Hardcore on Madden, Next-Gen

It's been a wild ride on the gridiron, between current-gen Madden NFL 06, NCAA® Football 06, and Blitz: The League, but I'm back now with Madden NFL 06 for Xbox 360™ and a host of tips to ratchet up the intensity and difficulty for those game enough to keep their wits about them.

Vision a Must
Vision passing was introduced in Madden NFL 06, but in Madden NFL 06 for Xbox 360, the option is turned off by default. Turn it on! Now! Let those wretched gamers that can't take two minutes to see the beautiful balance it brings between pocket passers and scramblers wallow in their own ineptitude.

Let them be swaddled and secure in the knowledge that they can leave it be, but not you. No, the hardcore gamer shall embrace it for the perfecting feature it is, for to excel in passing with the vision cones in full effect is to truly prove your quarterbacking worth.

All-Madden a Standard
It should go without mention that the moment "It's in the Game" thunders through your 5.1 surround sound system, you should be flicking over to options and toggling on the All-Madden difficulty. A pass not thrown through All-Madden coverage is not a pass at all. A Cover Two zone intercepting a Peyton Manning bomb to Marvelous Marvin Harrison is no kind of pick unless it's against an All-Madden difficulty. This goes for online matches too, so make sure you hit up Hardcore Ranked when you set up a challenge.

Weather Gauge to the Enemy
Madden NFL 06 for Xbox 360 offers up some compelling weather options, down to the exact temperature, cloud cover, and precipitation for the game. More important though is the effect this has on the game. Real gridiron heroes overcome adversity, so when you sit down at a buddy's house to open up a can, make sure the weather puts the onus on you to overcome, not them.

Playing as the Colts? Put yourself in the frigid confines Gillette stadium in Foxboro and see how accurate Manning is. Getting your tackle on with Pittsburgh? Get your game on in the dome with the Rams and see if you can run with the greatest show on turf.

No need to wrap 'em up when you hit that hard.

Catch and Cover
All-Madden difficulty and weather considerations aside, perhaps the most difficult task you can self-assign is the following: Take control of all receivers before they catch the ball, complete their route and manually make the grab with the Y button. On defense, pick the opponents best receiver, and cover them one on one manually, and see if you can shut them down.

User Tackle or Bust
Every time you tackle a player yourself, a little note will pop at the bottom of the screen, notifying you of a User Tackle. Keep track of these, because an AI controlled tackle is no testament to any skill I know.

Fantasy Draft
Think you know the ins and outs of the league? Prove it when you start a Franchise, and Fantasy Draft your entire team. This will free every player on every team for a league wide draft, so player knowledge is at an absolute premium to field a quality squad.

Try your passing game in this weather.

Build from Scratch
If you're a hardcore gamer, but not a football fanatic that can handle the Fantasy Draft, make damn sure you get your franchise going with a team on the ropes. Find the lowliest club available and prove your worth by restoring their respectability and taking the squad to the Promised Land.

Whoever said football isn't hardcore never got fish-hooked and eye-gouged at the bottom of the pile after Butterfingers McQuarterback coughed up the ball. It takes some strength of character to hold onto the ball while Johnny Grab Hands is finding anything, and I mean anything, to squeeze.

Article by Hardcore