Month: July 2008

Of course my comments are for the PS3 version. Out of the gate, I like this one, although it does still have some of the more of the same feel. For some, dare I say long time fans of the series, that may be a good thing, but for others looking for a different football experience, this demo does not do the trick.

The demo is fairly limited. You get to play with LSU or Ohio St, at Ohio State, with two minute quarters. I have no idea about the skill level (or other settings). You also get to play a Mascot game at Florida against Texas.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the graphics are better than what we saw last year. The field looks terrific, the players have nice animations, the stadiums (the two in the demo) look terrific, but the crowds still look somewhat ho-hum. I noticed some collision problems, where players slide and blend into other players, but I have not played enough to know if graphics collisions actually impact gameplay.

I have been able to put together a couple of nice long drives (15+ plays), I have seen the CPU miss what I consider to be easy field goals, and I have seen the CPU fake a punt. I have also watched the CPU complete passes in triple coverage, but I have not seen too many crazy route jumping DBs/LBs. There has been at least one INT where the ball stayed up way too long, bouncing around, begging to be intercepted.

Since there is such a limited roster of teams, I actually played the mascot game, but this is not really my cup of tea. My two oldest kids (9 and 6 years old) enjoyed watching the mascots get it on, but I really do not see why this would appeal to anyone except a bunch of drunken college students. My only real comment here is that the mascot game suffered from a lot of collision detection problems.

One interesting new “feature” is play recognition sequence that has appeared after a couple of turnovers. If you can pick the correct defensive coverage you can keep your composure, but if you guess incorrectly, you lose some composure. Depending on how the system is implemented, it should (or maybe I should say could) give some interesting home field advantage feeling to the game. Hopefully it is not over done.

Speaking of home field advantage, during one goal line sequence, my Dual Shock 3 controller was going crazy as the Ohio St. faithful were cheering like crazy for a stop. And stop me they did on four straight attempts to push the ball across the goal line. What? You did not expect me to play with Ohio St did you? Anyway, the crowd seemed to go nuts.

My wife says the cheerleaders are skimpy. I did not pay too much attention, but they do look better than the horse models from last year.

I will keep playing for a couple of weeks until the full game arrives. Hopefully, no real game killers will reveal their ugly heads.

For the first time in 6-8 weeks I decided to put something in the PS3 other than a Blu-ray movie. First up was Gran Turismo 5. Yes, I am a sucker for the series. Yes, I know it does not have the best racing. Yes, I could really care less. I just enjoy the series.

At this point I am still not very far in the game. I have the C series completed, but need to get a Gold Trophy in a couple of events. Cappaccino Time Target; I am still a little over a second from Silver. Honda Integra Mission Race (the one at Daytona); I am 1.1 seconds from passing the lead car. Maybe this says I suck. Don’t know, but I enjoy the challenge of trying to overtake at Daytona.

I have also spent some quality time with Super Stardust HD. This game is only of my all time favorite shooters. My score of 5 point something million is only good for mid 50K on the leader board. Doubt I will ever get much better, but you never know.

Yesterday I download the NCAA Football 09 demo, but have only spent a few minutes with the game. My only real thoughts at this point are that the graphics look a lot better. The semi-cartoony look of the 08 game is a thing of the past.

All for now. Good gaming!

The Braves continue to struggle, in what has to be one of the more disappointing seasons in recent memory. Injuries have plagued the team. This is really an All Star list that goes a long way towards summarizing the Braves season:

• Smoltz and Moylan are done for the year.
• Who knows if Hampton will ever pitch again?
• Glavine, Soriano, Gonzalez, Diaz, Omar Infante, Martin Prado, and Kotsay (and probably a few others I may have missed) have all spent time on the DL.
• Chipper Jones and Yunel Escobar have managed to avoid time on the DL, but have been banged up of late.

Other teams have their share of injuries, but this is a little out of control. It is amazing, and a testament to Cox, that the Braves are only 5 games under .500.

In the next couple of weeks the Braves have some difficult decisions. Are they still in the East division race? Seven games back is not impossible to overcome, but it certainly will not be easy. What about the Wild Card race? I think it will be extremely difficult to overtake St. Louis, and Milwaukee (among others). Teixeira will be the meal ticket to pick up new prospects, but I do not know what the future holds at 1B. Hudson is the only other high priced veteran that the Braves could consider dumping to a contender for future help.

Regardless of the direction the Braves take, I hope they keep their core nucleus of young, upcoming players intact. It would be a damn shame for the Braves to move Jurrjens, McCann, Johnson, or Escobar. This will be a good opportunity to see inside the mind of GM Wren.

Francoeur is a mess. The Braves say he is only going to be in the minors for 2-3 weeks. The goal is to get Francoeur away from the distractions of Atlanta, and give him a chance to work out of his slump in a no pressure situation. Depending on what happens, the Braves will look like geniuses, or Francoeur will never be the same. I am keeping my fingers crossed that Francoeur gets his head straight.

It’s been a while, so let’s get things rolling quickly. First up is a classic

Pabst Blue Ribbon, henceforth referred to as “PBR,” has won numerous awards since its creation in 1844. It was even the beer the military gave to the troops in WWII. Since that time, however, PBR has sort of fallen out of the American beer drinking limelight. Overall, it has a decent taste and at $10.99 for 18, it’s semi-pricey. But PBR is a great way to “drink vintage” if that exists, thanks to its rich heritage and classic cans.

It is what all the cool kids are drinking.

OK, so I am not one of the cool kids, but I digress. Amstel Light is working for me right now. BBQ weekend will no doubt result in some delicious ribs, ribeye, and brats, washed down with Miller Lite and some High Life.

Happy almost 4th of July!