QB vision control is a new feature to the Madden series. Once the snap is done a cone of vision is shown and the QB is meant to throw accurate passes while the intended receiver is within the cone. The feeling is that this feature was included to get some more realism into the game, however the simplest of passing plays can be made difficult due to this.

One of the choices is that the vision control is locked on a certain receiver from the snap - but this can mean the defenders can read easily who the QB will pass to so interceptions are a real danger, and also when a different receiver is seen as a better option, the right analogue stick is used to move the cone around. So while doing this the defence can often rush the QB and this is particularly so on the higher difficulty levels. The user will often need to have fingers on many buttons to deliver a successful passing play, so usually a running play is preferred for its simplicity and to not risk an interception.

QB precision placement control is another new feature. This feature comes in pretty handy as it decides where the pass will go in relation to the receiver. Using the left analogue stick, or my preferred option of the directional buttons, once the QB releases the ball you push in the direction of where it should go: above, low down to, in front or behind the receiver. This can clearly mean the difference of being picked off by a defender or being able to catch it so your receiver is clear of the defender and can get a touchdown.

Let's not forget, though, the running game is an integral part of NFL football despite it being the year of the quarterback. EA has catered for the rush with more new moves.

The Truck Stick is an extravagantly named move. This is basically pressing up on the right analogue stick to deliver a shoulder charge to bump off any oncoming defenders. Pressing the down direction on the right analogue stick gives a backwards juke to evade oncoming tackles. However, a recommendation would be to use the spin to evade the tackler or a sideways juke since the truck stick slows the runner down and there is a chance of a fumble occurring.

Punt returns seem to be non-existent and many times a fair catch has to be taken, which gains you no yards at all. Better special team defence can give the player returning the punt the odd good return but it�fs indeed rare to make even five yards. Kick return touchdowns can be accomplished with good button work but punt return touchdowns would appear to be a myth that legends are made of.

Game modes include Play Now, which are the exhibition matches, Tournament, Franchise, NFL Superstar, Mini-Games and Practice. Practice mode includes normal practice, Situation mode and Football 101 are where John Madden explains what the chosen formation does and how it is best executed.

Mini-Games includes Mini Camp with has position-specific drills, Rushing Attack where the two teams take turns doing running plays to earn enough points to beat the other, and the Two Minute Drill.

NFL Superstar mode is new to Madden NFL 06. If you have an NFL Street 2 character you can load him into the feature but the more fun way is to select the parents as they give you a preferred position. You have an apartment with mentors but it is not all about playing ability alone. Along the way you sign agents, sit IQ tests and go to movie auditions, all along the while trying to get playing time and raise your profile to get out of the apartment and move into something swankier. Many times you need to talk to media via an agent to keep a public profile as well as perform well on the field. The My Web feature holds current player statistics and current endorsements and popularity.

Franchise is the best mode on Madden NFL 06. Take one of the major franchises and get players to Training Camp, which has the mini-camp drills. These can improve the participants' attributes. A Franchise PDA is at your disposal so it keeps tabs on players' morale, trades and free agents. Also local and national newspapers tell what is currently going on in the league whether that be player movements or NFL records being broken as well as the usual shorelines. Gameplan has focus practices that feature three plays integral to defeating the opposition, so doing those is recommended before actually playing the matches.

Once regular season starts, the owner's box allows the price setting of ticket prices, food, and merchandise but you also need money spent on advertising so people will go to the matches, although success on the field needs to be good so attendance at home games will be high. There are advisors that tell you if fans think prices are too high, whether you should use more of the salary cap and other similar things so bad decisions will be rarely made if you take heed of their suggestions.

Important tasks in the off season such as trading new coaching staff, possibly rebuilding stadia or even relocation of the Franchise or simpler upgrades to stadium or sponsorship packages to rename the stadium can be decided upon. Then it's on to the usual draft scouting, NFL draft (where, yet again the CPU has a good advice system so you won�ft pick useless players), signing your draft picks and then signing any relevant free agents to fill roster places left by retirees or players gone to other franchises.

Some modes earn tokens so the player can buy Madden cards which can be used within games to boost a player and team�fs performance up to a whole half depending on the level of card. Madden Challenge is a way in which these tokens can be received once achievements such as scoring a 50 yard-plus field goal, getting a safety and many others occur in-game. A glitch found, though, was receiving tokens at the end of the game for getting 10 and 20 yard rush averages despite no players in the game actually achieving this.

The game features some great touches, such as when setting up for a field goal to either tie or break the deadlock in the last two minutes. The camera angle is lower to the ground and vibrating of the DualShock 2 controller replicates a heartbeat. The kick is then executed in slow motion, capturing the tension perfectly. Shots to coaches in the glass boxes up high and benches on the field capture the moods perfectly as well as the players in a huddle when selecting the play.

The in-game graphics are fairly decent and this could be expected as it could certainly be one of the last generation sports games to appear on the PlayStation 2 as games will be tailored towards the next generation of consoles. Hopefully rugby games will come up to the Madden standard of graphics.

Sound is great -the soundtrack has an eclectic range of genres to cater for the many American Football fans. The commentary is also pretty good although there is an error when the commentator announces the team is now in the lead despite only scoring a field goal and being a long way behind on the scoreboard.

There is no PS2 online option for PAL gamers, yet the NTSC version is online for American homes so that is disappointing considering there are quite a few NZ Madden players who would have wanted many hours of competitive match play against each other.

We would have liked to see the in-game presentation of the ESPN NFL 2K5 with the abundance of charts and automatic instant replays but seeing as EA have also picked up the ESPN license, there is bound to be the half time and full time recap shows and SportsCenter in future. That would make future American Football games the most complete representation of the sport out there.