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Madden NFL 06 Review: Is It Worth Buying?

Cover of Madden NFL 2006, featuring Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb getting ready to make a pass.

Madden NFL 06 Review: Is It Worth Buying?

Madden NFL 06 was developed by EA Tiburon and published by EA Sports in 2005 for Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox, Xbox 360, Windows, and Nintendo DS. If you’ve got last year’s version of EA’s Madden series on the Gameboy Advance, then you can probably safely skip Madden NFL 06. Aside from the expected roster changes, it just doesn’t do enough to set itself apart to make it worth a purchase.

Hardware Limitations Restrict Performance

Madden NLF Screenshot
Jumping over the competition.

It’s disappointing to see such little improvement in this series from season to season. There have been no major changes to Madden NFL 06 since the newly designed engine was introduced last year. But that was last year. This year’s version is riding the crest of that wave, with only a few minor upgrades in the graphics department and the inclusion of a Mini Camp Mode. As mentioned, the roster has also been updated, but buying the same game with some new characters is not going to appeal to any but the most devoted NFL fans.

Considering the limitations of the GBA, this series is about as good as it can get. But why keep releasing the same old product with one or two new features? If John Madden actually knew about the videogame industry, he would likely take his name off this series now before he does any more damage to his legendary reputation. 

There is no comparison to be made between this and the console version, which is unsurprising given the disparity in processing power between console and handheld systems. With a limited control system and sprite-based graphics, you can’t expect this game to be much more than a deep mini-game. The fun is there, but it won’t result in any passionate competition. It’s just too simplistic to hold the players attention.

A Handful of Improvements

Madden NFL
Getting ready for a long throw.

It’s not all bad news, though: passing is made easier with the ability to zoom into the field and extend the field of vision so that the player can instantly see who is in the clear. Set the height, get the timing right and the player is bound to gain some yards. The AI is good, but if you stay cool and keep looking for those holes you can play a pretty consistent passing game.

Madden NFL 06‘s Mini Camp mode acts as a training mode with four mini games that will teach the finer points of the game. Passing, running, tackling and field goal kicking make up the four mini-games in the mode. They will get the user in the game in no time, but they’re also fun to play as the score is kept track of for future competitions.

Presentation is Adequate in Madden NFL 06

NFL
Close to the finish line be aware of your surroundings.

With slightly tweaked graphics and a framerate tune-up, the game looks good and runs smoothly. It’s only in 2D, so it would be surprising if it weren’t to look fairly good. The controls are simple and easy to access and execute. Mechanically, the game is solid, but the bad news is that frame rate and performance tend to suffer when there’s too much action on the screen.

Final Thoughts

John Madden himself adds a few guttural comments to the game, and there are some Foo Fighter samples that are great for effect. Unfortunately, the same samples are repeated often. The player will eventually want to turn the sound down after an hour or so.

This series seems to have become stagnant. We’ll see what improvements future titles can bring, but as of right now, it’s hard to recommend Madden NFL 06 to anybody who’s played the game within the last few years.

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