Just when we had all but written off EA’s long running FIFA series as nothing more than a nice looking arcade title that just happens to have all the licenses of the real teams and nothing more, FIFA ’08 burst into the scene to impress one and all. With its innovative Be A Pro mode and the 5 vs. 5 mode, we were pretty amazed at the turn-around that the series was showing. As much as we wanted not to, there was still this little shred of a doubt that with the next FIFA game, EA will again settle down in the rut. How wrong we were!

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Just a quick reminder for all those who have been waiting to grab your own copies of the EA’s FIFA ‘09. The game is in town and just waiting to be picked up. Take your pick from the wide selection of platforms.

Xbox 360: INR 1999
PS3: INR 2499
PC: INR 999
PS2: INR 1599
PSP: INR 999

See you online in 10 vs. 10!

With the games just around the corner, demos of FaceBreaker and Madden NFL 09 have just been released on Xbox LIVE Marketplace, with the former weighing in at 954.56 MB and the other at 1.09 GB. The FaceBreaker demo, which will be available on the PlayStation Network on August 7, features Sparrow, Ice and Steve as playable characters in addition to showcasing the Photo Game Face, which allows players to use the Xbox LIVE Vision camera or the PlayStation Eye camera to upload their mug shots for virtual destruction in-game.

FaceBreaker is slated for a September 3, 2008 release date while Madden NFL 09 will be on shelves August 15, 2008. As for when they will be available in India, your guess is as good as ours.

When was the last time you heard about the urban legend of Alligators living inside the sewage tunnels of the Big Apple? Ever heard about Coca Cola being used as an effective spermicide? Wondered if our world of gaming had a few of these urban legends? Guess what? I happened to stumble onto one such legend recently.

John Madden’s NFL happens to be one of the biggest money churner for EA Sports, so much so that EA gobbled up all the right for use of NFL’s stadiums, teams and the player’s likeliness. Typical EA, you will say. So where does the urban legend feature here? Here lies the “Madden Cover Curse”, according to which any player who is featured on the cover box of the game will be dogged with a bad season or even worse, injuries that might keep him out of the game!

Now, now, don’t go scoffing on this little piece of legend because this happens to carry with a tinge of credibility as well. The best examples of the victims of this curse will be Garrison Hearst, Eddie George, Barry Sanders, Dorsey Levens, Daunte Culpepper, Marshall Faulk, Michael Vick, Ray Lewis and Donovan MacNabb. All these players have been featured at some time or the other on the cover of the game and subsequently found their form in tatters with nose-diving performances in their games. Few of these unlucky souls were even plagued with injuries that kept them out of the game for a very long time. Fumbles that would cost them the game would become all too common. All this after they have had a splendid run in the previous season and thus having earned a place on the cover of “Madden’s NFL”.

Who would have thought that appearing on a games jewel box will mean that you would end up warming the benches, or worse still, on some cold hospital bed? Now that the Vince Young has become the latest sportsperson to be featured on the cover, maybe we can check out for ourselves if this story has any grain of truth in it. In the meantime, I will pray for the poor guy that he doesn’t has to hop off the field in case the ball lands at the wrong place.

P.S. : Can I have Jack Thomspon on the cover please?