The future of Madden - 11 things must change to keep players in shape Madden Felice

It's that time of the year again, so join us as we count down from eleven to one the top changes we want to see for Madden 11. For once, "online franchise" won't have to be on this list... oh how far we've come.

11 - Re-think Challenges - This is going to be a hotly debated topic, but challenges need to be gone from football games for good. Alright... maybe that's hitting it a little too hard, but developers and gamers alike need to at least start re-thinking the implementation of challenges. The purpose of challenges in the NFL and other football leagues is to make sure the refs get the call right, because as hard as they may try, they're certainly not machines. In Madden, however, our refs basically are machines, so why are we forcing error into the way the game is refereed?

The game knows what the proper call is at all times, so why should it ever get it wrong? Just for the jollies? Sure, there will be moments without challenges where you will badly notice how poor the call was and wish you had a red flag, but if the game is made in such a way that the correct calls are always made, then by their own engine it wouldn't of been overruled even with a challenge if that's what their decision was. Unless there is going to be some kind of A.I. implemented into refs themselves, where refs are actually active characters on the field that have their own vision and awareness numbers, then it makes no sense to arbitrarily make the wrong calls and waste everyone's time. At least make challenges a toggle option, please, or save challenges entirely until we have a full referee A.I. to make it realistic. We're buying Madden NFL, not Sherlock Holmes: Case of the Botched Call. Yeah, it's in the game... but peeing your pants is in the game, and we're not interested in seeing that either.

10 - Improved Casting - To be quite frank here, Madden NFL has had some of the worst sports casting for a few years now. It's not so much a problem with the names they select, as it is the style of the execution; too many vague global observations and obviously canned enthusiasm. Madden would do wise here to take a page from UFC 2009 Undisputed, which sets a new standard for sports game casting. Commentary in UFC 2009 sounds exciting and interested, while Madden 10 sounds like casters who were hired to read from a script for fifteen minutes.

Football is a very broad sport, with thousands of players and dozens of teams, so it's not quite the fair comparison to expect the quality of casting seen in more focused games. But honestly, would it be so hard to make comments shorter and string them together for unique combinations, instead of making us hear the same old long and drawn out critique? And why hasn't Madden made use of that ESPN license yet so we can listen to Mike and Mike live in the morning while playing Madden, or at least select from ESPN podcasts from that day? It puts the podcast on the Madden. You hear us Ian Cummings? It puts the podcast... on the Madden.

9 - No More Passing Beyond the Line - Here we have another fine example of EA thinking a little too much. In the NFL, players are penalized when they pass the ball beyond the line of scrimmage, so it only makes sense to allow players in Madden to pass beyond the line of scrimmage and get penalized, right? Actually, no, it doesn't make sense at all. The problem with passing beyond the the line of scrimmage in Madden is that the control by the currently bound to their current controls.

If a player passes the line of scrimmage under their control will be in charge, but with Madden 10 gives you the ability to pass through the line of scrimmage, sometimes the current controls are controls. How many times have you tried to slide after crossing the line just to throw a pick-six to the X receiver? O spin and throw a wobbler to punishthe B receiver? It simply makes no sense. Either untie the rushing controls from the passing controls, or don't let players pass the ball once they cross the line of scrimmage. Yes, passing beyond the line is a part of the mistakes people should be able to make in football, but Peyton Manning has never accidentally thrown a pass 50 yards down the field while trying to slide to his rear.

8 - Online Tournaments - It seems as if every year players are asking for features that used to exist and then snatched away in a new edition of Madden. Online Tournaments used to be one of the best things about Madden; no, not just official sponsored tournaments which still exist to an extent, but tournaments you could create or join on the fly to amass tournament wins and challenge yourself. Now as it stands, tournament mode has become a forgotten legend right alongside the original Rushing Attack drill.

7 - Spectator Mode - Madden NFL is a bit like Animal Crossing (go with me here). In Animal Crossing: City Folk, a great deal of the fun comes from going to house-to-house and town-to-town just to see the types of styles you can find or tips you can pick up, and Madden is no different. The ability to see how other players play, what tricks they employ or even just watch a healthy match between two good players is a luxury that has long-since been forgotten in the Madden universe. Spectator modes make it easier for online businesses to stream live matches and for users to engage themselves in the sports gaming community; it's great for the tournament scene, great for the casual fan that wants to get better, and great for advertisers being fed through Madden's in-game ad system. There's little reason anymore to keep us in the dark. All we want is to be able to watch people play your product, or let our friends watch us!

