Archive – Page 36 – The Recycle Bin

Madden Ultimate Team – Additional comments after first few games.

My Madden Ultimate Team (MUT) pretty much sucks; still using my default starter pack team which may in some small way contribute to my awful record. I am currently 1-3, but have burned 6 contract cards. In other words, I only have enough cards left for 4 more games. That may not be entirely true, since I probably have not used all my starter set cards in all my games.

Why the discrepancy? One game I was disconnected; the server message said I would not get charged, but nonetheless I think I was still hit for a contract.

I did quit another game because halftime of the Vikings/Saints was over; I thought halftime would last longer than a regular season game, but I digress. Besides, I felt like I was getting a total cheese job from the Lions, so why waste my time to finish up such a dreadful game experience?

This brings me to another point. You know things are pretty bad with my default team when I am getting killed by the likes of the Detroit Lions. Detroit was up on my 21-0 in the first quarter with a whopping 51 seconds of total possession time. Three scores; one pick-six, one bomb where my players could not tackle the receiver, and one long run where once again my players could not tackle worth a damn. In my dotage I would do a rewind on some of these plays because I felt like they were total garbage. I do not have enough free time to feel like I am getting completely clowned by the CPU!

The one game I won was a FG fest; 9-3 against Tampa Bay. The only reason I won was because I went into completely clock management mode and attempted to protect my meager lead. This started when I was up 6-3, so that says it all!

That is not to say things are all bad; I actually like the concept and enjoy a decent (non stressful challenge). I am just not sure that I will have the patience to keep this up.

From my experience with the game, the more points you score, the less you give up and whether you win or lose the game are the biggest determining factors as to how many points you earn. Even if you lose and score 7-10 points a game, you will be rewarded with roughly 200 coins. With new card packs that include upper-echelon players costing 3,000 coins, some may find the task of building a team without resorting to spending real money a chore.

I don’t play Madden 10 online, and I don’t think I will start online MUT anytime soon, but at some point that may be better than getting beat over and over again by the CPU. Right now I am not interested in paying “real” money to upgrade my team, but if I want to be well represented online, it sounds like spending cold hard cash is the only way to survive.

Another issue is that this is obvious just a monetization effort for EA, by charging for player cards, EA stripped the skill out of this mode. All I need to do is spend $20 and I can instantly buy the Ultimate Team, which is very lame.

Where to from here? I have 1100 or so coins and most of my “good” players (OK, they are starters, but that does not make them good) only have 4 games left. Not sure what happens when you actually run out of players. I’ll either have to buy more Bronze packs, or watch my team get really bad (I can’t imagine being any worse!).

I really wanted to hold out and save for a Silver pack (1500), but I bet I end up having to go with a couple of Bronze packs (500) just to have enough players to field at each position. No doubt that Gold and Platinum packs are beyond my capabilities.

Of course MUT is only a few weeks old, but I am not sure if the developers considered the economy for average (to subpar) Madden gamers, that do not cheat, use money plays, try to trick the system, etc. I play for realistic statistics, and since I suck, I am mired in mediocrity.

Vikings Turnover NFC Championship to Saints

If I were a fan of the Vikings I would be pretty upset this morning. As an anti Saints fan, I am none too happy. The better team, at least on this particular Sunday did not win.

I guess for the next couple of weeks I am going to be a Colts fan. The early odds have put the Colts as 4.5-5 point favorites.Not sure if today is a Happy Monday kind of day, but Sunday was a great day of football, featuring two exceptional playoff matches.

Madden Ultimate Team First Impressions

At the risk of being told that I am talking to the south end of a north bound mule, or being called an EA Sports mouthpiece tool, I created my Madden Ultimate Team – “GA TX Falcons” (creatively yours, the Georgia Texas Falcons).

I have read all the negative opinions about this new “free” mode, but I find it somewhat interesting. It has the potential of being a very nice diversion. I doubt I will spend money buying cards, but I can certainly see the allure. If you are not good at Madden (raises hand), it is a little frustrating starting off with such a mediocre group of players.

