The Home of Sanner
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
However, the NCAA release is traditionally the start of the biggest release season for sports video games with Madden, the NBA games, NHL games, and FIFA all still to go. I'm personally excited to play a lot of titles, here are my top three most anticipated titles for the rest of the year -- feel free to add your own in the comments section!
1.FIFA 10 - I think this game could be a sleeper for our Game of the Year.
2. NBA 2K10 -The NBA Live folks are talking a big game, and it's probably warranted, but I'm just as interested in how 2K is able to respond to a surging title.
3. NHL 10 - I'm interested to see how our 2008 Sports Game of the Year follows its very successful act this year.
Monday, July 13, 2009
However, I want to provide a little bit of a preview of what's coming. As you may know, we publish three positives and three negatives in our reviews. I have stated these in some form in my impressions already, so this won't be new, but something else to get you through your work day:
+Gameplay is the best yet.
+Online Dynasty is still good.
+Player lock cam is good diversion.
-Presentation is awful.
-Sliders don't work.
-Teambuilder isn't quite what we thought.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Posted on July 9, 2009 at 02:54 AM.
I have to share this story of my game against Ohio State, as I think it demonstrates how an A team will play against a D+ team.It almost seemed like tOSU was completely unmotivated to play us in the middle of their Big 10 schedule. We jumped out on them with our offense and surprisingly took at 13-6 lead into the half thanks to several tOSU miscues. I'm not sure if there is a motivation attribute or something, but it definitely felt like they did not want to play us at all. I knew in the pit of my stomach what was coming in the second half.
It seems like we were bombarded by the much superior Ohio State team. Our first drive in the second half started off with an interception, which tOSU capitalized on to even the score. They then stopped us three and out and marched down the field again and scored. It was 20-13 tOSU before I could blink. Again three and out, and again we ended up giving up another TD. 27-13.
We then got a long pass play for a TD to pull back within a TD at 27-20. Ohio State was just rolling on offense though, as they went down the field to score again to make it 34-20 early in the fourth. I thought, "let's answer this, get a stop and tie this game". Whoops!
I threw a pick six the next play and then tOSU added a late TD to win the game 48-20. They outgained us 386 to 246. The difference in talent was 100% immediately obvious. Hence why I kinda felt that impending doom at the half when we were up.
BTW this was on Heisman at 7 minute quarters. You HAVE to play at least 7 minutes if you want somewhat realistic numbers.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
14/16
9/31
32/35
18/25
17/30
12/31
19/26
I will say the computer isn't stupid. In a situation where it should have ran (late close lead at the end of the game) the computer ran the ball 80% of the time and the passes were mostly screens and short passes, it didn't try to go deep.
Overall, the computer was pass heavy. Only in close games did the computer continue to run the ball. It looks as if the playcalling is a mixed bag, as the AI does abandon the run too early, but it doesn't look to pass when it should be running. Thoughts? Questions?
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Many have asked about the Flexbone and I figured it was worth a blog all it's own. The Flexbone this year has undergone many changes, including eight new formations and much more accurate plays within.
I'm personally a huge fan of the changes, as the game now accurately represents the Flexbone offense. Plays such as the QB Iso, Wing Reverses, FB Dives, Options, and play action passes are handled much better. Another thing I really loved was running behind the dual tackles formation.
So for those wondering: YES! The Flexbone rocks. If it wasn't for me playing with Florida's equally awesome playbook, I might be switching.
- Pass Rush is definitely an issue. If your DL isn't any good, you will get zero pass rush which IMO, is way unrealistic since everyone gets a pass rush...just sometimes not that effective. If your DL is good though, you will get a pass rush.
- Sliders definitely have little effect on the game. I know there's a patch coming, but it's definitely hurting the experience right now.
- Quarterbacks are way too accurate overall since there is no pass rush at times. However, quarterback accuracy overall seems much better despite the former, especially when a pass rush is in play.
- The game is much more balanced. I've given up 10, 20, and 13, 10, and 17 points in my first five games. Those were great defensive outings in NCAA 09 and it feels like it's the average this year.
- The tackling is better this year for sure, but I definitely think just from the videos Madden's will be better.
- Penalties: Where did thou disappear to? I've had a couple of games which they were present, but some games they just disappear completely.
