Madden Ultimate Team First Impressions

At the risk of being told that I am talking to the south end of a north bound mule, or being called an EA Sports mouthpiece tool, I created my Madden Ultimate Team – “GA TX Falcons” (creatively yours, the Georgia Texas Falcons).

I have read all the negative opinions about this new “free” mode, but I find it somewhat interesting. It has the potential of being a very nice diversion. I doubt I will spend money buying cards, but I can certainly see the allure. If you are not good at Madden (raises hand), it is a little frustrating starting off with such a mediocre group of players.

After opening my starter pack, I was greeted with a piss poor group of players (and cards). I get the yucky Brown home colors when playing at the St. Louis Rams’ Edward Jones Dome, and the Redskins road whites. How bland can you get? I get a run heavy offense, and the Detroit Lions defensive play book. My team is QB’ed by none other than Marc Bulger. Jack Del Rio coaches my rag-tag set of cards.

Needless to say, the early going looks to be tough. Remember, I raised my hand when I said I was not very good at Madden? It is not as if I do not know how to play; I am just getting too old to press all the buttons in record time. I need to remember to turn off “fight for the fumble” one of these days; I never mass the buttons fast enough to win a scrum.

For my first game I took on Tampa Bay, which happens to be the default rival team for my Atlanta Falcons. I thought I was in high cotton after I took a 14-0 lead, but somehow (thanks to three turnovers) I gave up 17 unanswered points in a disappointing loss. For my second game I intentionally looked for a weak team, but still lost to the Chiefs 31-24.

The only good news is that I managed to get enough cards (just over 550 I believe) to buy a Bronze pack of cards, but I decided to wait since it was time for the start of the Jets/Colts game. BTW, the Jets just went up 14-6 with just under 5 minutes left in the 2nd quarter, but I digress.

It takes a lot these days to get me gaming, so it will be interesting if Ultimate Team continues to provide some appeal. I want to get in another couple of games tonight, and I have to decide if I am going to waste 500 points on some Bronze cards, or if I should just grind my way to a pack of Silver cards. At the rate I am going, I should be able to pick up a pack of Silver cards in another 3-4 games. Not sure what happens when all the contracts run out.

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