5 Reasons Why EA Went BackWards

1. Gameplay
Madden 09 did a pretty good job of having good gameplay. Under the umbrella of gameplay includes: Defense algorithims, Offensive algorithims, Hit Stick, game speed, player movement. All of these things factor into Madden gameplay. However, in Madden 10 they weren't able to accomplish the same thing. Yesterday I played the Madden 10 demo reluctantly. The game was so slow and the overall experience was so whack. One of the big disappointments was the way you choose your play. Instead of picking your play individually, you had to press the corresponding letter with the play you wanted to choose. I played Madden like that when I had a PS2, that's around Madden 06.

2. Ratings
I've been tracking Madden 10 team ratings since EA allowed people to see them. So far, I've come to the conclusion that most teams ratings have declined. But the question is why? The ratings in Madden 09 were just fine, teams got the ratings they deserved. Also, I think the players got ratings they deserved. However, in Madden 10 ratings for teams and players have declined. If you look at a list of Rookie ratings you would see that ratings range from 50-85. That's a huge margin. I wonder how the EA comes up with these ratings because they're low for no reason. Now mediocre teams have gotten worse. For example, the Texans, Jaguars, Buccaneers and Saints. Each team's ratings that I just mentioned range from a 71-79 overall. I have no clue why EA decided to decline ratings this year. If EA is trying to make Madden 10 more like an NFL experience I don't think they should have ratings decline. Players drafted in the 6th and 7th round in the NFL draft can still contribute to a team. But they probably won't be able to contribute in Madden 10.

3. Design/Artwork
The Artwork for Madden 10 looks so similar. To bring up a point I made earlier, the way you choose your play is so simple. Then comes player faces, they also look simple. The design for picking your team went backwards just a little bit, in Madden 09 when you picked your team it look so much better. But in Madden 10 it looked so simple, as if they were biting themselves.

4. Gimmicks
If you've played the Madden 10 demo and watched the intro all the way through you would under stand what I mean by gimmicks. But that isn't the only gimmick. Another gimmick is the cursor that shows where the ball will appear is now red, and it opens or closes based on how far the ball is away from the closest player. I know, it's that complicated, which is why it qualified as a gimmick. Yesterday I didn't actually experience this next gimmick but it's advertised like it will be used, the battle for the fumble. From the articles that I read on EA's website the fight for the fumble will occur at the bottom of a pile-up. This fight is won after a person presses a series of buttons repeatedly in order to win the fumble.

5. Overall Experience
The overall experience for Madden 10 is very bad. The game moves too slow. Players run and throw weird. There are too many gimmicks and Madden 10 has gotten away from it's roots. It's not like a real video game. Madden 10 is fake to me. Hopefully, in the last days before Madden 10's release EA can make some significant changes. But I don't plan on picking Madden up until September, maybe October because by then EA should have made some changes. I'll also find some way to play Madden 10 in it's full version before I buy it myself.

Bronx Bombers Face Detroit

After being swept by the Anaheim Angels, the Yankees head back to New York for a three game series against the Detroit Tigers. Meanwhile the Yankees are three games behind the Boston Red Sox. So now the Yankees are back at square one. The Yankees made up all the ground they needed and got swept before All-Star break, thereby losing their lead. The Red Sox on the other hand where able to sweep their opponent before All-Star break. Plus the Red Sox have to play the Blue Jays tonight. I think the Yankees have the tougher team to play but that remains to be seen. The bottom line is the Yankees need to go on another win streak, like the one before the Anaheim Angels series.

Every Team Should Play Tommorrow

Why doesn't MLB (Major League Baseball) have a set date for all their teams to come back and play after All-Star festivities? If you ask me, all MLB teams should play three days after the All-Star game. That way each team can get a sufficient amount of rest and it'll be fair. Instead of teams starting one day or two or three days after the All-Star game. With this in mind, of course scheduling will have to be changed but if you think about it it's not such a big change to make. Also, if one team starts off one day after the All-Star game that will make them tired. Therefore putting that team at a disadvantage. I think three days is enough time for a MLB team to get fully rested.

