Available today for XBL Gold members, and Nov. 12 for the rest of you, the demo allows gamers to play out the storied rivalry between the Duke Blue Devils and last year’s NCAA champions, the University of North Carolina Tar Heels with full CBS announcing integration.

PlayStation Three owners catch the shaft here, as the demo won’t be available for you guys until Nov. 19, a day after the game hits retail. Ouch.

October is Breast Can Awareness Month and for $2 you can support the cause by purchasing a black or pink, male or female, Drew Brees jersey.

As said, every penny will find its way to New Orleans Saint quartback Drew Brees’ charity, Brees Dream Foundation.

The exclusive apparel went on sale today and will continue to be until November 11.

We already showed you how a Tyson vs. Ali fight would go down in the game, but today we’ve got a bout that actually happened. Larry Holmes vs. Mike Tyson.

Tyson won that match from 1988 in KO fashion in four rounds, and from the looks of this video, Holmes says he knew how to fight him, but just didn’t execute.

In Fight Night Round 4 you can simulate a rematch, and if you don’t have the game, check out the demo on Xbox Live for Gold and Silver members as well as the PlayStation Network.

Electronic Arts today unleashed some heavy statistics, naming FIFA ‘10 the fastest-selling sports video game of all time with over 1.7 million copies sold in Europe in its first week on the market there. Additionally, FIFA ‘10 marks EA’s largest launch of any game, ever, in Europe.

“We were confident that FIFA 10 would be a hit, and this week fans across Europe have shown just how much they love this game,” said Peter Moore, President of EA SPORTS. “We are incredibly proud of FIFA 10 and this kick-off for great, authentic football competition.”

Fans have collectively already played 10 million matches online with over 155,000 gamers playing simultaneously during peak hours, which speaks to the game’s robust online features.

FIFA ‘10 comes to North America October 20, but don’t expect these kind of figures.

The App has nothing to do with the video game and seems to be EA’s way of helping golfers out in the real-world, on the actual links.

Built into the App are over 9,000 community golf courses from around the country and by utilizing the GPS system and Google Maps on iPhones, golfers with the App can track their shots down to the inch helping them select the appropriate club for the shot.

“Golfers are always looking for an advantage to enhance their game and this innovative application provides them with all the tools and information they need to succeed and share their accomplishments with others,” said Executive Producer Mike Taramykin. “Tee Shot Live is another example of how EA SPORTS is working to infuse our franchise expertise and technological innovations and applying it to real-life environments that enhance the way that people see and experience their favorite sports.”

When you’ve finished your round and sucked down a few cold ones at the clubhouse, golfers with the App are encouraged to visit TeeShotLive.com to store and share statistics and scorecards, organize custom groups and events, create virtual tournaments and upload, review and compare various equipment and gear with their friends and the community.

The TeeShotLive App launched today in the App Store and on iTunes at a promotional discount price of 99 cents, but in a week the price will balloon ten-fold to $9.99, so we suggest getting in while the going’s good!..and cheap.

Electronic Arts ran an entire season simulation and the two teams meeting in the Cup Finals were the Penguins and the Chicago Blackhawks with the Penguins taking home the Cup by a 4 games to 2 margin.

I wouldn’t place a bet just yet though. NHL ‘09 predicted the Bruins to beat the Blackhawks in 6 games this year, and that certainly didn’t happen.

Hope you’ve been keeping up with the missions. Today’s mission is a simple one. Draw a picture of your dream car and then tweet it over to NeedforSpeed. As usual, don’t forget the #hashtag on your post. This mission will have 34 winners. 33 winners will receive Need for Speed T-shirts and one lucky winner will get 20 free EA Games! So bust out Paint and start sending in the entries.

We’ll have the next mission posted tomorrow as well, so keep checking back for your assignments.

Good Luck!

The NBA Live ‘10 demo lets gamers play as either the Orlando Magic or the Los Angeles Lakers in a 2008 NBA Finals rematch of sorts. As for this year’s game refinements? An overall graphical overhaul via arena specific lighting, crowd behaviors, and signature pre-game rituals (Lebron’s chalk thing) are the noted updates. And as you’d probably guess, EA claims this year to be the “most authentic basketball simulation experience in a videogame to date.”

The FIFA ‘10 demo, which will undoubtedly be downloaded exactly 1 gajillion times more anywhere not named the United States, highlights the knowledge EA learned from the over 275 million games played online in ‘09 by adding significant refinements including 360 degree dribbling, refined goalkeeper AI, jostling, and more physical play.

Start your FIFA ‘10 demo download here and your NBA Live ‘10 demo right over here.

Speaking with GameSpot, Moore stated: “There are no plans right now for NASCAR from EA, we had a great relationship over the years that I thoroughly enjoyed when I first got here. Unfortunately…we had to make some tough trade-offs. We’ve had to redeploy some of those folks.”

“A number of the NASCAR team has moved over now to “EA Sports MMA” , which will be shipping next year, [We're] still a huge fan of NASCAR, but no plans right now to develop any further games for NASCAR from EA Sports.”

The loss of NASCAR means that the EA Sports division, a subset of EA no longer has a racing game under its sleeve, but with Need For Speed Shift, and NITRO, due out next month, the company, as a whole, still looks to be racing ahead at full speed.

via GamaSutra

The developer’s goal was to make Madden NFL 10 look and feel like Sunday. We’re used to watching football on television, and we have an idea about what we should be seeing when a game is on–EA took those ideas and put them into the game’s “telecast”, so playing has a much more authentic, NFL feel to it than it ever has. In past Madden titles this generation, you had the realistic visuals, but there were plenty of areas that the game could be improved upon graphically so that while in motion it could be mistaken for a real-life NFL game and not just a video game. For starters, they added in half-time reports with highlight reels and scores from around the NFL, just like during an actual half-time. As long as you’re playing well, this should be fun, as you get to revisit some of your great plays from earlier in the game from different angles, just like you would if a television station was replaying events.

