It has been a few months since the announcement and gamers have had their time to vent or warm up to the idea that EA has the sole rights to the NFL. Love the series or hate it, it is the only game in town. Luckily, for EA, the Madden series has a monstrous following, so the choice is made by many, even before the exclusive rights contract ink had a chance to dry. The big question on everyone's mind was whether or not EA would rest on their laurels and create a small upgrade with roster changes, especially with the Next Gen Madden coming this Fall, or would they provide enough new and innovative features that would give games the feeling that their fifty dollars has been well spent. The answer to that question really lays with the gamer, not any reviewer, especially myself. What I have gotten out of this year's Madden was a mixture of feelings. The good coming in the new passing feature, NFL Superstar Mode, and some new cut scenes and presentation upgrades. The bad coming from the lack of exciting presentation that was introduced by the competition last year, and surprisingly both the new passing feature and NFL Superstar Mode. In this review I will attempt to explain how good and bad can come from these features. What Madden does bring to the table is the same thing they have done every year, on the field, the game is spectacular, and delivers the most accurate game stats and realistic results in football game history.

The graphics engine in Madden 06 is easily the game's biggest letdown, especially since NCAA 06 looks better! Sure, the animations, stadiums, and lighting all are very good, but it is the lack of any real evolution in the graphical engine that is the disappointment here. Uniform textures are still drawn on in the same old way, cut scenes while new, don't give us that punch with realistic faces or sideline celebrations, and there still no half time or game ending wrap ups. When the biggest presentation lift that is noticeable is a strip that goes across the top of the screen that says 'Touchdown' with your team logo inside it, you know that this aspect of capturing the TV experience still has not been addressed. Lastly, I say this every year, and I will do it until I am blue in the face, for the love of crumb cake, please fix the proportion of the size of the heads to the body! Overall, Madden still looks good, but the competition last year did such of an amazing job bringing the game to life, I'm more than disappointed that EA didn't take notice, especially since they put those creative collaborators out of a job.

Audio also hasn't seen a dramatic change, but thankfully, only a few of the 'Maddanisms' have been recycled. Even better is that Al Michaels has seemed to have recorded a whole new batch of commentary for the game, so at least the play by play will seem fresh for another year. The EA Trax is back, and for Xbox users you can utilize your custom soundtracks, but unfortunately just for menu music. Madden 06 is brought to you in THX Dolby Surround sound so the stadium is in your home if you have such a setup.

Gam play has always been the staple of the Madden series, as EA promises to deliver the most realistic game play each and every year. This year is no different, if you want to place your fate in the game to get results for your fantasy football league; no game simulates the game of football better than Madden. As for the core elements of game play, the basic essentials that made Madden so great are here. The passing game is wonderful, the running game relies on the knowledge of your plays, the defense, and following those blockers, and the A.I. is nothing short of brilliant and becomes more and more like a person with each new year and rising difficulty level. Now that we know that Madden brings the game of football accurately and dependently to your living room, let me introduce the latest feature the 'vision and precision passing mode'.

This mode emulates how much vision a QB has on the field, which is determined by their awareness in this area. If you have a QB who generally looks down the field and only views his drawn passing WR and little else of the field is surveyed, his field vision is low. However, if you have a QB like a Payton Manning who can see the entire field and fool defenses by not looking for one particular receiver, then their vision is high. You know this by a new vision cone or as I like to call it, the old flashlight on the helmet. This cone verifies just how much vision your QB has, and any pass that is thrown outside this area will be off target, which can result in many incomplete passes or even an INT. Now if you are stuck using a lesser QB with low vision, then there are ways that you can fool defenders. You can either default before each pass to where no receiver is highlighted for you to stare down. You can go with the play as follows, but watch the rest of the field and throw to another receiver by holding down the R button before throwing your pass. You can even use the right analog to move your field of vision from one side of the field to the other. To say the least, this feature easily takes some getting use to and much practice if you are to be successful. Unless, of course, you take the weak way out and always choose the best vision QB's. What I don't particularly like about this feature is the unnecessary step you have to take to get the ball off, the controlling of the vision cone is a good idea, but the execution is poor as a QB's reading of the field is instinct and reaction not manually turning his vision from left to right before he throws the ball. I agree that more emphasis needs to be taken towards the idea of a QB just staring down one receiver at all times, but there has to be a more user-friendly way of doing it. A good idea just falls short on actual execution. That being said, you can turn off the QB vision feature if you want to play old school.

Madden 2006 has incorporated a few new modes of play, the most important new feature is the NFL Superstar mode. This mode is a single player mode that allows you to experience the lifestyle of an NFL player. You begin by creating your NFL Superstar. To do this you can either incorporate your NCAA player from 06 or NFL Street, or you can create one from scratch, which is based on your parents DNA. From here, you must take an IQ test and hire an agent. Once your player is established you enter the draft and begin your career as an NFL Superstar. You have a world map that allows you to attend practices, talk to your agent, and even visit tattoo and barbershops. You will also develop your player's persona by taking interviews and answering fan mail. To coolest feature is that you must attend practices before each big game, how well you do in these practices effects your performance in the upcoming game. I absolutely love this mode, but it does have a downside that is rather irritating; you can get hurt in this mode. I will repeat that, injuries are part of this mode. Why? If the object of this feature is a single player mode, why would you want to not be playing all the time? I understand that injuries are part of the game, but if you are to make me injured, how about providing me with off the field reaction to my injury, or performing in workout and rehabilitation sessions, not just playing as the backup QB who has no effect on your NFL Superstar. Other than that little nit pick, the mode is great and will appeal to those wannabe players who never quite measured up to make it to the NFL and wanted to get a taste of the good life.

Overall, Madden 2006 is not the huge advancement many might expect from a new year and especially a year when they are the only game in town, but the game still plays solid, the rosters are updated, and the new modes may appeal to those coming over from the competition. I just hope with the newly acquired rights to the ESPN license that EA takes full use of it and gives us TV style presentation that we have never witnessed. I'm also curious to see how the Xbox 360 version turns out later this year. For now, if you want football, Madden is your choice, but millions of fans can't be wrong can they?