Who's At Fault, EA or GameStop?

There are more problems with the Madden 10 demo release dates. First of all, I didn't know that in order to obtain a download code from GameStop you had to pre-order Madden 10. That wasn't clarified. Next the public demo that will be released on the 30th will only have one minute quarters. What are Madden players suppose to do with that? Hardcore Madden players could finish that game in about 5 to 10 minutes. That's no fun. Also, no GameStop has obtained any download codes for the Madden 10 demo released on the 23rd. In some cases, your neighborhood GameStop won't get the codes the same day as another GameStop. Now this whole situation is messed up. So who's at fault for this mix-up? Both EA and GameStop if you ask me. EA because they didn't send off the download codes and because they didn't clarify that the public demo would only be one minute quarters.

Two Madden 10 Demos Equals Problems

The wait for the Madden 10 demo is over. At least according to gaming website, pastapadre. The only problem is there are two demos. The demo that will be available for download to everyone will be released on Thursday July 30th. Then there's another demo before the 30th that you may be able to download. If you want to download the demo that's available on Thursday July 23rd, you'll have to head over to Gamestop on the 15th in order to obtain a download code. Basically it's a waiting debate, would you rather wait until the 30th to get a demo with two minute quarters along with the Cowboys vs the Giants. Or would you rather go to Gamestop on the 15th to get a download code, wait to the 23rd to use the code, and play a demo with five minute quarters along with the Cardinals vs the Steelers.

Here's my take, this whole situation doesn't really make any sense. Why have two separate Madden 10 demos? Instead of just having one. The sooner you put out a Madden 10 demo the better. The better the demo, obviously that will be better. Which means EA should just release one demo on the 23rd that has 5 minute quarters along with the selection of the Steelers vs the Cardinals or the Giants vs the Cowboys. But EA probably won't do this. It's business, make the better demo available to everyone. If you can't allow four teams in a demo, then just use the Steelers and Cardinals, they were in last year's Super Bowl. However, what you don't do is make two different demos, because not everyone will be able to get the download code on the 15th. That's just creating a problem.

Yankees Let One Slip Away

The Yankees had a 4 run lead through three innings, then the fifth inning came. The Yankees were cruising throughout this game. Through three Angel pitcher, Saunders was struggling and serving pitches up to the Yankees. But he was able to make it through 5 innings with a 5-1 deficit. But nobody knew what was going to happen in the next two innings.

In the bottom of the fifth inning the Yankees were beating the Angels 5-1. Then Chone Figgins singled, and stole second. However, from a witness standpoint (Pop) Figgins was out, even though the second base umpire called him safe. That would've been one out. Then, Izturis fouled out to Jose Molina, bringing up Bobby Abreu. During this at-bat Abreu brought in Chone Figgins with a single, and like Figgins, Abreu stole second. Then Juan Rivera came up and was able to reach because of an A-Rod error. The next batter was Kendry Morales. On a full-count Morales hit a three-run home-run to tie the game at 5. The runs stop pouring in during that inning, but the Angels weren't done.

In the sixth inning Erick Aybar led off with a single. Followed by a Chone Figgins triple that brought in Aybar. After Figgins's triple Izturis grounded out to Yankees pitcher, Melancon. However, Bobby Abreu came up and brought in another run with a single. Then Juan Rivera came up and grounded into a double-play. This left the score at 7-5.

In the 7th inning the Yankees tried to strike back. Teixeira led off with a single followed by a A-Rod strikeout. Then Nick Swisher flied out, followed by a Robinson Cano single. Then Melky Cabera hit a single bringing in Teixeira to make the score 7-6. Then the Yankees sent up Jorge Posada who was walked to make the bases loaded. Next up was Hideki Matsui, who popped out. However, he sent the right fielder to the warning track, I thought it was a grand slam.