There’s much more than just that though, as the focus was to make the players and coaches also act the part of “real” NFL players in a real game. You’ll notice a lot more attention to detail with coaches on the sidelines, as they do more than just stand around now, and players will react to plays, either vocally or with some mini celebrations–for instance, after a huge gain with a running back that saw him shed a few pursuers and pick up a few first down, he screamed out, “That’s what I’m talking about, baby!” as he ran back to the huddle. EA also cut down the size of the playbook on screen so that these animations–players, coaches, fans, etc.–could be enjoyed while you make your next move.

Graphically, Madden has changed a bit as well–as I said before, in stills, Madden during the HD generation has always looked realistic, but now the game looks better in motion than ever before. The camera work is very fluid, and switches between various camera during play much like during a telecast of a game. Players react to hits by cringing, they look totally bushed when they are fatigued, and they do a much better job of being aware of their surroundings not just in their movements and routes, but visually–you’ll see player’s heads follow the ball and ball carrier, and because of things like this even something like blocking looks more realistic in action.

This realistic look stretches to some of the gameplay changes as well, such as the new Pro-Tak animation system. Pro-Tak allows for gang tackles, with anywhere from three to nine players. You can create a pile that moves with the ball–defense and offense can both push the pile–and depending on the player holding the ball, the pile can stand up for quite some time. If the gang tackle pile stands up too long, the refs will call the ball dead, just like in real life, which is just one of those little changes that serves to make Madden feel that much more realistic. This, along with the ability to fight for fumbles in a button mashing mini-game make the gameplay more interactive and realistic in 2010. The enhancements to gameplay go on and on–your controller will rumble when a defender gets near your QB in the pocket, which has already helped me curb my bad habit of getting sacked as I wait for an opening in the defense, the ratings have been given a makeover so that players are more true to their real life counterparts, you can now assign your best defenders to the best offensive players on the field to help “Lockdown” the offense, you can now choose to play injured players, just like in NCAA, or even just use the accelerated clock so that those of you that pick a play in two seconds can still feel like the clock is moving along at an acceptable pace. The accelerated clock knocks 15, 20 or 25 seconds off of the play clock, making long drives and killing time a breeze, and again, making a game of Madden more realistic than before. Best of all though, are the changes made to the AI–the game is designed to keep you from just running the same plays over and over, as the defense will adjust to your successes. The key then becomes to react to them, so for the first time, when the announcers talk about how running success early leads to later passing success, you can see this happen in real time as the linebackers start to close off the running lanes and leave your tight ends and wide receivers open over the middle.

EA didn’t just stick with the core game when it came to revamps, as the online modes also had some work done to them. For the first time ever, there is now two-player online co-op. There is also a “Madden Elite Status” purchasable add-on for Madden ($4.99), which will allow you to access VIP lobbies, leaderboards and a new mode, Elite Gametype. It’s setup in All-Madden difficulty and is meant to appeal exclusively to the most hardcore, die hard Madden fan out there. Best of all though is the Online Franchise mode. You can draft live with friends, there are message boards set up for your league, and you can manage it from either a web browser or through a brand new iPhone and iPod Touch application that went live earlier this month. This is basically like a fantasy version of fantasy football, except you get to play the games. This is honestly the biggest single addition to Madden in quite some time, and it’s very promising; it’s the kind of thing that should make people stick with the game longer. Each new copy of Madden NFL 10 comes with an activation code for online franchise mode, but those who buy the game used can also purchase an activation code from the Madden Shop.

Blast Factor: Madden NFL 10 is the most realistic and in-depth version of Madden yet. The game no longer just looks realistic, it plays and sounds that way too, which makes all of the difference in the world. It’s the best version of Madden that has been produced because of this, and with additions made to online modes like two-player co-op and online franchise, you will be playing it plenty.

Madden NFL 10 is available for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 consoles, and retails for $59.99

Comment with your thoughts below.

The specific features of EA Sports Interactive Training include:

· Six videos focused on drills –  Passing, Dribbling, Heading, Shooting, Receiving and Defending

· Three levels of complexity for each video module

· Expert instruction from John Hackworth, U.S. Soccer Development Academy Technical Director and U.S. Men’s National Team Assistant Coach

The soccer guide is available for download here. Comment with thoughts/opinions below.

BLAST: In the past, Madden on Wii was visually behind its hi-def console cousins. What prompted the complete overhaul of the look and style?

Tim Spangler: One thing we wanted to do with the Madden product coming back to [EA] Tiburon was to create a unique visual style that would stand out among all of the other Madden’s out there. As soon as you pop in our disc, you’ll notice a lot of changes from a visual standpoint. You’ve got all new character designs, all new stadiums, all new fields, all new interface presentation, and all of it specifically designed to make the most of the Wii hardware.

BLAST: It looks kind of arcade-y to me, but in a good way. You have this realistic game attached to an arcade look. What inspired you to go down that road?

TS: In terms of visuals, there was a Coke commercial that came out around the time of the Olympics, and it had LeBron James and Yao Ming on it. They went into this festival thing that was all about the matchups, and basketball, and the Olympics, and it was this comic book looking, stylized characters, and we looked at that, and at the same time…it’s not right when Team Fortress did it, but Team Fortress was getting huge around that time. We looked at that, and our goals were to differentiate. Team Fortress had very similar challenges, being a stylized first-person shooter in a genre that’s known for a lot of realistic gameplay. So, we look at those two as our two main inspiration points. We also looked at toys, graphic novels, films, stuff like that.

