EA

CHICAGO – It’s the same story every year. 2K Sports and Electronic Arts release their basketball video games at the same time and it’s impossible not to contrast and compare. This critic was looking forward to writing something like a scorecard, choosing which title wins in different fields like graphics, gameplay, presentation, etc.

CHICAGO – Perhaps the biggest praise I can pay EA Sports’ excellent “NHL 10” is this - despite being a sports nut in general, I’m not much of a hockey fan and yet I found this trip to the ice completely entertaining, challenging, and in-depth. The best sports games not only preach to the choir by satisfying people who are already fans of the actual game but also can bring in people who don’t own a hockey jersey. “NHL 10” could actually increase the popularity of the sport.

CHICAGO – Not being a huge fan of car racing games, I was stunned at how addictive and engrossing I found EA’s excellent “Need For Speed: Shift”. A complete left turn from last year’s failure “Undercover,” “Shift” represents the beginning of a new line of games for the “NFS” franchise, one that focuses on authentic racing over its ancestors more arcade style. The only problem for driving fans may be that it’s unclear where the “Shift” line can go from here.

CHICAGO – Just as John Madden has become synonymous with video game football, when a gamer thinks of playing a round of golf without a 5 iron, he thinks of EA Sports’ beloved “Tiger Woods PGA Tour” franchise.

CHICAGO – The trailer for the video game based on one of this summer’s more-likely blockbusters, “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” was released by Electronic Arts this week and we wanted to share.

Video Game Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Some games are easy to pick up and put down when you’ve got a small window of time. “The Godfather II” is not one of those games. Like being willing to watch Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather Trilogy” in one sitting, the game loosely based on the second film will take not just minutes or hours but days of your life.

Video Game Rating: 4.5/5.0

CHICAGO – As icicles hang at skate parks and snow-covered ground makes it hard to roll, EA’s excellent “Skate 2” will probably be your favorite diversion throughout the winter.