Official Madden 2006 Impressions Thread

[matthewk]

Quick question about the vision cone passing. Can you select your 1st read, or is it tied to the play? For example, if I go to the line and see that I should have single coverage because the safety is coming in to blitz, is there any way I can make that WR the 1st one in my vision cone prior to the snap, even if he's not the primary WR according to the play?

OK, one more. Can you still have classic team tournaments? There was always a tournament mode, and you could replace the curent teams with the classic ones like the '96 Packers and play a tourny complete with stat tracking. Also, has anyone tried editing the classic teams? ANy restrictions there?

BTW, these questions in no way means that I will be getting this game (I said before that I would not).....but you never know

[Boom]

You can select your primary receiver at the line of scrimmage. By holding the right trigger in and pressing the button that corresponds to the receiver you desire, he will now become your primary target and the passing cone will start out on him.

Don't know about classic team tourney's

[Danimal]

Quick question about the vision cone passing. Can you select your 1st read, or is it tied to the play? For example, if I go to the line and see that I should have single coverage because the safety is coming in to blitz, is there any way I can make that WR the 1st one in my vision cone prior to the snap, even if he's not the primary WR according to the play?

You can select the first read or just select to look in the center of the field. Lets say I call a slant and the primary WR is the X. I get to the line and see the D is taking away the slant. I hold the R Trigger and prees B to designate the B receiver as the one I am looking at. Or I could pull the R trigger and hit A to look in the center of the field.

OK, one more. Can you still have classic team tournaments? There was always a tournament mode, and you could replace the curent teams with the classic ones like the '96 Packers and play a tourny complete with stat tracking. Also, has anyone tried editing the classic teams? ANy restrictions there?

BTW, these questions in no way means that I will be getting this game (I said before that I would not).....but you never know

I don't know sorry, I will try and check it out for you.

[ScoopBrady]

I picked it up at EB's midnight madness thing. There were at least 50 people there. I didn't expect so many.

I've only had a chance to dabble with some in-game and practice but I love what I see so far.

IMO the vision passing is not a gimmick at all. It accurately mimicks a qb checking down his progressions and makes you feel more like a qb than any other football game I have ever played. I love reading the defense pre-snap and selecting the wr I think has the best chance of getting open and when he's not switching over to my other options. It definitely will require some getting used to but it really improves the passing game / cheese factor IMO.

The running game is vastly improved and I didn't notice any Mario running at all. My rb would spin or jump on his own to avoid getting stuck on the line. I went into practice mode and practiced a run up the gut against random defenses about 100 times and didn't see Mario running occur at all.

This game feels MUCH different than last years game and to call it Madden 2005 with roster updates is f#$@ing ludicrous. It plays much better than last years game IMO.

I know a lot of people will give up on the vision passing way too quickly and that's a shame. I hit the practice field for over an hour today messing with it and I absolutely love it. Then again, I loved First-person football and Read and Lead passing too so I guess I'm not normal. For those who liked Read and Lead passing, vision passing is similar but better.

Defensive pre-snap adjustments are mind-blowing. I can't believe how many options you have at your disposal. It's a defense lovers wet dream.

Graphics on the Xbox version are way better than last year and it runs smoothly. The controls are also very smooth but it took me a while to adapt since they are different than NCAA's.

I couldn't be happier with my purchase thus far and between Madden and NCAA 06 I'm in football heaven right now.

[bdunn13]

You can select your primary receiver at the line of scrimmage. By holding the right trigger in and pressing the button that corresponds to the receiver you desire, he will now become your primary target and the passing cone will start out on him.

Don't know about classic team tourney's

Can you change your primary pre-snap on draw plays? I read somewhere the cone was just straight up the middle on draws.. not sure if you have answered this or not.

BD

btw - I am still waiting on Colorado/Georgia!

[Boom]

you don't want CU / Georgia

[bdunn13]

oops - double post.....

[Danimal]

You can select your primary receiver at the line of scrimmage. By holding the right trigger in and pressing the button that corresponds to the receiver you desire, he will now become your primary target and the passing cone will start out on him.

Don't know about classic team tourney's

Can you change your primary pre-snap on draw plays? I read somewhere the cone was just straight up the middle on draws.. not sure if you have answered this or not.

BD

btw - I am still waiting on Colorado/Georgia!

No it only looks up the middle I think. I will double check.

Really not that big of a deal if you ask me. It only comes into play against another person. Plus you can start every pass play looking center of the field if you want. Switching out of the center look to your primary is a snap with the R trigger / button.

It is nice the QB will drop back and not throw automatically, and try to avoid the rush. Allows you to just concentrate on passing if you want.

[bdunn13]

Plus you can start every pass play looking center of the field if you want.

That should solve the problem for online play. I was just hoping draws would not be moot online...