After opening my starter pack, I was greeted with a piss poor group of players (and cards). I get the yucky Brown home colors when playing at the St. Louis Rams’ Edward Jones Dome, and the Redskins road whites. How bland can you get? I get a run heavy offense, and the Detroit Lions defensive play book. My team is QB’ed by none other than Marc Bulger. Jack Del Rio coaches my rag-tag set of cards.

Needless to say, the early going looks to be tough. Remember, I raised my hand when I said I was not very good at Madden? It is not as if I do not know how to play; I am just getting too old to press all the buttons in record time. I need to remember to turn off “fight for the fumble” one of these days; I never mass the buttons fast enough to win a scrum.

For my first game I took on Tampa Bay, which happens to be the default rival team for my Atlanta Falcons. I thought I was in high cotton after I took a 14-0 lead, but somehow (thanks to three turnovers) I gave up 17 unanswered points in a disappointing loss. For my second game I intentionally looked for a weak team, but still lost to the Chiefs 31-24.

The only good news is that I managed to get enough cards (just over 550 I believe) to buy a Bronze pack of cards, but I decided to wait since it was time for the start of the Jets/Colts game. BTW, the Jets just went up 14-6 with just under 5 minutes left in the 2nd quarter, but I digress.

It takes a lot these days to get me gaming, so it will be interesting if Ultimate Team continues to provide some appeal. I want to get in another couple of games tonight, and I have to decide if I am going to waste 500 points on some Bronze cards, or if I should just grind my way to a pack of Silver cards. At the rate I am going, I should be able to pick up a pack of Silver cards in another 3-4 games. Not sure what happens when all the contracts run out.

Sunday Stuffs

Here are a few random links for your viewing pleasure that I came across while surfing the web this morning. As I heard on SportingNews radio, legitimate web surfing; in other words it is too early on Sunday morning to be looking for some T&A.

After the affair ends …
A reminder for married folks to be careful who they jilt after the sex factor comes to an end.

YaVaughnie Wilkins posted the signs after she learned that her lover, Charles E. Phillips — president and director of the tech conglomerate Oracle Corporation and a member of Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board — had reconciled with his wife, the New York Post reported.

The billboards — there are three in New York and one apiece in Atlanta and San Francisco, where Phillips lives — may have cost Wilkins up to $250,000, at an estimated $50,000 each.

After the billboards surfaced, Phillips fessed up to his longtime affair through a spokesman on Thursday.

The again this one probably only applies to rich folks. I am sure Tiger can relate.

Miranda Kerr
OK, so I lied about not having enough coffee to look for T&A, but by golly wow is Miranda beautiful! I did come across this one while taking in my daily dose of morning Fox news; we can chalk this up as legitimate.

Cheers to beer in a can!
I had no idea that canned beer has been around for 75 years! It’s nice to learn something new before 7AM.

Team US F1 looks not so American
While I am excited about the prospects of a U.S. based F1 team, I am disappointed to learn that the first driver announced is not an American.

AUTOSPORT reports that former grand prix ace Carlos Reutemann, a close friend of US F1 boss Peter Windsor and now a leading politician in Argentina, has been instrumental in putting the funding package together for Lopez, who will receive a degree of government backing alongside other Argentinian sponsors.

I have nothing at all against Jose Maria Lopez; I hope he shows well for US F1, but it sort of sucks that an American could not put together a funding package. Then again, Lopez has the full backing of the Argentina government! Maybe President Obama and his socialist agenda should considering jumping into racing. Why not inject some cash into NASCAR, IRL, and US F1?

Happy NFL Championship Sunday!

NFL Championship Sunday

This is the glorious day that the Lord has made – for Championship football! Not much has changed since I wrote about the AFC and NFC Championship games last Monday. The Colts and Saints are still favored, but there seems to be a ton of momentum from the pundits that favors the Jets in an upset over the Colts.

