Some random topics and poll for today

Here are some random things I wanted to throw out there but wouldn’t have made for much of a full posting on their own. Feel free to leave your comments in response to any of these. I’ve also added a poll if you continue on asking which of the three football games you are anticipating the most.

• There were more areas of confusion coming out of the media event held by EA last week than just the Fantasy Football which was cleared up through my producer interview. Apparently some media outlets have reported that Madden 09 will have in-game saves. Operation Sports sought out confirmation and found out that it will not.

• EA Gameshow has made a major change by turning off the power-ups. I was never a huge fan of the power-ups from the start although once I understood them it added a fun element to the game. I would probably enjoy rounds more where it was just knowledge and speed that determined the winner rather than taking advantage of power-ups which in some cases could simply come down to luck. Not to mention there was only one that was worth using negating the whole idea behind creating strategies (6X Chicken). It also made for a difficult first time experience. Thinking you are doing well but then seeing you got blown out because you didn’t know about power-ups or didn’t use the right ones would be frustrating and confusing. The plan is to bring power-ups back in the future but in a way that is more balanced and easy to understand.

• Who else is more impressed with the feature set for NCAA Football 09 than the one for Madden 09 at this point? Granted there are many more features to come for Madden and it has received a huge lift in presentation. But the features that are known thus far definitely seem stronger for NCAA. While Madden’s Online Leagues sound as though they’ll turn out well it is nothing compared to the interest behind the Online Dynasty. Add in other significant additions such as Home Field Advantage, roster sharing, and customizable music. Compare that to the BackTrack/Rewind and the Virtual Trainer (of which they should probably be seen in action before judging) that are aimed at making Madden more accessible. The screenshots/videos for EA Sports World being added to Madden is exciting but that was in NCAA last year. I highly suspect though as more becomes known about Madden this feeling may shift. They’re not going to hold back in the anniversary year.

• The transition to the full NCAA Football 09 website (which should launch in the near future) has caused some issues and prevented them from posting up the daily alternate screenshots. If you have missed any over the last few days (Clemson, Colorado) because of that they are included in the screenshot gallery.

• I’ve been more excited in general with gaming over the past days than I have in a long time. First came GTA IV but that was even topped by Boom Blox. Lego Indiana Jones is coming in a few weeks. Now news that Viva Pinata 2 is on the way. The original VP along with Crackdown are my two favorite games of this generation.