Madden Superstar Mode

[Bubba Grizz]

BECOME AN NFL SUPERSTAR
By Dino Scoppettone
Imagine the life of an NFL Superstar: you make a ton of money playing football, you get to live in an amazing house, you drive a sweet ride, maybe you get offered commercial roles and parts in movies, and overall, you live a bit like royalty. Sounds like a dream, right?

Well, chances are your favorite NFL player experiences something similar to that every day. Now, in Madden NFL 06, you'll have the chance to at least get a taste of the good life yourself, thanks to Superstar Mode.

For the first time in a Madden NFL game, this year you'll have the chance to narrow your focus from a player to an individual. Create your own custom player or import him from NCAA Football 06 or NFL Street, and take him from struggling rookie to Hall-of-Fame talent through the course of his career as you improve his skills on the field and blow up his rep outside the lines.

"I actually had that idea a couple years ago and someone stole it from me!" joked Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger when he played around with Superstar Mode for the first time while previewing Madden NFL 06. "It's pretty cool… I'm interested to see how it plays out."

Your Superstar's pro career starts with the NFL draft. If you're importing a player from another EA SPORTS football game, you'll have a pretty good shot at getting him drafted fairly highly. Create your own player in Madden NFL 06, however, and it will be tougher for you to be a top pick come draft day – but you can still improve your draft stock in a couple of ways.

When you create a player, you can actually choose your parents – and their combined DNA will help determine which type of player you'll be. Each of your parents has an IQ, a profession, and certain character strengths, and by combining the two, you'll be able to help shape whether you becoming a speedy wide receiver, a gigantic lineman, or a nimble quarterback. You can also control what your player looks like, from hair color to body size.

"I would make myself huge," said Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer when asked how he'd change his body in Superstar Mode. "I'd be like 6-4, 245, some big old calves, big arms. I've got little tiny legs and little tiny arms so I'd definitely make myself buffed."

Once you've created your player, there are still a few things you'll have to take care of before the draft. For one, you'll have to show off your brainpower by taking a short IQ test that will let NFL teams know what sort of mental skills you possess. Answer most questions correctly, and you might improve your draft stock – but if you come up small on the test and struggle getting even some of the questions right, you can expect your position in the draft to drop until the late rounds.

You'll also have to hire an agent, who will help you get product endorsements and even movie roles as your career begins to ascend. If you're expected to be a high draft pick, you can hire pretty good agent right off the bat, but if you're not in demand, not as many agents will take you on as a rookie. Of course, once you've gained some notoriety, you can fire your agent and get a new one if you're not happy with the one you have.

Choose your agent with care: some may be strong in certain areas (say, contract negotiations or interview skills) while weak in others (like endorsements, for instance). The best agents will be strong in most areas and be able to help you reach your potential more quickly, but it's tough to get a great agent until you've proven yourself.

"You want someone who has … a good reputation for getting things done, not only on the field but off the field," said Bengals receiver Chad Johnson about what he looks for in an agent. "What's most important is what they can do for you off the field because football is not going to be there forever, so they have to really care about you off the field, for your well-being and future." After you've hired an agent and prepared for the draft, the big day arrives – and just like a real NFL player, you'll have no control over which team drafts you. Once you've been selected, you'll move into your new apartment, where you'll be able to guide your Superstar's career. A map of your new NFL city lets you head to the barbershop or the tattoo parlor, where you can alter your appearance, or you can hit the practice fields to improve your game – an important part of developing your Superstar's on-field performance.

There are a few ways that you can improve your Superstar's player ratings. Pre-season training camp will give you a long term improvement, but only if you perform well in the drills. If you don't, your Superstar's ratings will actually decrease. Once the season starts, individual Gameplans for each opponent allow you to practice certain plays and increase your ratings for the upcoming game only, but the improvements – or decreases – only last for that game.

While you're playing through your season, you'll receive advice from your mentor, former Denver running back Terrell Davis, who will guide you through some of the features of Superstar Mode and give you some handy tips as you're getting your feet wet. As your career progresses into multiple seasons, you'll have the chance to build your rep, get more exposure in the public eye, and move out of your apartment into bigger homes – even a mansion, if you can make enough money. Speaking of which, if you're not happy with the team that drafts you, you can always jump to another team as a free agent once your rookie contract is up.

Depending on how you guide your Superstar, you'll unlock up to 60 different personas that reflect your status, from Draft Pick to Movie Star to the ultimate goal, Hall-of-Famer. You can retire at any time, but if you want to play out your career to the very end, you can stay on the field for up to 20 seasons if you're good enough.

Franchise Mode is, of course, still available to gamers that want to run their own teams – but this year, the individual is getting some attention too. In Superstar Mode, you can now live out your dreams of being an NFL star – the paths you take, however, are up to you.

http://www.easports.com/games/madden06/superstar.jsp

[Sabek]

Sounds a lot like the mode they added to NCAA 2006.
In NCAA 2006 it's called race for the heisman. You make a player and start as a sr in high school. Based on how well you do in drills determines the schools that offer scholarships.

Once in college you have 4 years to try and win the heisman.

[Mr Bacon]

Once in college you have 4 years to try and win the heisman.

Only four? We're talking sports stars right? =P