Looking for a gift for your finicky sports-loving friend? Does he or she have a PS3 or Xbox 360? Click through for a list of games that've been in heavy rotation in my game console of late – and a few I'd like to get my hands on. Read More | Comment »

You know, I really am a quite well-rounded gentleman. I work 40 hours a week for The Austin Chronicle. I have a sweet and beautiful girlfriend and many close friends who I love to hang out with. I am the editor of the sports blog you are now reading and I run a vanity record label where I help friends bring their musical dreams to life. I also recently upgraded my cable package to include every freaking channel under the sun, and then some – plus a DVR. So, why is it that every day after work – no matter what I have to do around the house or for work – all I can think about is getting home and cranking up the Xbox 360 for at least an hour or two of button-mashing NFL mayhem. It's bad. Dirty dishes are piling up in the sink. My neighbors are most certainly prepared to have me exiled from the neighborhood due to lawn neglect and my poor girlfriend takes her time coming over in the evenings just so I can feed my Madden jones. Are there any Madden Anonymous meetings that I could attend? Wait, forget that. I'm not quitting my habit. Why would I? This shit is fun. Read More | Comment »

If Columbus Day (Monday, Oct. 8) is observed as a national holiday, then we can certainly set aside one day a year to celebrate, as a nation, the release of EA Sports' Madden 08 video game. First of all, Christopher Columbus didn't “discover” America. Secondly, there's no need to distribute disease-ridden blankets here, EA wants to keep their fans/consumers healthy and alive. And isn't this the reason terrorists hate us so much, they are jealous of our Madden way of life. Let's rub their face in it. So, next year, I want to see the Tuesday that Madden is released on designated as a national holiday with much glorious red-white-and-blue-style grilling, flag-waving, and finger-mashing taking place across the country. Read More | Comment »

There’s just one thing that keeps Arena Football: Road to Glory from being as completely kickass as the Madden juggernaut. That is its lack of big-name stars like Vince Young, Peyton Manning, Terrell Owens, and LaDainian Tomlinson. The main rebuy factor for Madden year after year is the updated rosters and improved graphics. Saints’ fans have to be drooling over the prospect of “trading” for LSU grad and first-overall pick JaMarcus Russell and teaming him in the backfield with Reggie Bush. Aside from this one unavoidable flaw, Road to Glory is a great complement to the fast-paced high-scoring brand of play its real-life counterpart offers. And for big-time Wranglers and AFL fans, the lack of NFL names isn’t a problem at all. Your favorite Wranglers – Adrian McPherson, Kevin Nickerson, Damon Mason – are all here with the only disappointment for Austin fans being the absence of talented wide receiver Derrick Lewis, most likely due to his promotion to the NFL’s Houston Texans and the Madden game. Road to Glory’s tutorial, AFL 101, is a comprehensive and excellent introduction to the AFLs unique style of pigskin play and will get video-game quarterbacks up to speed in the time it takes McPherson to call an audible. Read More | Comment »

Vince, God rest his soul, has signed on to be this year’s Madden cover boy, and we all know what happens now. The ancient origins of the Madden curse have become obscured, but rumor has it the bad luck is tied to John Madden’s original bargain with Satan. In exchange for the inexplicable ability to transfer his love of Turducken into a multimillion-dollar commentating career, legend has it Madden agreed to deliver one promising, young athlete to the pit of despair every year. And Young, the poor bastard, is next. The evidence, presented in way-easier-to-write outline form, is undeniable. Curse wise, Vince would be better off wiping his ass with Tutankhamen’s wrappings. Read More | Comment »

