Madden NFL 06 was the first game I put in my Xbox 360. I was literally stunned from the outset. I was expecting what seems to be a normal EA Sports experience – that is, take the PlayStation 2 version of the game and modify it for the Xbox 360.

This Xbox 360 game is different, however. It is absolutely positively different from the Xbox and PS2 versions of the game. In fact, if I hadn’t played Madden on any other system this year, I probably would have rated the game higher (more on that later).

The introduction to the game starts out with the Patriots and Eagles. This video has been shown quite a bit as the introductory trailer to the game before release. There’s no doubt that it was quite a compelling video with “oh my god” graphics, but us sports gamers know that cutscenes don’t make up the full game.

Well, in this case, it’s pretty close to the full game. The graphics are nothing short of astounding. They are a pretty big leap from the original Xbox. Viewing the game in 1080i probably has a lot to do with it, but the stadiums are just incredible. Having become familiar with Gillette Stadium, I was truly amazed to see how detailed the renderings were, right down to the camera hold in the scoreboard. The graphics truly gave me goosebumps.

Good graphics are nothing new for EA games. There always seems to be issues with gameplay. Maybe the graphics have lulled me into some sort of hallucination, but this is one of the first Madden games I’ve enjoyed in some time as a single player experience with some caveats.

Everything is new, from the coin toss screen to the player introductions, it’s impressive. No more Al Michaels and John Madden doing the commentary, instead it’s generic “EA Radio” guy, which is actually a welcome change.

The play calling screen is a lot different – it reminds me of the old NFL Fever game, and that’s a good thing. Instead of the usual options, you can chose a play by formation, by play type, ask your coach, ask madden or by key player. This is a welcome change.

Setting your defense is a lot different also. Unfortunately the playmaker controls for an individual defender are gone, which isn’t a good thing, but you can call different plays in the secondary such as fake a blitz and play back, which is very nice. Offensive playmaker controls remain, so you can flip the running route if need be before a snap.

So far the problems are pretty manageable, right? Well now they get serious. First off, there is no instant replay challenge. I first noticed this when Tom Brady "fumbled." I use the quotations because on the replay it’s obvious he tucked the ball. (I swear, I’m not making this up, it was just like THAT game). The call on the field was a fumble, and I was totally out of luck. There was absolutely nothing I could do. How a company that says "If it’s in the game, it’s in the game" NOT put something so huge into a game is beyond me.

Another gameplay issue that seriously bugged me was the no huddle two minute offense. You will not believe how fast players get to the line of scrimmage after a play. Throw a 20 yard pass. Get tackled. Press Y. Guess how long it takes to get back to the line. Would you believe, 3 seconds? Yes. Running 20 yards getting in formation and snapping the ball took three seconds. Again, this is just unbelievable! It’s very helpful if you’re on offense however, but it is simply not realistic.