Thursday, July 30, 2009
The first and most obvious thing that happens when revenues drop in business is that expenditures also tend to drop to compensate so you can maintain a profit. If the declining sales become the new normal, studios will begin cutting back on positions which aren't necessary to see games completed. The second option would be to cut actual projects which aren't as profitable. And the third option is to cut down the sizes of existing projects.
That third option is particularly scary for us. What if the size of development teams for sports games was cut 5-10%? How much of an impact on innovation and quality would be come to expect? Those are all questions which cannot be answered, but we do know sports game developers have an almost impossible time putting out bug free releases each year in the current environment.
So what do you think? Is there reason to worry about our favorite titles? Are you buying games like you normally did? Sound off!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
- You have to decide earlier when to pitch on option plays. Last year (and every NCAA before it) I would simply pitch the ball at the last second. You can't draw defenders in anymore and then pitch.
- Even more so than last year, you can't use speed burst all that often if you want to have a successful running game. Old habits indeed die hard.
- I have found man to man coverage works better than zone most of the time this year, unless I'm playing Boise State. Then it doesn't matter.
- Using line stunts is a must to get to the QB this year. The pass rush is inherently weak, so you have to use everything you can to get to the QB.
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.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
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!
Friday, June 5, 2009
I know many hardcore 2K5ers out there will still proclaim blasphemy or worse, proclaim how pathetic it is for Madden NFL to finally be a game worth playing. While I do somewhat agree with that sentiment, it should also be noted that All Pro Football 2K8 wasn't the greatest game either. So part of the next-gen hex for Madden is probably not limited to any single company.
My judgment on this comes from looking at the same videos and digesting the same information you guys have all digested as well. This year's game just looks as if it will play much different. I'm disappointed in a few things for sure. But with yearly sports video games franchises, it's normal.
So officially count me in on the bandwagon, I'm a true believer in this year's edition. If it fails to deliver, I cannot imagine the firestorm waiting for the folks behind the Madden brand. However, I think that's not even going to be an issue when August rolls around.
What do you think? Are you a believer yet? If so why? If not, what gives you (understandably so) pause?
Friday, April 3, 2009
Don't get me wrong, there are glitches out there and people do exploit them and it should drive you batty. But I'm beginning to see a trend among 'sim' gamers that whenever they play someone online that doesn't fit exactly into how a team is 'supposed' to play, they flip out claiming they were cheated.
I saw someone complaining on a forum once that they played the Lakers online and the guy used Kobe to score 70 points on him and was claiming it as cheese. Another guy was furious that he played Dallas online and the guy he was playing only ran the ball five or six times.
Maybe I'm in the minority, but I don't believe these are cases which cheese was employed. If I was playing the guy, I would've sold out to the pass and set up a defense to contain Kobe a bit more. If someone is playing with a stupid game-plan against you and it just happens to work, perhaps it is you that needs to look in the mirror and re-evaluate things?
So what do you think? What is the exact definition of cheese in your book? What is sim? Is cheesing really just glitching? All good questions to consider, let's hear your thoughts.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
My first issue?
What's up with stadiums always being filled to capacity in most next-gen sports games? Why can't we have realistic dynamic attendance?
It bugs me, I really want to know why the Houston Cougars have a full stadium when they are playing UL Monroe in the middle of a rainstorm in September. Why do the Sacramento Kings play to a full house every night? Why are there people actually in the stands for a Marlins game? Does this bug anyone else as much as it does me?
Monday, March 16, 2009
(and be sure to look up the likes of Steve, Chase, Matt, etc. from OS)
http://www.twitter.com/chrissnr
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
MLB 2K9 Review - Either late tonight or tomorrow morning.
The Show Review - Friday or Saturday, depending on how much time I can spend with the game.
So once again sorry for the delayed posting of both reviews, but we are trying to ensure each is of the best quality possible before we post them for your guys' sake!
Monday, March 2, 2009
So if you are on the fence about the game, hopefully the review helps you out one way or another!
Just as a side note, our MLB 09: The Show review will be coming much later, by late Friday at the earliest since I won't get a copy until everyone else does at midnight tonight. Unfortunately I couldn't find the game early over the weekend!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Posted on February 25, 2009 at 03:48 PM.
That's right, it seems as if OS is fully abuzz with spring fever as everyone gets ready for the quickly oncoming baseball game release dates. It may be the 70 degree high temperatures all week, or it may be the fact Spring Training games start today, but I am very excited about the grand old ballgame myself.Last year, I thought MLB '08: The Show was one of the best games of the year and this year's edition could be even better.
Major League Baseball 2K9 looks like it has undergone a massive improvement thanks to what could be the best sports gaming development studio -- Visual Concepts -- efforts.
As for my thoughts on my teams this year, I'm personally thinking that the Rangers could be contenders in the west if the pitching is improved any, which would be a pure individual effort and not because of any offseason moves. The other half of my love, the Yankees, are in the discussion as a World Champion type of team...I wonder why?
So what are your general thoughts about this baseball season, real or digital? I'm fired up, I'm sure lots of you are as well!
Monday, February 16, 2009
As I said in my review of 3 on 3 NHL Arcade, the gameplay is technically VERY solid. The problem with the game is that the resources just weren't dedicated to it and the game suffers from a lack of depth because of that.
In my (very) humble opinion, EA should look into doing something like this for the rest of their titles, except they should be sure to introduce some sort of a league or tournament system into the game -- something, anything to give the gamers a reason to play the game longer.
3 on 3 NHL Arcade is a game that I was neither happy or disappointed about, it is what it is. I enjoyed the first 10 or so games and actually was considering a much higher score at first, but the game just didn't have anything else to offer. Even at $10, the bang for the buck isn't there.
So my suggestion to EA Freestyle games going forward? Make sure you don't violate gaming law #1: give the gamers something to play for.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Posted on January 22, 2009 at 05:14 PM.
One trend I have seen taking over big budget sports games the past couple of years is that there are very few complete and utter duds in sports gaming anymore. I know some here want to proclaim some games as terrible, but I'm talking about the sports games like NBA Live 06 and NFL Gameday 2001. I'm talking about major releases with such large budgets that it is just a head scratcher how they turned out so terrible.
It seems like we don't have any incredible hits either for sports gaming out of these titles either. There are a ton of extremely good titles as well, such as NHL 09, MLB '08: The Show (soon to be 09) and NBA 2K9. But there are no incredibly great titles.
You know the games I'm talking about. Games which you could play for years and not get bored with them. Some people have preferences of some games over others, but there aren't any games that are reviewing all that high across the board anymore.
My theory is that the development time needed to produce great games in this generation is around 2-3 years. When you take sports games which are developed over 12 months, you just can't get everything accomplished you want to. On the same token, I think studios are experienced enough not to completely drop the ball and create a truly terrible game nowadays.
So what do you think? Are there any historically good or bad sports games out there I'm overlooking? Why do you think games aren't achieving greatness in this generation?
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