BLAST: With Grand Slam Tennis, EA showed a willingness to go with style over realism. Now that a flagship title like Madden has been altered in the same way, can we expect this to be the norm on Wii in sports games?

TS: I can’t really speak for EA Sports as a label, but I know in general we’re trying to make a real strong presence on the Wii console. I would say that if titles like Grand Slam Tennis and Madden do well, and people enjoy them, then we will make more products like them.

BLAST: Let’s hear some details about specific changes, like the player’s bodies. What are they like now?

TS: In years past, you couldn’t really tell the difference between Brian Urlacher and Peyton Manning from the silhouettes, they looked the same. In our game, we tried to say, across the board, what types of body types would you need to excel at certain positions.  So what we did is we studied that frame at pre-play, and then we said, “Okay, we need wide receivers and defensive backs.” With those guys, we wanted a tall, thin, think of a Randy Moss. He’s the prototype kind of guy that plays the position. Then inject some personality into them, like big hands, colorful gloves, big feet. Then you’ve got your quarterback, he’s kind of your broad shouldered, classic pocket-passer, the leader of the team. You’ve got your linebacker, he’s the muscular guy that will knock your block off. You can tell as soon as you see him that he wants to knock your head off. You’ve got your linemen, they look like a hulking mass. They are your blockers, and they are guys you don’t want to get hit by either. And also, with the running backs, we wanted to have a guy you could look at and say, “Hey his legs are kind of big.” Someone like LaDainian Tomlinson, Michael Turner type guys. They are still kind of big, but at the same time they are fast and elusive and low to the ground. So we took that philosophy, and tried to emphasize that in the art with the curves and an overall design that would emphasize those characteristics.

From there, we built our environments around those characters. So we can inject that same personality into the stadium. You can see the Broncos stadium here, they took that same horse and then stylized it so it felt like a natural extension of the overall look.

BLAST: Tell me a bit more about the stadiums.

TS: All of the stadiums were built from the ground up. Every stadium has some type of design element…the Broncos have the horse that sits up there and the mountains that surround it. So we took those, and stylized the mountains, stylized the horse. The Bucs have that pirate ship, we took that, injected a bit of personality into that, increased the scale so it dominates that end of the field, did a little play on the palm trees, stuff like that. So we really tried to find those points where the architects had design elements, bring those elements into our world and make them a natural extension of what we’re doing with the players.

BLAST: The stadiums look huge, they just have this big open space and it looks like there are 200,000 people sitting in the stands. Let’s talk about the menus a bit. That’s the team select screen… do all of the menus and interfaces look different like that now?

TS: Yup. So for all our new modes for this year, we’ve gone with a big, bold, polished look that’s pointer-friendly, very colorful, and easy to interact with. We took that approach when designing the interface for this game.

BLAST: With a revamping of the visual style, it’s clear the hope is to attract more people to the Wii version of the game. What do you think will resonate with gamers new to the series, as well as veterans?

TS: For new people, we tried to make it easy to pick up and play. There’s not a huge, steep learning curve here, but at the same time there’s enough depth where we have our different play modes and different levels of difficulty that veterans can enjoy it too. One thing we did for passing, where in years past it was a lot of complicated gestures that you would have to memorize, we tried to simplify that down. With point-and-pass this year, you press A to hike the ball, point at a receiver to lock onto him, and tap A to lob it or press it and hold real fast for a bullet pass right to him. It’s pretty easy to pick up and play. Also, for the new people on the franchise, we’ve got a co-op mode called Huddle Up. There, that’s like a father/son game. They don’t need to know much about football, they can pick up and play without worrying about complexity. Their kid can jump in and knock down pursuers with the IR. It’s the same thing on defense, you can knock down defenders to take them off of their route, knock blockers out of the way.

Also in new game modes we have Road to the Superbowl. It’s similar to a season, it’s all about getting to the Superbowl, but you can customize how you want to play. You can play that standard 11 on 11, or you can play 5 on 5. You can play half a season, a whole season, or start right in the playoffs. We give you those opportunities as well. We also have Showdown mode, to see who is King of the Couch, see who is the best player in the room. And there we have game changers, which are different ways to play the game: fumbleitis, always turbo, it’s alive, different ways to customize the game for how you want to play.

BLAST: So you have got an arcade product with realistic properties we’re used to from Madden in the same package. That gives people with access to more than one platform reason to pick up both or just the Wii one.

TS: Yes, exactly.

Thanks to Tim Spangler for answering our questions. We will have a preview of Madden NFL Wii for you in the near future. Look for our review of the title around launch as well.

The basic football works well, and due to its being designed after the college rather than pro game, allows for some differentiation in gameplay elements from its NFL cousin. There are more opportunities for trick plays, and they also seem to have a higher rate of success–it’s easier to pull some of this stuff off when a 350 pound lineman who can inexplicably run at high speeds isn’t cutting you off on a reverse. My favorite feature from the games themselves though has to be the “setup”, which tells you what percentage of “setup” the opposing team’s defense is for a particular offensive play. If you’ve run a few running plays in a row for instance, using say, the basic I-formation, then you want to run a playaction in the I, the game will tell you that the opposition is 35% setup for being fooled on the play, or 60% fooled, or whatever the number is based on just how ready to be tricked they are. It’s also easier to fool your friends and the computer now that the strategic elements of gameplay have been enhanced, like being more aggressive on defense but at the expense of possibly giving up a big play.

NCAA is all about the game modes though, especially since by now EA certainly has the core football game experience down. Besides your standard Dynasty mode, there is also an Online Dynasty, which allows for 60 years of continuous play, and the best part is that it can be done with friends or for everyone to see, rather than just at home by your lonesome. New to this year’s game is the Road to Glory mode, which has Erin Andrews and Kirk Herbstreit following your college football career. In addition to listening to those two talk about how amazing you are, you can also check out your career accomplishments in a virtual dorm room full of trophies, the latest NCAA news and photographs of your favorite plays and accomplishments, all of which can be taken from the highlight reel following the completion of a game.