6 - Quit Game Solution - The "Quit Game" problem has been an issue that has plagued Madden for a few years now. EA Sports doesn't want people to discover glitches to disconnect people from games and receive wins at an accelerated rate, so the way they balance this issue now is by forcing players to beat the CPU to receive their win if their opponent disconnects for any reason. Usually, however, all this does is result in online games being boring collections of computer battles and clock draining techniques to pass the time faster. What we need, is some kind of solution that works to both deter cheaters and also not punish players who don't want to quit... so why don't we come up with one?

Why don't we make it so you can't quit freely and take your win unless your account rating is sufficiently high? For Xbox Live, this might mean you must have a rating of at least four or five stars on your account. If players are glitching other players for quick wins, then their account rating would drop swiftly and the system would monitor itself. Additional parameters can also be set, such as allowing you to quit freely with a win if you are up at least three touchdowns at the time. While not a perfect method, this certainly would be a massive improvement over the current system.

5 - Avoid Sack - Part of being a skilled player is being able to know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away and know when to run. Alright, so Kenny Rogers isn't exactly Aristotle, but the man has a good point that translates well to football. Players like Peyton Manning are craftsmen at the art of avoiding hits, and will often drop to the down quickly when all hope is lost in the pocket. Allowing players to drop down in an attempt to avoid the punishment (and potential fumbles) created by sacks would go a long way to improving Madden's slogan of "If it's in the game, it's in the game." Perhaps even make the drop-down ability limited to players of certain skills, to help encourage picking teams with less mobile, but high quality quarterbacks. Or maybe even a global system, where each player has an "avoid hit" rating in the pocket, and your chances of successfully dropping down when you attempt the maneuver increase based upon that rating; meaning players like David Garrard of the Jaguars would be less likely to avoid the sack when the correct button is pressed, while players like Peyton Manning would be more likely.

4 - Online Practice Mode - Practicing, or "labbing" is one of the most important prerequisites to becoming a quality player in Madden, but usually this means sitting alone in your room with two controllers, or at best fighting the play clock in an unranked game with a friend. With an online practice mode, players will be able to join up with a friend to test out different strategies and schemes, and even set up situations from within the practice such as "2 minute drive from own 30." Being able to work with friends on new tricks of the trade is an important part of strengthening the Madden community, and EA Sports would be wise to recognize the ease of implementation for this feature.

3 - Custom Packages - Every team is different in Madden, and because of that some players prefer certain substitutions in certain situations. Allowing for a select amount of formation packages in Madden would allow players to save time subbing the usual suspects in and out, and more time actually playing the game. Like to move your slot receiver to the outside when you're always in a certain formation? Prefer to have a heavy set by default when you come out in goal line? Want your best pass-catching RB in when you're playing four wide? Let players pick and choose how they want their default packages to look, just like any coach in football can do.

2 - Co-Op Online - While not the most pressing issue at the moment, the ability to allow players to play together in a true online co-op mode would add a truly fun experience to Madden NFL that goes beyond just a novelty. In many other games, co-op features are simply content fillers that provide no real value to the product. With Madden, however, being able to play online with your friends against others can provide for some really interesting games and conversations as players strategize their next move and plan their way up the leader board. A true co-op online feature would be an excellent addition to Madden that would synergize wonderfully with features like online practice mode.

1 - Scouting 2.0 - As was briefly discussed in a previous article, there needs to be a complete overhaul of how franchise mode treats the scouting process. The draft is the most important, and most beloved part of franchise mode by many players, but currently scouting potential prospects is underwhelming at best. With an overhauled scouting system based around actually watching "game film" (instant replays) of players, the user can decide himself what is good or bad based upon the performance on the tape, and as a result truly mimic the evaluation process that many die-hard draft fans crave for.

Hire scouting agencies to provide you with more film and send them out to record prospects and make your evaluations based on how the player actually jumps out at you on tape. Such a feature would revolutionize franchise mode in Madden, and if need be, it would almost be worth splitting Madden into two discs: Franchise and Online.

The future of Madden - 11 things must change to keep players in shape Madden Happy

It 's time of year again, so visit us as we count down the top of the changes we want to see 11-1 for Madden 11 For once, "Social Franchise" should not be on this list ... oh how far we have come.

11 - Re-think challenges - this will be a hotly debated topic, but challenges need to be well away from football is good. ... maybe that makes it a bit 'too hard, but the developers and players must at least begin to rethinkImplementation challenges. The objective of the challenges of the NFL and other leagues is to make sure that the referees get the right call, because as hard as you try, certainly not the machines. In Madden, but our officials are mainly machines, because we are forced errors in the way the game is refereed?

