EA knows watching a football game is a complete sensory experience and hopes to give Madden NFL 13 fans the closest experience possible to attending an NFL game without actually buying a ticket.

In its latest NFL playbook, EA highlights the game’s enhanced audio system including the new commentary team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, the award-winning broadcast duo who have worked together since 2004 as the top team of the NFL on CBS. The two have spent over 82 hours in the recording studio and have created over 9,000 unique lines of in-game dialogue, a majority of which were improvised on the spot.

The game also includes new dynamic sound effects and crowd banter as well as a newly orchestrated theme song by veteran composer Colin O’Malley. You can also check out EA’s website for videos and outtakes from Nantz and Simms’ recording sessions.

Madden NFL 13 hits stores August 28.

EA Sports has announced that Detroit Lions Wide Receiver Calvin Johnson has won the year’s Madden cover contest, beating Carolina Panthers Quarterback and last year’s rookie of the year Cam Newton in the finals 52%-48%.  The announcement came earlier today on ESPN’s Sports Nation.

Johnson’s selection is no doubt a result of the Lion’s best season in decades, whcih the WR was a major part of. With 96 receptions, 1,681 yards and  16 touchdowns, the Lions made their return to the playoffs this year, after starting the season 6-0 and taking second place in the NFC North.

New details have also come out regarding the actual content of this year’s game. The big news? Gus Johnson is of course gone following his departure from CBS last year, but this year brings the addition of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, CBS’ premier commentary duo. Though the game will retain Madden’s signature production style, EA Sports looks to have the commentary from Nantz and Sims to be more free-flowing and context sensitive, meaning that the duo will comment on everything from how your season is going to news from around the league.

The team at EA promises that this year, the commentary will feel much more natural, and there won’t be as much dead air since unlike the duo of Chris Collinsworth and Gus Johnson, who never got in a booth together, Nantz and Sims not only did, but they’re old pros at it, and it’s a chemistry that EA hopes will make this year’s Madden a much more realistic one.

Madden NFL 2013 hits stores later this year.

EA Sports should take it as nothing short of divine intervention that mere hours before the release of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13, the game’s much embattled cover boy won his first tournament in years; guaranteeing that  he, and thus the game will be on every news cast, sports show and gossip monger’s lips for weeks to come. Truth be told though, the game didn’t need the extra stroke of publicity luck; unlike Woods himself, his golf series has been a long standing benchmark not just in golf games (slim pickings there), but in sports games in general. Sure, if you’re an every year player, the changes may not seem that revolutionary, but the amount of detail and depth found in this year’s Tiger title makes this a must play — for most people.

The biggest addition to this year’s game is the new Total Swing Control system, which adds an incredible amount of depth to the game. You’ll still tee off with the right thumbstick, but now, speed, tempo and control are all taken into account, and actual talent comes into play. It took me quite a few times to adjust to the new control scheme, but after while, it becomes very natural and fluent. Total Swing allows for a lot of strategy, and perfecting is means dropping shots just where you want them, while struggling with it means hooking shots and bending a ton of clubs.

PGA Tour 13 also gives players freedom over just where they hit the ball, adding even more depth to an already stellar experience. Need some height? Aim your shot for the bottom of the ball. Need a line drive for distance? Aim for the middle. This combined with the Total Swing Control System makes for an incredibly deep, system that’s still fun to learn. One could make the case that it’s almost too deep, that it requires an abnormal amount of skill, that its akin to actually being skilled at the game, but PGA 13 does a great job easing you in to its more depth features in a way that it never seems like it’s too much at one time. Everything you’re doing feels like the next logical progression of what you did before it. Does that mean I was any good at it? As in my real golf game — god no.

On top of that, PGA Tour 13 does a great job taking control for players who aren’t quite catching on. Using the caddy system, you’re able have the game line up your shots, select your clubs and do just about everything from take the shot for you. The team at EA Sports has done a remarkable job taking a deep gameplay system and making it accessible for all types of gamers. Is this Hot Shots Golf accessible? No, but it’s still a big step and it will make the game playable by a lot more people.

The game also features full motion support for both platforms, and while Move support has been around for the last few years, this is the first time Kinect is fully supported by the title. It’s functional enough, and the first few times, it’s really cool to swing in real life, but it gets old, especially when you take into account how twitchy it can be. The voice control works well, I was able to change clubs on the fly and was able to ask my caddie for assistance — and it was very responsive. Just take one piece of advice for me — don’t try to use Kinect to navigate the game’s menu system. Tiger Woods always seemed like one of the most natural fits for the peripheral, and it’s good to see it implemented, even if it doesn’t always work as it should.

PGA Tour 13 is easily the best looking of the series thus far as everything looks phenomenal. As a yearly Madden player (go ahead — flame), I found myself getting jealous at how good some of the players looked in the game. How come Tiger Looks so much like Tiger, but we get an Aaron Rodgers that looks like a whacked out freak? That doesn’t compare to the courses though, which are filled with sweeping vistas and remarkable lighting effects.

Unfortunately, the new modes available in PGA tour 13 are less than stellar. There’s the Legacy Mode, which finds you recreating the career milestones of the game’s coverboy, and is very underwhelming and oddly uneven. Why am I sinking a putt on national TV before I even practice in my dad’s backyard? There aren’t any real “money moments” that are worth writing about, and my guess is that the legacy mode will be a last ditch effort for most of the game’s core players. The online suite also allows players to create their own country clubs, which will appeal to those who really enjoy the experience, but it will be lost on those who don’t. Plus, you can’t create Bushwood authentically — I tried.

The Blast Factor: Like any good golfer, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 capitalizes on its errors and accounts for them to create a complete game. It’s deep, yet accessible. It takes skill, but never loses it’s fun.  Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 is easily the best of a remarkable series. It may not be a hole in one, but its a solid birdey.

EA has announced that Baylor Quarterback, Heisman Trophy winner and projected first or second overall pick in this year’s NFL draft, Robert Griffin III will grace the cover of NCAA 13. He’ll share this year’s spotlight with a previous Heisman winner, selected by the fans on Facebook.

Voting will take place on the official NCAA 13 Facebook page beginning March 12, and players will have the choice between the following college greats:

-Marcus Allen of University of Southern California
-Doug Flutie of Boston College
-Eddie George of Ohio State University
-Desmond Howard of University of Michigan
-Barry Sanders of Oklahoma State University
-Herschel Walker of University of Georgia
-Charlie Ward of Florida State University
-Andre Ware University of Houston

NCAA Football 13 hits Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii on July 10.

EA Sports has confirmed that it’s long running basketball sim NBA Live will end it’s two year hiatus when it returns later this year. The announcement came
when the studio delivered a tweet showing the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving playing the game.

The NBA Live series had been dominant for many years, until being taken over in popularity (and quality) by 2K’s NBA series.  That lead to EA announcing that they would be retooling the series, and renaming it NBA Elite. Following a well-known series of glitches and quality issues, the game would never ship, besides a select few copies.

No further details on the new NBA Live were made available.