While you can just jump into Dynasty or Play Now, you can also take some time to fully customize a team online beforehand. Use EA’s Teambuilder to edit the school of your choice; you are not just limited to tweaking the roster to your content, but you can also fiddle with logos, stadium design, and all of the different parts of the uniforms. If you don’t want to mess with a current school, you can also create your own from scratch and then use it in Dynasty mode or in exhibition games. That’s very appealing to someone like me, who doesn’t have a school they instantly gravitate to in these towards of titles.If you’re lazy or just want to populate your game with various created teams, you can also download other people’s creations. Have a bunch of creative friends and want to mooch, or just want to make sure that their stuff is on your console for when they come over? You can do that, which is a neat feature.

One thing that I could not test, given it does not start up until the real season begins, is the Season Showdown. It’s an NCAA Football competition of sorts, where fans play NCAA to prove that their school is the best. You earn credits for your college of choice by playing games online or even against the computer, and these credits go towards your school’s total, added up with everyone else who picked that college as their team. You don’t have to choose the team you plan on using, so if you want to pick Boston College but then use Ohio State in order to wipe the floor with people, then go for it. You can earn credits by playing the computer, playing online, taking on your weekly Showdown opponent (who is a real person), by utilizing the Allies & Rivals online poll, or by answering some trivia questions online.

You also earn credits for your in-game performance. NCAA keeps track of your user tackles, picks, forced fumbles, etc., and you can earn credits from those. Running successfully setup plays (remember the above feature, and use it to your advantage) also nets you credits, as does not beating your opponent’s face into the ground–sportsmanship counts folks, so don’t run up the score just to show off. You also get more credits if you do play with your selected Showdown team, so let’s hope your taste in schools isn’t questionable. If you’re considered the underdog, you will also get some credits for taking on that game.

My favorite way to earn credits though would have to to be the ESPN Instant Classic. That’s mostly because I love the idea of designating games as ESPN Instant Classics; play a few rivalry or conference games and have them turn out to be great games, and you will see your game designated as an ESPN Instant Classic. You can upload highlights from the game to the NCAA Football 10 servers as well, so everyone else can view your accomplishments if they desire.

Those are the noteworthy features in this wonderful edition of NCAA Football, and they help keep the game interesting and give you plenty of reasons to hold on to your copy of the game even after Madden NFL 10 comes out. Given that has always been one reason that I never got into the series in the first place–just wait a month and you get Madden, after all–I have to give credit where it is due to EA Tiburon for designing a product that should stay on your shelf even after its pro rival is available.

Blast Factor: NCAA Football 10 provides a strategic football experience that is accessible to all levels thanks to its All-Play feature and the use of different play styles on both offense and defense. There are enough game modes to keep you in the game much longer than just the summer, especially with Season Showdown and an Online Dynasty mode. Even with Madden coming out in a few weeks, this one comes recommended.

NCAA Football 10 is available for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Playstation 2 and Playstation Portable systems. This version, reviewed on the Xbox 360, retails for $59.99

In case you haven’t heard, Madden NFL 10 on Wii this year is going to be a bit different. I know that normally that makes you think that something was taken away from the game, but EA has built this from the ground up for the system with a brand new and stylized art style. I’ve warmed up to it the more I look at it, as it isn’t cartoony, it’s just stylized. Realistic football with an arcade look to it is something I can get behind; check out the screens we’ve included for your viewing pleasure, and tell us what you think.

There’s something else to consider. The MotionPlus accessory, bundled with this year’s game, makes the title a lot more realistic. Every arm and wrist movement can drastically alter the course of the ball. A swing that would have cut it in Tiger Woods 09 is in the trees in 10. Then you realize it…

Golf is a lot harder than we’re been led to believe all these years.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10, Grand Slam Tennis and Red Steel 2 are the first major third party tests of the MotionPlus for us, and it gets a thumbs up so far. Tiger Woods 10 is a far reach harder than Tiger Woods 09, which is good considering nearly everything else about the two games are exactly the same — endlessly upgrading your clubs, picking corny celebratory animations, regretting setting your majors to four agonizing rounds, etc. etc. etc.

One thing we don’t like in Woods 10 right off the bat (or the club…) is the sheer lack of Scottish play-by-play announcers. It’s one of the few things that makes televised golf enjoyable. And, I’m sorry ESPN, but Scott Van Pelt saying “useful shot that” just doesn’t do it for me.

There are, ethnicity aside, some very nice new features in 10 besides MotionPlus, including actual live weather conditions and a mini game called Disc Golf played with a Frisbee that is exclusive to the Wii version. But the best new feature is the online live tournaments. You can challenge friends, play in EA tournaments, and match up with the pros with online tournaments during actual PGA events.

There are plenty of real courses in the game and plenty of tournaments but this series is missing things like The Masters and the US Open and some of the other “real majors” in golf. Because of that, career mode is that much less invigorating. You’ll spend a few weeks as an amateur, playing boring tournaments against idiotic computer characters just to get to the PGA TOUR where there’s really no reward — no green jackets or “Superbowls” of golf. You just play, get money, buy stuff, and play more. It’s a real problem with sports games.

You will get addicted though, and we highly recommend getting a golfing buddy, either at your home or online, because it’s kinda depressing to make an eagle and just stand there with the cat licking himself.

Just keep your wrists straight and follow through with your swing. This isn’t Wii Sports. You don’t just flick your wrist and five it 300 yards. Once you get used to it, you’ll be fading and punch shooting your way through the Fedex Cup. One thing about a harder game is that you really feel like you’ve accomplished something when you finally get good at it.