The game knows what the right call at any time, so why should always do something wrong? Only for the wild card? Of course there will be times without challengeswhere you realize how badly you wanted a bad reputation and you had a red flag, but when the game made the engine so that the right calls are ever made, then they would not have been overruled by itself a challenge if this is what was their decision. As long as there is a kind of artificial intelligence implemented in Germany itself, where the characters are actually active referees on the field, his vision and awareness will have the numbers, there's no sense arbitrarilycalls wrong and a waste of time. Challenges to at least make, use or store the challenges switch completely until we have a referee in full to make it realistic to have. Buy Madden NFL not, Sherlock Holmes: Case of the Botched calls. Yes, it's in the game ... pee your pants, but is in play, and we are not interested in seeing it.

10 - Fusion improvements - openly here has had some of the worst Madden NFL sports casting for a fewYears. It is not so much a problem as they choose, as is the style of execution, too many vague statements overall, and, of course, the enthusiasm in the box. Madden would have done, as here, to mergers, take a page from UFC 2009 Undisputed, the game sets a new standard for sports. Comment in UFC 2009 sounds fun and interesting, while Madden 10 sounds like the roles played by a script to read for fifteen minutes.

Football is a wide range of sports, with thousandsof players and dozens of teams, so it's not very fair to expect the games Casting quality seen in more concentrated. But honestly, it would be so hard to brief comments and string together provide unique combinations, but we hear the same old long and drawn criticism? And why not have used that license ESPN Madden, but we can live with Mike and Mike in the morning to listen to while playing Madden, or at least choose from that ESPN podcastDay? E 'Madden up for the podcast. Listen to Ian Cummings? It 's the podcast ... on Madden.

9 - No More crossing the line - another example of EA to think a bit 'too much. In the NFL, players will be punished if they pass the ball beyond the line of scrimmage, so it only makes sense to allow players in Madden, went through the line of scrimmage and punished, right? Not really, it makes no sense. The transmission problem ofthe line of scrimmage in Madden is that the control by the currently bound to their current controls.

If a player passes the line of scrimmage under their control will be in charge, but with Madden 10 gives you the ability to pass through the line of scrimmage, sometimes the current controls are controls. How many times have you tried to slide after crossing the line just to throw a pick-six to the X receiver? O spin and throw a wobbler to punishthe B-receiver? It 's just no sense. Or solve the noise controls the transfer does not control the ball for the players when they cross the line of scrimmage. Yes, passing over the line is a part of the mistakes people should be able to do in football, but Peyton Manning has never thrown a pass 50 yards accidentally slipped down the field looking back.

8 - Tournaments Online - It seems every year the players are asking for features that existedand then taken away in a new edition of Madden. online tournaments are used to be one of the best things about Madden, no, sponsored not only official events that still exist to some extent, but you can create on the fly to tournaments or earn the victory of the tournament and challenge yourself. Now as it was a forgotten legend drill tournament so right next to the original Rushing Attack.

7 - Spectator Mode - Madden NFL is a bit 'like Animal Crossing (go with me here). InAnimal Crossing: City Folk, a lot of fun comes from house to house and town to town, only to discover the types of designs to collect tips or you can look, and Madden is no different. The ability to see how other players play what tricks they use to watch or even a game between two good players healthy is a luxury that has long since been forgotten in the universe Madden. Spectator mode make it easier for companies to online games and live streaming for users to engageeven in the sports gaming community, it's great for the scene of the tournament, great for the casual fan who wants more out, and good for advertisers is powered by in-game advertising Madden. There is no reason to keep us in the dark. All we want is to be able to keep people playing your products or let our friends see us!

- Solution - 6 End Game "the game" Final Problem is now a problem that has plagued Madden for a few years. EA SportsThis interference will discover, people to separate the games, and people do not win at an accelerated pace, how to balance this problem now, forcing the players to beat the reason for the CPU to get their win when their opponents out for each. Usually, however, this is the result of playing in online collections of computers and too boring to watch battles drainage techniques to pass the time faster. We need some kind of solution that works both discourageCheaters, do not punish players who do not want to end ... So why not come with a?

Why do not we go, we can not freely leave and take the win, if your account is sufficiently high rating? Xbox Live, this could mean that you must have a minimum score of four or five stars on your account. If players are glitching other players to win fast, so their valuation account would fall quickly and the system would monitor. Additional parameters can be set ascan be concluded without a win when you are at least three touchdowns in that time. While not a perfect method, this would certainly be a huge improvement over the current system.

