Category: Archive

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).

I came across an interesting article about Sony’s strategy with the PS3. Of course Sony has been telling us since day one that the PS3 is not just a gaming console. This article pretty much drives the point home. The bottom line is that Sony is putting all it’s eggs in the Blu-ray basket. Once again, this is nothing new, but it is rather revealing to see the strategy laid out so clearly.

Should PS3 owners be concerned about Sony’s PS3 strategy?

The bottom line: Sony’s PS3 serves multiple Sony goals, only one of which is being the big platform in the the gaming console market. It doesn’t have to outsell the Nintendo Wii or the XBox 360 for it to be successful; it only has to establish itself as a viable high-definition platform for next-generation developers, gamers, and movie watchers.

Another telling point is that Sony’s overall high-def strategy is working.

Sony’s Bravia line recently became the best selling LCD brand on a revenue basis, despite being third on a unit basis.

A couple of months ago I made a decision to purchase a PS3, not because of the current gaming library (as of May 2007), but because I wanted to take advantage of my Sony BRAVIA KDL-40V2500. That is not to say that I only wanted the PS3 for Blu-ray, but it Blu-ray played a significant factor in my purchase decision. At some point I knew the games would come. After reading this article PS3 owners have to wonder what happens to the PS3 if Microsoft and Nintendo decide to reload in 3-4 years with new consoles? Unless Sony can get major market share in a hurry, PS3 owners should be concerned.

Some of you reading this may not understand why baseball is such a great game. If you get the chance, watch an HBO documentary called “Brooklyn Dodgers: Ghosts” and I think you get a pretty good idea why so many people love this pastime. I hate the Yankees and am tired of hearing Red Sox fans whine about curses, so this was a refreshing take on being a baseball fan and what that really means to people.

Sometimes the good folks of the internet post the collective wisdom of the past. Case in point, Sony Corporation and the PS3. Next-Generation Systems has an excellent summary of the collective pearls of wisdom that dribbled from the lips of various folks about products during yesteryear.

You can’t make this stuff up it is so funny.

It seems that Sony is all over the map. First there was a leaked price cut, but it was not really a price cut. Not that big of a deal because rumors are often denied. Then there was a price cut, but now it may really be more of a price reduction of a system no longer being manufactured. Price cut confusion oh my.

I thought one of the interesting stories from E3 was a Codemasters’ interview that states that the PS3 will receive the best version of DiRT.

Listening to the interview makes me sound brilliant. Earlier this week I wrote that “they [Sony] are going to have to start offering free consulting services to the third party developers to help them with their porting efforts.” I have no idea how much money changed hands, but this is the right tactic for Sony. Help the third party developers make better games, but much like the price cut fiasco, it looks like Sony is sending mixed messages when it comes to third party support:

“If the games don’t look good on the platform, consumers aren’t going to buy them. As I said, we can’t control what third parties are going to do,” explained Tretton. “We can try to evangelize the technology and assist those guys in development and try to convince them that it is in their best interests to take advantage of the technology.”

“At some point, what’s the point of porting it over to another platform if it is not going to look as good on a platform that is more expensive? Why waste any money in development doing that?”

Can Gran Turismo 5: Prolog really look this good?