- The crowd chants absolutely suck. The crowd on the other hand is standard NCAA fare.
- Commentary is the same old tired commentary. What was once the best VG commentary team is now getting stale quickly.
- My first game was with two TeamBuilder teams and they appeared just as I planned. Velma-Alma vs. Ringling never looked so good on a TV screen.
However, I am positively stoked about what this arrival really means: college football is just around the corner. As a Sooner fan, I definitely cannot wait for this season. Here are a couple of predictions:
-One of the almost consensus Top 3 (UF, UT, OU) will be a 2+ loss team in the regular season.
-Either Penn State or Ohio State will win 11 games.
-Notre Dame will have a BCS Bowl Season this year with their less than stellar schedule and plenty of talent.
-There won't be any mid-major Utah type of teams this year.
So what are your predictions? How will your team do? Who is winning each conference? Share your predictions now!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Surprise of 2009: UFC 2009 Undisputed - I honestly expected the game to be pretty good. Instead, it turned out to be a sleeper game of the year type of game.
Text-Sim of the Year: World of Mixed Martial Arts 2 - OOTP and Football Manager both could be here, but my favorite text-sim of the year 'so far' has been WMMA 2.
Game of the Year: MLB '09: The Show - I still think this game is one of the all-time greats. Many disagree, but the gameplay and experience is just spot on for me.
So what do you think? What are your awards? What other categories and winners would you include?
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
If you have me on your XBox Live friends list, you probably saw me playing FIFA 07 at different points of the day yesterday. I got a few messages from people wondering just why I was playing an older game. My answer: because I don't own a newer game of soccer, despite having played every edition of FIFA and PES since FIFA 07.
However, with the USA's recent run in the Confederations cup and their impending Gold Cup appearances in America, I can't help but feel the fever. So I popped my old copy of FIFA 07 in to enjoy despite the fact the game was 3 years old.
Over the years, I learned to enjoy the sport of soccer through soccer video games, be it Championship Manager, FIFA, or PES. From what I gather, I'm not alone in learning to like a new sport through sports gaming.
Through sports video games, I have been able to learn the basic ins and outs of each sport and somewhat pick up on some more advanced topics. Which brings me to my ultimate point in this blog: How much do sports/leagues realize how important successful games are to the growth of their brand? Furthermore, should leagues start checking the products of those games to ensure they will be positive influences to the sport?
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
But just for today, I want to share what I feel is the most annoying thing about sports video games, especially in this generation. It's half-hearted implementation of something that just ends up looking stupid, or it doesn't work, or it's just insignificant in it's implementation.
Examples: Empty desk at halftime in NBA 2K9. Mascots and 'better' sidelines in NCAA Football 09. Awesome looking fans, all four different types, in MLB 09: The Show.
I'm all for developers delivering these things to us (as my last week of blogs demonstrates). But don't insult our intelligence. If a halftime show is touted, I want to see a halftime show -- not some poor excuse that was put together abruptly and just looks bad. If a feature isn't going to be fully fleshed out, I'd rather that extra time had gone into making the gameplay better all around.
So what about you? What is your sports gaming pet peeve? Do you agree with me that half hearted implementation is annoying? What other things do you find annoying? Sound off!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Posted on June 26, 2009 at 02:05 PM.
My final category ties pretty much everything else I have said this week into one nice and neat package. Why can't developers get a good and proper broadcast presentation in their games?Some games are better at this than others. Some, like most EA Sports games, are just downright atrocious in their in-game presentation. However, I challenge anyone to watch one full game of any sports video game from any company and one full game of the same sport on real TV and explain why the video game falls short (or should it be, falls way short) every time.
I think it comes down to -- moreso than the gameplay -- the simple fact that sports games don't look anything like a broadcast. Their cut-scenes are tired and repetitive and they look nothing like a real broadcast because of terrible crowds, empty bench areas, no player interactions, or any other number of reasons.
I think the only way for games to ever feel realistic is for them to try to appear as close to a sports TV broadcast as possible. There is absolutely no way these games will be able to feel like playing in a real game at the stadium because the medium doesn't allow for that. So why do developers not try to emulate TV broadcasts with their games? In my opinion, it's so simple a formula that it's kind of weird that no one has mastered this yet or even tried to get it 100% down.