There are 28 courses and Wii’s “All Play” mode just in case you really, really can’t get used to the new controls. If you’re in a bad mood, turn on All Play and select Pebble Beach. In our tests, I shot two double eagles, two aces, and five eagles. But the announcing still sucks. I made a double eagle on 18 from about 200 yards, and all Van Pelt had to say was that my putting had been fantastic today.

Blast Factor: It’s Nerf or nothing. Tiger Woods is the only sim golf game out there, much like EA’s Madden franchise. It’s not the old days of six brands of computer golf that you play with your mouse. You actually have to get off the couch this time and swing the club like you mean it. The good thing is that Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 is simply great. The verbose online options give you plenty to do, even for the most finicky video game golfer.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 is available on the Nintendo Wii bundled with MotionPlus for $59.99, or without for $49.99

EA also let us know that they have completely redesigned the 3D dorm room that shows your trophies and accomplishments, and have added online leaderboards so you can see just who is the biggest man on any campus. That should give you plenty reason to come back and improve your game, even without having Virtual Erin telling you how awesome you are.

NCAA Football 10 will be out for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Playstation 2 and Playstation Portable on July 14. Check back here for more info and a review later this month. For now, we have screens for you, as well as a behind-the-scenes trailer starring Ms. Andrews.

First off, Grand Slam Tennis is not your mother’s tennis game. You’ll be as animated as the characters on screen when you miss a forehand or when you cannot believe your opponent smacked that passing shot perfectly, painting the baseline. The learning curve is painfully substantial but ultimately redeeming when given the time and effort needed to master such a sport, albeit in video game form.

Character creation is where the fun begins. The create-a-dude mode enables you to choose from a limited, but deep enough assortment of face, hair, clothing, and interestingly play-style options. For my guy, I chose “Offensive Baseliner,” the type skilled at long rallies and offensive power strokes from the baseline, but a significant number of options are also at your fingertips, including “Net Master,” “Defensive Baseliner,” and others. I would have loved to see a personality type modifier, so when I missed a shot on screen my character would either take the fault in stride or smash his racket and scream expletives at the chair umpire, but maybe that’s asking too much.

There are a number of ways to play Grand Slam Tennis from a control standpoint, including Wii-remote only, Wii-remote and Nunchuck, Wii-remote with MotionPlus, and Wii-remote with MotionPlus and Nunchuck. Phew, I know that sounds like a lot, but there is only one way that you should play, and that is with the MotionPlus enabled Wii-remote and Nunchuck. Careful now, you’re holding an $85 racket in your hand, make sure you don’t let go!

With the Nunchuck attached to the Wii-remote you’ll have to manually guide your athlete around the lines of the court, but believe me, through exhaustive and frustrating first tries with only the Nunchuck, this in the only way to play Grand Slam Tennis if you don’t want to rip your hair out. See, if you play using only the Nunchuck, your mini-me will often, and painfully, run around a forehand to hit a backhand,  get stuck somewhere in the middle and force an off-balance shot, or will plain miss the shot. And in tennis, a point for point competition, the slightest mistake can make all the difference.

Now that we know how to play the game let’s find out why you want to play tennis in the living room instead of outside, under the sun, on the court.

The first thing you’ll notice about Grand Slam Tennis is the clear stylized approach to the game’s assorted environments and character models. EA didn’t go for realism in terms of presentation, but that mark does the game no damage and is a good decision, if I am to throw my opinion in the mix. Why strive for what the Wii cannot achieve graphically? Players’ heads are too large, legs too skinny, and the glowing yellow tennis ball is the size of a softball, but none of these factors are detrimental to the tennis feel of the game. The game’s 12 courts at four different locations are accurately presented even in the cartoon style. Anyone who has ever watched tennis on television or been to a live event can attest to the simplicity of the sport. A rectangular court, adorned with white lines, two poles, a net, and seating all around is all you need, and EA did a remarkable job replicating the game’s real world locations. That said, advertising is a HUGE part of the sport of tennis commercially, and when you play Grand Slam Tennis you’ll be inundated with ads at every turn.

The secret is in the name, and Grand Slam Tennis is ALL about completing a Grand Slam, or for tennis noobs, winning all four major championships: The Australian Open, The French Open, Wimbledon, and The U.S. Open. To do this in Grand Slam Tennis you’ll begin your to-be illustrious career as many role-playing games do, as a lowly kid off the street vying to become a pro, and will quickly be thrown into the fray whether you’re ready or not.

EA revealed today that over 275 million matches of FIFA ‘09 have been played online between September 2008 and June 1 2009 and have received helpful feedback from a considerable number of footballers across the globe to help build the next game the way the fans want it.

Included additions to FIFA ‘10 include

• More sophisticated ball control and physical interaction between players
• Players move, behave, and position themselves more realistically
• On offense players will bend runs and analyze space more effectively
• Better balance on lofted balls
• Improved goalkeeper intelligence (THANK YOU!)
• More realistic shooting mechanics with less shots hitting the goal posts
• The first-ever true 360° dribbling system gives players finer control of the ball
• “Freedom in Physical Play”-allows for the player to perform wider dribble touches

I am still learning to perfect the intricacies of FIFA ‘09, but I can say that I’ve helped buff that tally up to 275 million in the past year, although I usually find myself on the losing end of the draw. Soccer is my favorite sport and if we’re going to have the FIFA vs. Pro Evolution debate, let it happen in the comments and I’ll throw my sentiment in there.

Until then, look for FIFA ‘10 in the fall with forthcoming details spawning in the coming months.

