Time to be honest – I dig on the occasional video game.  And by “occasional”, I mean at least a couple of hours a week.  And by “at least a couple of hours” a week, I mean – oh never mind.  Just understand that I do like some video games.

You will find that the United States is a video game nation powered by Madden NFL. It is the sports franchise that dominates the video game landscape. There are even television shows dedicated to Madden NFL football.  I don’t look down on those people, honestly.  I respect them.  They love playing a game and have a good time.  No harm in that, right?  Well I am no where near that level of fanaticism for any game.  I get the odd game in here and there after work is done and the kids are in bed for the night.  But there is a passion that resonates with me and others like me: FIFA soccer.

The one game that has always held a special place in my heart has been the FIFA soccer franchise, which is produced by EA Sports. I have had a version of this game for every console since the 1996 incarnation.  And much like its big brother, Madden NFL, the game focuses on realism and actual pro player ratings.  You get to experience virtual players who are designed with their actual level of skill as based on the performance of their living counterpart. It lends itself to some very fun and realistic video game action.

I’ve won FA Cups, Olympic medals, Community Shields, and even used Alan Shearer to score a last second game winner allowing long-suffering England to hoist the 1998 World Cup.  Truly I am a man who has been living the dream. So, as you can imagine, in recent versions of the game, the Rooney’s, Messi’s, and Ronaldo’s of the virtual world tend to run rim shod over the “mere mortal” players.

This is why I come back to play over and over again (and also it’s a great way to kill time when I’m on the treadmill.  Seriously, you can jog for like an hour and it feels like 5 minutes.  You have to try it.  Just be safe.  I speak from experience.)  Anyway, I come back to it over and over because of its realism, sort of.  Occasionally, EA Sports likes to make some players even more amazing then their real-life counterparts. 

For instance, when I play against my nemesis, Wayne Rooney, he likes to torment me with jukes and dekes unlike anything you’ve seen from a human.  It becomes downright comical at times.  That is until I try to take him out of the game with an absolutely malicious tackle.  This very seldom works as this super human virtual Rooney detects that somehow.  He manages to keep the ball, dance around my tackle, and proceed to beat my goal keeper in a variety of ways.  I am left scratching my head, vowing vengeance, and then find myself surrendering even more goals as I try too hard to equalize.  Ah – good times, good times!

Come to think of it, I’m not sure why I keep coming back to the game.  That damn Rooney (and Messi, don’t get me started on his virtual prowess.  Craaaaazy.)

I guess I should stop ranting about video games and go get back to my life.  However, if you are cut from the same cloth as me, drop a comment below. Maybe we can even play a game on line sometime.  Just don’t mock me when I flip out over your virtual superstars skills and try to take him out with every member of my back 4.  Also, please don’t ridicule me when my team has to forfeit because too many men have been sent off.  You have been warned.

We’re getting ready for season 2 here at the WLS headquarters and we have a great post coming tomorrow from our man with the plan Kent. All things tying together… he’s writing about his mad skills with the EA Sports FIFA series and one of our final profiles from last season was our behind the scenes look at FIFA 12.

So before we get you Kent’s take on rockin’ the game, here’s our look at EA Sports from last year (with a little bit of our new graphic look!)…