Our favorite duo of Al Michaels and John Madden are back offering more commentary and banter, which shows a hint of improvement thus far. One thing EA has done in the past is put together an interesting compilation of music for a well diverse soundtrack bands such as Foofighters, Godsmack, and even music from NFL Films, which has always gotten me in the mood to play a little football. In game sound is always on par from last year featuring loud crowd noises, player taunts, and bone jarring hits so expect to turn your surround sound up on this one.

For the most part, Madden 06’s interface isn’t far from what 2005 sported. One noticeable difference is the online interface which shows off a more modern/edgy look to it. There’s also a “current drive” statistic that is displayed on the top of the screen during the game which gives you the amount of yards, plays, and time of possession for your current drive. Again roster downloads and even the scrolling scoreboard at the bottom of the online interface is back to keep players up to date with current sport scores.

Madden has been consistent throughout the years and every season I ask myself how EA can make the game any better or even different from last year. Considering after this year Madden will probably see his face on a PS3 or Xbox 360, I wonder what's in store for us? Obviously improved graphics and sound are a given but what about gameplay? The only reason I’m willing to put up with the passing system is that I can sense EA trying to make things very realistic, very fun, or just different. I’m not opposed to change, and since they’ve left the option to go back to our old passing system leads me to believe they they’re trying to just change things up a bit. When you’ve been making a game for over 10+ years, things can get a little stale. So you chalk up a new idea and see what the fans make of it. Personally, it’s a tough system to learn, but after awhile you appreciate the realism. Once you begin to master the passing system you might even have more fun than you thought possible. The other additions such as the truck stick, new animations, and superstar mood make this a worthy buy and don’t kid yourself if you think you won’t have as much fun, or even more, with this years Madden.