Colts over the Jets
I really do not see the Jets pulling this one out, but the reasoning from the so called “experts” is that Rex Ryan’s defenses are so damn complicated, that the Jets are going to confuse Peyton Manning with various blitz packages. I think that logic is flawed, and while the game may be close, the Cots win. Maybe not cover, but win nonetheless. Besides, even if this one is a low scoring game, the Falcons and Matt Ryan beat the Jets in a “must win” game for the Jets, and Atlanta (like a lot of other teams) made Mark Sanchez look like a rookie. The Colts will do the same.

Vikings over the Saints
Besides wanting the Vikings to upset the Saints, I think they will for a couple of reasons. First, the Falcons easily exposed the Saints – their defense cannot handle a decent rushing attack. Second, the Vikings defense should put pressure on Brees; of course he is capable of handling pressure, but I think Brees will be forced into a mistake or two which may make a difference in this high scoring game. The X Factor here may be Percy Harvin; if he is out, Minnesota will have a difficult time winning.

Regardless of the winners, I expect two great football games; cannot wait to crack open a bottle of Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout to enjoy on this nasty stormy day.

Bloom County Returns

Last month my wife of 16 years gave me the Bloom County Complete Library Volume 1 as part of an anniversary present. Bloom County is my all-time favorite comic strip. While I have had various paperback versions of this classic strip, there is something special about this new hardback version that is a complete blast from the past.

Of course the humor is not for everyone; if you are easily offended you need not crack open this great tomb. Of course I now have Volume 2 on preorder, but April is a long way away!

Friday Gaming Quickie

A few PSN games that I am interested in purchasing are on sale are on sale this week (via PlayStationLifeStyle update):

* Gravity Crash (now $4.99, original price $9.99)
* ZEN Pinball (now $4.99, original price $9.99)
* Critter Crunch (now $3.49, original price $6.99)
* Braid (now $7.49, original price $14.99)
* Burn Zombie Burn (now $4.99, original price $9.99)
* Tank Battles (now $3.49, original price $6.99)
* Uno (now $3.99, original price $7.99)
* Championship Bass ($5.99) [PS one Classics]

Of these games I will probably purchase ZEN Pinball tonight; I am a sucker for a good Pinball game. Not sure about the others, but this is where I would actually look for a decent review or two to get the “popular” opinion or general consensus on a game.

Just for the hell of it I may consider Championship Bass. Have not played a decent fishing or hunting game in a while, and they are usually a fun way to waste away some time.

White Knight Chronicles: International Edition

When I have time, which lately for serious RPG fun, is almost never. I have a backlog of PS3 titles that I have yet to finish, and in some cases start: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Demon’s Souls, and Dragon Age: Origins. Adding White Knight Chronicles: International Edition (WKC:IE) may be a tad overkill at this point. Still, the game looks promising.

I have written enough on the topic of online gaming that I do not need to elaborate beyond saying I am not a big fan. RPGamer thinks the game is run of the mill at best, I am actually intrigued by WKC:IE’s online components.

As mentioned earlier, White Knight Chronicles features an online mode which allows for cooperative play. Players will be able to take their avatar online to complete the aformentioned special quests, but will not be able to take Leonard and company along with them. Instead, people having difficulty with a particular quest will have to team up with other players to accomplish their given tasks. Another interesting feature of online play is the ability for players to create their own Dark Cloud-esque Geonet, which allows them to recruit NPCs to a customizable town for support and dialogue.

I am not sure if WKC:IE’s interesting twist on how to integrate online components into a single player offline game will be enough to draw me in for a purchase. Besides, I still have to ask if I even have time for this sort of game.

Now Reading – Some More Robert E. Howard

It has been a while since I posted a “Now Reading” post, so I thought it would be a fun diversion. Back in December I finished up The Icewind Dale Trilogy by R.A. Salvatore. It was a solid read for heroic swords and sorcery fiction based on Dungeons and Dragons; really the Forgotten Realms setting. I am not going to pretend to be a fiction critic; remember this is just a fun diversion type of post.

With that said, I thought the pacing was very uneven. The trilogy started off fine, hooked me in the middle, and became too unbelievable (if I can use that adjective to describe fiction) towards the end. I don’t want to give any spoilers away, but the conclusion to the dragon fight in the underdark-ish dwarf citadel was just too much. To make matters worse, I really had to slog my way through the very last bit in the astral plane (or whatever it was). Thankfully there was not too much of this nonsense; Mr. Salvatore must have realized that he was up against some sort of page count.

