[CharioTitan]

We all talk about new features that need to be added to Madden in order to give us a better gaming experience. How about discussing all the crap that needs to come off of the game to make room for new features.

1) Superstar Mode. My apologies to the three people who actually play this mode, but it's gotta go. I remember when I first bought '06, I tried playing Superstar Mode and after about 20 minutes I quickly realized that I was never EVER going to play it again.

2) Create-A-Fan. Part of the reason this feature is so ridiculous is because you can't even use it in franchise mode. You want to waste time creating a fan only to see him in a few exhibition games? Plus, these are the only four fans in the entire stadium who look like they actually care what's going on in the game. How about making the rest of the crowd look like they came to watch a football game?

3)Madden Cards I'm not even sure why Madden Cards exist. If you want to cheat, just turn down the sliders on the CPU team. Or just create a bunch of really good players. Or increase your players attributes on the roster screen.

4)Owner Mode I'm surprised they kept this crap feature from Madden
'05. Who gives a s*** about hot dog prices and fan expectations? I don't think I even go to owner mode during the season unless I want to see my coach information. By the way, I should be able to access my coaching staff information without having to go to Owner Mode. They should be listed along with the team roster under a separate section called Coaching Staff.

5)Storyline Central How terrible is this feature? Tony Bruno is...well...who the hell is Tony Bruno???!!! I never even heard of this guy until Madden. Now I wish that I never knew who he was. He's obnoxious and the feature is annoying. The newspaper doesn't do anything other than state the obvious and it states those obvious things over and over and over again. E-mail is even more useless than the newspapers because it says the exact same thing as the newspaper.

6)Create-A-Team This feature might as well be scrapped along with Create-A-Fan.

7)Truck Stick/ Spin Lots of people like this feature, but when you think about it, it's pretty useless. I mean, running a guy over isn't a move. It's not something you should have a special button (or stick) for. And really, if you don't have a power running back on your team, there's no one to use it. It doesn't really work with WRs and barely works with Tight Ends. I look at it like this, a guy who weighs 230+ lbs is going to run hard because he's big, not because he has a "run you over" move. Plus, the X button (on PS2), already serves as a speed/power burst, that should be used in place of the Truck Stick when you want your RB to power thru a tackle for crucial yardage. The Spin move is also pretty useless. Not because it's ineffective, but because it's not realistic. I can't remember the last time I saw a RB spin while carrying the ball unless he was spinning off of a tackle, which is already an animation on the game that doesn't even involve the spin button.

While a few of these features may be kept for Madden '07 for the people who actually like them, I think if they need more space to add other features, these should be the first to go.

Features that need to stay:

1) Vision & Precision: Great feature! Realistic and fun, it actually helped to alleviate the game's problem of a ridiculously easy passing game.

2)Formation Audibles/ Shifts I love being able to call audibles out of each formation without having to go to the audible screen and set them up for each different opponent.

3) Defensive hot routes A great way to give your opponent different looks on defense without him knowing.

4) Icons A good feature, but not really implemented very well. Guys who don't deserve to be Icons become Icons and the Icons that are on your team don't really have much affect on your teams performance or free agents who want to sign.

5) Gameplan A good feature that needs a little work. It should involve some sort of training camp or film or more plays to practice. A little more interaction and depth would make this a great feature.

New features we need:

1) ESPN/ Highlight mode Replace Storyline Central with a good highlight/ overview mode. Everyone is in agreement that 2K5 had a great highlight feature with ESPN.

2) Improved rookie scouting/ Draft More in depth tracking of future rookies perhaps even showcasing them on the ESPN/ Highlight mode. A combine or Senior Bowl game or any sort of footage of the best rookies coming out (at least the top 10). Maybe add a little zing to the actual draft. Have the top four or five guys at the draft and show them getting their jerseys.

3) More in depth off-season Why does free agency seem like it lasts about one day on Madden? The free-agent signing period should be longer and like in real life, it should be before the draft. Also, I would like weighted contracts (front-loaded, back-loaded).

4) Improve the GAMEPLAY RIght tackles don't block, you can't block punts or FGs, you can't return punts, defensive backs smack down stuff they're not in position to deflect, CPU QBs always throw the ball into the ground and never fumble and whatever other gameplay problems you can name.

5) Better celebrations Madden is a sports game, not an adventure game like Metal Gear or Splinter Cell. But like any other video game, Madden has an ending. When you play franchise mode and win the Super Bowl, you are essentially beating the game. WHat is your reward for beating the game? The game says, "Congratulations" and some confetti falls and that's about it. THere is no MVP ceremony, no presentation of the Lombardi Trophy, no parade, no champagne bottles popping, not much of anything really. WHen I beat a game, I want to be rewarded for it and Madden doesn't do that.

6) Better stat tracking WHy can't I see how many rushing yards my RB had in Week 2 if I'm at Week 13? WHat if I'm playing my division rival and I want to see exactly how well I played against them last time? Oh, I can't. What if I want to see how many games I won 4 seasons ago? ANd why aren't there playoff stats? And why isn't Super BOwl MVP an important award? I didn't go to the Super Bowl last year and I can't even tell you who was the MVP. We need better stat tracking and we need them tracked for a long time.