They say that football is a game of inches. That it’s won and lost in the trenches, and not by the flashy plays that make the highlight reels. The same could be said then for Madden. The long running football series is built year after year by small improvements, rather than game changing new features (I’m looking at you quarterback vision cone).  This year’s game is no different, new features like Dynamic Player Performance are a welcome addition, and it’s still a satisfying game of pigskin, but there isn’t much new here to separate it from last year’s offering. Though it may be more Kerry Collins and less Peyton Manning, Madden NFL 12 is still a great time for fans of the sport.

The biggest addition to this year’s game is unquestionably the Dynamic Player Progression system. Essentially, it helps players act more like their real life counterparts. Player’s ratings are now effected by everything from the hits they take, to the flow of the game and even how they’ve been playing in the last few games, meaning you won’t be able to constantly rely on the same plays to the same players all season long. For instance, if Green Bay Packer tight end Jermichael Finley is on a cold streak and has been dropping open passes lately, I may want to look elsewhere when driving down the field for that come from behind drive. These ratings are pretty true to life, as players like Manning, Rodgers and Brady have remarkable poise in tense situations, yet rookies and those known for being rattled easy like Jay Cutler will begin making dumb mistakes if you don’t change your game plan up quick.

Dynamic Player Progression is a big part of this year’s Madden feeling much more realistic than previous editions ; as does the presentation – mostly. This year, EA has put an obvious emphasis on recreating the same camera angles and production aspects you’d see on TV and in stadiums around the league. The first few times you see these new angles, you’ll be impressed, but when they happen every single game, they get old rather quickly. The stadium specific introductions are well done, though shortened; really, teams only introduce two to three starters per game.

The biggest question though? Why stop there? Being the only licensed NFL game on the market and the only game that can use the ESPN license could be a huge deal, but the Madden series continuously throws the opportunity away. Where are the ESPN video packages? ESPN branding is almost nonexistent in this year’s game.  On top of that, why not take advantage of being the only actual NFL game on the market? Why not use the ESPN logos, tickers and graphics for games? I understand it would be hard to get the licenses for packages for each of the networks that carry NFL games, but how hard could it be to give me actual ESPN Monday Night Football presentation to make these games feel that much better. Hell, why not show me NFL network video packages?

Another disappointing aspect of the presentation of this year’s game is undoubtedly the commentary. Last year I applauded the addition of Gus Johnson, but somehow this year it just feels like it’s too much. Yes, it’s great when a remarkable, game changing play takes place and he shows true emotion, but Mr. Johnson is very excitable and makes every play, even short five yard passes seem like the best thing to ever happen to the game. Oh, and Chris Collinsworth? You may want to look into why they’re turning you into the game’s comedic value – I’ve had to listen on multiple occasions how you told me how great Greg Jennings’ arm strength is, and how he can riffle passes into tough spots. Yeah, Jennings is a receiver. I’m calling it – next year I want Joe Buck.

All of that aside, Madden’s core football gameplay is incredibly satisfying. Perhaps that’s as a result of the game’s hardest difficulty being ramped up to include smarter AI and better play recognition. The defense will pick up on tendencies and exploit them, and you better have a good adjustment plan.  New defensive animations and tackling systems makes that side of the ball a ton more satisfying to play. I honestly couldn’t get enough of wrecking guys with guys like Clay Matthews and BJ Raji.  With all of its downfalls, you can take solace in the fact that yes, Madden NFL 12 is still great fun to play.

Blast Factor: Madden NFL 12 may not be the best of the series, but it is a satisfying and fun football experience. The dynamic player performance system is an interesting addition the established formula, and should change how you at least play franchise mode. If Madden NFL 12 were an NFL team, they’d be the team that misses the playoffs, but only slightly.

ORLANDO — The Madden franchise is used to being the only game in town. Following an exclusive $300 million agreement with the NFL and NFLPA in 2004, the franchise became the only game that could use the NFL’s teams, players, logos and stadiums — but this year was different.  With a potential lockout threatening the entire season, Madden NFL 12 came close to being the only football this year period. The goal of EA Sports and Tiburon was clear then, create the most authentic game of football ever. One that looks, plays and sounds different than any that came before. Blast sat down with Madden NFL 12′s  Creative Director Mike Young to talk about what went into this year’s game and that pesky lockout.

To create a better and more realistic football title, EA knew that the first thing they needed to do was ramp up the series production values, which turned out to be quite the extensive process according to Young.

“We put a lot of effort into improving our presentation this year.  Our goal was simple:  Matching TV shot for shot,” Young told Blast.

“Our philosophy was bring in the experts, so we had NFL Films filming our cameras, CBS teaching us broadcast, Troika (MNF, SNF, Sports Center)designing our broadcast graphics.  Through the NFL we were able to arrange relationships with CBS crews to really understand how they execute the broadcast.  How they chose cameras, how they tell stories, etc.  We were able to attend pregame meetings with the director and camera operators.  We sat in the trucks during the games learning how all the elements come together.  We even brought in directors later in the year to critique our work.  The access was incredible. On one trip to Philadelphia we got to drive the wire camera.  We were given production bibles, diagrams for camera placement, and director instructions for each operator.  On top of the camera direction several other pieces were needed to make the content feel authentic to TV.  We added several scenes to the game like exterior blimp shots, cheerleaders, players running on and off the field, pregame runouts, etc.   I think people are really going to notice the attention to detail.”

The difference in the presentation is instantly noticeable from the start of a game. Team specific introductions (mascots and pyro included) start each game and the camera now employs a more broadcast style, much similar to that which you’d see on Sunday afternoons.  Also included this year are player specific celebrations and while you won’t be seeing T.O. taking out popcorn during a touchdown celebration, you do get things like Aaron Rodgers’ championship belt and Ray Lewis’ signature strut. It’s elements like these that according to Young were a culmination of the Madden team’s work over the past few years. ” Several of the features we delivered this year were several years in the making. 

For instance our realistic TV Broadcast style presentation was the result of three years of planning and building better presentation and camera tools and systems.   Some of that work manifested itself in previous versions of the game but I think Madden NFL 12 was the first time we were able to pull it together and make a huge leap forward.”

But football isn’t just about flash and show, and EA knew that it had make its players as realistic as its presentation and created the Dynamic Player Performance system as a result. Essentially, Dynamic Player Performance allows players to act more like their real life counterparts and not just a rating; how they play will be effected from everything from injuries to weather and even fatigue. It’s a system that according to Young, will change how players play Madden entirely.

“Adding Dynamic Player Performance is the biggest change we’ve made to Franchise mode in years and it’s the feature we’re the most excited about. In most if not all sports games including Madden in the past every game feels exactly the same. The players always play exactly like their ratings and there’s no such thing as having a good or bad day. In the NFL you never know what’s going to happen. Is Jay Cutler going to have the game of his life or struggle the entire game? That is why we watch the games.”

So just how realistic are these new dynamic player ratings (Jake Cutler jokes aside)? Young believes that the system makes this the most realistic and true to the league Madden yet.