5 - Avoid bag - part of being an experienced player is able to know when to hold them, know when sometimes they know when to walk away and know when to run. Okay, Kenny Rogers is not just Aristotle, but the man is a good point, which is great for football. Players like Peyton ManningCraftsmen in the art to prevent water hammer, and often fell down on the fast, when all hope is lost in his pocket. So the fall of players in an attempt to avoid punishment (fumbles and potential) of bags would be created will go a long way to improve the motto Madden "game in the game in it. If" Perhaps also limited the ability of descent players certain skills to help promote the collection teams with mobile quarterbacks less quality, but high. Omaybe even a global system in which each player has an "avoid hit-rating in the bag, and drop your chances of success, if you want to increase the scope, the assessment based would try, that players like David Garrard of the Jaguars less likely on the bag when the correct key is pressed while players like Peyton Manning would rather avoid.

4 - Social Practice Mode - Practice, or "labbing" is one of the most important requirements for aquality player in Madden, but usually means sitting alone in a room with two controllers, or at most in the fight against time to play in a game not listed with a friend. By way of online practice, players will be able to join with a friend to test different strategies and plans, and also set up situations in practice, such as "2-minute drive from their 30". The ability to take friends to new tricks of the trade work is an important component for strengthening MaddenCommunity and EA Sports would be wise to recognize the simple implementation of this function.

3 - Customized Collections - Every team is different to Madden, and for this reason, some players some substitutions in certain situations. Consideration of a selected quantity of education in sub-packages Madden would have allowed players to save time for the usual suspects subtitling in and out, and more time actually playing. How to move your slot receiver to the outside when you are a specific training? Do you prefer a heavy series of default when you enter the goal line? If the best pass catcher in RB, if you play four wide? Let the players choose how they see their standard packages, as any coach in football can do.

2 - Online Co-Op - not the most pressing issue at the time, expertise, allow players to play together in a true online co-op would be really fun experience for Madden NFL, which goes beyond simply adding a> News. many other characteristics-op games are easy to co product content filler not offer real value for. But able to play Madden with others online against your friends on board can provide some really interesting games as the players and conversations strategize their next move and plan their route to the ringleader. A real function of co-op online would be an excellent addition to Madden, which synergize with wonderful features such as online practiceMode.

1 - Scouting 2.0 - As has been briefly described in a previous article, it needs a complete overhaul of the franchise mode, be treated as the process of scouting. The project is the most important and beloved franchise mode of many players, but currently scouting for potential buyers is underwhelming at best. With a better system a reality based scouting players to watch "movie game" (Instant Replay) the user can decide what is good or bad tosimulate the performance on tape, and as a result of the assessment really that many diehard fans crave project.

scouting rental agencies provide you with a record of films and send to interested parties and make your assessment based on how the player actually jumps on her belt. This function would revolutionize the way the franchise in Madden, and if necessary, would be worth nearly split in two slices Madden franchise, and online.

Archery Games and Entertainment - Bare is better

Our club archery in medieval style, comrades of the Longbow, have over the years, many challenges in developing games and archery. Unfortunately, almost impossible to find games archery games on the internet googling, since the keywords such as games archery "just carrying the computer. This will be one of many articles describing it, so to try and hope you enjoy. They can be played by all styles of archery, but may need improvements in variousTypes of bows. For those archers shoot seriously, these games provide some relief by the arrows ass in a pounding and can help sharpen your skills. Above all, these games are safe (I once saw a blind man buff for ......).

Hitting everything with a longbow is rather complicated, it is not surprising since it is basically a length of bent wood and a piece of string. So if you want to hit the target, is getting comfortable with the performance. On the other hand, we havehave the modern recurve and compound with sights, stabilizers and aid release. In the hands of a decent archer, its accuracy is phenomenal. When it comes to archery play the game, its accuracy is a bit 'a problem that most of the games would be over very quickly. For games and be competitive in a fun, degree of randomness is necessary to take these shots help. Now I'm not against archery modern, it's just that it is geared toward one thing -just hit a FITA.

Remove all aid - Shooting white sheet - intuitively means that it shoots to hit the target. With intuitive, I mean, look at your destination, pull and shoot - the eye and the brain guides the arm shot, without having to think. It 's like throwing a stone in a can. It is not necessary to focus as such a goal, but only for the cast and stone. With (much) practice what you see is what you get. Some of the games areTargets at different distances, so you have to rely on binocular vision to judge distances. Shooting is also indirectly a common technique - shooting the arrow into the air that comes close to the target.

So if you try one of these games, I recommend you play the style sheet blank.

Colors

A team game that requires speed and precision.

