New York Giants rookie Odell Beckham Jr. will be on the cover of Madden 16, making him the youngest athlete ever to receive the honor. Hopefully it doesn’t jinx him . . . just ask Peyton Hillis!

On the heels of a disastrous 2011 season for Peyton Hillis after he was named the Madden cover boy, the idea of a “Madden Curse” gained some serious traction, as many football fans and hard core gamers couldn’t get enough of the story. Of course the story is absurd in many ways, but many fans and betters can’t help get caught up in the hysteria. Betters are supposed to rely and cold analysis when picking games, and use resources like stats and some sportsbook review options to make the best picks and find the most advantageous betting lines, but stuff like this always seeps into the equation. Which team has momentum? Which team or player is due?

With Peyton Hillis, he was a one-year wonder with the Browns in 2010, and he proved to be a headcase in 2011, and while he was injured, there are plenty of rational explanations for his terrible season apart from a curse.

Yet while some of the concerns about a curse might be irrational, this year we’re seeing Cam Newton struggle. Now he’s a much better player than Peyton Hillis, so if Newton stumbles, the curse chorus will get even louder. Last night Newton had a very tough game against the New York Giants pass rush, and Newton has looked much more human in 2012. Still, people need to keep in mind that Newton is just in his second season, and many quarterbacks suffer a sophomore slump as defenses in the NFL adapt to your strengths and discover your weaknesses. The truly good players can then also adjust and improve their game.

So whether this is a slump or another manifestation of a video game curse, many eyes will be on Cam Newton to see if he can get back to his 2011 performance levels.

Electronic Arts has received a lot of flak over the years about the way they’ve handled the release of their World Cup and European Championship games, and rightfully so, because all they were doing before was redressing the current-gen FIFA titles and charging full price for what was essentially the same product. This year, however, they’ve smartly chosen to release their Euro 2012 content as DLC for “FIFA 12” instead of an individual disc, which will satisfy fans of the franchise despite the fact that it still doesn’t feel like you’re getting very much bang for your buck.

In addition to the basic tournament mode and a Challenge mode similar to the one found on recent installments of the soccer series, there’s also a new mode called Expedition that plays like a mix between FIFA Ultimate Team and “Risk.” To begin, you create a team, select your favorite European player to serve as captain, and receive a random assortment of reserve players to fill out your roster. As you travel across Europe competing against other teams, you’ll unlock roads to new countries, and for every team that you beat, you’re given one of their players, which you can choose to keep or reject. The first time that you beat a team, you’ll get a reserve player; the next time, you’ll get a better player; and the third time, you’ll get one of their stars.

It’s a little more difficult than it sounds, though, as losing a match will destroy the connecting road, resulting in having to play some countries more than three times. But while the risk/reward nature of Expedition adds a bit of unnecessary frustration to the proceedings, it’s still the strongest feature on “UEFA Euro 2012.” That might not be saying much considering just how little there is to choose from, but EA deserves credit for at least trying to do something different. Granted, the DLC is hardly an essential addition to the “FIFA 12” experience (especially at such a high price), but diehard soccer fans should download it anyway.

Will the Madden cover jinx hit again? Last year, Peyton Hillis was the surprise winner of the fan voting for the Madden NFL cover, and he suffered through injuries and a miserable season.

This year Megatron, Calvin Johnson, gets the nod, and Detroit Lions fans are holding their breath.

It’s been four years since EA Sports has released a “FIFA Street” game, and with a little luck, it’ll take four more years before we see another one. That may sound a bit harsh, because “FIFA Street” is by no means a bad game, but it’s so completely lacking in depth compared to EA’s flagship FIFA title that it feels like an insult to be charged the same price. There’s just not that much to do in “FIFA Street” apart from playing individual matches or competing in World Tour, which is where most people will likely spend a majority of their time. In this mode, players build a team and compete in a series of challenges and tournaments around the world, earning points along the way that are used to upgrade attributes and learn new moves, as well as unlock venues and gear based on the difficulty level of each match.