“We feel like they are very true to life.  In fact Dynamic Player Performance is allowing us to capture intangibles and behaviors of players that we never truly represented before.  I like to think we had previously captured only the raw skills each player possessed, things you would measure at the combine, but now with Dynamic Player Performance we are capturing how players respond in situations.  When you played against Mike Vick in previous Madden’s he wouldn’t play like Mike Vick. He would stay in the pocket just like Peyton Manning.  Now we are able to not just represent the abilities that make players unique but now we ensure they use those abilities just like they do in real life.”

As odd as it may sound, Young believes that the pre-season in this year’s game is another one of the big changes that players will love, especially those that bury themselves deep in the game’s franchise mode.

“The second biggest enhancement in my opinion is the addition of expanded rosters and cut days,” Young said. “Finally the pre-season is meaningful in the game.”

The expanded rosters and cut days gives players the ability to fully access their team during pre-season games and drills, making risky cuts when needed.  “Now there is a real challenge to evaluate the talent on your team and fill the holes.  It’s all about finding the next Danny Woodhead.  Should you keep a veteran that you are familiar with or stick with a rookie to reveal his true potential? By the end of the preseason, if you keep a rookie or training camp invite on the roster for all four weeks, his ratings will be completely unlocked and you’ll know his true overall rating. At that point, you’ll know if you made a mistake by keeping him or if you found a diamond in the rough.”

Madden NFL 12 launches for the PS3, Xbox 360, Wii and 3DS on August 30. A demo is available on PSN and Xbox Live Today.

EA Sports announced today that it will offer a premium subscription service, dubbed EA Sports Season Pass for all of the publisher’s major sports franchises. The Season Pass program will kick off this year with Madden for $25 as well as NHL and FIFA later this year, with Tiger Woods PGA Tour and NCAA Football next year.

The biggest draw of the pass is the ability to download a full  digital version of the latest EA Sports titles a full three days before they release to the public. Here’s the catch though, after those three days, the digital copy becomes void, and you’ll still have to head to the store and pick up a full retail version of the title (though save versions from the digital version will work with the physical versions).

The Season Pass also gives those who buy it a 20% discount on DLC for EA Sports titles, but the discount is very selective over what it covers.  First, it doesn’t cover DLC for previously released games; meaning that if you buy it for Madden, you won’t be able to use it on NCAA Football 2012, which was just released a month ago. Also, the pass is sold on a per console basis, so you won’t be able to use it on multiple systems to cover multiple games. The discount also doesn’t work with the Online Pass service, which is required for gamers to play online, but free with new copies of its games.

So, will you be buying the pass from EA?

Every year, I have a very distinct way that I play the NCAA Football series. At any time I have no less than two different dynasties going. I always start with the Wisconsin Badgers and continue my home state’s yearly dominance over winning countless national titles, but the other is a bit more interesting. I take a random small school and through recruiting and old fashioned coaching slowly turn them into a national powerhouse; then after a few years I change schools to see if I can do it again.  This usually means giving up my numbers and record and starting over, but thanks to the coaching carousel, a new feature in this year’s game, I’m able to play in one continuous game that allows me to think and more importantly react as an actual NCAA coach.

The coaching carousel mode is just one of many additions that makes NCAA Football one of the series premiere titles. Though it has its fair share of flaws and the majority of the gameplay hasn’t been changed much, there’s still much to like here.  From a slew of new presentation improvements to a notable amount of customization options, NCAA Football  2012 finally steps out from the shadow of its big brother, the Madden NFL series and it does so by celebrating the spectacle of college football and not just the product.

The addition of the coaching carousel to the Dynasty Mode is an interesting one. You start by creating your coach from style to alma matter and of course look (admittedly though there are some curious absences here. You mean I can make my coach wear a 3 piece suit but can’t give him a 60’s era hat?) and then you pick your first coaching job. Where you go and what role you take will have a massive impact on your experience: pick an offensive or defensive coordinator and you’ll only have control over that side of the ball; but if you pick a head coach you’ll have control over the entire team. At the beginning of each season you’re given a set of goals and these are how you’re judged at the end of the season. Once your contract runs out you’ll have the option to stay with your current team (if they don’t fire you) or testing the waters otherwise.  It’s an interesting twist and a brand new way to look at a mode that had become somewhat stale in recent years.

The mode isn’t without its flaws though. Key among them is the fact that regardless of what position you choose, you’re going to be responsible for the entire team’s recruitment process, thus giving you pretty much the same responsibilities and making the feat of getting a head coaching job seem that much more trivial. What’s more, it’s entirely too easy to pull of the game’s biggest feat – landing your “dream job.” Simply create your coach and set his alma matter to whatever team you want, then make him the head coach of that school, and you’re in (interestingly enough it’s also a way to get a 30 point achievement on the Xbox 360).

Coaching carousel isn’t the only notable addition to Dynasty mode as for the first time ever you’ll be able to change around divisions and NCAA rules to your liking. The impressive customization suite was included as an answer to last year’s talk of super conferences and a dramatic realigning and is a college football fans dream. Want Norte Dame to play in the Big Ten? Go for it. Want to move a small southern team into the SEC to play with the big boys? It’s all up to you.  What’s more, you can even change bowl bids and where the bowl games happen. For instance, you can make the winner of the SEC and the winner of the Big Ten play each other in the Orange Bowl if you’d like.

Another mode that’s grown stale in recent years but given an overhaul in the 2012 game is the Road to Glory mode.  The mode, which puts you in control of one single created player now starts you back at the beginning of your senior year of high school (teams are either automatically created or you can import them using the impressive team builder). Once you choose which school you’ll be playing for, the game becomes almost more like an RPG as you’ll earn experience points to level up your player through in game play and mini games like practice performance. While you’ll start as a simple backup, you’ll eventually work your way up to becoming a trusted starter that can call his own plays and audibles at the line.

As you’d probably expect, save for a few new animations and tweaks, not much of the game’s core gameplay has been changed from last year’s installment. Unfortunately, this includes a few key elements that desperately needed tweaking. Some of the game’s physics are still a bit strange (there were several times where the ball went directly through my receiver), and the AI still has a tendency to become unbelievably good towards the end of the game especially when trailing. Come on, it’s a bit strange when you’re dominating for three and a half quarters only to have the other team suddenly become experts at interceptions and sacks.

Not all of the game’s tweaks are of the gameplay variety though, as the game features an updated presentation aspect this year.  Key among the updates is the stadium specific introductions. While not all teams have big introductions, the key ones are here like Florida State’s Chief Osceola and Renegade running on to the field and the LSU Tiger. They’re great to watch the first few times, but what about the rest of the game? If you’re going to capture the true spirit of college football, why not do something special for the end of the game?  Why does it feel the same when I beat a no name opponent as it does when I upset a top ranked team? Also notable is the fact that the game’s crowd noise has been improved dramatically and you no longer get the feeling like you’re listening to 50 fans amplified to sound like 100,000 fans; you’re actually listening to the right amount.

Much like the gameplay however, the game still suffers from some of the same visual flaws that have haunted the series for years. At random times half of players will vanish and the ball will completely go through whole objects. The new presentation aspects are great, but I almost would have rather had them wait on those until they fixed these lingering problems.