Madden 2007
EA Sports
Xbox 360
$59.95 EA Sports is reportedly a video game sweatshop, pushing programmers to churn out next year's title before the current game hits shelves, working hard to ensure each new Madden offers more than just improved graphics and roster updates. The work shows. This is the best looking Madden ever, and the roster is so awesomely current it makes last year's roster look ridiculous. Come on, Madden 2006: Edgerrin James on the Colts? LaVar Arrington on the Redskins? What is this, an episode of VH1's I Love 2005?
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With the No. 1 pick of the 2006 NFL draft, the Houston Texans select … Mario Williams. Mario Williams? With Reggie Bush and Vince Young on the board, the Texans chose to go for a relatively unknown defensive end, thereby bypassing two of college football's greatest players of all time. Whether this is a monumental blunder in line with many of the Texans' previous upper-management mishaps or a shrewd maneuver inevitably guiding them toward their first-ever Super Bowl appearance will play out over these players' careers. Regardless of the outcome, their decision has left many Texans' fans bewildered and stunned and has baffled the hardcore football world in general. EA Sports NFL Head Coach allows all the armchair Tom Landrys and Don Shulas out there a chance to step into the role of all-powerful head coach for an NFL team and to handle the tasks and duties thereof: hiring a managerial staff, drafting college players, signing free agents, creating and adding plays to the playbook, motivating and training players, adjusting the depth chart, conferring with the coaching staff, etc. As fun as that may sound (not much fun at all), NFL Head Coach is one of the most boring, tedious, and unsatisfying video-game experiences known to mankind and nothing more than a glorified version of Madden's franchise mode with all of the gameplay removed. Sure, you can call the plays on "game day," but that's it – the computer simulates all of the actual football action. On top of the total lack of gameplay, simming, loading, and saving take a torturously long time, and many of the tasks are lifelike in the sense that they actually feel like work and are neither entertaining nor satisfying. How about an exciting "chat" with your defensive coordinator? It's in the game. Feel like choosing the outfit for your coach? NFL Head Coach brings that dream to reality. Head Coach's possible success could pave the way for future titles like NFL Equipment Manager (must be hard getting all those grass stains out), NFL Beer and Peanut Vendor (bad for the back), or Fat, Drunk, and Obnoxious NFL Fanatic (try not to puke on the guy in front you). EA Sports is known for producing quality sports titles, but this attempt to feed off America's raging appetite for all things football places commerce above entertainment. Read More | Comment »

Staying loyal to the AFL rules and regulations, EA Sports' Arena Football aims to keep sports junkies hooked on the juice during the off-season. However, unlike real-world NFL, Madden NFL 06 has no off-season, thus the need for another game is eliminated.

Necessary or not, Arena Football garners a lot of rave for its slamming sidewall and hyper-speed plays, but these features just dilute the feverish intensity of how a football game should play.

If your player gets anywhere near the Great Walls, he slams onto the ground or flies over the rails and crinkles like a tin can. Like driving a bumper car, except every time you hit something, your car dies. Warp-speed plays and passes keep you on your toes but make the action so fast that you never enjoy the precious moments playing as the Austin Wranglers or one of their rivals, let alone perform a play that is strategically satisfying or longer than five seconds. Overprotective walls and speedy play ejaculations turn what should be an exalting experience into a one-night stand. Read More | Comment »

EA Sports has truly outdone itself with this year's installments of Madden 2004 and NCAA Football 2004, with each game taking its respective franchise to the next level. College football is known for its wide-open and exciting play, and NCAA 2004 mirrors it. The graphics are beautiful and amazingly realistic. Whether running Cedric Benson up the middle, tossing deep to Roy Williams, or running the option with Vincent Young, you are 100% immersed in the game (and will hopefully fare better than sad sack Mack Brown). NCAA 2004 includes 36 new 1-AA teams and more than 100 classic teams, as well as an improved dynasty mode and the requisite online play. The improved dynasty mode gives armchair athletic directors more power to recruit for and build up their school's program and prestige. All of this adds up to one of the best (if not the best) video football games ever. Read More | Comment »

He's back, this time with Al Michaels and Melissa Stark in tow. Pigskin ballers have grown to drool over the latest Madden game in the same fashion as Mr. Madden salivates over his Thanksgiving spread. This game offers a delicious main course with an assortment of tasty sides that will satisfy even the pickiest of video-game football fans. This year's installment offers new features such as online play, minicamp mode, create-a-playbook, and the inclusion of the league's newest team, the Houston Texans. (Unfortunately for Texans fans, the team represented here is even less likely to win than the one taking the field down at Reliant Stadium.) Highlights include the excellent and mandatory franchise mode, a workable running game, amazing graphics, and all of your favorite players, including hometown hero Drew Brees. Madden 2003 will leave you as satisfied as the big man feels after gorging himself on his Turkey Day feast, but with a little room left for dessert. Read More | Comment »