Madden NFL 06 brings the experience away from the confines of your TV and into the palm of your hands. While not every current feature is incorporated in PSP Madden, there are some biggies that make this a must buy for football fans even with its shortcomings in execution and options.

Visually Madden NFL 06 for the PSP is a little rough around the edges and certainly won’t be winning any best graphics awards on the PSP. The good news is that the game does animate and move quite well on the field. You will see all the great wrap tackles, dive animations, stiff arms, jukes, and even taunts. What does cause for concern is the hiccupping in the frame rate between plays and on fourth down plays. There is a slight pause as the UMD spins to load the information to the PSP. The lack of streaming of this information is a huge disappointment and will become more than a distraction for gamers who get into a rhythm. This is even more of a disappointment considering EA’s track record on the PSP, as they have produced some extremely solid PSP titles. Having their bread and butter sports franchise have such issues does not bode well for future sales. I guess it is good for them that they have the NFL franchise to themselves. The big question is, why not give your developers a bit more time since the season is only in week 4 as of this review. Things aren’t all bad if you can get past the pausing, you will see still the best version of Madden for a handheld.

Audio is very good, utilizing the UMD technology with full commentary, crowd chants, and licensed EA Trax songs for the menu music. Al Michaels once again brings his Monday Night Football talents to the game, calling each play and providing the pertinent information that gamers need to know updates and stat notes. John Madden on the other hand is just what you would expect… repetitive and boring. I hope now with the ESPN license owned by EA, that the Madden name, or at least his likeness and audio comments, go away forever to a better broadcaster…but maybe that’s just me. Crowds will boo, cheer, and get your team pumped up and even sound really good while doing it. The rest of the sound effects capture the game time atmosphere authentically.

Gameplay is as solid as ever and plays just as well, if not better than the current Madden 06 on the consoles, which is thanks in most part to the lack of the vision cone. There is honestly no way they could have even implemented the vision cone feature on the PSP due to the lack of a second analog stick. That’s fine anyway, as EA has refined the precision passing so you can lead and draw your receivers with the touch of your analog stick. Everything else you love about Madden’s game play is here from the tough but fair A.I., to sliders for A.I, penalties, and options. The lack of a replay or challenge feature is a bit upsetting, especially when you feel you’ve been robbed, there’s nothing you can do in this version but suck it up and take it like a man. The end result is still a fantastic playing game of Madden, and if you can forgive that pace killing loading between plays, you will be hard pressed not to have a great time while playing Madden on your PSP.

Madden has most of the features you would hope for the game on the go. You have exhibition, season, franchise, mini games, and even multiplayer. What is missing is create-a-anything option. No, create a player, team, nothing! Come on people, this is 2005, no need to omit a feature that sports games has been offering for over 10 years now! The save and quit feature is a welcome feature due to the low life of the PSP battery. Due to the excessive loading of the UMD, the battery life maybe will last you two full games. Since you can save and quit anytime, you don’t have to say goodbye to that half hour to an hour of game play due to a dead PSP battery. The most impressive feature belongs to the gamer who own Madden on both the PS2 and PSP as you can now Synchronize your PSP up with your PS2. Take your franchise on the go by transferring up to an entire week’s schedule from your PS2 Franchise mode and play it out on your PSP. Everything from your profile to your rosters will be uploaded and ready to play on your PSP, and then back again onto your PS2 once you have completed your games.

Madden NFL 06 for the PSP is far from the definitive Madden on the go experience. There are just too many issues with loading, missing features, and visuals, with the former affecting pacing and overall game play experience. I hope that next year this will be resolved, but even with those issues; it is still the best Madden on a handheld to date.