Blast Factor: Though it has its fair share of flaws, NCAA Football 2012 is easily one of the best of the franchise. With its new customization suite and revamped modes, college football fans are sure to find enough to enjoy for some time to come – or at least until next year’s game releases.

The NFL season may be in jeopardy thanks to the lockout, but Madden NFL 12 keeps rolling along, and today we get our first official look at the box art for the standard edition as well as the Hall of Fame edition.

The image on the left is your standard edition cover art, featuring Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis who won a nation wide vote to see who would get on the cover. The image on the right is that of the Hall of Fame edition, featuring 2003 cover athlete Marshall Faulk. The Hall of Fame edition retails for $89.99 and features a hand autographed Marshal Faulk Panini Card, and an exclusive Madden Ultimate Team Platinum pack featuring a combination of 13 NFL Hall of Famers and former Madden NFL cover athletes.

Madden NFL 12 comes out for pretty much every system you can imagine on August 30.

Ever since the HD era began, FIFA has been the number footy title. This is mainly due to the fact that the developersdecided to make the game more realistic than its predecessors. FIFA 11 continues this trend, and the results this year are truly wonderful.

FIFA 11 is the best footy game to date, but it is far from perfect, the game succeeds with ease in the most important parts, but falls short in other areas that matter the most to the FIFA purists.

First things first, the most important aspect is the gameplay, and this is the main selling point in FIFA 11, the game is completely different from FIFA 10, and the moment you start a match it shows.

The most brilliant aspects of the new gameplay engine are the dribbling and the tackling animations, which have significantly enhanced the authenticity of the game and made it truly resemble the real thing even more than before.

Towering figures like Campbell and Mertesacker move like the real deal, with slow dribbling and heavy movement, while players with a lower center of gravity like Arshavin and Messi sprint in impressive fashion, Ronaldo’s dribble even resembles his tippy toes run in real life.

Sadly not all players have signature animation created for them, but the majority of them feel more like the real deal. The most impressive animations in the game are Fabregas’ and Arshavin’s, both players are closer to their real life counter-parts than any player in any FIFA game before them.

The tackling animation has been completely revamped, players like Pique, Song  and Vermaelen have a dozen different tackles up their sleeves, you can sometimes press the sliding tackle and the player won’t slide, but rather stretch one of his feet to capture the ball, this is a wonderful and useful animation, seeing how in FIFA 10 the players made useless sliding tackles that almost always missed the target completely. Meanwhile, players with no tackling experience like Torres and Ronaldinho have few tackling abilities, making it easy to get through them without much of a hassle.

If you’ve been following FIFA 11 for the last few months, then you probably know about the Personality+ feature mentioned by EA Sports, stating that players behave like their real life counter-parts  more than ever. This isn’t true, at least not entirely. Rooney doesn’t act like Rooney in real life because he was designed to specifically act like him, but rather because FIFA increased his attributes, and added emblems that state what a player is great at, it resembles the emblem system featured in past NFL games, but in a FIFA-like presentation, and also added a “trait” system, where it states certain traits players have. This is useful, as it tells you important things like who is a power header, long shot taker or an injury prone player. The trait system, coupled with the emblems are what makes Personality+, it speeds up the process for gamers trying to search for a player with a specific trait.

The downside, is that the goalkeepers have no emblems that distinguish them from one another, while the attackers have an abundance of different traits and emblems, having a “penalty stopper” or a “quick reflexes” emblem would’ve been very useful in career mode when searching for a goalkeeper to purchase.

The AI for the opposotion has been significantly enhanced, skilled players like Ronaldinho and Messi will dribble past you, and will even do a few tricks and make you look foolish, while the defenders won’t fall for the usual 1-2 pass anymore, but rather intercept it, making the game more realistic and all the more challenging.

Another impressive, yet overused mechanic added in FIFA 11 is the team awareness level, players swap positions during the game, this feature messes up the defense for any player who is using the man marking feature in a multiplayer mode, leaving his players chasing shadows. The bad thing is that the players stay at each other’s positions for longer than desired, when a 6’4” Bendtner crosses the ball to a 5’8” Andrei Arshavin to score a header, you realize that the mechanic was taken a tad too far.

A few features have been added as well, such as handball (which can be toggled on and off), and an “Analog Sprint” feature, which determines how fast your player is sprinting in accordance with the player’s press on the R2/RT buttons, the harder the press the faster the sprint, this feature is massively helpful when you’re trying to time your run to avoid the offside trap, or sprinting forward while waiting for backup to arrive.

A few unrealistic problems in gameplay is the lack of AI in players sometimes, while defending a set-piece such as a corner, the tall defenders such as Mertesacker and Pique stand outside of the box completely, this truly frustrates when you concede from a setpiece, seeing how the main reason you bought these players was to defend set-pieces in the first place.

Also, sometimes when  you’re playing a home and away leg, and your team is losing in the first leg, at the end of the game if you win a corner, your goalkeeper  rushes forward, this is truly a suicidal move, seeing how you stil have a chance in the return leg, and if you concede from such a glitch in your own turf, then you have to score not one, but two goals in the return leg to make up for the away goals rule, this ruins your day right there.

While there are occasional quirks that are usually present in footy games, the good far outweighs the bad in this FIFA game in terms of gameplay.

Manager mode has been completely revamped, now you have a “career mode” that gives you three different choices to choose how to play your career. You can play as a player, a player-manager (you play then retire and manage the team), and as a manager from the get go.

These aren’t the only adjustments made here, career mode is far superior to any other manager mode before it, while it isn’t perfect, it is absolutely a step in the right direction by the developers.

Every team has his own budget and his own objectives, Manchester United’s board asks you to win the league, while Wigan’s board will ask you to finish in the top half of the table, nothing too surprising here.

However, once you choose the team you wish to manage, you will be blown away. I chose Arsenal as a manager, and the board’s objective was to win the Premier League, the moment career mode starts you will notice that the presentation is miles ahead of past FIFA iterations, the details are  indeed surprising.

After deciding to sell players and buy new ones, you’ll notice that just like real life, every player loaned on a season long loan by his team will be loaned to the team he went to play for in real life. Traore was on a season long loan at Juventus, and while you can recall him (for a fee), I decided to leave him and gain experience.

FIFA 11 forces you to make choices and decisions you would’ve ignored in previous FIFA titles.

In fact, FIFA 11 was designed to make you improvise, you can no longer upgrade facilities like past iterations of the game. You don’t need to upgrade the negotiator to be able to get new players to join your team, and you need to negotiate with the player as well as the team.

For example, I was able to convince Bayer Leverkusen to sell me Rene Adler, but after negotiating with the player, he stated he was loyal to the club he spent so many years in. This forces you to find new players to buy, it might be somewhat disappointing to not get the player of your choice, but that’s how it usually is in real life.

The one gripping issue, is the fact that the majority of the great goalkeepers in the game have been around with a certain team for many years, which means that almost all the great goalkeepers will reject your offers out of loyalty.

