Madden NFL 27: Running a Successful (Coaching/GM Simulation) Franchise, Part 1

Madden NFL 99 revolutionized video games based on the National Football League (NFL) when they debuted “Franchise Mode” in 1998. Franchise Mode allowed players to take over their favorite franchise and control every aspect of building an NFL powerhouse including contract extensions, drafting rookies, and signing high profile free agents in the pursuit of the […]

“Maybe You Can Hire…The A-Team!

Fighting off Pandorans in Phoenix Point, the Locust in Gears Tactics, or staying in the fight for Huffman Island in Front Mission 1st: The Remake, Tactical RPGs gobble up more than their fair share of my gaming time. I’ve loved strategy games my whole life; Kriegspiel by Avalon Hill, Fortress America or Axis & Allies […]

Why I Love Open World Games

Growing up I always wanted to be the hero, the one to save the day, the one who risked everything to make things better for everyone. The first time I remember longing for that feeling was watching Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and the Spider-Man cartoon from the 70s. That desire to be […]

All Hail the Polymega

I first learned of the Polymega console about two years ago. I was streaming regularly and I was looking for a way to stream retro games from consoles that I never owned such as the Sega Saturn, TurboGrafx 16, and the 32x. One retro system to play them all… The Polymega console appeared to be […]

Change of Approach

Good Morning, I hope this Wednesday finds all of you well – happy, healthy, and enjoying the arrival of the spring weather. I wanted to address some of the recent events in the news – both from the national scene and from my neck of the woods up here in West Central Wisconsin. This past […]

Rifts: An Awe-Inspiring RPG

1. What is Rifts? 2. Where does Rifts take place? 3. When does Rifts take place? 4. Why do I love Rifts?5. Conclusion What is Rifts? Rifts is a tabletop RPG created by Kevin Seimbieda and published by Palladium Books. Players take on the roles of characters that run the gamut from Men of Arms […]

My DMZ Pitch

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is here along with a robust selection of modes for players to enjoy, chief among those is the brand new mode DMZ. New game modes however, usher in a host of potential bugs and gameplay issues that need to be resolved and DMZ is no different. From overpowered AI […]

Axis Football 2023, What Madden wishes it could be

It’s been 17 years since EA inked an exclusive rights deal with the NFL ensuring that EA Sports is the only publisher of American football games bearing the NFL license and players. Since the exclusive deal, EA has come under fire for pushing out incomplete games, bungled launches on the Xbox 360 and PS3, and […]

Madden NFL 23, WTH?

Whenever I write an article about the Madden NFL Series of games, I always struggle with where to begin the article. Where is the jumping off point? Where do I start writing about the latest installment of the long running franchise in EA’s lineup? Madden NFL 23 has been out for a little over a […]

Why I Play Video Games

I remember going to arcades when I was a kid and pumping quarters into the various cabinets and living my best life. Asteroids, Defender, Galaga, Pac Man, Star Wars, and Zaxxon were my personal favorites. I would go to the local Woolworth’s at my local mall and pine for the Atari 2600 and one game, […]