Genre: Sports
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Exient
Release Date: August 8, 2005

Buy 'MADDEN NFL 2006':
Xbox | GameCube | GBA | NDS | PC | PlayStation 2 | PSP

What can only be described as the "Madden Empire" continues to grow unabated, fueled by the exclusive rights to the NFL license that Electronic Arts secured last year, to the chagrin of many. There will be no fewer than six platforms for which you can purchase this year's Madden title, and for many, the decision has boiled down to one question: Do I want to play Madden NFL 06 at home or on the road? If you've got a Nintendo DS, you'll likely want to check out this version as a good way to get your football fix.

Say what you will about EA, but they are, at the very least, a consistent source of solid games for every platform; however, it's extremely obvious that they favor the home consoles when it comes to developing their biggest titles, leaving the leftovers to platforms such as the Game Boy and the Nintendo DS. This time around, a real effort was made to include all of the bells and whistles that the console players enjoy, such as franchise mode, mini-camps, fantasy drafts, and more, which goes a long way in making this version of Madden feel like the most complete handheld experience of the franchise yet.

The meat of any football game is really the franchise mode, and Madden really excels in this area. You have the choice to start your own franchise with players selected in a fantasy draft, or you can just go with the rosters that are provided in the game for each team. The fantasy draft is a fun way to try and create a superstar-studded franchise for your favorite team, even if it happens to be the Arizona Cardinals. It's a bit tedious going through and selecting all of the players, and you have no way of knowing exactly how many players of each position you need, which causes a bit of difficulty. If you don't really care who you get once you've selected your first string players, you can have the computer draft the rest of your players, helping move things along without forcing you to worry about it too much.

Once you've set up your team, you're ready for action … and this is where the bulk of the problems with Madden NFL 06 make their appearance. The first problem is the method for kicking off. When I first popped the cartridge into my DS and started playing, I chose to kick off to my opponent. I then spent 10 minutes at the kick-off screen trying to figure out what the heck I was supposed to do.

Now, I almost never RTFM (read the fricking manual) before I try a game out for the first time, so I was a bit clueless and frustrated when I wasn't able to make anything happen with the buttons, aside from changing the angle of my kick. It turns out that you are forced to utilize the touch screen when making any sort of a kick. The accuracy and distance of your kick is dependent upon how fast you flick your stylus upwards and how straight you draw your line. I would not recommend using your finger at all (unless you're endowed with one of those sculpted fingernails), as your accuracy and distance will suffer mightily due to the inherent inaccuracy of a finger on the DS touch screen. It was disappointing to see that there are no other options for kicking, and the touch screen is your only choice.

The rest of the game flows a lot better than the kicking game. The top screen is dedicating to viewing the action, and the bottom screen is used for play-calling and also displays the Xs and Os that are so often associated with the whiteboards of coaches in the locker room. The bottom screen also has buttons that can be used to call a timeout or display statistics, but these are really inconveniently placed as well as being way too small to make use of on a regular basis. With the standard controls, the game feels almost like playing on a console at home; it's easy to maneuver the players around the field, pass to your receivers, pull off stiff-arms and jukes, and it feels quite responsive.

While moving your players around the field is easy, actually making your way into the end zone is another story altogether – at least if you favor the passing game. It was extremely difficult to complete passes with any sort of regularity. Once the receivers rush downfield, it becomes hard to see if they are open or not, and if you take the time to glance at the myriad of Xs and Os puttering around on the bottom screen, you'll usually end up being sacked. Consequently, you'll probably rack up a lot of rushing yards, since it is much easier to run the ball than pass it. It's much easier to see your player when you're rushing, so controlling his actions and gaining yardage is more successful with the running game.

Graphically, Madden is pretty solid. The various stadiums are modeled well and look familiar, at least. The player models are also pretty sharp looking and have a bit of a reflection added to give a "shiny" look to them, which is a nice effect. The only real beef with the graphics is the camera angle and the fact that players seem to "merge" when they get too far away from the action. It's this effect that tends to make the passing game difficult: as players grow smaller, the pixels less accurately display what is happening on the screen, leading to poor passing decisions. If you can compensate for this by learning to look at the bottom screen, you'll probably have more success, but the average player will tend to stick with the running game.

Al Michaels and John Madden probably spent about two minutes recording the voice clips for their roles in this game, as they repeat themselves far too often and make no meaningful contributions outside of the fact that they're in the game. There is also some licensed music on the menu screens, which is a nice touch. Sound effects for tackles, the crowd, and the general ambience of a football game are well done and add considerably to the experience. If only Madden and Michaels could sound less like a skipping CD, the sound would be really outstanding.

Another great feature of Madden NFL 06 is the four-player wireless multiplayer. Get some friends together and you can play wirelessly, adding considerable longevity to the game. With franchise mode and the tons of options available, as well as the mini-camps and fantasy drafts, Madden NFL 06 packs enough punch to easily last you until next year's version. Of course, you'll only want to play that long if you're a die-hard football fan who is always on the road and has no access to a console version. There are just too many little things that hamper an otherwise solid football experience.

It's really unfortunate that "wait until next year" is the phrase that pays when it comes down to this year's Madden title. If you're craving a lasting football experience that will end up being enjoyable despite all of the problems, Madden NFL 06 is an excellent choice. If you're just a casual gamer who wants to play a few games now and then, it really isn't worth the price of admission to pick up this title. Chances are that by the time you get used to the various things that drag down this game, you'll have moved onward. There are some promising features here, but most of them are either implemented poorly or tacked on as an afterthought, and the camera angles and difficult passing game don't help things. Madden NFL 06 is really for fanatics only.

Score: 7.0/10