As I said, I enjoyed The Icewind Dale Trilogy enough to take up some of the other Drizzt books. I thought the characters were interesting, and certainly the sights and sounds of the Forgotten Realms were captivating. Well, maybe not captivating, but certainly enjoyable.

I just started Robert E. Howard’s Kull Exile of Atlantis. I have read some of Howard’s Conan works, but never any Kull stories. Obviously Kull came first, I have to assume that Conan and Kull are fairly interchangeable as sword and sorcery characters for all but the most diehard Robert E. Howard fans.

I am only about 40 pages in, but so far am enjoying the tales. I have to admit that I can only take so much of this type of fiction in one sitting, much less over the course of a book. Last spring when I was reading The Essential Conan, as much as I enjoyed the various Conan stories, I never made it through the last few in the book.

When PSN Games Fade Away

I was cruising around N4G this morning I came across this article for Calling All Cars. Apparently as of Jan 14, Sony no longer hosts the game on its servers. The article shows that the game is still playable, as long as you (or a friend) hosts the game.

My concern is that folks that paid for the game were not told up front that their online experience would fade away after a certain period of time. Granted, I got the game for free as part of a Qore episode/subscription, have not played the game in a while, and am not all that bent out of shape about the game fading away. Of course that is beside the point. Since I do not have any skin in this one, it only bothers me enough to write a short rant, but what happens when a game I care about disappears?

I think Sony needs to keep hosting these games for the life of the PS3, or Sony needs to offer some sort of voucher (for those that paid for the game) for a replacement game as PSN content is discontinued.

Keeping the Saints Down

It’s no big secret that I am going to pull for the Minnesota Vikings over the New Orleans Saints in this weekend’s NFC Championship game. While the Falcons and the Saints have not much success in their limited franchise histories, the Falcons have been to a Super Bowl (notice I did not say “have won a Super Bowl”) while the Saints have not. I hope it stays that way this weekend.

For those keeping score at home, the Saints are one of only five teams not have previously experienced the goodness of a Super Bowl Sunday. The other teams are the Cleveland Browns (I bet they still have Elway nightmares), the Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Houston Texans (have never made the playoffs).

So I say go Vikings!

Monday Madden 10 Football Action

At some point over the long weekend I stumbled across some news about Madden Ultimate Team. To me this looks like a free DLC engine to take additional cash from pre-teens or anyone else addicted to collecting things; videogame related or football cards.

It has been a long time since I played Madden 10 or anything else for that matter. Yesterday I decided to fire up Madden and give it a go. I had to wait for the 1.03 Update to download, but after that I was all set. I saw the new Madden Ultimate Team in the menu, read the various tutorial screens, and backed out at the point of creating a team. Maybe next time.

I only got in two off-line games, and I have to admit that they were a ton of fun. While my gaming time has been extremely limited the last few months, and really my desire to play anything has been much diluted; right now I am an unenthusiastic gamer. However, I always enjoy spending some time with Madden.

Arizona 20 – 14 Falcons
Picked Arizona as a random team, but I guess it was a timely selection being that they just got kicked out of the playoffs. I never said I was good at Madden; in fact I downright suck. I typically play on Pro, with various settings to suit my preferences. My oldest son asked me my I don’t play on All-Madden. [sigh] I think my Madden IQ is still stuck below 500; not because I do not understand football, but because I am too damn old for this stuff now! Back to the game. I should have won, but I threw three INTs, one of which was returned for a TD. The final blow was Ryan’s third INT with about 90 seconds left as I was driving for the winning score. Three Red Zone INTs will kill you every time.

Falcons 24 – 6 Giants
Another random opponent, but this time I wanted to play on the road. Just for the hell of it I selected snow, which turned out great because it was fun watching the momentum of the players. They would slip and slide; maybe not truly realistic, but the developers did a good job of making a noticeable difference between ideal conditions and a field of snow.