I am really looking forward to playing this tomorrow evening.

Thx,
BD

[seanmac31]

I picked up Madden this morning and have had the chance to put it through its paces a little bit. Obviously these are just initial impressions, and I expect some of them to change as I get more time in.


The controls are extremely convoluted this year. On the defensive side of the ball, you now need to hit the black or white buttons to shift your line or linebackers (this is the Xbox version), and then either the analog pad or the right thumbstick, depending on what you want them to do. If you want to spread and fan your defensive line, for instance, you need to hit the white button and press up on the D-pad, then hit the white button again and press up on the right thumbstick. It’s pretty cumbersome, to the point where you almost have to choose your spots- you’re either going to do something with your linebackers or your d-line or your secondary, but it’s unlikely that you’ll have the time to position more than one unit the way you want to. This is exacerbated by the fact that button response is a little slow, so doing something as simple as cycling through your defenders takes more time than it should. I appreciate the degree of control EA has provided, but I wish they had found a more streamlined way to go about it. I think they probably should have copied ESPN’s approach and had the defensive line commands be part of the play selection process, thus cutting down on the things you need to do pre-snap. I’m sure this will get better over time, though.

Offense is also a little button intensive, and again the use of the black and white buttons instead of the left or right triggers makes getting the commands in a little tougher than you’d like (it also makes throwing to the backs more difficult). Most people are probably going to have their biggest issues post-snap with the passing cone commands, as you now need to press and hold the right trigger, press the button of the receiver you want to throw to, and then press that receiver’s button again (assuming the receiver isn’t in your line of vision when you snap the ball). I love the concept of the system, and honestly, it’s integrated pretty well, but the result is still a tad cumbersome.

The reason why the passing system works at all is that game speed has been noticeably toned down. It plays much slower than last year’s game, and slower than NCAA ’06 as well. It’s a little reminiscent of NFL Fever 2004’s approach to Read n’ Lead passing (and you may get bad NFL Fever flashbacks when the on-field camera zooms in on individual players pre-snap), but thankfully EA has avoided the sluggishness that ruined that game. Madden ’06 plays slowly but smoothly, and the pace is actually nice. The other big reason why the passing game works is that EA has finally fixed adopted the practice of having your quarterback drop back in the pocket automatically. In past editions, if you didn’t manually drop the quarterback, he was likely to throw to a random receiver at any given moment. Now he’ll take the appropriate drop for the play, and then will move within the pocket, allowing you to focus all your attention downfield. This significantly reduces the difficulty of the passing cone system, and it does a much better job of simulating how NFL short and medium routes are run. The quarterback gets back to his proper drop depth, plants that back foot and fires in rhythm.

One thing that has gone completely uncommented on in most of the mainstream reviews I’ve read are the playbooks. In short, they’re fantastic. They’ve been totally redesigned to model each team’s offense, and they actually do it. They are light years better than the small, generic playbooks found in NCAA ’06. The playbooks are actually reason enough to own the game, as you can really study any team’s offensive sets and philosophies with them. Defensive playbooks are not nearly as unique, but I suppose you are supposed to do a lot of pre-snap adjusting to tailor them to your style of play.

There is a new audible system that is kind of a mixed bag. It allows you to pick a quick audible based on play type at the line of scrimmage- quick pass, run, play action, deep pass. I liked the precision of being able to map plays to the right trigger from the playcalling screen, but this is a pretty reasonable substitute.

So how does it play, post-snap? Very well. I’m actually getting more impressed by the minute. The passing cone is a huge step forward for football games, because now for the first time, not only is quarterback awareness modeled, providing you with a reason to use Trent Green instead of Michael Vick, but you can actually manipulate the defense with your quarterback’s eyes. I’ve been practicing all morning, and if you look left and then switch your vision over right, the safety doesn’t have time to recover. Yep, you can actually look off defenders. The converse is true as well- if you stare at your receiver, defenders get a better break on the ball and are liable to intercept it.

Run blocking is much improved, as blockers will now engage and turn their men to help create defined running lanes. The pass blocking is improved as well, and much, much better than in NCAA ’06. The slide protection audibles look like a great idea, although in practice I’ve been having a tough time with them. I suspect they will be useful for countering overloads, but they’re not something most players are going to use on every down.

So far, so good. What’s also of note is that the game really feels distinctly different from NCAA, which is more important now that there is no 2K6 on the way.

[ScoopBrady]

The passing cone is a huge step forward for football games, because now for the first time, not only is quarterback awareness modeled, providing you with a reason to use Trent Green instead of Michael Vick, but you can actually manipulate the defense with your quarterback’s eyes.

