The Recycle Bin

Whenever I disappear for several days, it is always the same old song and dance.  Something at work usually pops up and distracts me from gaming and blogging for several days.  Work plus after work activities (that would be beer) keep me away from you, my eager readers; all two or three of you.  It is funny how much work gets done, and how many important decisions get made, over drinks.  Way of the world I guess.

Not sure what this week will be like.  I always run low on gaming on weeks before I travel, so I assume this week will be no different as I get ready to jet to Scotland next weekend.  Flight-time is PSP-time, but I just have not been feeling it lately for the PSP.  I am considering dumping it for a Nintendo DS, but there is not enough time to get this sorted before the trip.  Maybe some sort of new game will do me right, but I kind of doubt it.

Today is Brickyard day, which means ribs and beer in a little while.  Of course I take any excuse I can find to bust out the grill and throw on some quality BBQ.  And delicious Miller Lite on a hot day.  Yum.

Happy Sunday!

Seems all of those rosey iPhone activation numbers were incorrect according to this report. While I am not quite ready to call it an “iToy” like my friends are, it is clear that Apple may have overestimated how much people are willing to pay for a cute, underperforming cellular phone. The math is simple. No active synch = no sale for many, many cel phone users.

I have not had much time to play NCAA Football 08 today (I am only doing quick play and Campus Legend mode right now) , but I did finish out a week.  UGA improved to 2-2 with a nice 34-24 win over Alabama.  As the number three HB, I saw limited action, which brings me to the point of this post.

After the Bama game, I managed to move up to #2 on the depth charts, and if I had a decent set of practices, I would have been the starting HB for the Ole Miss game.  The funny thing about sports games is that this is completely unrealistic, but of course it is fun.  I assume most gamers would not want to ride the bench game after game, so EA had to do something (i.e. practices to move up the depth chart) to engage the casual fans.

It is really not that big a deal to me, and I would gladly have the developers implement a more realistic system if they actually used players similar to real life.  It is fairly typical for UGA to employ the third-string back more than I have been employed in the first four games.  In the end it does not matter, because I am second-string for game number five, and will be starting by game six.

As I said, it is not realistic, but it is fun, which is the reason I continue to play the game.

I am not sure I have seen such a crazy start to a race. As I was waiting for the race to start, and the rain to come, I told myself “rain makes everything fun” and sure enough, things got crazy in a hurry. I am not sure I have ever seen 4-6 cars go off at the same point on the track. I remember Sao Paulo a few years back being so wet that a lot of cars (including one Michael Schumacher) went off, but I am not sure if it was anything like today’s Europe Grand Prix.

Poor Kimi got hosed trying to make his first stop. I am not sure if he was told to stay out, if he was going in too fast, or if missing a turn right before the pit gave him an “unfair” advantage. Or he just made a mistake; did not see a replay to see what really happened.  Either way, he lost his pole advantage, going from first to sitting at seventh waiting for the restart. Too bad because Hamilton is struggling (he was one of the ones to go off, but managed to keep the engine running) and this could be a good opportunity to make up some points.

I guess it is about that time of year again. I load up on football annuals, and then along comes a new version of NCAA Football. And the waiting and anticipating begins. Thankfully, this year’s NCAA Football 08 Campus Legend mode gives me a way to hold steady until September 1, when the Cowboys from Oklahoma State come a calling. I am getting ahead of myself.

I started a Campus Legend as a speedy HB at Shaw High School (Columbus, GA for those keeping score at home). After each of my first three wins I was rated as a 4-star recruit, but after having a decent championship game, as a 5-star recruit, I was presented with a meal ticket to pretty much any school in the country. Decisions, decisions. Go to Texas as the third-string HB, or stay in state at that little school in Athens, GA as the fifth-string HB. I realize my lifetime dream of becoming a Georgia Bulldog.

Glory, glory to old Georgia!
Glory, glory to old Georgia!
Glory, glory to old Georgia!
G-E-O-R-G-I-A.
Glory, glory to old Georgia!
Glory, glory to old Georgia!
Glory, glory to old Georgia!
G-E-O-R-G-I-A.

I am not really that great a video games; never have been, and going down hill quickly with age. I only had to overcome 10 points to become fourth-string, and 10 more points to become third-string. I have 128 to make up if I want to be second string. Kregg Lumpkin, Thomas Brown, Knowshon Moreno; I want your job.

Georgia fans better divert their eyes. Oklahoma State pulls off a 28-25 upset, followed by a 39-13 spanking from South Carolina. Ouch. Double ouch. I did not see any action in the first two games. That has to be the reason for our early struggles. What a disaster of a season. One of the things that is really great about Campus Legend mode is that you do not get to call plays or pick your role; the CPU does all the handy work.