Did I mention that these days I am more or less a casual gamer? For this game (thanks to the 3 INTs in the last one), I made sure I had access to the Rewind feature. Yes I suck, and yes I did rewind one TD run by the Giants, but I had the damn runner dead to rights; locked him up with two different tacklers, but to no avail. I no longer have low enough blood pressure to put up with those type of antics. Life is too short.

Yesterday afternoon the weather was so nice that we took the family for an afternoon walk. It has been nasty and cold for so long that everyone needed some quality outside time. During the walk I commented to my wife that I am going to have to somehow arrange my schedule to get in a couple of hrs of video game time a week.

So yes, my Madden day was a lot of fun.

Now Drinking – European Lagers

One of my “New Year’s Resolution” was to drinking better beer. I enjoy beer with the best of them, but a lot of times I lapse into the cheap(er) stuff. This year I am going to try to go with more premium brews; sort of a quality of quantity deal. Maybe; that assume I am not a drunkard and do not guzzle, which would be a good idea if for no other reason than to keep the wallet (somewhat) full(er).

I am going to cheat a little. The three entries featured here were given to me as a Christmas present. Yes, my family knows I am a would-be drunkard; or at least a beer whore! They at least know how to buy me a Christmas present that I will actually enjoy!

Listed in reverse order of preference …

Tyskie Gronie Grand Prix Poland – This Polish beer features a 5.60% AVB. Tyskie Gronie Grand Prix is listed as a pale European lager, but I have definitely had better. Then again I have had worse. I was trying to find something to say about this one, but it is really not very distinctive. It does have some sort of bitterness too it, and I enjoy a little bitter here and there, but I really cannot put my finger on the source. Let’s call this one a nice freebie, but not one that I will turn to on purpose in the future.

Peroni Nastro Azzurro – Let’s call this one the Pabst Blue Ribbon of Italian beer. I have had Peroni before, but not sure I have every come across the Nastro Azzurro variety. I don’t think PBR and this Peroni have anything in common; I am sure PBR is much cheaper by the dozen! Nastro Azzurro seems like a typical pale European lager, which is not a bad thing, but I am not sure that it is one that I would specifically seek out in the future. The 5.1% AVB would work nicely on a hot summer day.

Pilsner Urquell – This Czech lager has a “light” beer-ish 4.4% AVB. Pilsner Urquell is surprising light and crisp; a refreshing brew. I had a few of these on a trip to London, but my Christmas six-pack was my first experience with it in the U.S. I think dry is the overwhelming characteristic that best describes this one. Assuming the price is decent; I think Pilsner Urquell will become a summer staple in my beer rotation.

Daytona Speedweeks Is Upon Us

Speedweeks is the traditional start to the 2010 racing year, with the Rolex 24 at Daytona only a couple of weekends away (12 days to be precise). According to RACER, Team Ganassi will have the strongest driver lineup:

Ganassi, which has won three of the past four editions of the legendary endurance event, will have arguably the strongest lineup on the grid, fielding former IndyCar Series champions and Indianapolis 500 winners Juan Pablo Montoya, Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon – all former Rolex 24 winners as well – in the team’s No. 02 car, where NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Jamie McMurray will also take turns behind the wheel.

The No. 01 car will be driven by former Grand-Am champions and Daytona event winners Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas, joined by Indy car hotshoe Justin Wilson and American Le Mans regular Marino Franchitti.

This year the Daytona 500 falls on Valentine’s Day. How sweet is that? I already told my wife what I want – unfettered access to the TV all afternoon watching the opening race of the year. A little something from v-secrets would be nice as well, but I don’t want to push my luck!

Button Dismisses F1 Shortcuts

What a stupid idea by Bernie Ecclestone. Shortcuts in F1? Good grief!

Ecclestone proposed the idea during a media event last week. “I’ve tried to push the teams with a number of proposals. Imagine a shortcut which a driver can use five times every race,” he said. “It would stop people from getting stuck behind others and be good for TV.”

Jenson Button quickly dismissed the idea out of hand. Mr. Ecclestone, why not work on the actual on track racing, implementing rules for passing, not introducing hazards on the track?