Madden 2006

[Jdawgflow]

Could anybody give me some info on the Madden games? I don't play video games very often as most of my purchases in recent years have been the EPSN football series each year, Halo, Civilization 3, and a couple of others. Any info on gameplay, depth in the franchise mode, controls, and character creation would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance for the help everybody.

[cyman3]

i play both- ESPN and MADDEN. My take? its very similar to ESPN/NBA LIVE (basketball).

ESPN- the graphics is far superior and more entertaining.

MADDEN (or NBA LIVE)- The gameplay is more realistic. Unlike ESPN, u cant play on the hardest level and expect to come out with victory using the same play over and over with the worst team in the league. COM is a little smarter than that.

overall, i like both games. i usually take turns (alternate- last year i bought ESPN, so im going w/ MADDEN this year). They are totally different games. One person could be the KING in madden and totally suck at espn (and vice versa).

I've noticed a trend. Young kids (middle schoolers or younger) seem to like ESPN better. Its easier to learn. The older ones (college and beyond) like Madden more.

just my 2 cents.

u cant go wrong w/ either game.

but heres my question-

what do i go w/?

the new NBA game (by SONY) or NBA LIVE?

[Admin]

EA got all rights to the NFL brand as well as an agreement with ESPN to use the ESPN name and graphics in the game.

From what I have read about Madden 06 this is a major upgrade because of 2 things.

1. This year they have added the truck stick, which is the offensive version of the hit stick that was added last year for the defense. Basically an offensive player can use the right analog stick to lower his shoulder and deliver the blow to the defender before the defender has the chance to do it to him.

2. The big upgrade is the QB vision thing. It shows a little funnel of light wherever the QB is looking and you can control the QBs eyes by using the R analog stick to move his head and his vision across the field. Basically what it does is keep the QB from making some BS completion to a receiver that he wasnt even looking at.

I am going to get Madden today at lunch so I will let you guys know how it plays sometime tonight....and I am sure someone else will also do the same.

Oh and Cyman, NBA Live is supposed to have some huge upgrades this year as well and judging by the preview they showed during the NBA Draft it looks pretty sweet.

[chillzatl]

[Admin]

I dont know when it will be released for the PC...which as we have discussed before, is fine by me since I am fully committed to the console.

What is interesting is that they released it for the X-Box, which I had heard they werent going to do since the 360 will be available in less than 3 months.

[chillzatl]

PC release is the 17th. checked on ebgames.

[cyman3]

after a year of only ESPN, madden is getting hard (the controls). not quite used to it. the last time i owned Madden was when MARSHALL FAULK was on the cover (2003). i also borrowed a friends Madden (Vick on cover)- 2004 for a while.

i didnt play last year's madden.

and now, i feel like a NEWBIE!

that funnel passing thing is harder than i thought. Im not comfortable switching receivers in middle of a play. Its either

A) pick a receiver before the play starts, and if hes open- GREAT... or

B) run w/ MIKE VICK if option A doesnt work.

i would like to switch receivers and have more options, but i dont have a great feel of the controls yet.

oh yeah- on defense, im completely clueless. i feel like the my teammates (COM) is doing better than me.

[Admin]

I picked it up at lunch today and played half of the first pre-season game and I am very impressed. If your primary receiver is open you are in good shape, but if the other team brings a blitz and you have to find an alternate receiver it is very challenging to switch. Of course if you have a guy like Manning at QB they have a huge vision tunnel, but my QB Feeley has a pretty small one.

The soundtrack is much improved in this years version as well, including that one NFL jingle with the bells that everyone knows as soon as they hear it. They also have Rich Eisen doing the video tutorials which I thought was pretty cool.

My only initial complaint is that Ricky Williams isnt on the Dolphins roster which kinda pisses me off, but that wont mean much to anyone other than Dolphins fans I imagine.

[DJ_Money]

I think I remember reading that they were tweaking the control scheme? You noticing anything major?

I need to get Madden, but it'll have to wait until after I move this weekend. I might not have cable hooked up for a few days, so I'll certainly need something to do.

[Admin]

The only thing major I noticed when playing earlier was that to switch players on defense during the play now you have to use the O button. Unless my memory is pretty bad it has always been the X button, right? I havent played Madden in probably 6 months but I think this is a new thing.

Cant hardly wait, I will be heading home from work in about 2 hours to play the hell out of it tonight.

[Jdawgflow]

Thanks for the comments everybody. I was sad when Madden got exclusive rights because ESPN had made a lot of progress the past couple of years. My personal favorite in any football game is the franchise mode and player creation where I can control all aspects of the team. I really hope the Madden series does a good job at this. If anyone notices please let me know.