Services

A 80 cm FITA target face style to the team,mounted on an ass and stop.
Each shooter has 6 arrows.
Details of the game

The archers are divided into teams, each with 6 arrows archer. I recommend no more than six archers in a team otherwise there is a strong possibility, damage arrow (not) make best use of trees in carbon fiber!).
The archer from each team shoots up to three arrows to the white ring from his goal. If they hit, that he will retire from the line of fire (even if you do not shoot three arrows)and the next team member steps up to the shooting line and targets for black.
When is black, the next steps to hit targets for the archers and the blue line.
The game continues until the team hit all the colors from white to gold and then back to white gold.
If an athlete lacks the color, shot three arrows, the next shooter continues to point to that color.
During the game, when all the archers shot two times each (6 arrows)then "almost" is and the game was suspended, then the archers retrieve their arrows from the targets. The game then the next shooter to shoot more.
The winning team is the first to go from white to gold and then gold on white.
If a team member is unsure about where their arrow has landed (for example, very close to the boundary line between two rings), then you can warn the captain of the field cry is: "Fast". All recording is stopped immediately, while the captain checked the areaThe position of the arrow. If the arrow intersects the line is the highest rating of color that counts. The commander of the playing field again.
Changes

Speed Color

If a shooter makes the team a color, go to the next color (assuming they have all the arrows on the left). The team tried to get in white gold and vice versa, as soon as possible.
The first team to have all the archers shoot their calls two "fast" and you'restop immediately and stop all other teams have to shoot. The arrows are collected and the game continues.
The winning team is the first to go from white to gold and then gold on white.
Custom colors

Even if the color is a team game, there is no reason why it can be played individually.
Each shooter shoots six arrows, from white, then black, etc.
An archer can only go to the next color, if the previous one has been affected.
Once aArcher shot all 6 arrows, shouting "fast" and all others must stop firing, even if you do not shoot all their arrows.
The arrows are collected and the game continues.
The first shooter to go from white to gold and then again in white gold is the winner.
courtesy of the game www.blackcatarchery.com

Retrophilia - The love of all things Retro

The word "retro" implies that something is old fashioned, timeless or classic. The word derives from Latin, is used as a prefix meaning "back" or "past". This application can be seen in words such as "retrospective" a nostalgic look back and "retrograde" refers to a movement towards progress in the past and the future. Most people hear the word "back" with the era of the fifties associates, but on a much wider rangequestions the cultural, social and artistic. To describe something so retro, it assigns a positive label eccentricity or charisma, but also to infer that it is no longer available, although it is still very desirable.

You can find the word "back" is associated with many areas of popular culture such as fashion, art, sports, music, and eroticism. be increased in 1960, the use of the word "retro", used when the U.S. space program to a rocket, describing the pressure generated in aopposite direction of motion of the spacecraft in orbit, hence the "retrograde rocket. Other examples are" retro chic "styles include old-fashioned as the poodle skirts since 1950.

Retro Art, clip art as the "Retro is, from Pop Art, which was developed in 1940 and 1950 results. Retro Art usually refers specifically created for advertising in this period of art. Printing technology was infancy at that time and most printedThe materials were limited to one color. These were the restrictions that were professional illustrators went to an art style, which was significantly easier to develop and then reproduced in the headrest for the technology industry. The development of such retro is also influenced by the French Revolution at the turn of the century Art Nouveau. Art Nouveau, even if it is unpopular by art experts at the time, even on very simple designs. After this came the RussianConstructivism during the Bolshevik revolution, the real weight to the trend of graphics and simplification was then helped the Art Deco movement in 1920. In 1930, artists had professional line shader techniques, such as cross hatcing and abandoned wells and style with pure white or black regions.

Retro music generally described in the dance music of the United States in 1990 and was originally known as New Wave. The further developmentelectronic devices during this period contributed to the dissemination of electronic music, a departure from traditional electromechanical devices. Although this was driven by a movement into the mainstream, not all dance music was at that time as the retro music. dance music style of psychedelic trance, psytrance, etc., are still very much alive. Today, the retro music affects only the retro music of the period.

Retro erotica can be classified as modernPhotography in an older style. This distinguishes them from vintage erotica, though the actual duration of photos or movies. Retro is generally photographic pornography hardcore erotic pinup or nude images. It dates back to 1970, sometimes earlier, and particular styles of lingerie, as the bullet bras, girdles and garters, and hairstyles, makeup and period objects.

Retro sport garments are sought after products in good standing from the 1970s and 1980s and includes such elements asFootball jackets, sweaters and t-shirts with the logos of the club. Their designs usually remember the past to color and lines on the sides as representative of those periods. One example is the World Cup held in Mexico in 1970. Retro Sport clothes are so popular that now brands like Puma, Nike and Adidas have dedicated divisions to have this tendency, and are not excluded from this lucrative market, some football, basketball and baseball bats again theirFormer clothing for sale.

