Video Games

I've never been a great exponent of video games.

When I was 11, I used to go round friends' houses to be routinely beating to a pulp whilst playing Streetfighter II.  When I got my first computer (an Amiga 500!) I was more interested in sports games like Championship Manager and Brian Lara Cricket, than trying to kill aliens or rip someone's head off.
I did occasionally play an early version of John Madden Football at a mate's house, but my knowledge of the NFL was so limited that I opted for the QB run pretty much every play!

The Madden franchise is as synonymous with the NFL, as the Tiger Woods series is with golf or the FIFA franchise is with football.  Most people wouldn't even be able to name another American Football based video game.  The first Madden game was released in 1991 and whilst it was basic compared to today's efforts, it was pretty cutting edge at the time.  You controlled the players, you could pick plays and even call audibles.  It also featured some brilliant images such as this:

An early version of "parking the bus"

Through the years the game has evolved, but it has always been considered the beat NFL video game around.  Features such as create your own player, franchise mode and playing games online have added to the brand, whilst it's graphics, playbooks and player accuracy have evolved significantly.

My own Madden experience is limited, so this won't be a detailed look at the game.  However, due to the Grand Final of my Search for a Team, I possess a 2nd hand copy of the 2007 version of the game and due to my 30 Things to Do I need to win a Superbowl for the Eagles on it!

Well, I haven't achieved that as of yet.  However, I have started the journey.  After a few practice games to get me up to scratch with the game play, I set the Difficulty Level to it's highest rung and started my quest.
I decided to play as the Eagles, but have a fantasy draft.  I consider drafting players to be part of the art of the game, so wanted to include this in my quest.  Draft strategy is an interesting topic and I could talk all day about how I went through all my picks.  But for the purposes of keeping you awake I'll be brief.

I had pick 11 in the First Round, so remembering my penchant for QB running I plumped for Michael Vick!  By the time the 2nd, 3rd and 4th rounds came along, there were no elite running backs left, so I opted for Ed Reed, Brian Urlacher and Champ Bailey to give me a high class Defence. I then picked up Reggie Bush and Andre Johnson to add to my offense.  Due to my lack of Madden expertise and knowledge of NFL players pre 2008, I generally went for players I'd heard off in the later rounds.  This policy saw me land players such as Asante Samuel, Nate Burleson, Antonio Gates and Nmandi Asomugha.  I ended up pretty happy with my team, but as good as they were, they'd still have me controlling them!  A heavy burden for even the strongest team to overcome.

I can't be bothered with Training Camps or Pre Season so I skipped that nonsense and went straight into my first game, away at the Texans.  What Vick has in speed, he lacks in pass accuracy.  This led to lots of runs from both himself and Bush, but a pretty dull outing for my receivers.  I was 14-6 down at half time, but thanks to a QB sneak from Vick and a couple of FG from my kicker (Janikowski) I was soon ahead.  My so called elite Defense weren't making many plays and the Texans were scoring very easily.
It all came down to a bizarre last minute that included a muffed punt return from my late round wild card Devin Hester (not a patch on the real life Hester), a FG from the Texans and a last ditch TD from Burelson after a defender deflected a wayward effort from Vick.
Into Overtime and an Asante Samuel interception plus another Sea Bass kick left me 1-0 for my season.  More through luck than skill, but hey, that's how the real thing works!

So I'm on my way to ticking off the next item on my list, but don't be surprised if it takes me more than a season to complete.  I won't be providing game-by-game reports (largely because it's pretty dull) of my season, but I'll keep you posted on how I'm getting on.

Next up, I'll be looking at the various NFL competitions out there, as I start my quest to "Win an NFL related prize".  Hmm, that could also take a bit of time!