EtheRed's Blog - Operation Sports

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Posted on July 16, 2009 at 02:42 PM.

(1)

After weeks of bashing and whining over how bad we all thought NCAA was going to be when it released on the 14th I'm sure that many of us (minus those who just hate no matter the results) were quite surprised to find a fun, pretty realistic game that not only looks better but fixed a lot of the things that held 09 back.
What I notice first thing was the added animation on tackles, strips and especially sacks. I was beyond happy to see that in 10 you can actually throw the ball to your receiver without having to worry about someone jumping from 20 yards away to either tip it or intercept it. Like wise though if you get beat on a pattern and the throw is there you get beat (love realism).
It seems that every time I play it I pick up on something new, another small detail that EA has put into the game that the non football fan would probably not see or really care about. Things like low snaps, players being shoved out of bounds, receivers blasting blocks down field and a ton of other small additions that have made my first few days playing a lot of fun (far more than anticipated).
So, to all the EA reps and developers who have been getting blitzed with complaints and "You Suck" chants let me thank you for a fun game that I know will continue to get better.

PS: Haters, Fanboys, Bubble-heads we all know you are going to hate the game no matter how good it is but it's ok I understand.
"Without hate what would haters do? We know they get no loving."

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Maybe not the best, But your Favorites?

Posted on July 11, 2009 at 05:34 PM.

(3)

If you are a sports games fan then you just might be one of the happiest people on earth right now with games like UFC and Fight Night Rd 4 on the shelves with NCAA and Madden quickly approaching. With so many good games out I was starting to think about maybe not the best sports games I have ever played but instead the ones at the time I remember enjoying the most.
A lot of the games I really fell in love with would never have been rated as high as NFL 2K5 or MLB the Show 09, hell not even as high as MLB 2K9

. Anyway, here is a list of the sports games I put above all the rest as far as games I loved and will never forget playing.

My Favorites:
NFL: Tecmo Super Bowl (NES)
NCAAFB: College Footballs National Championship (Genesis)
NBA: Tecmo Basketball (NES)
NCAABB: Coach K College Hoops (Genesis)
Boxing: Ring King (NES)
NHL: Blades of Steel (NES)
Baseball: Baseball Stars (NES)
Wrestling: Tecmo World Wrestling (NES)
MMA: K-1 World Grand Prix

I'd be glad to see what games the rest of Operation Sports picked as their favorites.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

NCAA Football Series: Favorite Players of All-Time

Posted on July 9, 2009 at 05:42 PM.

(2)

With NCAA 10 approaching fast and after I read the post
"Top Five Teams in EA Sports NCAA Football History" (still not sure how the 95 huskers were not on there? Frazier, phillips, Green in the backfield alone, but anyway) I thought it would be cool to list all the crazy teams I used over the past years of NCAA football (including my Huskers). I can remember each year my friends and I would start dynasties and we'd all pick teams. My buddies would always pick their favorites (usually Miami, Michigan or Notre Dame) and if I didn't pick Nebraska I'd usually pick a team with a player or two I really liked.

Here's are the top 5 list of my favorite players to grace the NCAA Football series

#5. Vanderbilt Running Back #6 Jermaine Johnson ('95)
-Think I only threw the ball 20 times the whole season

#4. Tennessee Receiver #37 Pearless Price ('98)
-Drop back and Bomb it to Price for six all day

#3. Georgia Tech ('99): #14 Joey Hamilton ('99)
-The first Robo-QB I can remember using

#2 North Carolina Running Back #12 Leon Johnson ('97)
-This guy was almost a glitch the way he put points up

#1 Nebraska Quarterback #15 Tommie Frazier ('96)
-Option was unstoppable, long runs almost every play

Feel free to post your all-time favorites (it's fun to see what experiences other players have had palying NCAA)

Saturday, July 4, 2009

NCAA 10 Pre-Order "Deal"

Posted on July 4, 2009 at 01:31 PM.

(2)

Being a fan of NCAA football games I of course have my copy reserved for the upcoming July 14 release (should be pushed back 2 weeks to tweak all the bugs). While Pre-ordering I noticed a pretty low excitement bonus at Gamestop.com "Pre-order now for NCAA Football 10 & receive 13 EXTRA Team Slots in EA SPORTS TeamBuilder." Wow 13 extra slots for something I probably will only use once if I get bored enough. Who could ever need 13 extra slots on top of the already high 12 slots available by just buying the game, oh and who could resist with this zinger "Use one of your extra 13 slots to download the exclusive GameStop team." No way the Gamestop team (gotta have it).
You know though, thanks for the slots I'm not going to use and thanks for the Gamestop team I'm definately not going to use but why not give a college football fan something related to college football. Not going to lie being givin the opportunity to play as such possible dream teams as the "Boston Blue-Ballers" or the "Montanta Christian Tech State College of New Hampshire Ardvarks" is attractive why offer something that makes a pre-order feel more like a "We have absolutely nothing for you here" type of deal. This kind of reminds me of one of those Buy a movie you want and get another that we know you don't want deals.
Here are a few ideas: How about
- Best of DVD with the best games of the previous season
- A collectable figure of your favorite schools mascot
- A mini-manual going over the different playbook types
(because you know EA is going to give us their 4 page
instruction manual with absolutely no info)
- Or maybe then you offer the "Classic" Gamestop team
along with a handfull of other classic teams

If you are going to offer something why not make sure it is actually something? We the fans of NCAA games salute you every time we purchase your games how about we get saluted back with a little appreciation at the same time.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Sports and Sports Gaming

Posted on July 2, 2009 at 03:53 PM.

(11)

As the College Football season creeps up on us it can only mean that NCAA 10 is right around the corner. I'm a lifelong Nebraska Cornhusker fan and a die hard fan of NCAA football (no matter how hard EAsports tries to deliver me the shaft).
It seems though every year I read up on my pre-season college football magazines and get introduced to this years teams stars and backups waiting to get my chance to play out the college football season on my 360. What happens though when I open up the game on release day and pop it in it's not the upgraded graphics (if any at all) or the new suttle gameplay tweaks but the inaccuracy of rosters that I notice first each and every time. After I frustrate my self over how chopped up my favorite teams roster is compared to real life and what players are missiing or misplaced I start to obsess over how many teams uniforms are not updated or what stadiums are generic. I feel as though I have given my self a case of NCAA series OCD.
I could go on and on about stupid stuff that only seems to make sense to me but, if your making a game about something don't you want to know everything you can about it? get info from all the top sources, make sure your details are upto date and make sure that the game you put out is as authentic as the sport that is played out in real life? I'd hope so.
If someone is going to pay to make sure they are the only one able to make something (aka College football game) then it should be their obligation to spend the rest of their time and money making sure you do it right and as truthful to the game itself.
Quit trying to trick everyone, give us what we deserve.

PS: NBA Live how does second place taste (learn and improve)