Playing Madden 2011

I preordered Madden NFL 11 for the PlayStation 3 a number of months ago and it was released in the UK this past Friday.

I got my copy on Saturday morning and have been playing it ever since.

If you have been reading this blog since its start, you'll probably remember that I last bought a Madden game for the Nintendo Wii in 2007.

I enjoyed that version of the game but absolutely hated the online mode as I was constantly getting beaten.

The new version also has the ability to play other people online. This time, however, they have a team mode where six players can play on teams of three.

Figuring this was the best way of securing a win - or sharing defeat - I entered a game.

We won!

I even scored the winning touchdown.

Going 1-0 on my first go at online mode in the new Madden game erased all those terrible memories of my over twenty losses without a win in 2007.

My 1-0 record ended yesterday, however.

I once again played in a team and we were 14-0 down but managed to square it up to 14-14 by the end of regulated play.

We won the coin toss and had possession of the ball. We marched it down the field was were in range to score another touchdown to win the game when the pass was intercepted. The player went on to run all the way to his end zone and seal the victory for his opponents and blemish my perfect record.

1-1.

I was telling a friend about how we snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and she laughed when I likened it to the many times I had lost on American football betting with similar scenarios screwing me in the final second of play.

I guess that's realism for you.