The gameplay itself doesn’t have a very steep learning curve, making it more accessible for casual gamers, but despite the heavy emphasis on beating your opponents using trick moves, they’re not really necessary to winning matches, with the exception of one game type. In fact, “FIFA Street” would get old pretty quick if it weren’t for the variety of ways to play, including classic 5v5; Futsal (indoor soccer without walls); Panna (score by kicking the ball through your opponents legs); Freestyle (score points for performing tricks); and Last Man Standing (lose a player for each goal you score and be the first team out). Unfortunately, “FIFA Street” simply doesn’t have enough replay value to validate its $60 price tag. The game is fun to play in short bursts, but I can’t help but think that it would have worked better as DLC for the far superior “FIFA 12.”

Football has never been my game. Not in real life, not in video games. I’m just not good at assessing the risk involved in each play, the progression of the game, the fact that the Hail Mary is both fun and stupid, and not just fun. All through college, though, I endured a rivalry between two of my closest friends in whatever Madden game was the most recent.

It got intense. There was yelling, swearing, controllers were broken, consoles powered off mid-game, shouting matches across bathroom stalls, but the game count usually ended up pretty close. And every year about this time, each friend would pick their Super Bowl favorite and stage the game, complete with an array of beer, snacks, and of course, more yelling. As little interest as I have in football, it was always a good time (it was also easy to talk everyone into some Halo once the game was done).

It’s strange, but I’ve missed that these past several years. I’m still in touch with my friends, which means I know things I have no business knowing about the sport. I know my friend Brian, a Browns fanatic, might weep like a child if the Steelers win. I’ve heard the Packers are favored over the Steelers (although checking the lines at the BetUS Sportsbook shows the Steelers +110, whatever that means).

For all that, though, I wish I could sit down, drink some beer, and watch my friends hash things out on Madden. I probably won’t watch the Super Bowl this year, not even for the commercials, but I’d be willing to watch two people play a video game of the same game, because for me, it’s a much more personal rivalry.

The Tiger Woods franchise has always been a good one, and it’s one of few sports franchises for which the Wii outperforms its competition. PGA Tour 11 takes the good from previous versions of the game and improves upon pretty much the entire experience.

One of the best parts of the new game is the True Aim system, which IGN details below:

The first and biggest addition is known as True-Aim. I, for one, have wanted to get closer to the real thing without having to adventure into the super-difficult Tour Pro setting. True-Aim, coupled with the focus mechanic that I’ll talk about in the next paragraph, helps to up the difficulty without making it frustrating. True-Aim removes the accuracy circle when zooming into your shot and forces you to aim your ball entirely from an over-the-shoulder camera. You have the same viewpoint as you would in real golf. That means there’s no more camera tracking as your ball flies through the air. Instead, you’re left to judge from the crowd and commentators’ reactions how well you fared. It’s much more realistic.

If there was one thing Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 did right, it’s making the realistic aspects of the game more accessible, without requiring you to enter the crushingly difficult modes of the game.

For a while there it looked like the Madden franchise might be dying. Each new version of the game felt stagnant with few new features to make anyone but the dearly devoted come back for more. In the past two years, though, EA has managed to revive the series, giving new life through better features and more in depth gameplay. Madden NFL 11 is set to follow that trend and will likely become the deepest sports experience in a game to date.

Though the game won’t launch until August, you can keep up on the latest developments at IGN. Here’s what they’re saying about the game.

Madden NFL 11 redefines the way you experience the game of football. It’s simpler: From 350 plays down to 1, the all-new GameFlow system puts you in the helmet of an NFL quarterback to execute an authentic, situational game plan, one play at a time. It’s quicker: 60 minute game times reduced to as little as 30 minutes; spend more time on the field and less in the playbook. full games, half the time. It’s deeper: Madden NFL 11 is feature-rich including all-new 3-on-3 Online Team Play, improved animations, more intuitive controls, and Madden NFL Ultimate Team … all to the play-by-play of the most exciting voice in sports, Gus Johnson.

Yeah, I’d say it’s gonna be pretty damn good.

The most notable feature is Dynasty Mode, which gives players a chance to create and manage their own dynasty from a variety of mobile devices. From IGN:

What that means for you, the user, is that they’re designing custom interfaces for your PC, Mac, iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad that allow you to do things like recruit and sign college-bound prospects as well as upload photos and videos to brag to other players if you happen to be playing in an Online Dynasty (or want to gloat to the CPU). You’ll also be able set your dynasty to public or private, so players can elect to give random gamers the ability to hop in their league if they want.

NCAA 2011 will be available for Xbox 360 and PS3 July 13.