Madden NFL 06 (PlayStation 2, 2005)

Every year I purchase the new Madden and every year, after a few gaming sessions, I give a slight shrug. Why? Because it’s essentially the same game every year with updated rosters and a slight tweak or two. EA should be given kudos for superb marketing since people are essentially shelling out $50 for a patch.

Madden 2006 isn’t radically different from 2005. If you’ve played that game or even the year before, you can basically pick it up and dig right in.

What is bound to the most loathed or loved feature is the new passing system. In past games, your QB could chuck it wherever on the field and possibly complete a pass. Not this time around. QB's now have a field of vision in which they can only complete a pass within that cone. If you are Peyton Manning, this is no big deal. If you are Tim Rattay, it is. You could have someone wide open on the opposite side of the field but if you can't see them, prepare for a sack or throw the pigskin out of bounds. While it lends an air of realism to the game, it can be quite frustrating if you don't have an upper-echelon QB on your squad.

I’m disappointed that the ESPN NFL 2K franchise were bought out since they offered an alternative as well as a shocking $20 price tag. Now that the monopoly is back in play, there’s pretty much no choice other than NFL Blitz and that is NOT a football game.

Here’s to hoping that next year’s incarnation of Madden will add something significant to the price rather than another year.