The James Logan Courier

By Tania Ganguli
The Orlando Sentinel (MCT)

ORLANDO, Fla. — "I think he's scared to play me," Buccaneers tight end Alex Smith said toward receiver Ike Hilliard's general direction.

Smith sat inside a trailer just outside the Bucs' training-camp practice field at Disney's Wide World of Sports. In front of him were two HDTVs loaded with an advance copy of EA Sports' Madden NFL 08. Hilliard was busy playing someone else when he heard Smith's taunt.

As he stood up, Smith grinned. Hilliard had taken the bait. Deadpan, Hilliard traded controllers with Smith's opponent, ready to make the third-year tight end shut up. He was, however, facing the two-time Madden Bowl champion.

Shutting him up wasn't going to be easy.

By Billy O'Keefe
McClatchy-Tribune News Service (MCT)

"NCAA FOOTBALL 08"
Reviewed for: Xbox 360
Also available for: Playstation 3, Playstation 2, Xbox
From: Tiburon/EA Sports
ESRB Rating: Everyone

When it premiered on the Xbox 360 last year, "NCAA Football 07" made waves, but for all the wrong reasons. Grievances ranged from the omission of features from last-generation versions to a framerate that was slow and occasionally prone to choppiness.

What a difference a year makes. Not only has Tiburon righted the framerate on the 360, it's perfected it — to the tune of a gorgeous (and very fast) 60 frames per second that even untrained eyes will recognize at first sight. (The Playstation 3 version runs at only 30 frames per second, but it's entirely playable, if not nearly as drool-worthy, if the 360 version isn't an option.)