So what do you think? Why aren't sports gaming developers getting TV broadcast style presentation down? Will we ever see this done? What is holding companies back? Sound off!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
First off, I'm defining the bench areas as everywhere on the field surface between the crowd and the playing field. So this includes photographers, media folks, famous people, backup players, coaches, etc.
I'm sick of terrible looking, sparse player models around the bench areas with no chain gangs, media personnel, in sight for football games. For basketball games, the bench players typically look bad, and they have no animation to them really (or it's overly canned). In baseball, the dugouts are just forgotten with few players and no managers or anything in sight.
Sure, I know this isn't something that will make a game play better for sports like football, basketball or baseball. But it will definitely make the game feel more realistic. Just as a model for success, NBA 2K9's benches are pretty good. However, they still fall a bit short of what I'd like to see.
Coaches need to be involved in the game, players need to be excited when their teammates make plays. Photographers should be trying to get their shot and all the other things you'd expect from a bench area in sports. The closer a game looks to the real thing, the more forgiving people will be of it's flaws. MLB: The Show and NBA 2Kx have been excellent examples of minor flaws being forgiven (by many, but not by all) for their attention to detail in other sections of the game.
So what do you think? Are you sick of terrible football sidelines? What about lifeless basketball bench areas? And then there are the empty or lifeless dugouts in baseball games. Do you think bench areas should be improved?
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Posted on June 24, 2009 at 12:49 PM.
Apparently, Derek Jeter is a ghost.For the longest time, he has ran through his fellow digital replications on the baseball diamond whenever the camera gets close to him. I once saw him run straight through the wall chasing a foul ball!
It seems that developers, even in 2009, can't get player interactions right.
No matter the sport, no matter the game, no matter the company. Players go straight through each other or objects in their environment, sometimes even when the ball is in play. And even if the ball is in play, they sometimes tend to bounce off things and each other with no sign they are hitting stuff.
I think the visual aspect of a game (and thus the realism factor) would be greatly enhanced if players interacted properly with their environments. If two football players bump shoulders on the field, we should see that happen. If two guys are jostling for positioning in the paint, we should see something more than a single canned animation. Sports gaming just feels so scripted overall because of the lack of player interaction.
What do you think? Are player interactions a big deal to you? Do you think a game does this head and shoulders above the rest? Let's get some talk started on this subject...now!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
There are two aspects of the crowd which I have to rant about: graphically and audibly.
First off, dynamic attendance in this day and age should be standard. Secondly, there should never be more than one single fan model in close-ups at any one time. This is 2009, where are the advancements graphically? We're getting better, but we are far from perfect.
The second aspect, and the one I find to be most important is the sound. General crowd noise. Chants. Cheers. Jeers. Hecklers. Venders. Pandemonium. The wave. Camera flashes timed appropriately. Realistic noises based on crowd size. Realistic decibel levels based upon stadiums. People walking around. Where is all of this?
Why are we still stuck with the same monotonous crowds? I went back and played a few sports games from the turn of the millennium and I swear the crowds are now only marginally better in the sound department. In some cases, the old games were better. We are much more unforgiving nowadays with our games. To have one of the biggest pieces of the game being far from right is a downright shame in this writers opinion.
Why haven't developers gotten crowds right on a consistent basis? What is so hard about hearing what crowds sound like and getting the audio right? What games have particularly strong performances in this category?
Monday, June 22, 2009
Posted on June 22, 2009 at 12:09 PM.
I'm starting a new series of blogs this week looking at things that I still can't believe sports gaming developers are not doing correct. Part one of this five part series looks at the simplest aspect of sports games, at least I would think so: running animations.It is now June 22, 2009. I have yet to see a sports game look completely realistic in regards to player movements. Players still don't run or walk realistically in any sports game. Some are better than others, but some like in any football game I have ever played, just look absolutely wrong.
I think the thing that gets me is the simple fact people run differently and in games, everyone runs the same. That makes the entire experience look totally unrealistic because the game instantly feels artificial.
My solution is simple: if you are going to motion capture running, make sure you capture running animations for a few dozen different athletes. Otherwise, the game is going to feel 100% artificial. If you aren't going to mo-cap, have the common sense to know people don't run the same. A 300 pounder does not run near the same as a 215 pounder.
So what do you think? Which games have the best running animation(s)? How do you think this could be perfected in a sports game?
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