EA Sports, publishers of the title conducted a Q+ A session with the hotheaded cover-boy McEnroe and gave us a slew of exclusive screenshots, both from real-life and in-game that truly speak to the decidedly forceful effort EA is putting forth in selling the game.

The interview with the legendary tennis star is mostly puffery and lacking substantive matter but when asked why the decision was made to make his in-game character a throwback to the old days with the big hair and flowing locks, McEnroe responded “Can you blame me?  It was a magical time though I’m probably biased since it was the time I was playing…..I think you’ll see even me with my shorts a little shorter than the other players.  We had some wild looking hair and the headbands.  People remember that and I look back on it fondly, not every hair style but there’s a couple others that I could live with.”

The interview asked no question and made no mention of his ill temper and famous catch phrase “you cannot be serious,” but we assure you, as the trailer below shows, McEnroe with all the attitude made the final build.

What you see below are images of McEnore and French tennis star Jo Wilifred Tsonga at a commercial shoot.  Tennis anyone?

What you’re looking at in the first batch of shots (clearly defined as such) for Xbox 360 and PS3 are images of the Pro-tak animation technology as well as the revamped and wholly authentic quarterback styles.

Pro-tak is a new game mechanic that furthers your already dominant command over the playing field with the ability to drag defenders towards the first down marker, fight for the ball in a scrum, evade the rush with new “quarterback avoidance,” and enhanced control at the line of scrimmage ensuring your QB the time and safety he demands in the pocket.

Authentic quarterback style is rather self explanatory.  For the first time in a Madden title every quarterback’s pre-snap stance as well as arm motion when heaving the ball down field has been specifically tailored to your QB of choice.  Wow. Realism is downright scary sometimes.

Tom Brady

Carson Palmer

Tony Romo (even his girly jump)

Phillip Rivers

Donovan Mcnabb

Big brother Manning

Football Pwnage Pro-tak style

Ouch....more Pro-tak

On the less authentic, more stylized side of things, these shots of Madden ‘10 for the Wii depict the brand spankin’ new Madden Showdown mode.  Quite a hefty tag line for the softcore Wii audience, but is really nothing more than a quick, and totally customizable (5 vs. 5 football anyone) way to enjoy the sport.  Showdown Mode comes complete with Spotlight Moments where the action is all Y-O-U-, can you handle it?

Run. Simple enough?

5 vs 5 showdown mode

Wii Showdown "Spotlight Moment"

more Mashing

Cover boys in showdown mode

I like these graphics.

Score!

Madden ‘10 is due out August 14 on PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, and the PSP.

EA has done a damn good job in the past two years with the NHL series to the tune of 19 Sports Game of the year accolades but is choosing to depart from the predictable and bring on the hardcore.

For the first time ever, fights, through a first person perspective will show up in a hockey sim title.  You’ll be able to grab your opponents’ jersey, sock him in the face, and be on your merry way.

This is not to say the NHL yearly games will become anything like “NHL Hitz” or other arcade types, only that the gritty physical component that has been lacking will be brought to the surface and highlighted beginning with NHL ‘10.

In addition to literally in-your-face fighting, NHL ‘10 will add over 200 gameplay refinements that EA Sports promises will bring about the most authentic simulation of hockey ever created.

EA Sports with the NHL series has absolutely dominated the market, for, well forever, and this latest iteration, if executed properly (which is a sure bet) will only bolster the already incessant following.

In tournament mode gamers can take part in three distinct events-Daily, Weekly, and Play The Pros.  The first two are self-explanatory as virtual golfers can take to the course and have their 18 hole scores posted on a leaderboard for all to see and attack on either a daily or weekly basis.

Interestingly, Play The Pros mode allows you to hit the links and at the end of the day see how your tally compares with actual PGA Pros on real-world courses.  Tiger, in his Sunday red doesn’t seem so scary anymore now does he?

The aforementioned Practice Round mode allows you to virtually walk the course, place the ball wherever you damn well please, and truly hone your game, you know, before you jump into a pressure-packed tournament.

And in case you’re into total authenticity, Rocco Mediate, the man who gave Tiger a run indeed at last year’s U.S. Open, as well as the up-and-coming Anthony Kim will make the final build come June.

take on the pros

Anthony Kim

Rocco

Torrey Pines

Oakmont

Turnberry

Practice Mode

Look for Tiger Woods on every console everywhere June 16

Remember the “Walk on Water” campaign that ran last year?  I though the commercial was genius, and well, actually reminded me I to buy the title.

Think you can one-up the Jesus Shot of 2008?  Head on over to TigerWoodsPGATour10.com where an asset kit is ready for download complete with in-game footage across every major platform.

As is customary, the top five videos will be posted on the site with the community left with the decision of who takes cake.

You have from right now until July 1 to download the asset kit and submit your entry.  So what’re you waiting for?  Obviously not the grass to grow, because I cut it today!

Tiger Woods PGA Tour ‘10 hits shelves June 16.

Electronic Arts aims to recreate that feeling of elation-only legally, and will be releasing Tiger Woods PGA Tour ‘10 and Grand Slam Tennis June 8, an entire week before the previous street date.

As we already know, a PGA Tour ‘10 edition complete with Wii MotionPlus accessory at a $59.99 price point will be available in North America and Europe, whilst Europeans will exclusively enjoy a MotionPlus accessory bundle for Grand Slam Tennis.  Don’t want the accessory? No worries, for the regular $49.99 both titles will rest on shelves as well.

Sure you’ve seen Peyton Manning and Larry Fitzgerald in their muscled and toned bodies, but have you seen them with oddly proportioned frames?  Check out our gallery at right for the cartoonish screens of  the mighty gridiron aficionados.

With PS3 and 360 versions of Madden ‘10 creating eerily perfect body builds of the behemoths of men, this stylized Wii version is oddly alluring, could be just me though.  Have a look for yourself.

