Review
Release Date: 08.08.2005
Platform:
Nintendo DSDeveloper:
EXIENT Ltd.Publisher:
EA SPORTS BIGReviewed by
Ryan Dean on 9.9.2005
Well, another football season is upon us, and of course this means a new
Madden has been released. Today we'll take a look at the
Madden 2006 for the DS.
For those who remember correctly,
Madden 2005 for the DS wasn't the most impressive of games. The graphics were unpolished, even by DS games standards. The audio was bland and unimpressive, and gamers who were unfortunate enough to pick up the game were pushed over the edge with the repetition of Madden's catchphrases. However, all these problems were addressed and the
Madden 2006 is an entirely different game from 2005. Just kidding.
Now, last year
Madden 2005 suffered from poorly done touch screen controls, horrible camera angles, and generally just looked horrible. And, in
Madden 2006, these problems are still there. While the game's graphics engine has been updated, it isn't enough to make the game look like a good DS game should. I just wonder with all these cool features built into the DS hardware, and the lengthy development time of
2006 compared to 2005, why isn't the game better? Unresponsive controls are a basic issue and could have been addressed and polished week after week. I'm not expecting the game to have the same level of quality play as the console versions, but this is an absolute disappointment on the developer's behalf. While the game had infinite potential to be the next step into the evolution of football games and didn't reach that point, it is not a failure. These issues just drop the game from a "Must Get" title to "Bargain Bin Only."
As for audio, it's everything the console versions have, just downgraded to the point where the quality really isn't similar at all. Sure, there are songs and Madden soundbytes but the quality is lower (mainly due to the DS hardware) and the quantity of said tracks and phrases are lower.
This year again there is team creation and franchise modes, and in addition there is the "Mini-Camp" mode which tests players in various aspects of the game. When not playing, players do have the option of wading throught countless menus, but this strenuous task doesn't result in the fun of the console versions. But even when you get to these modes, the ones past the menus, the game really isn't fun: Camera angles sometimes make the game near unplayable, the controls are unresponsive,
and multiplayer, the only really
fun aspect of the game, isn't online, so you probably won't be playing it that much.
With the constant fumbling of switching between d-pad and stylus, poor gameplay with messy camera angles and sloppy controls, and sub-par audio,
Madden 2006 for the DS isn't really worth your money.