In this world of rapid changes in modern technology, it is perhaps surprising to learn that the games retro computer games vintage vintage or game console has become a popular pastime. Retro-gamers are often antiquated systems like Atari 2600, Dreamcast and Nintendo Entertainment System. The Atari 2600 video-game console in 1977 was published in October. It 'was on to promote the use of microprocessor based hardwareand the game code to use cartridges. In fact it was the Fairchild Channel F, the first use this format but it was the Atari 2600, the gaming world familiar with the concept of plug-ins.

The desire for a sense of nostalgia, but not sentimental, is the driving force behind all things retro. You connect to specific times and trends in history and reminds us where we come from. Retro is stimulating, educational and sometimes frivolous. It allows us, in the comfort of memoriesOur life is very modern and trends, technology, fashion and attitudes to explore the good old days.

In the words of American poet Walt Whitman (1819-1892) "The past - the dark bottomless Review! The swarming Golf - the sleepers and the shadows! Past! The infinite greatness of the past for what this is, after all but growth than in the past? "

The Future of Madden - 11 Things Madden Must Change to Keep Gamers Happy

It's that time of the year again, so join us as we count down from eleven to one the top changes we want to see for Madden 11. For once, "online franchise" won't have to be on this list... oh how far we've come.

11 - Re-think Challenges - This is going to be a hotly debated topic, but challenges need to be gone from football games for good. Alright... maybe that's hitting it a little too hard, but developers and gamers alike need to at least start re-thinking the Implementation challenges. The objective of the challenges in the NFL and other leagues is to ensure that the referees get the right call, because try as hard as they can, certainly are not machines. In Madden, but our referees are mainly machines, because we are forced errors in the way the game with referees?

The game knows what the call right at all times, why should you ever done something wrong? Especially for the happy? Sure, there will be times without challengeswhere you will badly notice how poor the call was and wish you had a red flag, but if the game is made in such a way that the correct calls are always made, then by their own engine it wouldn't of been overruled even with a challenge if that's what their decision was. Unless there is going to be some kind of A.I. implemented into refs themselves, where refs are actually active characters on the field that have their own vision and awareness numbers, then it makes no sense to arbitrarily make the wrong calls and waste everyone's time. At least make challenges a toggle option, please, or save challenges entirely until we have a full referee A.I. to make it realistic. We're buying Madden NFL, not Sherlock Holmes: Case of the Botched Call. Yeah, it's in the game... but peeing your pants is in the game, and we're not interested in seeing that either.

10 - Improved Casting - To be quite frank here, Madden NFL has had some of the worst sports casting for a few Years. Not so much a problem with the chosen name, as is the style of execution, too many vague comments overall, and of course, enthusiasm in the box. Madden would not make sense here, pouring, take a page from the UFC 2009 Undisputed, the game, setting a new standard for sports. Comments UFC in 2009 looks interesting and interested, while Madden 10 sounds like roles, which assumed to read from a script for fifteen minutes.

Football is a very wide range of sports, with thousandsof players and dozens of teams, so it's not quite the fair comparison to expect the quality of casting seen in more focused games. But honestly, would it be so hard to make comments shorter and string them together for unique combinations, instead of making us hear the same old long and drawn out critique? And why hasn't Madden made use of that ESPN license yet so we can listen to Mike and Mike live in the morning while playing Madden, or at least select from ESPN podcasts from that day? It puts the podcast on the Madden. You hear us Ian Cummings? It puts the podcast... on the Madden.

9 - No More Passing Beyond the Line - Here we have another fine example of EA thinking a little too much. In the NFL, players are penalized when they pass the ball beyond the line of scrimmage, so it only makes sense to allow players in Madden to pass beyond the line of scrimmage and get penalized, right? Actually, no, it doesn't make sense at all. The problem with passing beyond the line of scrimmage in Madden is that your passing controls are currently tied to your running controls.

If a player passes the line of scrimmage their running controls are supposed to take over, but with Madden 10 giving you the ability to pass beyond the line of scrimmage, sometimes those running controls become passing controls. How many times have you tried to slide after crossing the line, only to throw a pick-six to the X receiver? Or spin and get penalized for throwing a wobbler to the B receiver? It simply makes no sense. Either untie the rushing controls from the passing controls, or don't let players pass the ball once they cross the line of scrimmage. Yes, passing beyond the line is a part of the mistakes people should be able to make in football, but Peyton Manning has never accidentally thrown a pass 50 yards down the field while trying to slide to his rear.

8 - Online Tournaments - It seems as if every year players are asking for features that used to exist and then snatched away in a new edition of Madden. Online Tournaments used to be one of the best things about Madden; no, not just official sponsored tournaments which still exist to an extent, but tournaments you could create or join on the fly to amass tournament wins and challenge yourself. Now as it stands, tournament mode has become a forgotten legend right alongside the original Rushing Attack drill.

