Monday notes . . .

- I picked up Mafia II this weekend.  I've only played for about an hour so far.  Technically, the game is great.  Very nice visuals, great period music, fantastic voice-acting, etc.  The game starts off a bit slow, so I haven't done much yet.

 

- I'm trying to enjoy Madden, but the secondary play seems pretty busted right now and I don't think sliders will fix it.  It needs to be addressed via patch.  Corners and safeties just do some really stupid things right now and let receivers run by them and they react very slowly to turning up field.  It is making the game almost unplayable because of the frustration the follows one of these bone-headed plays.

 

I'm also seeing a lot of long drives.  I like long drives, occasionally, but it seems like both me and the CPU are constantly putting up 11+ play drives.  I don't see very many three and outs.

 

Special teams blocking is also non-existent.  The middle kick-off return is the only play that provides any sort of blocking.  Choosing left or right present you with a wall of defenders rushing at you without a single teammate between you and them.

 

Punt return blocking looks like it would work if only your stupid teammates would TURN AROUND to block the approaching defenders.  Your teammates just stare at you until you catch the ball, and then decide to turn around to see who they can block.  Too bad by then the defenders already ran past them and are pile driving you to the ground.

 

I still see plenty of potential for a great game of football if some of these issues can be addressed via patch.

 

- I have a Wii in my possession, along with a copy of Zelda: Twilight Princess.  A very special thanks to my friend who let me borrow this.  The only problem is I've had it in my house for about two weeks and I have yet to take it out of the box.  I've been dying to play Twilight Princess since the day it was announced.  I almost bought it for the Gamecube.  And now that I have it, it is just sitting there, waiting.

 

I think it has to do with two factors.  a) I'm terrified of how horrid this thing is going to look hooked up to my HDTV.  I only have regular RCA cables for it, no s-video or component, and I'm afraid my eyes will bleed.  b) I'm actually dreading pulling my entertainment center forward to try and connect this thing.  I'm going to have to mess around with a lot of cables back there.

 

- Last gaming note, I began playing through the original Bioshock again.  Not sure why.  Probably because of the announcement of Bioshock: Infinite.  I should have just picked up Bioshock 2 instead, to at least be playing something new.  This is my third time through the game and I've been enjoying it.  A lot of the original magic is gone, but it is still a very good game.  I probably won't finish this play through though, now that I picked up Mafia II