That's why I think that the passing cone online isn't cheap or stupid. How many times does a quarterback throw an interception because he was looking at the receiver he is going to throw to the whole time? Hell, it happened last night in the Bears / Dolphins game. Berlin dropped back and eyed his receiver the whole time and Pippens jumped on the ball as soon as he threw it as a result. If he had looked off his receiver that play might not have happened. This opens up a new wrinkle in the passing game online. Now you can look off your primary receiver to get the defense guessing one way then switch back to him and throw it in there. To me, that's realistic.

[Inuyasha]

Sounds like from everyone that they slowed the xbox verison down from last year which is a very good thing. Anyone try out online yet? Any additions this year from ea online? I take it premium pass will cost money this year?

[Jackdog]

I picked it up at EB's midnight madness thing. There were at least 50 people there. I didn't expect so many.

I've only had a chance to dabble with some in-game and practice but I love what I see so far.

IMO the vision passing is not a gimmick at all. It accurately mimicks a qb checking down his progressions and makes you feel more like a qb than any other football game I have ever played. I love reading the defense pre-snap and selecting the wr I think has the best chance of getting open and when he's not switching over to my other options. It definitely will require some getting used to but it really improves the passing game / cheese factor IMO.

The running game is vastly improved and I didn't notice any Mario running at all. My rb would spin or jump on his own to avoid getting stuck on the line. I went into practice mode and practiced a run up the gut against random defenses about 100 times and didn't see Mario running occur at all.

This game feels MUCH different than last years game and to call it Madden 2005 with roster updates is f#$@ing ludicrous. It plays much better than last years game IMO.

I know a lot of people will give up on the vision passing way too quickly and that's a shame. I hit the practice field for over an hour today messing with it and I absolutely love it. Then again, I loved First-person football and Read and Lead passing too so I guess I'm not normal. For those who liked Read and Lead passing, vision passing is similar but better.

Defensive pre-snap adjustments are mind-blowing. I can't believe how many options you have at your disposal. It's a defense lovers wet dream.

Graphics on the Xbox version are way better than last year and it runs smoothly. The controls are also very smooth but it took me a while to adapt since they are different than NCAA's.

I couldn't be happier with my purchase thus far and between Madden and NCAA 06 I'm in football heaven right now.

Thanks Todd. I was waiting for your post. I am going to pick it up friday.

[Bill_Abner]

Franchise impressions, as posted on Ye Ol Blog.

I've played only with the practice mode thus far, so I have nothing to say yet about the whole cone thing. I did jump into franchise mode to see if in fact it was a carbon copy of 2005. Well, it is and it isn't. Here's some observations:

The Gameplan feature is kinda cool. You go to practice mode and work on plays that your opponent likes to run. I barely touched this but it seems like a good idea on the surface. There is a Total Control Sim option which sorta works like a Sim to End feature, only in reverse. If you start a game using TCS you can jump in and play the game and then quit later if you want and it'll sim to the end.

Some basic tests:

The IR Test: Fail

The CPU still refuses to place players on the IR, which would (should) free up roster space. This is not that hard to do, folks. Come on.

The Crazy Trade Test: Pass.

No trades at all during the season. Only 1 trade on draft day which saw the Vikings give up the 29th pick for a 2nd and a 4th. Too few trades is better than too many.

Sim Stat Test: Pass.

Nothing out of the ordinary that I could see off hand.

The Retirement Test: Fail

First off Belichick retired, which I thought was hilarious. Still, WAY too many 90+ players retire after year one. Why? Age. Trent Green had a Pro Bowl year in the 2005 sim, is still a 91 overall, and he quit at 36. In fact, 9 90+ players retired, 26 80+ and a total of 67 in all. That seems way out of whack to me. If a guy can still play at that level he is NOT retiring. Make the guy's ratings fall off a cliff, and it would make more sense.

Off- Season:

You still re-sign restricted FAs before seeing the draft pool, which is just dumb. The first thing you should see after your retirements is the draft class. It's vital to know what kind of players are coming out before you offer FA contracts. For example in the 2006 class there was not one first round talent WR. That would be kinda good to know...

Draft AI Test: Better, but still fail

I did see some teams draft for need while others, well...

Why would the Bears draft a RB in round 1 when they already have Jones and Benson? Odd, eh? The most bizarro thing I saw was that EIGHT teams drafted a kicker in round 2. EIGHT TEAMS! Including the Vikings, who made that trade. Doh.

I love the draft scouting. It's just like last year, but I love it.

I do not love the Draft Grades. All 32 teams got an A or an A-. Come on guys...

The first five picks were: QB, DT, QB, FS, RT. No centers, punters, or kickers went in Rnd 1. Of course the kickers went in round 2 but hey...

FA Signing Test: Pass

This is VERY hard this year. I tried my best to bring some FAs to Cleveland but they all passed. Ouch. I have to bring my pocketbook, which is nice.

At the strat of year 2 there were 29 players in the league rated 98 or 99. Seem high to you guys?