You also cannot buy players who are spending their first season with a team, and you are also forced to pay premium to get players in the starting 11 of their team, and overpay rival teams (in Arsenal’s case, Chelsea and Tottenham) to buy a player amongst their ranks, overall the players in FIFA 11 are usually more expensive than in previous titles.

But despite the player’s price, it’s actually easier to buy players this time around, while the first season will be somewhat difficult to buy players in, once you enter the second year everything comes together. The board rewards you on completing your objectives, and they increase your finances to help you acquire new players.

Should you win the league with Arsenal, you get 20 million Euros as a reward, coupled with 40 millions that you acquire as funds for each new season, while with Barcelona you get over 100 million Euros at the end of the seaosn (assuming you won the league and the cup titles), you not only earn the transfer money, but you also earn money for the player’s wages, this makes a world of difference and alone helps FIFA 11 surpass the abysmal FIFA 10 manager mode.

You can also allocate your budget, and choose whether you want a ton of transfer money, or player salaries, the board allows you to relocate your budget three times each season (which is more than enough really), this helps you in deciding whether you want to buy a few decent players with the transfer money, or one superstar signing and increase his weekly salary.

You sadly can’t offer to swap player with a team, which happens in real life and also has been featured in PES game for a long time now. You also cannot buy a player on deadline day, as you can take up to a week in negotiations, therefore you need to submit an offer at least one week before the transfer window closes.

A minor issue, is that when playing a home and return leg matches, the return leg sometimes isn’t on the calendar, this can ruin your hope in resting a few key players before the return leg.

Another problem, is that you will rarely be able sell any high profile players whose price are 35 million or higher, you can’t loan high profile players as well, this doesn’t help when you’re low on budget and want to sell an aging player to be able to buy a new one. Also, some strange unrealistic transfers might occur, but these are just some of the few minor problems in this otherwise impressive career mode.

The biggest problem in career mode however, is the player’s retirement. While indeed it is part of real life, in PES the players retire around 36 years of age, and are then reborn as younger and less experienced players, meaning that you won’t part with your favorites anytime soon.

But in FIFA, players retire at any random age above 30, and when a player retires, that’s it! No more Gerrard, Messi or Ronaldo, you are then forced to spend the rest (and probably majority) of the game playing with ugly generic and unrealistic looking players, and get to end career mode with fake players. This is a low point for the FIFA franchise, and the fans will attest to that. You can change the players ages from the edit mode, but not only will that take forever, but you will lose the realisticness of the game, you will no longer be able to buy the old experienced veteran defender and young talented striker, because they’re all 15 year olds, and their prices will inflate on a grand scale seeing how they have the same attributes but are younger.

All in all, career mode is in a league of it’s won when compared to the other FIFA games, and is a breath of fresh air that FIFA fans will adore, the players retirement is the one serious issue that keeps this mode from being one of the best career mode in a sports game this year.

Online modes are a bit of a mixed reception here, that is mainly due to the fact that there are people from all around the globe playing. When you’re playing against a person who is Stateside, the game will run well, but if you’re playing against someone in Europe, Asia or Africa, the game will run fine unless they have a slow internet connection, it is recommended to watch the latency bar before the game starts, anything below green will probably have some minor to serious lagging.

The newest feature in terms of gameplay is the all new Be A Goalkeeper mode. This mode puts you in goal and you will don the gloves for the very first time in a  video game. It is surprisingly addictive, and it’s strange that FIFA almost nailed this mode in their first try.

Being a goalkeeper ain’t all as fun as it seems, if you play as a goalkeeper in the arena, against a friend or the computer you will have a blast, but in a normal match some rules need apply. You need to play with a considerably weaker team, and take the difficulty up a few notches to actually be part of the action, after playing with Aston Villa’s Brad Friedel against Chelsea on Legendary mode, it took around 2 minutes for me to actually touch the ball, and the moment you kick it there’s no guarantee when the next shoot at you will be taken.

In fact, it seems insane that FIFA made an entire career mode where you can play as the Goalkeeper, it’s nice to have the freedom of choice, but you can spend quite a while not touching the ball, especially when playing against weaker teams.

FIFA 11 is a great game, but it’s not all flowers and sunshine though, the game has a few annoying flaws, and a real serious problem as well.

The Replay Theatre, which fans have waited ages for can only store 5 replays. The fact that a 320GB PS3 in the year 2010 can only save up to 5 replays of a FIFA game is downright offending to anyone who has waited so many years for EA to create a feature that helps you save your goals on the PS3. It will take you less than 2 weeks to use all 5 replays, and then you’ll have to overwrite the old replays to save a new one.

Virtual Pro has remained unchanged, you can upload your player’s face from FIFA 10, but the end result is the same as last year, the same old skin color issues that make you look quite hideous, and even when the camera is being played in Tele mode, you can easily notice from afar that your player has some serious tan issues. It is saddening that EA Canada hasn’t even touched this feature at all.

The biggest dissapointment on the developers behalf is the player faces. While the graphics of the game are pretty (when on a realistic looking player), the majority of the game are left unchanged. This is unforgivable, as the EA developers lied time and time again stating that they took players faces and designed them from the ground up.

If you’ve played the demo, then you probably believed them, but the majority of  the redesigned faces are the ones featured in the demo itself. Only Arsenal, Lyon, Chelsea, Juventus and few more teams have had almost their entire squads completely built from the ground up.

In fact, any player that was related to Arsenal and the mentioned teams has recieved a complete makeover, Sol Campbell and Fran Merida left Arsenal, but the developers didn’t know so they built the players faces, Joe Cole and Poulsen’s faces as well are realistic looking (they were playing for Chelsea and Juventus, respectively), this means that the developers did make Chelsea and the other teams and left the rest of the game on purpose.

It is beyond the pale really. Imagine yourself booting up FIFA 11 for the first time, going to play with world cup finalists Holland only to find that they all (with the exception of a few players) look like freaks, or playing with Inter, the European Champions, only to find out that Milito (who looks like an alien) and Sniejder’s faces have been left unchanged, while  Arsenal and Lyon’s reserve goalkeepers and 17 year old players have been made to resemble their real life counter-parts.

Another traditional piss off from past FIFA titles, is the annual commentary of Martin Tyler and that annoying Andy Gray. The same old soundbites are being used all over again. Calling Fabregas, who soon turns 24 a teenager is proof that the commentary has been left unchanged for a long time.

The majority of the commentary is Andy Gray criticising and Martin Tyler stating the players names, and when they finally start saying something interesting, the moment a tackle or a shot on goal occurs, they cut it, talk about the tackle and pretend the former speech never even occurred. In fact, if Martin Tyler says something you wanted to hear, just keep dribbling until he finishes his sentence.

To be fair, EA added a few lines that will please some of the fans, assuming Martin Tyler doesn’t change the subject.

The soundtrack in FIFA 11 is a true delight, the game has many soundtracks from bands from all parts of the world, you will find yourself humming and singing these songs as you play, and will want to check out the albums featured in the game.

And now for the serious problem that was mentioned earlier.

