Madden 2006

The longest-running football franchise—that's virtual football—is back with its 16th installment. Madden 2006 boasts new game play improvements, online support and (perhaps most importantly) new rosters.

Madden has shone through a storm of upstarts and competitors, positioning itself as the only realistic pro-football video game for the ‘06 season. With this monopoly, it would be easy for Madden to rest on its laurels. Electronic Arts, Madden’s producer, could have simply updated the rosters, spruced up the graphics and released Madden ‘06 to blockbuster sales.

But, to its credit, EA has come up with new, innovative and sometimes aggravating game play features. The most notable upgrade is the new quarterback vision. With this setting turned on, your QB can only throw the ball accurately in his limited field of vision. For most QBs, this is a small brightly lit wedge usually centered on the primary receiver. This forces the player to do what QBs usually do: throw to the first option. It is, of course, possible to change the direction the QB is looking, but doing so is very tricky for the novice and annoying even after hours of dealing with the new system.

Indubitably, this new feature adds realism to a game which prides itself on being an accurate simulation. Unfortunately, it may detract from the game’s excitement. Madden has always been dedicated to realism: it was conceived as the first videogame to feature all 22 players on the field at once. And this commitment has secured Madden’s position in the gamer’s world.

But sometimes the addiction to realistic game play can detract from the visceral thrills. Besides the frequently limiting QB vision, other annoyances arise. EA has decided to let the players walk slowly from the huddle to the line to start each play. At the end of each game, the gamer is forced to wait for the clock to unwind for several minutes even after the game has been decided. It wouldn't be surprising if Madden '07 forced a full minute 50 seconds wait upon gamers after calling a time out.

And yet despite a commitment to realism, Madden is still prone to hyperbole. Good players on the real field become mediocre on the virtual turf while great players become incredible. Kyle Boller's QB vision is almost a straight line to his one primary receiver while Peyton Manning can clearly see the entire field. Mike Vick is impossible to catch (though, thankfully is pretty crippled in his passing abilities, fixing one hyperbole with another) and LaDainian Tomlinson breaks every tackle. Apparently EA will bend the rules—but only to please the guys who might get their face on the box.

Madden has found its niche, and it’s a large one, too: the serious football fan. But Madden may be getting too serious and inflexible for the weekend warrior.