7 - Spectator Mode - Madden NFL is a bit like Animal Crossing (go with me here). In Animal Crossing: City Folk, a great deal of the fun comes from going to house-to-house and town-to-town just to see the types of styles you can find or tips you can pick up, and Madden is no different. The ability to see how other players play, what tricks they employ or even just watch a healthy match between two good players is a luxury that has long-since been forgotten in the Madden universe. Spectator modes make it easier for online businesses to stream live matches and for users to engage themselves in the sports gaming community; it's great for the tournament scene, great for the casual fan that wants to get better, and great for advertisers being fed through Madden's in-game ad system. There's little reason anymore to keep us in the dark. All we want is to be able to watch people play your product, or let our friends watch us!

6 - Quit Game Solution - The "Quit Game" problem has been an issue that has plagued Madden for a few years now. EA Sports doesn't want people to discover glitches to disconnect people from games and receive wins at an accelerated rate, so the way they balance this issue now is by forcing players to beat the CPU to receive their win if their opponent disconnects for any reason. Usually, however, all this does is result in online games being boring collections of computer battles and clock draining techniques to pass the time faster. What we need, is some kind of solution that works to both deter cheaters and also not punish players who don't want to quit... so why don't we come up with one?

Why don't we make it so you can't quit freely and take your win unless your account rating is sufficiently high? For Xbox Live, this might mean you must have a rating of at least four or five stars on your account. If players are glitching other players for quick wins, then their account rating would drop swiftly and the system would monitor itself. Additional parameters can also be set, such because you can freely go out with a win when you are at least three touchdowns in the period. While not a perfect method, this would certainly be a huge improvement over the current system.

5 - Avoid bag - part of being a skilled player is able to know when to hold them, know when to pass, know when to walk away and know when to run. Well, Kenny Rogers is not just Aristotle, but he has a good number that translates well to football. Players like Peyton Manningare craftsmen at the art of avoiding hits, and will often drop to the down quickly when all hope is lost in the pocket. Allowing players to drop down in an attempt to avoid the punishment (and potential fumbles) created by sacks would go a long way to improving Madden's slogan of "If it's in the game, it's in the game." Perhaps even make the drop-down ability limited to players of certain skills, to help encourage picking teams with less mobile, but high quality quarterbacks. Or maybe even a global system, where each player has an "avoid hit" rating in the pocket, and your chances of successfully dropping down when you attempt the maneuver increase based upon that rating; meaning players like David Garrard of the Jaguars would be less likely to avoid the sack when the correct button is pressed, while players like Peyton Manning would be more likely.

4 - Online Practice Mode - Practicing, or "labbing" is one of the most important prerequisites to becoming a quality player in Madden, but usually this means sitting alone in your room with two controllers, or at best fighting the play clock in an unranked game with a friend. With an online practice mode, players will be able to join up with a friend to test out different strategies and schemes, and even set up situations from within the practice such as "2 minute drive from own 30." Being able to work with friends on new tricks of the trade is an important part of strengthening the Madden community, and EA Sports would be wise to recognize the ease of implementation for this feature.

3 - Custom Packages - Every team is different in Madden, and because of that some players prefer certain substitutions in certain situations. Allowing for a select amount of formation packages in Madden would allow players to save time subbing the usual suspects in and out, and more time actually playing the game. Like to move your slot receiver to the outside when you're always in a certain formation? Prefer to have a heavy set by default when you come out in goal line? Want your best pass-catching RB in when you're playing four wide? Let players pick and choose how they want their default packages to look, just like any coach in football can do.

2 - Co-Op Online - While not the most pressing issue at the moment, the ability to allow players to play together in a true online co-op mode would add a truly fun experience to Madden NFL that goes beyond just a novelty. In many other games, co-op features are simply content fillers that provide no real value to the product. With Madden, however, being able to play online with your friends against others can provide for some really interesting games and conversations as players strategize their next move and plan their way up the leader board. A true co-op online feature would be an excellent addition to Madden that would synergize wonderfully with features like online practice mode.

1 - Scouting 2.0 - As was briefly discussed in a previous article, there needs to be a complete overhaul of how franchise mode treats the scouting process. The draft is the most important, and most beloved part of franchise mode by many players, but currently scouting potential prospects is underwhelming at best. With an overhauled scouting system based around actually watching "game film" (instant replays) of players, the user can decide himself what is good or bad based upon the performance on the tape, and as a result truly mimic the evaluation process that many die-hard draft fans crave for.

