Madden 2006 - Details

Details on the latest incarnation of 'football' (according to the Americans) on the Nintendo DS.

Improved graphics and sound Touch screen control and play calling 5 minigames, 4 exclusive to the DS version Licensed music from popular bands and music groups Multicard multiplayer

During E3 2005, there were many Nintendo DS titles that were displayed, and even some sequels from launch titles were on the floor. Madden 2006 is the follow up to last year's version that launched with the dual screen handheld. The '05 version that released last year was a bit rough around the edges and suffered from being rushed out of the gate to meet the launch deadline. This year, however, EA has the luxury of having a bit more development time and a good base to work with to make the '06 release much improved over '05.

The most noticeable improvement from last year is the graphical jump in quality. Last year Madden looked pretty blocky and there were tons of issues with clipping, flickering, pixelation, and a bit of slowdown. This year it seems that EA has managed to improve the quality of the player models and give them a more rounded, detailed look. Players maintain their detail much better than they did in '05. The pixelation issue is still there, but it has been cut down considerably. Pileups on the ball no longer look as if they were just a jumble of randomly colored pixels.

The most appreciable improvement to Madden 2006 is the inclusion of exclusive DS features. In all there will be five minigames included in this year's version, and four of those five will be exclusive to the DS version. Neither EA nor Nintendo has released any statements on what we can expect from the minigames, but you can bet they'll feature both the stylus and touch screen.

EA has briefly commented on the DS version of Madden 2006, and they promised that the gameplay would feel much truer to the series this time around. Last year many sacrifices to the overall quality and feel of the game had to be made just to get it out the door by the launch period. Even with the short development schedule, Madden 2005 was still decent, so we can be safe to hope for much more this time around with the '06 version.

src: Advanced Media Network

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Comments

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  =\ no singlecard play??

  NiNe9cEnTs, 30-11--0001 at 00:00
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  We invited football, and damn it well call it what we like! Anyways, im excited, I didn't get '05 since it looked sub-PS graphically, but it sounds like its REALLY improved. Im going to buy it~

  joe_news, 30-11--0001 at 00:00
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  Well, we called it first football, so you just there lamely copied it.

  kidintwo3, 30-11--0001 at 00:00
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  I'm going to Meijer at 12:01am on Tuesday and picking my DS copy up. I know they won't be sold out, but still, I'll be like the first person in Ohio to own Madden NFL 06 on the DS. And here are screenshots of the game: http://www.nintendo.com/screenshotgallery?gameid=e6e2ea62-f5a5-4c4e-8964-80f8496e79e4

  smashbro, 30-11--0001 at 00:00
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  Licensed music from popular bands and music groups YES!!!! songs with voices!!!

  tiamat1990, 30-11--0001 at 00:00
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  The original had song with voices. Yes thats right, a SONG. ONE.

  skarma, 30-11--0001 at 00:00