Video Game Review: Madden 2006

A week after "Madden 2006" launched, it sold a staggering 1.7 million copies across multiple platforms. Truth be told, it probably relied merely on name recognition and its status as the only NFL-licensed football game this year for it to sell that many copies. Its success certainly was not because of the much advertised "Vision Control" or any new features added to the game.

Every year since its inception, the same question is posed by "Madden" fans and critics: Is this a brand new game worth my money or is it just a roster-updated rehash of the previous version?

Each year it seems there is a small contingent that votes for the latter while the majority votes with their dollars, which has made "Madden" the flagship product of Electronic Arts (EA).
"Madden" is like the "Star Wars" of video games: No matter what the reviews are, the masses are still going to buy it. Unfortunately for "Madden '06," that doesn't stop it from sucking. The minor flaws and oversights may be just that, but should they really exist in a product that has been revised for a decade and a half? Hey EA, why does the Vision Control handle so loosely that I get sacked every other down? Why, every single time the computer or I run a draw play, the vision cone is stuck straight ahead, giving away the play before it develops? Why is there only one coach on the sidelines and not even one living soul standing in the area behind the end zones? The announcing hasn't improved much either since the Sega Genesis days, with John Madden still only able to state the obvious and bellow random "booms!" And, oh yeah, your $50 also buys you a game where the players have the strange ability to literally pass through other players as if they were ghosts.

Maybe if I didn't know anything about football, I could enjoy this game more. Maybe if I had an explanation for how the Green Bay Packers led the league in defense after my season, or how Aaron Kampman, the Pack's sub-par defensive end, led the league in sacks with 24. Or if I had an explanation for how each team is around $20 million dollars above the salary cap, allowing me to sign all the top free agents right away, eliminating the fun of building a franchise from the ground up.

Not all is wrong with the game however. The music soundtrack is as hip as ever, you can still play football in the game, and multi-player remains entertaining. Of course you could say that about last year's version, and, come to think of it, the previous year's too.
In the end, I really wish I could get my money back for this edition. I'm guessing a lot of those people who have already bought this game would agree with me.

Grade: D

This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on September 1, 2005.