Our next game was against Podunk State (or some such 1AA or Bowl Division school). After we went up 30-0 at the half, I finally got my moment to shine. Georgia tallies up a 68-0 thrashing of this opponent, behind my 128 rushing yards and 3 TDs (and a receiving TD). I am feeling it baby, I am feeling it!

Go Dawgs!

Last weekend I finally cracked out Oblivion The Elder Scrolls IV for the PS3, but unfortunately I now have NCAA Football, with Madden lurking in the wings.  I hope I can get my money’s worth from this game, but it took me almost two months to open the game, so I have a feeling this could wind up as a wasted impulse purchase.

I think the PS3’s library takes a lot of grief, but I have an excellent racer in F1CE, Resistance is a great FPS (if I were into that sort of thing), Oblivion looks to be the real deal for role playing action, and while the jury is still out on NCAA Football 08, I think it is shaping up to be a quality title.

Back to Oblivion.  First impressions – great graphics (I am a card carrying CGW – casual gaming whore), engrossing combat system, and extremely deep environments (pull arrows out of dead guys).  No way I can do the game just now.  I am into Oblivion, but NCAA may get in the way.

The game is growing on me, now that I am finally starting to pickup (but not yet master) the controls.  After being frustrated a couple of nights ago I took it to the practice field and figured out how to throw the ball.  Apparently the game expects very sensitive use of the PS3 buttons.  A very light tap will lob the ball, gaining some much needed air, while anything else all but ensures a bullet type pass.  I guess practice makes perfect, because I am becoming increasingly successful at the passing the ball.

I just finished up a game as North Texas; I demolished Mississippi State 28-10.  I know the competition was not that great, but it was still a nice victory.  All the scoring took place in the 2nd and 4th quarters.

I took an early 14-0 lead, but on the ensuing kickoff, the Bulldogs run one back for a TD, making the score 14-7.  I accidentally pressed the pitch-out button, causing a fumble.  Oops.  My defense held, forcing the Bulldogs into a 35 yard field goal attempt.  Wide right!  After both teams suffered through three and out series, my punt returner fumbled the ball inside the 10 with 40 seconds left in the half.  Damn.  Comeback API?  I managed to hold the CPU to a field goal, ending the half 14-10.

I managed to pull away in the 4th quarter, thanks to a couple of interceptions.  I wore down the Bulldog defense with a clock controlling ground attack, which allowed me to take a harder than it looked 28-10 victory.

As an example of getting better at passing, I managed to go 13-17, 168 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, good for a 178.8 QB rating.  Six different receivers caught passes, and I managed to avoid being sacked (that is a first).  Mississippi State put up a decent offensive attack, racking up 11 first downs to my 10.  TOP was 9:00 to 11:04 in my favor.  The Bulldogs could not get a decent running game going, and 3 INTs pretty much spelled their demise.

Fun stuff.

After a few more game, I am completely frustrated with passing in NCAA 08.  Things are getting better, but at this point it appears that all passes are on the same plane.  There is no concept of airing one out, lobbing a pass, or putting touch on the ball.  Maybe I am missing something, but I do not have time or the inclination to mess around with sliders.

Past versions of NCAA football suffered from being able to lob the ball over defenders and they hapless (and helplessly) watched receivers pull in the ball.  NCAA Football 08 goes to the opposite extreme.  Time after time I have a defender beat, but they manage to easily step in front of the ball and knock it down.  I guess I am going to have to start searching various message boards to see if this is a problem or if it is just me showing my age and inability to grasp the complexities of modern video game football.

Frustrated in Columbus.

I got to put in a few minutes of NCAA 08; 3 quarters to be precise, and my first impressions are not pretty. Let me rephrase this; I suck at the game. UGA vs. GA Tech; it should not have been so bad for the Bulldogs.

From a cosmetic standpoint, I have no idea about the 30 fps vs. 60 fps deal. The game ran smoothly, with no stuttering or slowdown. The graphics, while certainly pretty at 720p, seemed to be more cartoonish instead of realistic. I guess this has something to do with the vivid colors. It bothers me that the players look like they are on top of the grass instead of actually playing on the grass. Cosmetic and all, so I guess it does not really matter.

On to things that matter. If I have Matthew Stafford, I should be able to pass the f’ing ball with some success. I can chalk up some of my mishaps to just not having the timing down on a new game, but that can only take us so far. I could not believe my eyes when I watch a reply of the ball hitting my receiver’s facemask, and then falling to the ground. The announcers made a comment about the great defensive play, but give me a break. My dude dropped the ball.

I had a solid six sacks, and went something like 4-10 before Stafford was knocked out of the game. Blake Barnes did not do much better, going 2-6 before I had to stop playing, down 20-3 at the end of the 3rd qtr. I know Georgia’s receivers are not top flight, but I hope things will get better once I get the hang of the game.