Madden NFL ‘10 is due out on all systems August 14.

Crabtree, the prolific wide receiver from Texas Tech will have his likeness slapped on the Xbox 360 cover and is likely to be selected high up in the NFL draft this weekend.

PlayStation 3 gamers have the privilege of staring down the University of Utah quarterback, Brian Johnson.

Fans of handheld football will be treated to USC quarterback Mark Sanchez, the most valuable offensive player in the 2008 Rose Bowl, on the Sony PSP.

Finally, first team all-American defensive end Brian Orakpo will be featured on the PlayStation 2 cover.

EA Sports has high hopes for their line of titles in ‘09.  The mega-publisher gave away every title of ‘09 to Ashton Kutchers’ 1 millionth follower and recently set an online milestone, here’s to hoping 2010 is just as fruitful!

Since launching the ‘09 sports line in June of last year the average daily rate of EA Sports titles played online is 2.2 million, which marks a 175% increase over last years’ figures.

Notable EA Sports titles that have significantly attributed to the crazy successes of the online world include FIFA ‘09, 3 on 3 NHL Arcade, the March Madness Edition of NCAA Basketball ‘09, and of course Madden NFL ‘09.

Madden ‘09 and FIFA ‘09 both boast more than 2.4 million online users adding up to a total of 4 billion minutes of EA Sports games played in the last year which is the equivalent of over 35 years of games played each day.

One man who certainly loves this dynamic cultural success is EA Sports boss Peter Moore and had this to say about the staggering figures:

“The massive migration to online gaming has transformed the video game landscape, and this week’s 500 millionth online EA SPORTS game highlights the radical shift that we’ve helped pioneer in the industry.  Online gameplay allows real-time competitions with fans from around the world who speak the global language of sports. EA SPORTS is committed to providing personal access to the emotion of sports by continuing to create immersive online features, compelling new downloadable content and daily real-time stats updates.”

The Madden NFL series turned 20 years old this year, and thankfully John Madden’s departure from broadcasting will not affect the famed series.

Originally shown at E3 in a Wii Sports Resort demonstration, the new accessory seems an absolute perfect fit for sports titles of all kinds.

Electronic Arts knows this and revealed today that the Wii MotionPlus accessory will come bundled exclusively in Tiger Woods PGA Tour ‘10 in North America, and with both the aforesaid title and Grand Slam Tennis in Europe.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour ‘10 will retail for $59.99 with the accessory and $49.99 without it when the game releases on June 15.

Just a few months ago, an EA simulation of the SuperBowl between the unlikely Arizona Cardinals and the physical Steelers yielded a 28-24 Steelers victory.  The actual game result? 27-23 in favor of the Steelers; that is just downright scary accuracy.

Fast forward and change sports and we see the NHL Playoffs looming ominously on the immediate horizon.  EA Sports has again run a simulation of the entire playoffs in NHL 09, the award winning ice hockey title, and who takes home the Stanley Cup this year you ask?

According to NHL 09, the Boston Bruins, led by Zdeno Chara and Marc Savard, beat out the Chicago Blackhawks in 6 games to capture their first title in a whopping 37 years.

If EA Sports can follow up their eerily close SuperBowl prediction with yet another unlikely final line, well I’d hope EA’s next venture is in a stock market video game!

Full playoff breakdown below:

Eastern Conference Finals

Game 1 – Boston 3 Washington 2 OT
Game 2 – Boston 4 Washington 3
Game 3 – Washington 4 Boston 1
Game 4 – Washington 4 Boston 2
Game 5 – Boston 2 Washington 1
Game 6 – Washington 4 Boston 3 OT
Game 7 – Boston 3 Washington 2

Western Conference Finals

Game 1 – Chicago 5 San Jose 4
Game 2 – San Jose 5 Chicago 3
Game 3 – Chicago 4 San Jose 3 OT
Game 4 – San Jose 3 Chicago 1
Game 5 – San Jose 4 Chicago 3
Game 6 – Chicago 4 San Jose 2
Game 7 – Chicago 4 San Jose 3

Eastern Conference
Round 1
(1) Boston defeats (8) Montreal , 4-2
(2) Washington defeats (7) NY Rangers, 4-2
(4) Pittsburgh defeats (5) Philadelphia, 4-3
(6) Carolina defeats (3) New Jersey, 4-2

Round 2
(1) Boston defeats (6) Carolina, 4-2
(2) Washington defeats (4) Pittsburgh, 4-3

Eastern Conference Finals
(1) Boston defeats (2) Washington, 4-3

Western Conference

Round 1
(1) San Jose defeats (8) Anaheim, 4-2
(3) Vancouver defeats (6) St. Louis, 4-2
(4) Chicago defeats (5) Calgary, 4-2
(7) Columbus defeats (2) Detroit, 4-3

Round 2
(1) San Jose defeats (7) Columbus, 4-1
(4) Chicago defeats (3) Vancouver, 4-2

Western Conference Finals
(4) Chicago defeats (1) San Jose, 4-3

Stanley Cup Finals
Boston defeats Chicago, 4-2

Playoff Scoring Leaders

Player                  GP      G       A       PTS
Marc Savard             25      8       19      27
Alexander Ovechkin      20      15      11      26
Patrick Kane            25      10      14      24
Phil Kessel             25      14      9       23
Joe Thornton            19      7       15      22
Patrick Marleau 19      10      11      21
Jonathan Toews   25      10      11      21
Alexander Semin 20      9       12      21
David Krejci             25      6       14      20
Martin Havlat           25      12      8       20
Nicklas Backstrom       20      6       14      20

You now have your chance.

