Madden 10 for Wii, NCAA Patch, and Banff for Tiger 10

I just got back in town after a whirlwind trip to San Diego for two days of Comic-Con madness (be sure and check out our continuing coverage from the show, which will be running throughout the weekend). While there, I was surprised to see EA showing off Madden NFL 10 for Wii at their summer showcase event, if only because you don't normally associate Comic-Con with football fans. Nonetheless, check out my latest preview as well as a video demo of the game where Madden 10 art director Tim Spangler and I chat about the game, my hatred for the Minnesota Vikings, and our mutual admiration for former Dallas Cowboys quarterback, Danny White.

While I was nerding it up in SoCal, EA Sports released a couple of important updates for two recent games:

1) NCAA Football 10 saw the first patch released on the 360 version yesterday (the PS3 version was patched last week). This patch addresses problematic rosters, slider issues, and, most importantly, allows users to shut off the paid boosts for online dynasties that were first revealed a few weeks back. Good on EA for quickly addressing what was, for a while there, a pretty controversial issue among sports gaming fans.

2) Speaking of controversey, I'm not a fan of paying for courses in Tiger Woods but today, EA announced the release of a new DLC course for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10: Banff Springs. Located in Alberta and nestled in the Canadian Rockies, Banff is one of the most stunningly beautiful golf courses I've ever seen. I remember with great fondness playing the course almost exclusively back on the old PC version of Links and even in those low-res days, I distinctly remember feeling awed by the pixelated majesty of the place. One of these days, I plan to get up to Alberta and actually play the course in person.

So as disappointing as it is that Banff is only available as DLC--I'd sooner have seen Bay Hill tossed out as an on-disc course--I can say that, if you've never seen Banff before, you love challenging golf in a picturesque setting, and have got a few bucks to spare, you'll most likely enjoy it.