I hate the new play calling screen; it is too damn limiting to only see four plays at a time. Once again minor stuff, but I suffered through several delay of games just trying to find a decent play.

The pre-play options on offense and defense are pretty nice. On defense you can easily setup a LB blitz and call for certain pass coverage.

I do not mean to be negative, but these are very first impressions. It is kind of bad coming from me, because I am normally all about a new release of NCAA Football. Hopefully more time and effort will provide for a better experience.

NCAA Football 08 is sitting on my front porch, waiting for me to get home and give it a go. There’s only one problem. Tonight is my wife’s birthday. So dinner, getting the kids to bed, and maybe some downtime. I did not really time this one very well. Maybe some impressions later night, but I need to report on Super Stardust HD, and Oblivion Elder Scrolls IV. Too many games; too little time.

This is a TV-MA review, but a quite funny comparison between the Nokia E70 and the Apple iPhone.

Well, I was just about to make the case in the Johnson household for a new PlayStation 3. Turns out Jonathan was correct – Sony is phasing out the 60 GB model. Talk about a company that simply doesn’t get it. Looks like I’ll be waiting some more…

A few weeks ago I picked up Planet Earth (the BBC narration version) from Amazon for $66.95, which is price as far as my normal DVD purchases go, but well worth the money.  I have seen enough of the episodes on Discovery HD to know what to expect, but oh my goodness, this set looks incredible.  I am not sure what makes the difference – the Sony BRAVIA KDL-40V2500, the PS3, the HDMI combination for 1080p, or Blu-ray.  If you want a way to show off a high-def set, this is the way to do it up right.

Last week, my boys and I watched the original Star Wars Trilogy; I hate that I have to qualify it with the “original” moniker.  While these are the newer DVD versions with all the pretty blinky lights, beautiful explosions, and all the other eye candy, I have to report that Star Wars has never looked better!  The PS3 upscaling is incredible.  While I am not any sort of HD expert, I do know that this is the best looking Star Wars that I have even seen.

I doubt I will be picking up APF 2K8 for the PS3.  At some point maybe I will give it a go via a rental, but after downloading a video from the PlayStation Store, the game looks … well … like a bad version of amateur football.  The actual gameplay may be pretty good, and the graphics are fine, but there is no way I am going to get past the NFL Europe (or worse) uniforms.  OK, call me superficial, but that is the way I feel.

Time to admit that I was never a big fan of the 2K series; I know it has a strong following among gamers that are bored, burned out, and generally frustrated with EA Sports’ brand of football as seen yearly in each Madden and NCAA Football release.  I enjoyed the first release for the DreamCast, but I enjoy NCAA (or Madden) more than the various 2K releases.

APF has some interesting ideas – Hall of Fame caliber players could be fun, but I cannot get past the blandness of it all; I do not want generic football.  I do not mind going generic with some sports titles if the game is great (see OOTPB), but I am long past the point where I enjoy playing unlicensed console games.  It is really kind of funny (maybe even pathetic), but I do not mind doing fantasy drafts (Vince Young to the Falcons; Vick to the dogpile) in Madden.  The difference is that it is still the licensed players and still the licensed teams.

As I get older, I continue to slant more and more towards the middle.  I admit to having casual gamer syndrome (CGS), but I wish 2K all the best of luck.  Hopefully the game is decent, sees enough sells to make apply some pressure to EA, and eventually spurs more improvements in Madden or NCAA Football.

I am not sure WTF is wrong with Sony, but the miscommunication around the recent price drop announcement is appalling.  Honestly, I could care less about the price drop; I am comfortable with my purchase of my 60GB PS3 for $599.  With that said, a price drop will sell more systems, and more systems, eventually will mean more games.

As of right now, while there is a “price drop” of $100 for the 60GB PS3, apparently Sony has no desire to keep the PS3 at a $499 price point.  If all the rumors are true, the 60GB PS3 is no longer in production, which means that the new 80GB PS3 (due in August), priced at $599, will eventually be the only PS3 available.  So the price drop is really a temporary price reduction or a discount for a discontinued system.  Spin it however you will.

Confused?  Message boards, blogs, and gaming sites are all ripping Sony for not really having a true price cut.  This is somewhat warranted, but then again I think many gamers realize that Sony has thousands (maybe even a few hundred thousand to a million) 60GB PS3 sitting in warehouses, so the strategy is a good way to clear out inventory.  It is also a good strategy to get PS3 systems in the hands of potential buyers that have been holding out for a better deal.  $599 is simply too much for the mass market to absorb, regardless of value (Blu-ray, Bluetooth, HDMI, etc).

I can only assume that Sony plans to drop the price of the 80GB PS3 to $499 once the 60GB PS3 is no longer available, but they cannot show that hand now or the 60GB PS3 systems would stagnate as gamers pick the “better” version (more = better).