Merry Maddenoliday!

The NFL regular season isn't set to kickoff for another 3 weeks, but for many pigskin fans, the season begins today with the release of Madden NFL 07. Maddenoliday, the marketing brain-child of Electonic Arts and Freestyle Interactive, officially marks the day when gamers everywhere forego any semblance of a social life to lead their virtual franchise to the Super Bowl.

While Maddenoliday is an annual purchasing ritual for many, there are indications this year's iteration may be worth skipping, especially for those with an Xbox 360. Particularly egregious for fans wanting the ultimate football simulation, the 07 version apparently allows for Hall of Fame players to become free agents in franchise mode after being unlocked. Though this may sound like a minor nuisance to the uninitiated, this is possibly a major showstopper for Madden fans who don't want to see opposing teams handing the ball to all-time greats like Walter Payton or Barry Sanders. The second issue being reported, is an Xbox 360 bug where the user interface is not correctly registering the fatigue level of players. A patch is in the works, but don't we play console games so we don't have to patch anything?

We talk a big game, but despite these reported problems, we'll likely give in and drop our signing bonus to purchase this year's version. Expect a review in the next week, or whenever the tendonitis wears off.