Media

Review > Media Mix
words by > Scott Steinberg

A roundup of this month’s hottest new releases.

>GAMES

Madden NFL 07 (Electronic Arts)
GameCube, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii
$39.99 (PC), $49.99 (GC/PS2/Xbox),
$59.99 (PS3/Xbox 360/Wii)

Seventeen years into an all-star career, the gorilla of gridiron simulations returns for another Super Bowl-winning season, only now sporting a variety of next-generation enhancements. Imagine an enhanced running game that lets you select multiple styles from speedy to ultra-aggressive using the joystick. And lead blocker control offers the ability to bust open lanes and breaking for the goal as tailback. And, of course, the audiovisuals are so sumptuous you can practically smell the pigskin as players move and stadiums sparkle in the sunlight. Earn your place in football’s Hall of Fame using improved juke and cutback controls, or relax and scout rising stars while calling the shots via an upgraded franchise mode. Deep as it is demanding, the title even offers team-specific playbooks so you can storm the field the same way hometown heroes do. Extras include mini-game-based player training, the latest stats and uniforms for all your favorite teams and players, as well as robust online multiplayer options. And on an HDTV-ready, visually astounding home console like the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 or Wii, the hits come that much harder.

Gradius Collection (Konami)
PlayStation Portable
$39.99

A thumb-numbing anthology of classic spaceship shooters, featuring Gradius I-IV and Gradius Gaiden’s long-awaited North American debut. Kill time (and countless alien adversaries) on your next cross-country flight with music, videos and button-mashing arcade action. New widescreen viewing options make this one-of-a-kind package a mobile gaming enthusiast’s dream come true.

>MUSIC

Leigh Nash
Blue on Blue
(Nettwerk) $15.98

Sixpence None the Richer’s Leigh Nash has long lacked material to match those shimmering vocals—an issue her first solo effort addresses. Blue offers folksy ruminations (“Nervous in the Light of Dawn”), epic piano ballads (“Ocean Size Love”) and even Beatlesesque pop (“Just a Little”), without forsaking its chief draw; Nash herself.

New York Dolls
One Day it Will Please Us to Remember Even This
(Roadrunner) $17.98

“Got a bad reputation/it just won’t quit,” snarls David Johansen on “We’re All in Love,” which opens the New York Dolls’ first new album in thirty years. But can the grandfather of punk and glam keep the attitude going three decades later? Yes. One Day sees the band ripping through honky-tonk (“Runnin’ Around”), hard rock (“Punishing World”) and rave-ups (“Dance Like a Monkey”) with unbridled enthusiasm. Add in great guest spots by Iggy Pop, Bo Diddley and R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe, and you have a true “classic rock” record.

>DVDs

Awesome; I… Shot That! 2004 Performance
(THINKFilm) MPAA Rating: R
$29.99

Most concertgoers are happy with a T-shirt. A lucky fifty fans attending the Beastie Boys’ sold-out October 9, 2004, performance at New York’s Madison Square Garden were instead handed Hi-8 cameras and told to film away. An intimate look at legendary lyricists Mike D, Adrock and MCA’s live production from an audience perspective, this “authorized bootleg” takes viewers behind the scenes and into the stands of rap-rock’s rowdiest traveling show. Like Nathaniel Hornblower, the name Adam Yauch (aka MCA) chose to ghost-direct the picture under, it’s not only a brash experiment in raw cinematography, but also music to our ears. EXTRAS: Full-length alternate angle, band commentary, a cappella vocal tracks, “Hidden Detours” feature.