Month: September 2005

Holy crap; Ohio just beat Pitt on an INT returned for a TD in overtime! Just another reason why college football rules.

Needless to say, Hook ’em, and Go Dawgs, Go!

I think I have only seen two complete episodes of Battlestar Galactica; maybe 3-5 parts of a few other episodes. Even so, it is obvious that BSG is about the best thing to happen to TV since the Braves won the World Series.

Seriously, I never get to see BSG on the SciFi network (Friday nights suck for TV watching), but tonight I did get to watch what I would have to consider great TV. Not just good TV, but *great* TV. BSG is that rare breed of show that completely sucks you in and has you begging for the next week’s episode. It is that good.

I did not watch the mini-series or the first few episodes of Season One because I did not really appreciate the concept of someone screwing around with a series that I grew up loving. Forget the fact that the original series is pretty cheesy by today’s standards; I am the type of fan that pre-ordered the Cyclon boxed set when the original series was announced. Sure, call me a purist, but I did not like the idea of an updated version of Battlestar. It would never work. How could it?

Slowly, but surely they hype stared. The good word spread. Trusted bloggers like Chris called BSG sliced bread. Now here I am pre-ordering BSG Season One (complete with the mini-series no less) because the few minutes I have enjoyed of the new BSG have been so unbelievably f’ing awesome. I cannot wait until September 20!

There’s a clueless rFactor noob guide available for folks like me that need an actual manual to figure out the game. First Out of the Park Baseball ships with no manual, and now rFactor. These games evolve so much that I guess I can understand this, but if World of Warcraft can ship with a manual, every game should. WoW has changed so much since launch that much of the info in the manual is useless.

I tried driving on the race track in the wrong direction and was promptly fined 100 credits for the stunt. Have to start a new driver now…

Here is a list with the leagues included in FIFA Manager 06. MLS 1st and 2nd Division are present.

It appears that the MLS will be in FIFA Manager 06. A post by the developers in the EA Sports forum contained a link to a site with a picture from the full version of the game. An option to select the USA was on the screen. In the demo, I could choose an MLS team as my favorite and there was news from the MLS about transfers, etc.

Yet another must have game for the PC.

I’ll post more demo impressions later, but other than some oddities with the 3-D match engine, I’m liking what I see. Why can’t we make this kind of stuff for American baseball? I really enjoyed being able to talk to the press before and after the fixture. My team (Chelsea) gave up a late goal after leading 2-0 for most of the game. Sure enough, the press wanted to know what I thought about my boys giving up the goal. I had three response options (soft, hard, and harder), so I let my team know through the press that this sort of unfocused play would not be tolerated during the Johnson tenure.

The good thing about not following European football too closely is that I’m not biased one way or the other as far as realism goes. But check out the feature-rich demo and take a look for yourself.

The game is scheduled for release October 5th. I imagine this will not be released in the US, so it will have to be shipped from overseas.

It’s out at Gamespot and probably other sites.

Some of you may be scratching your heads, but Total Control Manager is now “FIFA Manager” and there is a new demo available. TCM is sort of the Madden of European football sims. Sort of. It takes all sorts of abuse from the 2-D Football Manager crowd for not being realistic, but I do enjoy watching actual player animations as opposed to little circles in match view.

There’s a lot more to do in FIFA Manager and there will probably be an MLS patch for this version as there has been for every previous TCM. Head over to the official web site for more info and the 670+ MB demo.

I hate being an EA Sports defender, but enough is enough. I am just as picky as the next hardcore fan when it comes to realism in sports games. I just don�t really apply that standard to Madden. Compared to what Madden started out as, it is much, much improved over the years. People seem to forget that at one point there was no adequate running game or defensive back coverage in Madden. So on the field, I like the improvements. I am a passing cone fan both conceptually and because it allows me (the defender) to see where the QB is looking. Since my 42 year-old eyesight can�t exactly pinpoint the little QB eyeballs on my LCD panel, I like seeing the cone move around the field.

But forget about the franchise and �Superstar� modes.

I should state up front that I am not a big fan of football simulations. The seasons are too short and unless you include a full blown collegiate model, there�s just not that much going on compared to other sports like baseball, soccer, and even hockey. So I never purchase a football game with the idea that I am going to play through seasons, unless it�s a text game. And I find all current text-based football games just as boring as arcade products as far as franchise modes go.

Madden shines on the field. This year punt returns are a problem, but compared to the problems in other versions, I can live with this. Madden also shines as an IP to IP game. I enjoy football games against other human beings much in the same way that text-games are much more fun against live opponents.

Both of these are worth $39 in my book. Will I spend countless hours with Madden NFL 06? Nope, I certainly won�t. Will I fire it up to play other gamers that I know? Yes, I certainly will.

Besides there are too many other good PC games out right now (World Of Warcraft, Out of the Park Baseball, and rFactor to name a few), so I don�t need another major distraction. But if anybody wants to come down to Reliant Stadium and get a good old fashioned Bayou City beating, I�ll be ready.

Stay away from rFactor if you want to have a life! I turned up the graphics to their highest setting, and they are gorgeous. From what I gather so far, you start off in the kiddie circuit and have to prove yourself in order to get car improvements and advance to higher ranked races. This is a racing sim, so the physics are realistic. This isn’t Need for Speed or GT4, so be careful through the turns.

rFactor seems quite a steal at $39.99. I’ll try some online racing once I can get around the track once without spinning out into a wall.

