"Madden delivers, albeit with a flaw"

Madden 06 is the latest installment in EA Sports' NFL franchise of video games. It's the only football game you can buy for the PSP as of this review, since EA has an exclusive NFL license and there is no Blitz: The League for the PSP. Thankfully, though, the game is worth buying.

Gameplay:

From the console to the handheld, the controls are ported from the PS2 to the PSP near-perfectly. I will point out that this was easy to do since the PSP's buttons are almost the exact same as the PS2's controller's buttons, but either way the controls take about two minutes to figure out. The only problem is that there is no instant replay or challenge mode when you are playing the game. 8/10

Sound:

The sound is very clear, especially for a small handheld such as the PSP. The sound also beats out the other handheld in the market, the DS (I own a DS as well, so I do know what I'm talking about). All the songs from the PS2's version of Madden are included exactly as they sounded on the console. The only problem is the volume, but this is because ths PS2 hooks up to a television, and the PSP does not. 9/10

Graphics:

This is Madden 06's only flaw, and the flaw that I mentioned in the title of the review. The game does not take full advantage of the PSP's potential, and lacks the quality of graphics that NBA Live 06 (also by EA) produces. The athletes barely have any faces. They just have heads with minimal features (you can make out eyes and a nose, but no mouth). Also, the helmets are made rather crappily, with the logos on the helmets looking like they were designed by a tired person, in a rush (which they probably were). 6/10

Controls:

As I explained in the gameplay, the controls are extremely easy to learn. You won't get frustrated trying to learn them, as you might (and definitely will, in some cases) with other PSP games. 10/10

Story:

There's no real story in a Madden game, other that you're an NFL team trying to win games. Franchise mode goes very slowly, however, and there's no Superstar Mode like there is in the console version (probably taken out due to limited space). There's also no Create-A-Team or Create-A-Player. 7/10

Replay Value:

The replay value is extremely high. You'll always learn something new about another team's offense or defense every time you play. You'll never get tired playing Madden, at least until Madden 07 comes out. 9/10

Online Mode:

Online mode is extremely fun. Online mode costs $2 a month to play, but you can bypass this if you allow ESPN to give you emails with offers and other assorted things. If you don't want to play a game, there's a virtual sports lobby where you can look at sports scores. All in all, online mode is an 8 out of 10.

Difficulty:

Difficulty depends on what level of play you play at. I play at Rookie level, but I know other people don't. Games can sometimes be difficult, even at Rookie level, but they're always fun. 9/10

All in all, Madden 06 is a fun game, but it doesn't take advantage of the PSP's power. Most of the game is put together with quality and playability in mind, but some parts are just plain rushed. Overall, 8/10. Madden 06 is a must-have if you are a fan of football video games.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/27/06