10. Madden
Madden fancies itself as a sports simulator but, year after year, it remains a far cry from real life. It might as well forgo the slick graphics and go instead with the cartoonish approach of EA's efforts on the Wii, pictured above, because at least then it would look as realistic as it plays. In addition, it's been years upon years since the annual Madden release ushered in enough of a change to be called anything more than a glorified roster update. Why not, then, liven things up a little with some live ammo? Rather than Tom Brady firing a figurative rocket at his receivers, why not a literal one at his opponents? Because it would be a very short-lived gaming experience if teams just quickly and mercilessly slaughtered one another, one would argue. That is precisely why I'm arguing not for a full-on FPS reboot, but rather something much more minor. Surely you're familiar with this now infamous scene from the late Tony Scott's
The Last Boy Scout. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVrsGHs2MCk What if EA were to introduce a new achievement, one in which a player can, in a big-time game, whip out a pistol and go crazy to get the win? Instead of juking and jiving, he'd be shooting and his opponents would be writhing. If they were to add a weekly "Jacked Up" segment, I doubt anything would top that. Except there is no more "Jacked Up" segment to speak of, not since Roger Goodell started his crusade to make the NFL safer, an effort I think is somewhat misguided, as the sport is, has been, and will always be violent. Short of making it flag football, there are certain things that can't be avoided no matter what new rules are implemented. But maybe equipping players, or referees, with firearms and allowing them to carry out quick vigilante justice on players deemed dangerous would get people to wise up and stop being so reckless. I kid, of course, but I'm serious about my desire to reenact the above scene myself in Madden. I can just imagine what Chris Berman's commentary would sound like. "He's rumblin', bumblin', stumblin', runnin' and gunnin'."