Some copies of FIFA 11 tend to freeze occasionally for a couple of seconds while playing a match, sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes it will freeze 6 times in a single match, and it is almost guaranteed that the game will freeze at least once every game or two. While not all of the copies have this problem, a fair number of them do. Some people even went and changed their copies of FIFA, but the copy they bought freezed as well. On the X360 you can install the game on the hard drive, this helps quite a bit, but on the PS3 you’re left with a game that has the occasional freeze.

This problem might be considered a deal breaker for a lot of people, and if you’re a PS3 owner who is starting to have second thoughts, you have every right to. But in all fairness to FIFA 11, had I known the game would freeze as much before I bought it, I would’ve still bought the game anyways, because despite all the annoyances mentioned in this review, the gameplay more than makes up for a few seconds of freeze and a couple of geriatric commentators.

The Blast Factor: In terms of multiplayer (exhibition or online), FIFA 11 is probably the best footy game to date, you shouldn’t let the freezing issue bother you, especially when there is a good possibility that EA might create a patch to download that handles this problem.

If you’re a PS3 owner and can forgive the freezing issues, and  looking for the most realistic footy game to date, FIFA 11 is it, the gameplay will help you forgive the game for the freezes and get over the other issues in the game. If you’re starting to have second thoughts and getting a bit skeptical, you might want to check up on PES 2011 before making a decision regarding FIFA 11.

To those from my generation, NBA Jam is nothing short of a cultural landmark. When it was in the arcades, it ate up all of your quarters, when it came to consoles, it kept us up all night. Then, we grew up. We favored full-on simulations with complex button systems and mechanics and realistic player tendencies. Ladies and gentlemen; welcome back to fun.

EA’s resurrection of the NBA Jam franchise is unapologetically fun and harkens back to a day when arcade sports titles were king. If you can forgive a few missteps from the developers, you’re sure to find much to love here.

First things first, EA has done a superb job of recreating the original NBA Jam experience we all remember – for the most part. The game’s original announcer Tim Kitzrow is back to shout his classic catch-phrases, and the visuals come off as an HD twist on a retro style. Yes, this is the original NBA Jam you remember, it’s just spruced up. Player faces are far more detailed than earlier versions (even if they sometimes come off as looking like South Park’s Terrance and Phillip at times).

The most important aspect that’s returned though – the game is still insanely fun. You could be the most hardcore sports sim fan of all time, it’s still impossible to deny the feeling you get dunking an alley-ooped ball from the free-throw line in the faces of your opponents. Games are quick, and you’re sure to have plenty of oh-my-god” moments with your friends. The highlight of the game is undoubtedly the back-board shattering yet physics bending dunks. Even after 17 years, the rewarding feeling of dunking it in someone’s places with a blazing ball is the same. Now that’s longevity.

When it was announced, some gamers were apprehensive that NBA Jam was (at the time) a Wii exclusive due to the inevitable inclusion of motion controls. While you’ll will have their choice between using the Wii  remote and nunchuck, the Wii remote by itself (held sideways) or the classic controller; it’s the later that is surprisingly the most effective. I’m not the biggest fan of adding motion controls where they don’t fit – but they work here. Using small, mostly sweeping motions you can do everything from passing to shoving, and even dunking. What’s even more surprising is the fact that the classic controller doesn’t fit the game as well as it should. The game’s reactions to the Wii remote and nunchuck were easily quicker and much more effective.

Quick fun and flash may be a specialty of NBA Jam, but depth is not. As much fun as the game is, it wears thin very quickly. You’re likely to see many of the game’s animations during your first game, and the title quickly looses momentum shortly after. NBA Jam is at its best when its life is prolonged by being  played with up to three other friends and letting the trash talk fly. There are a multitude of modes to be found in NBA Jam, but you’re likely to have the most fun with the classic campaign which finds you playing against progressively better teams in an effort to defeat the entire league.  There are a number of other modes, including a few half-court modes and boss battles, and while they do offer a change from the normal gameplay, they’re nothing special and you’re not likely to go back to them much.

When a game company brings a classic franchise like this back to life, they often go overboard – stripping the franchise of everything that made it so interesting in the first place in exchange for modern flash.  With NBA Jam, EA went the complete opposite route, leaving much of the original intact, but leaving out what makes this era of gaming so interesting. For instance, with NBA Jam’s core experience being built on multiplayer – where is the online play? I grew up playing this franchise with my friends and family and now that we all live spread throughout the country, it’d be nice to get that back, but sadly the game is local multiplayer only.  It’s a minor complaint when the game is this fun, but a valid one none the less.

The Blast Factor: EA’s NBA Jam rebirth is as much of a fun and exciting experience that we all remember from the franchise. It’s over the top, it’s flashy – it’s just what you remember from NBA Jam. There’s a few missing features like online play, and you’re unlikely to ever stray far from the main portions of the game, but those are all more than forgivable. NBA Jam is a must own for sports fans of all ages.

Madden 11, featuring cover-boy natural Drew Brees,  is available today after a rather rocky reception to the demo several weeks ago. It features a new ‘Strategy Pad’ that houses all pre-snap options in a single place, but the mechanic was maligned by many faithful for being slower than the previous system and offering no option to revert back. The vintage pre-snap controls will be patched into the game shortly after the beginning if the NFL season, but, for now, players will have to just have to grin and bear it.

This year’s version of the game features numerous tweaks designed to lower the barrier to entry for new players. It has a dummy play-calling system called Gameflow which is supposed to guide you through the game in a hurry without sacrificing strategy. Players are able to dictate the way Gameflow calls the game by using ‘Gameplanning’ as well. This feature allows you to assign plays to certain situations for the Gameflow brain to pull up when those situations arise.

Another notable addition to this year’s game is a new feature called Online Team Mode where up to six players can jump into a lobby and pick sides.  Players decide to be responsible for different components of the game – QB, rushing, receiving, pass rush – and can decide to play free-roaming characters as well. This feature seems like it will be super-fun with friends and has a lot of potential. I play the NHL version of this and it is a very good time. It will be interesting to see how Madden’s take plays and is received.

Finally, Madden 11 will place much more emphasis on the right analog stick, as many of the evasive moves that previously used buttons are now mapped somewhat more intuitively to the stick. It seems to be the way of all things.

So, to the many proud Madden- freaks of the universe on this day, I say, “Have a glorious time with your new toy! And, I hope you don’t get caught by your boss.”

2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa has predicted that Spain will be the team taking home this year’s honors. If that does turn out to be the case, it will the first time ever for the Spanish who have a reputation for World Cup flops. They have made 12 appearances and never quite gone the distance. EA Sports has predicted reliable upsets before, however, the most recent being that the Saints would beat the Colts in the Super Bowl earlier this year. This, of course, happened and the city of New Orleans was able to enjoy a few months of fleeting joy before the horror show that is the Gulf oil spill came along and ruined everyone’s life there once again.