Anyway, franchise mode seems like it's been tweaked some, but still has issues. That kicker thing is just weird, and I can't believe they still don't allow us to see the draft class sooner than this.

[TRI]

The new cheese in Madden 2006 is the lob throw on deep passes especially in single coverage. The receiver has a big advantage over the defensive back on high throws. This is abused big time online.

[Danimal]

The new cheese in Madden 2006 is the lob throw on deep passes especially in single coverage. The receiver has a big advantage over the defensive back on high throws. This is abused big time online.

Not if you know how to play D it isn't. I'd show you but I doubt you even own Madden.

Plus if that is the only thing they find then I consider it a success, compared to the number of cheese moves in both Madden and 2K last year.

[Boom]

The new cheese in Madden 2006 is the lob throw on deep passes especially in single coverage. The receiver has a big advantage over the defensive back on high throws. This is abused big time online.

Not buying it. Just played online and not one deep lob was completed. Matter of fact, one was picked.

Now, if you replaced Madden 2006 with the words NCAA 06 I'd agree 100 percent with you[/corso]

[Badgun]

From what I've seen so far, the passing cone is creating a clusterf*ck for practically everyone. I've played 6 games online and every game I've gotten multiple sacks because the poor saps are fiddling with their flashlight beam. Everything from guys just throwing to a guy out of their beam or getting sacked trying to move it.

I'm actually feeling like I have a slight edge since I always throw to the primary receiver. My guy is always in the beam while these guys struggle and get sacked trying to move it.

A couple of the guys I played commented on how confusing it was and for once it is nice seeing guys run the ball more because they feel like they can't pass.

Whoever asked were the super DB leaps still in the game the anwer is yes. I intercepted a pass 20 yards in front of the play with Roy Williams just by tapping the B button as the ball went by.

All in all, I'm liking the game. The running game is a lot of fun and I think the passing game has been toned down if anything. I'll tolerate the flashlight online because I have no choice but there's no way I'll use it in franchise.

If you guys really want to see something funny, just go online and watch people trying to use the flashlight. It's hilarious and it's also sack city.

[Badgun]

The new cheese in Madden 2006 is the lob throw on deep passes especially in single coverage. The receiver has a big advantage over the defensive back on high throws. This is abused big time online.

Not buying it. Just played online and not one deep lob was completed. Matter of fact, one was picked.

Now, if you replaced Madden 2006 with the words NCAA 06 I'd agree 100 percent with you[/corso]

Actually, it is true. My son found it in a game he was playing. Completed like 5 straight bombs just by lobbing it.

[Danimal]

From what I've seen so far, the passing cone is creating a clusterf*ck for practically everyone. I've played 6 games online and every game I've gotten multiple sacks because the poor saps are fiddling with their flashlight beam. Everything from guys just throwing to a guy out of their beam or getting sacked trying to move it.

I'm actually feeling like I have a slight edge since I always throw to the primary receiver. My guy is always in the beam while these guys struggle and get sacked trying to move it.

A couple of the guys I played commented on how confusing it was and for once it is nice seeing guys run the ball more because they feel like they can't pass.

Whoever asked were the super DB leaps still in the game the anwer is yes. I intercepted a pass 20 yards in front of the play with Roy Williams just by tapping the B button as the ball went by.

All in all, I'm liking the game. The running game is a lot of fun and I think the passing game has been toned down if anything. I'll tolerate the flashlight online because I have no choice but there's no way I'll use it in franchise.

If you guys really want to see something funny, just go online and watch people trying to use the flashlight. It's hilarious and it's also sack city.

The game came out yesterday.

The passing cone has a step learning curve.

People shouldn't be good at it today or else it would be a gimmick as you claim.

[Danimal]

Actually, it is true. My son found it in a game he was playing. Completed like 5 straight bombs just by lobbing it.

Please tell me someone else sees the irony in this?

[dbdynsty25]

I do, but I don't want badgun to cry again, so I didn't mention it. But now that YOU mention it, it's f*ckin' hilarious.

[bkrich83]

I am loving the passing cone. Went 10/13 with Drew Brees online with it.

Run game is much improved. Game I played guy went deep with the lobs a handful of times, and completed zero. And my DB's aren't anything special.

[bkrich83]

Actually, it is true. My son found it in a game he was playing. Completed like 5 straight bombs just by lobbing it.

Please tell me someone else sees the irony in this?

Pure comedy.

[Dave]

As you mentioned, Dan, it is a good thing that people are struggling with the passing cone. I think it is a brilliant idea (much like hitter's eye) but since I won't be playing the game until my Gamerang copy gets here, then I won't say it's the bee's knees or that it sucks.

I compare it to a racing game, weren't a lot of people locking their brakes up like a MoFo on the first few days of Forza?