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Prime's Cuts Special: Madden 06 Q&A


Labeled With  madden q&a
Written by Prime on Monday, November 14 2005

When people mention the greatest sports games of all time. The Madden series usually comes into mind. Madden has been the greatest football game every year and it shows. Madden 2004 is in the football Hall of Fame for Christ sakes. This year Madden06 promises to reach levels beyond any other football ever. I had the opportunity to talk with Kobra from www.vgsportsinc.com. He recently had the chance to play Madden06 before anyone else. Now he wants to share his experience with GR.

Prime: Ok, you've played Madden06, what are some key features this time around?

Kobra: The biggest new addition to game this year is the QB Vision Cone. The idea behind it is to replicate what it feels like to be an actual NFL QB. To complete a pass on the higher difficulty levels (All Pro, All Madden) the QB's Vision Cone must be in the intended receiver's area. If the QB Vision Cone is not in the intended receiver's area, the QB will loose some accuracy and the pass probably will not be completed. Another new feature added to the game this year is Precision Passing. This allows you to throw the ball with more accuracy than any Madden before. By pressing up on the dpad or L stick, you throw the ball higher in the air, allowing for receivers to jump and make the catch. If you push down on the dpad or L stick, the ball is thrown towards the turf where the receivers can go get it. If you press left or right on the dpad or L stick, you can lead the receivers. Another new edition to game this year is the offensive playbooks have been redone. There are more formations and plays than any video football to date. Each team has anywhere from 18 to 24 formations and anywhere from 280 to 320 plays. It's just crazy the amount of formations and plays that are in the game.

Prime: Sounds great, Could you explain the passing game this time around?

Kobra: I kind of already explained this in the question above, but I can go a little more in detail here. When using the QB Vision Cone, you have two choices. You can either use the R2 for PS2 button or R trigger for Xbox to lock on to a receiver. By pressing and holding it down and then by pressing the receiver pass icon you want to throw to, the QB's vision cone will lock on to that receiver. The other way is to move the R3 stick in the direction you want to throw. By doing this, it will move the QB Vision Cone to area of the field you want to throw the ball.

Prime: With all this moving of the analog and locking on, is the new Vision Cone & Precision Passing hard to get use to?

Kobra: Initially yes, it is going to take some time. You won't be able to just pick up the game and be able to throw the ball. It's going to take some time and practice. If you don't put the time or practice in, you are going to struggle.

Prime: What would be a good team to start with for a 1st time Madden player?

Kobra: Any team where the QB's vision cone is big. Look for QBs with high awareness ratings. Anything above 90 is a good start.
Prime: Lets cover the other features. How responsive are Hit Stick & Truck Stick?

Kobra: Very responsive. From I have seen they both work really well in the game. Last year the Hit Stick was not as responsive, this year that's not the case. With that said, when you play online, the Hit Stick may not be as responsive as it is off line because of lag. The Truck Stick works well on and offline. Just don't over use it, because ball carriers will fumble it.

Prime: Is truck sticking going to be over used?

Kobra: As I just said in the question above, it causes ball carriers to fumble the ball. If you over use it, you are going to put the ball on the ground from time to time.

Prime: Will fatigue play a big factor in this years game?

Kobra: Yes, you will notice players slowing down on the field. If the running back gets tired, he won't be able to get away or break a tackle. If a linebacker gets tired, he won't be able to make the tackle like he normally would if he was fresh.

Prime: Ok cool. Any new defensive adjustments we should be aware of?

Kobra: Yes, there are few new ones. You now can shade defenders inside or outside of receivers. You can put any defender in hook curl flats (purple zone) to defend corner routes. All defenders can play hook or deep zones. Any defender can be put in man coverage on any receiver except for defensive linemen. That's just a few of the new additions on defense.

Prime: Any new playbooks or formations that stick out to you?

Kobra: Redskins have some really nice Singleback formations and plays that are unique to them. The Panthers also have some nice formations and plays. Check out the Shotgun plays in the Panther's playbook once you get the game. I am sure for those of you who run Shotgun, you will like them.

Prime: Whats the best Offensive & Defensive playbooks for a first time Madden player?

Kobra: On offense, find a book with a good amount of big sets and a lot of running plays. You will need them until you get the hang of the passing game. Use play action (it actually works this year) to keep the defense off balanced. Once you learn to throw the ball, start to open your playbook more. At first, your best bet is to keep it simple.

Prime: So the Madden Challenge is now on Xbox. Why do you think EA chose this route?

Kobra: I really don't know why EA decided to do it. My guess is because they figured it would cut down on the cheating and glitching we have all seen at the Madden Challenge. It's a lot harder to pull off some of those questionable moves (Rocket Catch, Jet Pack, Studda Step, etc) on the Xbox than the PS2. I guess my only problem with the Madden Challenge moving to the Xbox is the timing of it all.

Prime: How much better is the xbox version than the PS2 version?

Kobra: To me there is a big difference in two key areas that make the Xbox better to play on than the PS2, they are the controller and graphics. As crazy as that may seem it is easier to throw the ball with the Xbox controller than the PS2. For example, when pressing the R2 trigger on the PS2 so you can lock the vision cone on the R1 receiver, it is very awkward. It almost makes it too difficult to make a throw to the R1 receiver. You will see what I mean when you get the game.

The PS2 doesn't play as smooth or look as good as the Xbox. It just seems this year, the Xbox has better overall feel.
Prime: Can you explain some of the much talked about Superstar Mode?

Kobra: I really haven't messed with it much to really give my honest thoughts on it.

Prime: Tell the fans some things that VG Sports will have the Virtual Filmroom and Virtual Playbook?

Kobra: Breakdown of different styles of play for the league and tourney type players. I think that's the most important thing you will find in the filmoom and in the book. We strive to bring our customers the most cutting edge strategy info on the net. This year we have added another writer to the filmroom, his name LBzrule. He is about as X's and O's as you can get. He will add a lot of great new content. We also have some new ideas we will be adding to the filmroom, but at this point I don't want to say what they are. The Virtual Playbook is going to be two books this year. It should be around 40 MBs of info. The very first playbook we did back in 2001, was only 1 MB. Heck last years book was somewhere around 27MBs. So you can see how much more info we are going to add to the book this year. It's getting crazy of amount of content we keep adding.

Prime: So whats your final thoughts on Madden, Good or Bad?

Kobra: This year's game is going to be a thinking mans game. If you play smart and have understanding for the real game of football, you will do well. If you rely on glitches and shady tactics, you will struggle some. EA did a good job at fixing all the glitches in the game and this year I really believe it will be more about X's and O's, than who knows the most glitches.

Prime: Thanks for your time today and I look forward to working with you in the future.

Kobra: No Problem.
Well there you have it. The Madden06 Discussion. I would like to thank Kobra for taking time out of his day to answer these questions. Be sure to check out www.vgsportsinc.com this upcoming Madden season and purchase both The Virtual Filmroom and The Virtual Playbook. It's good for any Madden gamer. Trust me, I swear by it. Also check out my new column coming soon called Prime's Cuts!

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