Every Day Should be Madden Day

Looking around the office today and noticing a rash of suspiciously absent young men? That, of course, can only mean one thing: it’s Maddenoliday. To the uninitiated, that means the annual release of the latest installment of EA Sport’s blockbuster Madden NFL video game, and with Madden 08 hitting stores today, we decided to check in with Boston’s resident Madden expert/hustler/kingpin, John Lafferty a.k.a. Big Laff.

Laff was able to land an advance copy of the game last Thursday and has been playing virtually non-stop ever since. Which is exactly what he was doing he was when we called this morning. His longest stretch was a 15-hour marathon, when he studied every team’s roster and playbook and hunted for exploitable glitches in the gameplay (while, no doubt, also contemplating the meaning of life).

One thing he discovered right away was the potency of the Patriot’s revamped offense. On his first play, he ran it up the gut with Laurence Maroney for a small gain, but on play number two he rocketed a fifty yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady to Randy Moss.

“He’s always incredible, he’s a glitch in the game,” Laff says of Moss, adding that you can pretty much just throw it up to him every time and let it rain TDs.

As for the game in general, Laff likes the new “weapons” feature, which bestows signature moves upon the NFL’s elite—Pats stalwart Richard Seymour has a special power move on the defensive line—but thinks the defensive blitzes have become too effective, or in his parlance, overly “amped up.” Overall, he scores the game a 9 out of 10.

Oh, and yes, Michael Vick is still in the game. The super-mobile virtual QB is, as always, sick. (Editor’s note to PETA: That’s the video game version of Michael Vick, and not a commentary on the alleged inhumane dog-killer, Michael Vick.)