Madden NFL 06 Superstar Mode Preview

By Brian Ekberg, GameSpotPosted Jul 1, 2005 5:29 pm PT

We begin the long road to the Hall of Fame in our hands-on look at NFL Superstar mode in Madden NFL 06.

Baby You're a Star

We talk with Eagles QB and Madden 06 cover star Donovan McNabb about the game.

This past Tuesday, EA Sports unveiled Madden NFL 06 for the media and a select group of NFL stars, including Tony Gonzalez, Daunte Culpepper, Michael Strahan, Byron Leftwich, and Madden 06 cover athlete Donovan McNabb. While this was the first time most of the NFL players had a chance to see the new passing mechanics in the game, the event also served as the official debut of one of the game's newest features: NFL superstar mode. We had a chance to check out this mode and talk with a few of the NFL stars about their own experiences as superstars in the NFL.

Don't like your parents? Roll them up again in Madden NFL 06's superstar mode. It doesn't get much more Freudian than that.

As you've read in our previous coverage of Madden 06, NFL superstar mode is an entirely new addition to the series--one that allows you to play multiple seasons in the game through the eyes of a single created player. You won't be dealing with franchise concerns, such as concession prices and salary caps here. Instead, your entire focus will be on living the life of an NFL player from the weeks leading up to the NFL Draft all the way through your retirement from the game. Along the way you'll be taking part in many of the kinds of on- and off-season activities (both the mundane and unique) that make up the schedule of an NFL player.

First things first: You start your journey in superstar mode by either creating an entirely new player, importing an NCAA Football 06 legend player, or your favorite NFL Street 2 athlete. Should you choose to create a superstar from scratch, you'll begin with a unique starting point--your virtual parents, whose particular combination of DNA will join to create your player and partially determine what kind of player he'll be in the NFL. Both your father and your mother will have specific traits that will be passed on to your player, some of which may be useful to a player's career. Parents have three attributes--IQ, profession, and hobby--and all three will help mold your football destiny (or at least the position you end up playing). Just as in real life, you can't choose your parents in Madden 06 but you can choose as many different randomly generated combinations as you like until you come up with that perfect pair of progenitors that give you the best shot at making it in the NFL.

Once you've got your DNA squared away, it's time to name your created player, assign him a position (just because your parents made a punter, doesn't mean you have to play that position), and then design his appearance. You can choose your player's overall bulk, add muscle or fat to his upper and lower body, and choose from a number of different equipment variations. Interestingly, as you adjust these physical attributes, your appearance rating will adjust accordingly. Big muscles will up your rating, but only to a certain point. Similarly, a little junk in the trunk is OK, but if you start going J.Lo with your player, your rating will suffer. Presumably, the more attractive you are, the more opportunities for TV spots and sponsorships later on in the game, which begs the question: Why would anyone create an ugly superstar?

Your sanctuary, your HQ, your fortress of solitude... your crappy little rookie apartment. Don't worry, you'll get a nicer place once the checks starting rolling in.

Now that you know what you look like, you're ready to move into your modest apartment. Forget your huge NFL-sized paycheck; you'll still start out in an unpretentious flat, perfect for a rookie scrub. This will be your superstar HQ, where you can check on everything from your personal text messages from your mentor (who just happens to be former Bronco's running back Terrell Davis) and agent, to your career and game-by-game stats via your personal computer. There's more to the PC than just stats, however. It will also be where you can find your personal fan site devoted to your accomplishments, keep tabs of your endorsement and movie deals, check up on teams throughout the league, as well as check out agents vying for the chance to represent you, and a lot more.

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