According to EA:

“The Final itself was an epic battle as Brazil put on a dazzling display of free-flowing samba style soccer early on against the Spaniards, taking a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute with a Felipe Melo strike from just inside the box. It didn’t take long for Spain to level the score after a goalie error that left striker David Villa in the clear. He tapped in his 6th goal of the tournament in the 42nd minute.  The second half saw fortunes turn in favour of Spain, as their disciplined build up play and domination of possession paid off with a goal in the 61st minute when Villa connected for his second goal of the match, off of Andres Iniesta’s driven cross.  Brazil had several efforts on goal in the final third of the match but couldn’t capitalize on its chances as they pushed all players forward in an attempt to draw even, eventually conceding a splendid counter attack goal in the 88th minute from Cesc Fabregas, which delivered Spain the 2010 FIFA World Cup.”

It’s a lot harder to predict the winner of a tournament than it is a single game, so we’ll see how it all plays out on June 11 when the real World Cup opens. EA gets a lot of these right, which speaks volumes about the depth and sophistication behind their amazing sports titles. They predicted in April that the Blackhawks would win the Stanley Cup, but against the Penguins and not the Flyers. Regardless, the Blackhawks are leading the series which means EA has a very good shot at having called the Stanley Cup winner before the start of the playoffs so…

Source: G4

In a determined effort to combat the impact of used game sales, Electronic Arts extends its “Project Ten Dollar” campaign to its EA Sports label, beginning with Tiger Woods PGA Tour ’11.

When the golf sim rolls out this summer, not only will Tiger share the cover, but those who buy a new  copy have access to what EA is calling the “Online Pass.”

Tiger and Rory

The Pass is a one-time use code included in all new purchases of the game and will be available for $10 for those who secured a used copy. According to EA, the Pass will let gamers experience a wealth of online content including “online services, features and bonus content.”

Maybe this sounds dirty, underhanded and nasty, but business is business, even when it’s video games and Electronic Arts sees the used game market as a huge detriment to turning profit.

Don’t believe me? EA Sports executive Peter Moore issued a statement this afternoon, explaining the situation.

“This is an important inflection point in our business because it allows us to accelerate our commitment to enhance premium online services to the entire robust EA SPORTS online community,” Moore said.

No mention was made in the press release of future titles bearing the “Online Pass,” but it seems all but certain that EA is going hard against the GameStop machine and its used game profiteering business model.

Although EA has thus far declined to comment on it, the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) has quoted a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team official as saying that all teams from the league have been asked to supply images of their rinks and sweaters to EA Sports Vancouver.

There are several other notable Canadian Junior Hockey Leagues not mentioned in the story, but one would assume that if EA Vancouver is doing one, they’re probably doing a couple of them or more.  Those EA Sports guys are typically pretty thorough. Most hockey fans will know that this inclusion is significant because these leagues usually represent the best young hockey being played in  the world. In fact, the NCAA considers it professional. However, the salaries are far lower than what anyone in America would consider ‘pro sports wages.’

Having these leagues in the game will go the longest way toward deepening career and franchise mode play but will also give more casual players the chance to introduce themselves to some incredible young hockey players. I imagine once you get good enough to start beating your friend’s NHL teams with Junior Hockey league teams, then you’ll really be having some fun.

Source: Kotaku

The MMA game scene is about to heat up with the addition of EA Sports MMA to the mix. Up against the UFC’s officially licensed ‘Undisputed’ franchise, it is an underdog for sure – but this new ‘Full Contact’ trailer does a great job of getting you interested:

Pretty awesome stuff! It will be an uphill battle for EA MMA though, as THQ’s UFC Undisputed 2010 hits shelves May 25th – months before EA MMA’s unannounced release date. Undisputed 2010 also includes all the fighters you really want to have: Anderson Silva, Brock Lesner, and just about everyone but Randy Coture.  UFC fighters are, with a few exceptions like Coture, strictly prohibited from appearing in any game other than the UFC’s.

EA’s title does look to feature a much greater variety of locales/ ring types, as well as different rule sets for different organizations. However, the lack of recognizable talent will surely need to be made up for with massive upgrades in gameplay, creating/careering fighters and visuals if EA really hopes to put any dent in Undisputed’s hold on the existing market. Undisputed 2009 was a huge seller and got very positive reviews, so it’s doubtful that existing players will be looking for an alternative that comes out much later and features few (if any) of their favorite fighters. We’ll see if this contest goes the full 5 rounds…

I wonder if they could agree to just hug it out?

You'll see this guy in Undisputed 2010 as well.

Tiger Woods gets around. Whether it be globetrotting to Dubai to play on his course, or shamelessly throttling women every other weekend, the golfer is a stud.

Tiger Woods

He’s admitted his wrongdoings and will be back to the game next month at the PGA Tour’s most prestigious event, The Masters in Augusta.

EA Sports breathes a sigh of relief as the publisher, sticking with their man (and another), won’t have to worry about shipping a title with an inactive athlete.

“We’re looking forward to seeing Tiger back on the golf course,”  EA Sports executive Peter Moore blogged recently. “All eyes will be on Augusta in a few weeks.”

Woods was dropped by several sponsors, including Accenture and the future of the Tiger Woods PGA Tour video game franchise was in question, but no more.

Everybody, glad to see Tiger return? He’s doing it at the place he began his career and at a club with some of the most respectful and reserved galleries in the game. That’ll make it easier, right?

Source: Kotaku

Image Credit

Tiger Woods, the professional golfer who found himself in an unmistakably horrible position following a day-after-Thanksgiving car crash and a series of unfortunate events that ensued, has been dropped by many sponsors, but not EA.

EA Sports remains steadfast in its commitment to keeping Tiger the cover guy for the PGA Tour video game series.

Following Tiger’s public apology on Friday, EA Sports boss Peter Moore expressed his continued commitment to the disgraced icon.

“It was good to see Tiger address the public today, and we’re supportive of his focus toward family and rebuilding his life,” said Peter Moore, president of EA Sports. “He remains one of the greatest athletes in history, and as a long-standing partner, we look forward to seeing Tiger back on the golf course when the time is right for him and his family.”

Rob Semsey, a senior PR manager for EA SPORTS, said the over ten-year franchise is going nowhere, with Tiger Woods PGA Tour ’11 slated for release on all major platforms, as originally planned, this June.

While Tiger may not return to actual golf this year, you can expect to see his digital version. I wonder if this hullabaloo will help sell more copies of the game, because for the first year ever, I may buy one.

Source: Kotaku

Living in the United States, it’s hard to remember soccer is the world’s most popular sport, but it is.

EA Sports recently announced that FIFA 2010, the premier soccer simulator, has sold over 9.7 million copies since it launched over fourth months ago in October.

FIFA '10

That  number represents the number of copies sold across every platform and, to put it in perspective, equates to 75,000 units sold per day.

2010 being a World Cup year, EA Sports is primed and ready to release a World Cup themed FIFA product in April, a few months before the once-every-four-years soccer tournament kicks off in South Africa.

Source: Destructoid

Do you need another reason to log more hours of your life away on everyone’s favorite social-networking site Facebook?

If that’s you, EA Sports today revealed a Facebook version of Madden NFL is coming to the online space sometime in the to-be determined future.

Extending to Facebook is a move EA Sports president Peter Moore sees as necessary.

“We have to make ‘Madden’ more accessible,” Moore said. “You’ll see us on Facebook going forward.”