Hire scouting agencies to provide you with more film and send them out to record prospects and make your evaluations based on how the player actually jumps out at you on tape. Such a feature would revolutionize franchise mode in Madden, and if need be, it would almost be worth splitting Madden into two discs: Franchise and Online.

Things to Consider When Buying a New Printer

Your computer needs a printer in order to complement its use. It adds great functionality and will help you get the most out of your computer's use. However, computer technology, along with printing technology, changes quickly and you need to examine certain factors before making a final decision. Follow these things to consider before buying a new printer for your home or business.

1. What are your printing needs? You need to be able to define your printing needs including such factors as size of paper, need to print colour documents and photos or if your major needs are to print text documents. Defining what your needs are will help you choose the correct type of printer. Defining your major needs will also help you decide about certain features such as speed and overall print quality.

2. Do you need multifunctional features? Nowadays, many printers are what they call an MFD (multi-functional device) allowing for a number of different uses beyond just printing, for example, the ability to scan documents as well as fax information. Many of today's models can easily print directly from your digital camera producing professional looking photographs when you have the proper machine using the proper type of photo paper.

3. Light or heavy use? You need to consider not only your per-job production needs, but the amount of volume you might produce on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. This may be a tricky calculation since, if you are adding a printer for the first time, the novelty of its use may compel you to a great deal of volume.

However, the cost savings that you will have from printing your own photos can easily be translated into the investment you make when buying a machine capable for producing the photos you want to make as well as other printing needs. Try your best to calculate your present and future training needs before making a decision about which one to purchase.

4. Cost must be considered. Everyone has to maintain some sort of budget when it comes to buying any products. The good news is that in recent years the price of printers has come down quite a bit while their on-board technology and features have been enhanced, meaning that what once were custom options are now standard.

You must be careful when examining which model to purchase since toner cartridge replacement might cost more than the printer itself. However, just like a lot of different high-tech equipment such as laptop computers, HD televisions, cell phones and more, printers are quite affordable in today's market even when considering the top line ones.

5. Do a thorough research. A good way to pick up valuable information about different computer choices is to read reviews made by actual owners and users. Surf the net heading to Tech sites and blogs where you can read the opinions of people who have purchased printers to meet the similar needs you have. Often, distributor sites, as well as manufacturer sites, will offer visitors the opportunity to contact real live customers where you can elicit truthful opinions about the product you are examining.

Study Ordinary Things Intently

Creativity begins with curiosity.

About how things work.
About how things could work BETTER.
About why things are the way they are.
About why people do things they way they do.

But don't MY word for it. Let's hear what three of the world's most notable creativity gurus had to say about the value curiosity...

1. Leonardo Davinci. He called it curiosita, defined as, "An insatiably curious approach to life and an unrelenting quest for continuous learning."

"The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding," Davinci remarked. "Therefore, be always curious and observant."

2. Edward DeBono. He encourages people to embrace curiosity by constantly saying, "Now that's interesting..."

"Be able to find interest in almost anything," DeBono says in How to Have a Beautiful Mind. "Be curious. Explore things. Bring up a discussion. Get people's opinions, ideas and values. Explore, elaborate and make connections."

3. Mihály Csíkszentmihályi. He reminds us to fascinate ourselves with the ordinary.

"Evaluate critically every novelty you encounter," he wrote in his book Creativity. "One of the surest ways to enrich life is to make experiences less fleeting."

LESSON LEARNED: study ordinary things intently.

See, when you can learn to do this - every single day - three things will happen:

You will boost your creativity.
You will flood your mind with new ideas.
You will build a solid foundation of curiosity.

And the combination of those three results will mold your melon into an attractive, valuable commodity that your clients will want to access to.

See, clients don't want to hire consultants or marketers or coaches - they want to hire cool, smart people who happen to do those things.

So, if you want to use curiosity to attract more ideas (and more clients!), follow this four-step game plan:

1. NOTICE. On a daily basis, take the time to stop what you're doing and say things like, "Huh. That's weird," or "Now that's interesting..."

2. EXPLORE. Study ordinary things intently. Then, start a dialogue. Ask other people questions like, "So, why do you think she said that?" "Hey, did you guys notice that?" and "It would be interesting to see if..."

3. RECORD. Remember, if you don't write it down, it never happened! So, consider keeping a Curiosity Journal. Make daily entries about things you noticed and what you learned from them.

4. EXPAND. Continue to learn, ask and research these new ideas you're curious about. Constantly run them through your person filter of expertise by asking, "How does this fit into my picture of the universe?"

With these four steps, your curiosity will become a weapon!

Both for you AND the customers you serve.

Now ... isn't that interesting?

LET ME ASK YA THIS...
Are you studying ordinary things intently?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS...