Sell out with me oh yeah

It's a great week to be alive. New iPods tomorrow, the NFL season opener on Thursday and, best of all, we're just one month away from egg nog season.

So if I confess now, it may fly under the radar: I traded in my beloved All-Pro 2K8 towards the latest edition of Madden. A friend of mine absolutely begged me to play him in Madden (online) and, tragically, I gave in.

Always stick by your principles. Put simply, Madden sucks. Well, it's OK, but it has some "features" that make me homicidal. A quick example: in this year's game, they made the "A" button, which snaps the ball, also be the button that sends a man in motion. Why?, I cried. So now the game sends your guy in motion, then automatically snaps the ball for you at the precise instant he's set. Cutting-edge technology at work. If you're me, though, you think, "what's going on, why isn't the play starting?" and press "A" again, which means that next month, when the play eventually does begin, you'll immediately throw an incomplete pass at the feet of your "A" receiver, typically the tight end. This is folly. Eventually I'll adjust, eh?

Also, Madden 08 is a turnover-fest that makes NFL Blitz feel fair. (Though Blitz rocked.) I really don't hate the Madden series, just this game. I also think the name sucks, because Madden doesn't announce your game any more. Instead some random dude just announces the whole thing by himself. (I miss Madden's insightful lines, such as this gem from a kick return for a score in 2003: "That guy's like the Magna Carta. History.")

All-Pro was more to my liking, but frankly, I was a little disappointed in both games this year. (Neither is as good as the 2K5 or 2005 editions.) Hopefully next year, when the Xbox 360 will be on its FOURTH freaking edition of Madden, we'll finally have a new football game worth shelling out the cash for.