Madden NFL 06

 GameCube
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 15 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 15
  3. Negative: 2 out of 15
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  1. JackL.
    Aug 18, 2005
    7
    So while waiting for 06 to come out, I dusted off my copy of 05 but...couldn't play my copy of 05 cause the disc had vanished. I had no other choice but to play ESPN 2K5 which I could never really get into just because I felt like I had to learn to play the whole game again. Anyhow, ESPN 2K5 is amazing and so is Madden but this years Madden 06 falls flat on its face. Where? Gameplay. So while waiting for 06 to come out, I dusted off my copy of 05 but...couldn't play my copy of 05 cause the disc had vanished. I had no other choice but to play ESPN 2K5 which I could never really get into just because I felt like I had to learn to play the whole game again. Anyhow, ESPN 2K5 is amazing and so is Madden but this years Madden 06 falls flat on its face. Where? Gameplay. They just don't get it. They can add a new 'X' factor feature every year to intrigue us but until they improve the base gameplay they will never get it. ESPN does however in spades...but 2K5 has a rather ugly GUI and can be confusing to navigate thru while Madden is super pretty and slick. So you know...I did all the tutorials, learned the new controls set my team, the Steelers and then when I got to the game, the whole thing just farted and laid an egg. I never thought the player animations could get worse but they did. I never thought the presentation could get worse but it didn't it just stayed EXACTLY the same except this time I was subject to agro grunge pop and gangsta music every two seconds. It begs the question? What the hell does that music have to with football? Thankfully all those horrible decisions by the ignorant brass at Tiburon can be changed. These are first impressions I'm talking about here. The precision passing is the only redeeming feature. The defensive features are impossible to work with because you just do not have time to select your coverages. Play 2K5 and you'll see amazing and extremely ambitious presentation as well as very realistic gameplay. Somehow we got to the ideas of these two franchises (one is now deceased) and put them together in one game. The entire AI has to be rewritten for Madden. All player animations have to redone from the ground up. And replays for God's sake! Madden completely misses the boat on every single great play I make. I could go on and on about the weaknesses in gameplay with punt returns, catch up logic from CPU, fluid motion dynamics, cookie cutter celebrations, excessive audio to cover up for no work put into art and coding, the stupid EA radio and one last thing the horrible blazing white EA splash screen which appears after scoring a TD. I don't know what the hell that is....but is so ugly and so old school that it looks like it comes from the cutting room floor of Madden 98. It practically blinds me every time it comes on. So in conclusion, if you want a sexy front end, menus, horrible teenage-angst-ghetto-wannabee-slacker music, unfootball-like animations and feel, poor AI, and weak gameplay then get this game. I get it a 7 based on the strength of the Front End alone, it's that good.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

5
#5 Best GameCube Game of 2005
31
#31 Most Discussed GameCube Game of 2005

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. Yahoo!
    90
    Recent releases have seen plenty of tweaks, but they merely nudged the gameplay. This year's implementation of a quarterback's cone of vision really changes things by rethinking the foundations of passing the ball.
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  2. Stuff
    95
    Once again, EA and Madden manage to do the impossible: They made us fall head-over-cleats in love with this frigging game all over again.
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  3. DailyGame
    91
    Madden NFL 06 is still an outstanding game, but EA needs to re-think the reality and practicality of its Superstar mode, and it has plenty of work to do to make QB Vision both effective and enjoyable.
    Read full review
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