While today’s announcement was nothing formal and came with no press release or release date, Moore said the goal of the new Facebook version is to give players a “simpler experience” compared to that of its console cousins.

Last November, EA bought Playfish, a noted Facebook games developer, in a deal worth about $300 million.

Would you play a Facebook version of Madden NFL?

Source: IGN

Choices are nice. And as gamers, we rarely get them, well, in terms of huge releases like the Madden series.

That’ll end for EA Sport’s Madden ’11. The game, the first of the new decade, will leave the decision of which gridiron athlete to grace the cover, up to you, dear professional football fan.

EA Sports has teamed up with Doritos for the change to the status quo allowing you to choose Drew Brees of the Saints, Reggie Wayne of the Colts or Jared Allen of the Minnesota Vikings, as the muscly dude to cover the game’s box art.

Choices. Nice.

Go ahead and vote, by following this link, but remember the Madden Curse.

The EA Sports division of Electronic Arts are working on a secretive new title, and today, as revealed by inside sources, that game is going to be a rebirth of the classic arcade-style basketball title NBA Jam.

w00t

According to ESPN, “NBA Jam” is primed and ready for EA to announce it later this month and is currently in development by members of the Midway team who crafted the original series.

I’m ready to believe. The game did coin the expressions “He’s on Fire!” and “Boomshakalaka!” after all.

Source: ESPN

Publisher of the longstanding and highly popular “Tiger Woods” video game franchise Electronic Arts, firmly offered its support for the golfer today amidst a hailstorm of speculation surrounding a car accident near his Florida home last week.

“Our strong relationship with Tiger for more than a decade remains unchanged,” a spokesperson told IGN. “We respect Tiger’s privacy, we wish him a fast recovery and we look forward to seeing him back on the golf course.”

As for Tiger himself, the man issued an apology on his official Web site yesterday, apologizing for “transgressions.”

“I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.”

Make of the story what you will, as concrete details haven’t and likely will never, surface.

Source: IGN

EA Sports MMA is the Mixed Martial Arts game which EA has been developing. They have just announced that Strikeforce, a world-class mixed martial arts fight promotion, will be featured in the game. Legendary mixed martial arts referee "Big John" McCarthy will preside over the in-ring action to help deliver the authentic MMA experience. EA SPORTS MMA fighter roster will feature four of the main card’s fighters, including Fedor Emelianenko, Brett Rogers, Jake Shields and Jason Miller.EA Sports MMA will be available on Xbox 360 and PS2 in 2010. For more information about the game, check out their website or follow the game on twitter.

EA Sports today unleashed the NCAA Basketball ’10 demo onto Xbox Live for gamers to try out and hopefully plan a purchase for down the road.

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.

EA Sports is supporting Breast Cancer Awareness Month by selling pink and black Drew Brees jerseys in PlayStation home with 100% of the proceeds given to Brees’ awareness charity.

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.

Electronic Arts released Fight Night Round 4 back in June, but are still hyping the game like it’s a new release. That said, it’s a damn fine game, so we wouldn’t want you to miss it. You know, if you’re into the whole primal urge to smash faces in high-definition.

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.

FIFA, the Madden of Europe, is a huge franchise. It’s EA’s largest, and as you know, is a simulator of the world’s most popular sport, soccer. The 2010 version went on sale last week and sold beyond belief.

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.

EA Sports, the division of Electronic Arts that handles Tiger Woods PGA Tour games, today released the Tee Shot Live App for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

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.

According to NHL ’10, the Pittsburgh Penguins‚  will successfully defend their crown and will be your 2010 Stanley Cup Champions.

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.

EA has released a new list of tips and tricks for players of The Sims 3 World Adventures. You can build tombs, hidden caves, and catacombs and now share them with other Sims players. Building complex tombs extends the playability/enjoyability of the Build and Buy Modes and adds a new element of adventure to the game. After the jump is a list of additional objects and what will activate certain actions. Check it out and tell us what you think.

Hey all,

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!

Electronic Arts today released demos for NBA Live ’10 and FIFA ’10 on Xbox Live for sports games enthusiasts to try their hand at before they make that $60 decision.

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.

Electronic Arts, through the mouth of EA Sports boss-man Peter Moore, today announced that the “NASCAR” video game series has come to an indefinite end, with key personnel transitioning to the publisher’s next digital endeavor, “EA Sports MMA.”

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

Each year, the Madden NFL series undergoes a few changes that make the game just a little bit better–while this makes many people happy, as the sales numbers can attest to, there are gamers out there who feel somewhat cheated, like Madden’s yearly release is just a way to get new rosters out. While that has never been the case–EA has constantly tweaked Madden and tried new ideas to enhance the user experience–this year’s edition, Madden NFL 10, seeks to overhaul the franchise through a number of smaller, more subtle refinements. What makes Madden NFL 10 impressive, and also arguably the best Madden title in its long history, is the fact that the developers enhanced, altered and changed so many things that the title feels the freshest it has in years.

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

Madden 10 will soon be available on the App Store for the iPhone and iTouch. Combining the realistic game play of the Madden series with the mobility of the iPhone, Madden 10 mobile will be a big hit with fans of the series. With a packed roster and special attention to graphics and details, the game is loaded full of special features so as to deliver as much of an experience as the console versions of the game. The iPhone version also allows you to adjust the speed of your game to allow you to pick the best moves for each play. Gamers can use the touch controls to draw hot routes for passing plays. You have full control over huge free agent pools and cross team trading. The best part is that you can choose to play a quick game or play a whole season with in depth trades, states and player rewards (all the while listening to John Madden, Tom Hammond and Cris Collinsworth provide commentary on the game).‚  This will ensure that Madden 10 will be the sports game of the season. Here are some screen caps from Madden 10 mobile.

Comment with your thoughts below.

Frank Lampard joins Wayne Rooney as the selected athletes for EA Sports FIFA 10 global cover art. Chelsea FC midfielder Frank Lampard and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney are among several iconic players who will be in the game, which includes Karim Benzema, Theo Walcott, Xavi Hernandex, Bastian Schweinsteiger, and Giorgio Chiellini (among many others included in regional packs). A full playable demo of‚  FIFA Soccer 10 will be available on September 17 on Xbox LIVE and the Playstation Network. Those who want to download a demo for the PC can do so from the FIFA EA Sports website. In addition to the demo, users will be able to upload created in-game videos to EA Football World. FIFA Soccer 10 will be on sale October 20.

EA Sports has produced an Interactive Training tutorial that uses EA Sports technology to train young soccer players. The resource employs the EA Sports soccer game engine to illustrate the U.S. soccer’s coaching book “Best Practices for Coaching Soccer in the U.S.”, the definitive player development guide. Youth and Junior level soccer coaches are provided a fundamental tool to help teach young players in ways that celebrate the sport’s spontaneous qualities.

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.

SAN DIEGO — With the newest edition of Madden NFL coming out in just a few weeks, EA had it at the ready for media at San Diego Comic-Con. We were able to check out the game and play a bit with EA Tiburon’s Art Director Tim Spangler, and we took the opportunity to ask him a few questions about the title’s major visual overhaul.

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.