Lately, I’ve gotten to doing some witty opening blurb where I talk about interesting releases and then pick one that really gets my attention. This is not one of those weeks. Given that a yearly juggernaut drops this Friday in Madden NFL 10, we really can’t beat around the bush on this one. I won’t be buying it, mostly because while I like sports, and I like video games, I rarely like sports video games. I think there’s just too much involved, and I just don’t have the time. The one exception is the arcade-style games. I loved NBA Jam and NFL Blitz (RIP Midway). Pickup and play, simple yet deep. Heck, I liked the thrown-together NHL 3-on-3 better than NHL 09. I think maybe the main reason I highlighted Madden 10 was just to remind Greg how cover boy Larry Fitzgerald is on his fantasy team and the Madden Curse Watch is now on in full force.

So, today is a random thoughts kinda day:

- Enough with Tim Schafer already! I’m not going to play Brutal Legend on principle. Who is this guy, and what has he done to deserve all this love from the gaming press? Besides make “critically-loved” games that nobody buys, that is. Seriously, there’s a new article every day…

“Tim Schafer on a Rubik’s Cube Vs. Somebody Reading The Brutal Legend Soundtrack, Who Finishes First?”
“More Brutal Legend Videos”
“Jack Black Interview That Kinda Touches On Brutal Legend”
“Tim Schafer Takes A Dump!”
“Tim Schafer Makes A Bestselling Game!”

Ok, maybe those last few are fictional.

- It wasn’t on my “Buy” radar, but this new Batman game looks like it might need a play of the demo now.

- Tim Schafer ate a donut yesterday.

- I love how companies are bumping their games out of 2009 and into early 2010. It’s great. Let’s move our game away from massive games like Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2, etc. and into a period with pretty much every other big game that delayed to 2010 thinking the same thing. Hope I get a lot of gift cards this Christmas.

- Tim Schafer went to look at cars the other day. He test drove a Prius, but left the lot empty handed.

- Lego is an evil, evil company that is intent on taking all my money. Have you seen how much real Lego stuff costs these days? Nothing like getting the kids hooked with the video games, then selling them real Lego Star Wars sets for $50-$100 a pop.

- Tim Schafer once got a Shamrock Shake at McDonalds.

- Youngest Son loves grabbing a controller and pretending to play when Big Brother does. I’m screwed.

- Tim Schafer farted. Stephen Totilo said it smelled like roses.