In the bottom of the 7th the Angels finished off the Yankees. Kendry Morales led off with a ground out. Then catcher, Napoli came up and was safe off of a Jeter error. Next Matthews Jr. grounded out moving Napoli to second. Then Mathis was walked after Brian Bruney was brought in the game. The next batter was Erick Aybar, and he gave the final blow, a three-run home-run, giving the Angels a 10-6 lead. After the 7th all scoring came to an end, giving the Anaheim Angels the win.

Canyons Brief Synopsis

Yesterday I finished reading my first book of the summer, Canyons. Set during the 1860's and present, Gary Paulsen describes the connection of two boys minds. Those two boys are named Coyote Runs and Brennan. On a road trip along with his mother and her boyfriend, Brennan finds a skull. He doesn't know where the skull is from and who it belongs too. So Brennan sets on a journey to find the owner of the skull and take it to its rightful place.

Williams Beats Williams For Female Wimbledon Title

Younger sister, Serena Williams, defeated Venus Williams to win the women's Wimbledon final. Today Serena beat her sister in straight sets, meaning she won in both sets. Specifically, Serena beat her sister 7-6, and 6-2 to win the women's Wimbledon final. The ironic thing about the Williams sisters facing each other in the final is that, both of them played together earlier in the day in a doubles match. Then a couple hours later they have to face off against each other. Also don't forget that the Williams sisters have played each other in the same match-up, four times. That really shows the competition level in Women's tennis. It also shows how great the Williams sisters are. I think they're the best women's tennis players. The only challenging match-up may be against Maria Sharapova.

Win Streak Disappears

The Yankee's win streak has come to an end. Last night the Seattle Mariners beat the Yankees 8-4, ending their seven game win streak. The Bronx Bombers didn't look like themselves yesterday, I think it was because of fatigue. C.C. Sabathia definitely looked tired yesterday. He was throwing his fastball at 97 mph, but he didn't have that much control. Think about it, C.C. was only able to complete 5 innings. Usually he can go at least 6, maybe 7 or on a good day complete a game.

Yankee hitting was alright. But the Mariners continued to score and the Yankees couldn't keep up. After Matsui's home-run in the fourth the Yankees were sort of quiet. The Mariners were able to take advantage of that and come out with a win. Now the Yankees are behind the Sox by 3 games.

Yankees Headed to First Place

The Bronx Bombers have hit a 6-game winning streak. Three days ago, the Yankees completed a sweep against their crosstown-rival, the New York Mets. Before the Mets series the Yankees won two out of three games against the Atlanta Braves. Althought the Yankees are doing very well they're still behind the Boston Red Sox by 3.5 games for first place.

Both the Yankees and Red Sox have similar difficulty in schedule. So its going to come down to who can keep winning. I think the Yankees will be able to keep the wins coming. All the big bats on the Yankees are on fire. Jeter is batting a solid 307. average with 9 home-runs and 32 RBI's. Teixeira is hitting 278. with 20 home-runs and 60 RBI's. Plus Johnny Damon is hitting 292. with 15 home-runs and 47 RBI's. Even Chien-Ming Wang is doing well, he won his first game.

On the other hand, the Red Sox are shaky. The Red Sox are winning off and on. One day the Red Sox lose a close a game the next day, the Red Sox will get blown out. Hitting on the Red Sox is normal but not suburb. Besides Wakefield and Beckett starting pitching isn't going so well. But somehow the Red Sox win.

If you ask me, the Red Sox don't deserve to be in first place. The Red Sox loss 11-10 to the Baltimore Orioles yesterday. But here's the crazy part, the Red Sox were up 10-1 in the 7th inning. So you're telling me that the AL East leader, gave up 10 runs in two innings? I highly doubt the Yankees would ever do that. I think the Yankees should and will be in first place.