Quality. Landon Donovan’s deadpan tone is the best.

To my delight EA Sports is releasing FIFA 11 early this year. It usually drops in late October after the season is well under way. From the look of the trailer, they’ve kicked it up a notch with new modes like the Be A Goalkeeper and 11 vs. 11 online. Craziness.

Yesterday I picked up the highly anticipated Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 -  my first venture into the Call Of Duty series. Amazing graphics and game play. Just the first few levels took me to the Favelas of Rio, the suburban streets of the US and a crazy snow-mobile chase and shoot-out in some snowy climate that I was too geeked to even name. At times it looks like video footage. I had to turn it off for a bit and calm down.

The only war game I am really dedicated to is Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell. I think the sophisticated story lines probably make me feel better about running and gunning for fun. The Mrs. absolutely detests war games and shooters and often tells me to “Just play some FIFA”.

With the bloodshed of the last few months in Afghanistan and Iraq, we civies are here clapping each other in the face online and shit-talking via headsets. I’m not naive enough to believe that today being Veteran’s day will make those who wouldn’t ordinarily stop and think care one bit more, but it does make me wonder what I’m partaking in. The game is a beautifully ugly masterpiece. I dunno.

Charlie Brooker’s review in THE GUARDIAN