I broke down and purchased rFactor this evening based on Geoff’s recommendation. He may take his licks in OOTP and Madden (although, he did beat me the last game we played), but Geoff knows racing. The man’s been raving about it since the official release and he’s hardly ever available online in the evenings anymore. These are clear signs of a great game.

Geoff is modest, but he happens to actually race real cars on real tracks – as a hobby. So I am willing to believe him when he says that rFactor is the best thing since sliced bread.

Was reading a recent news brief about a US submarine that hit a merchant vessel and I was struck by how little accountability there is in the federal government. This poor submarine captain’s career is over. No matter what the reason was for the collision, there just isn’t any excuse that will save his career. He is the captain. He is responsible for his ship. Period.

Contrast that to FEMA and the government’s response to the situation in New Orleans. Does anyone believe that this same accountability standard will be applied to FEMA’s chain of command?

Nice opening weekend of college football. I think I watched all or parts of 10 different games, with TCU vs. Oklahoma, Boise State vs. Georgia, and Georgia Tech vs. Auburn getting the majority of my attention. Some random thoughts follow.

TCU took care of the Sooners, which has to be considered the shocker of the weekend. I assume that Stoops and company just assumed that they would win, but obviously assuming makes an ass out of the best of us. Peterson was never a factor, except for some decent runs that he stringed together on the opening TD drive to start the second half. In short, Adrian Peterson’s Heisman hopes were swallowed by the Hornfrogs.

I think Tennessee also underestimated their opponent (the Blazers of UAB), but unlike Oklahoma, the Volunteers managed to escape with a victory. I have to assume that Tennessee is much better than they played; after all they have been hyped like crazy this preseason.

Man does Zook suck or what? Illinois barely escaped Rutgers, winning in overtime 33-30. I am sure that Zook is a decent guy and all, but he ran Florida into the ground (not that I am complaining) and I see no chance for him pulling Illinois to the top of the Big 10.

The Weis era got off to a great start as Notre Dame easily dispatched Pitt 42-21. To be honest, I never considered Pitt much of anything, but I did not think Notre Dame would score that many points. The obvious question – is Notre Dame that good or is Pitt that bad?

Texas destroyed the Ragin Cajuns (La Lafayette) 60-3, which was hardly surprising. This game was little more than a tune up for Ohio State next weekend. I got to watched some of the game, but to be honest I am not sure that I learned anything about this year’s Longhorns. Next week’s game is going to be awesome and should define what sort of season is in store for Texas (and Ohio State).

How about the ACC? Of course I dislike the Bumblebees and the Tigers, but the Georgia Tech vs. Auburn game was plenty good (Tech won 23-14). I guess if Tech was going to surprise anyone, the first game of the season is the time to do the needful. Another exciting game was Clemson’s last second victory over Texas A&M; Clemson won 25-24.

I guess the weekend games mean that the Big 12 and the SEC are both down this year. Early days, but something to think about.

The Dawgs easily took care of the Broncos from Boise State 48-13, and DJ Shockley looked damn impressive in the process. The Dawgs came out running, which is what I was hoping they would do – DJ hands off to the left; DJ hands off to the right; DJ up the middle. It worked very well, but little did I know that Shockley would pass for 5 TDs! His final numbers were 16-24-5, good for 290 yards in the air, but DJ was equally impressive on the ground gaining 85 yards on 5 carries (17 yards/rush) including a TD. Wow! What a way for the Shockley era to begin.

Georgia could be in for an interesting ride this year � tons of talent is gone from both sides of the ball, but under Richt Georgia has recruited very well. With three stud running backs in the fold – Brown, Ware, and Lumpkin – I think Georgia should be in good shape. If Lumpkin is fully recovered, expect him to beat out Brown and Ware for the top HB spot.

The real question is going to be if DJ Shockley can be a productive QB. If he is, then Georgia may have a good year, maybe even a very good year. If DJ struggles early, then the Dawgs are going to be in for a long year.

Boise State is certainly a scary early test, but I see no reason why Georgia should not win with several points in hand. Everyone is making this game out to be the favorite pick for an upset, but I just do not see it happening. The game could be tight early, or even high scoring, but in the end I think Georgia will walk away with a win. Call it 34-17 for the opening salvo in the Shockley era.

Who? Jay Cutler, the famously unknown QB at Vanderbilt. Contradiction? Sure, but most people do not have a clue about Cutler, much less his NFL potential. Apparently all the NFL scouts love Cutler – great size, wonderful arm, perfect prototype QB. I am not sure how many preseason publications I read this year, but almost everyone in the “know” thinks the Vandy QB is the next big thing.

Most of us SEC fans think “WTF?” Surely Vanderbilt does not have the best QB in the SEC, but in Vanderbilt’s 24-20 victory over Wake Forest last Thursday night, Cutler put up impressive numbers: 25-36-1, good for 276 yards. Cutler also ran the ball 10 times for 89 yards.

Going into this season I never expected Cutler to be the best QB in the SEC, but Cutler looks like he is going to prove the pundits wrong. Should be an interesting season.