EA, announced this week the development of Celebrity Sports Showdown for the Nintendo Wii. Being developed by EA Canada, responsible for last year’s EA Playground and features 10…ahem…celebrities including Fergie, Avril Lavigne, Keith Urban, Reggie Bush and Sugar Ray Leonard. The “celebrities” will compete in 12 outdoor themed sporting events including beach volleyball, canoeing, archery and of course — dodgeball.

Celebrity Sports Showdown, scheduled to ship this Winter will be the first title developed under the new EA Sports Freestyle line, a perfect fit according to Dave McCarthy, the game’s executive producer. “We feel that this game is the EA SPORTS Freestyle answer to a great Wii party game. It explores the lighter side of sports and pulls inspiration from the entertainment spectacles that are so prevalent in pop culture today,” said McCarthy. “Celebrity Sports Showdown will bring people to the party with a collection of games and celebrities that appeal to everyone.”

“The Wii platform and the Wii consumer are looking for a very unique sports experience,” said Peter Moore, president of EA SPORTS.  “We’re excited to take five of our most popular franchises and develop them from the ground up exclusively for the Wii, with unique controls, unique presentation, unique modes and even unique packaging. Whether you’re an EA SPORTS veteran or a rookie gamer, EA SPORTS All-Play levels the playing field and delivers a fresh new gaming experience.”

All-Play will kick off mid next month when its first title, NCAA Football 2009 All-Play ships. Featuring the new simplified All-Play controls (as well as the traditional set-up for returning players), and a multiplayer experience that evolves based on skill sets, EA Sports taught NCAA Football 2008 All-Play as the most realistic college sports experience on the Wii.

Four additional titles will be released on the All-Play line between now and the end of 2008 including Madden NFL 2009 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2008. Each title will retail for a MSRP of $49.99. More information on EA Sports and the All-Play line can be found at www.easports.com/eaallplay.

The odd thing about this is it actually turns out to be a lot of fun. Street 3 creates a new world combining the biggest stars from real world soccer and mixing them with unique venues around the world. Add in some pulsating techno music and you have a sense that this game is not something of this world.

The game has an impressive cast with over 250 of the world’s best players from 18 of the top international teams. Each player has been rendered into a stylized body form loosely based on his actual physical attributes. This stylization helps further the arcade experience, but more importantly helps streamline gameplay as a players body type is usually indicative of their style of play.

There are four styles of play that a character can be. Tricksters are known for their ball handling ability. Enforcers are defense oriented. Playmakers have good awareness and are easily able to set up their teammates to score a goal. Finishers have a high ability to shoot and can score easily from mid court.

The graphics engine delivers beautiful visuals and special effects. FIFA Street 3 delivers a multitude of animations and ball control that lets you take complete control over the ball in a very intuitive manner. The analog control sticks allow you to seamlessly control the ball and passing and shooting is extremely easy.

The learning curve is very slight and the intuitive controls allow for hundreds of different ways to handle the ball, shoot, juggle, etc. The final feature, which is new to the series, is the Game Breaker that allows you to power your ultimate abilities and give you a competitive edge when needed.

The only downside is that it gets old, fast. It’s fun to play with friends, but when going solo the unchallenging AI and repetitive game modes don’t have much to offer. I recommend trying out this game, but be wary of its replayability.

Quick hits:

Publisher: EA Sports
Developer: EA Sports
Platform: PlayStation 3 (reviewed), Xbox 360, Nintendo DS
Genre: Arcade sports
Players: 1-6 (Up to 8 online)
Launch Date: Feb. 18, 2008

Playability: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Learning Curve: 4 out of 5 stars
Sound: 4 out of 5 stars
Graphics: 4 out of 5 stars
Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

“EA Sports GameShow is the only live-hosted, interactive online sports trivia game. Featuring programming that is updated daily, each trivia session is broadcast from the Ea Sports GameShow studio in Orlando, Fla.,” EA said in a statement Monday.

“After several months of Beta testing, we’re excited to move to the next phase of EA Sports GameShow,” said executive producer Roy Harvey. “This agreement with AOL provides an outstanding opportunity to introduce new sports fans from across the country to ‘live broadcast gaming’, a captivating, innovative form of entertainment.”

Every Monday through Friday from 12 p.m. through 1 p.m., fans can take part in the AOL “FanHouse Challenge Hour.”  The game lets players interact with the on-air personalities while competing against sports fans from around the country. Questions are presented through a variety of media, including text, audio and video.

We’re waiting to see how successful this one is, but if nothing else, it’s another example of how EA runs the interactive sports world.

EA Sports confirmed that Brett Favre will be on the cover of “Madden XX” — Madden NFL 2009, the 20th anniversary of the football video game franchise.

Madden NFL Football and Brett Favre are sports icons who have set the standard and revolutionalized their positions within their respective genres,” said Madden NFL Executive Producer Dale Jackson. “Brett Favre is a perfect fit for the Madden NFL 09 cover, as he epitomizes everything the franchise has stood for the past 20 years – longevity, excellence, and a love of football.”

Blast has learned that recently retired Green Bay Packers Quarterback Brett Favre will be the cover boy for Madden NFL 09.

While selecting a non active player may sound like an interesting choice, this year’s edition of the gridiron goliath celebrates the franchise’s twenty year anniversary, and it’s evident that EA was looking for an athlete that could match that legendary status. It shouldn’t be hard for the 3-time MVP and 9-time Pro Bowler

While EA has been advertising Friday as the date of the official cover announcement, odds are we won’t have to wait that long. Last year, Vince Young announced that he would be on the cover of Madden 08 on an appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel Show the night before EA’s broke word. Tonight — in a rare appearance — Favre will be the second guest on The Late Show with David Letterman on CBS.

Madden 09 is scheduled to be released for all major platforms on August 12.