I went and picked up my copy last night at Target. The Girl was in Chicago last weekend and we hadn't gotten to see each other much the week before so we went out Tuesday instead of me sitting on my butt in front of the TV. I was quite surprised when I was able to hold out til the weekend to rush for a copy, but she needed to go to Target after we went to dinner last night and so I took advantage of the opportunity. I played a half against Auburn when we got back to my place and fought them to a 0-0 standstill. The defensive controls are roughly the same, though the R stick now calls defensive audibles and I kept having my DTs dropping into coverage by mistake. The offensive controls seemed weird, though they are basically the same. I gave up in frustration (and because she was yelling at me to watch my language from the other room) and then started back this morning with some practices. The new "scrimmage" feature was helpful, and so I started on my Bama dynasty with a 45-10 beat down on Hawaii.

A Few Initial Thoughts:

- The kicking game is annoying as all hell now. The power/accuracy meter seems lame, and returning kicks is way more difficult. Maybe if it was a first person perspective it wouldn't be as bad, but not being able to see what's in front of your return man is idiotic.

- Are defenses faster this time around, or is Bama's O-Line just represented a little more accurately?

- Also, does it seem like the ball flies through the air a little slower to anyone else?

- All the extra graphics that flash on the screen make this look like a Fox Sports production. The "impact camera" is cool the first two or three times, but then it's just annoying. Keep the game going already.

- I'm liking '06 better right now.