Obviously tired of passing in video game football, EA's Madden team introduces cone vision passing in 2006. This new feature stands out as the biggest tweak to the game, and it's one that adds an unnecessary, yet realistic, twist. It's going to be a love it/hate it feature.
Off the field, this is a small upgrade. The new Superstar mode is the biggest addition, letting players live the life of a player through various tasks. You can import a player from another game (NCAA, NFL Street) or create one through a random "parents" system. This is usual menu driven text after creating the player, including interviews or arguing with coaches. It's rather ridiculous at times, as you can even earn movie deals, though you'll need a certain "look" for that.
Anything added to the menus is signified by an annoying "New!" marker. On the field, fans of the series have what they're used to, a loose playing football game with dated graphics. The vision passing is only for those who desire major change, as its implementation isn't as earth shattering as you're led to believe by the marketing materials. You'll need to "look" at your receivers before throwing with the analog stick.
A brightly lit cone on the field indicates where your throw will have the best accuracy. The better the quarterback, the bigger the cone. What makes no sense is how an awareness stat can so severely affect a player's peripheral vision. The entire idea is rather ridiculous. This also hurts multi-player gameplay, leaving friends to obviously see where you're thinking about throwing the ball.
Physics and graphics remain about the same. Textures are cleaner and the lighting is slightly more effective, and definitely the same as on the Playstation 2. Players still look too skinny, and the animation routines have been used for five years now.
Article comments