In Play

NFL Tour

EA Sports, $39.99

EA Sports' NFL Tour has as much appeal as an Alvin and the Chipmunks Play the Music of Matchbox 20 tour. Both tours (real and fictional) would appeal to the same demographic: young kids. Really young kids. Young enough not to grasp the subtleties of EA's Madden behemoth.

If you are looking for less-complicated controls in your football video game, NFL Tour has got you covered. The controls are as simple as the impact of global warming is complicated. Get things started by creating your own player, picking a team, and taking off on tour to face your NFL opponents in a rock-concert-type atmosphere. No helmets, no pads, but plenty of fireworks and flash. The seven-on-seven pigskin play is more similar to the style of the Arena Football League than the NFL, with defensive stops as rare as an entertaining awards show. The goal is to impress with your created player and earn a spot on an NFL roster, but it is almost unimaginable that someone would play this game long enough to accomplish anything other than wasting a perfectly good evening.

Arcade-style sports games have a short shelf life. NFL Tour has the longevity of a fruit fly. Sure, you've got your turbo boosts and your big hits – players can break tackles or lay down crushing blows with proper button-mashing skills – but the thrill of the arcade glitz wears thin almost immediately. This is one tour that should have never started.