Category: Archive

As you can tell by the number of posts over the last few days, I actually spent a fair amount of time with the PS3 over Independence weekend. It is a damn shame that it takes a three-day holiday weekend to get my gaming on. For the first time in a long time, I was happy playing, and writing about my experiences. I think something in NCAA Football always brings out the inner gamer (and game writer) in me. So, it was a good gaming weekend – Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, NCAA Football 09 (demo), and Super Stardust HD ruled the day.

Saturday I threw up a couple of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue posts, so I will not rehash too much of that right now. I am still a couple of Gold Trophies short of getting all Gold in the C Class: Race C-3 (Cappaccino Time Target) and C-9 (FF Challenge). Sunday I moved on to the B Class and rapidly made mincemeat of the competition. While it may be too easy, there is something compelling (dare I say gratifying) about beating the snot out of the competition. Of course the AI is not very smart, but I will take what I can get. I think I am short of Gold on three B Class races, so I still have a little work in front of me. Gran Turismo is something you either love or hate. Obviously I am in the loving me some GT camp. Besides, it gives me a reason to do some eye candy posts.

NCAA Football 09 cannot get here soon enough. I am sure that some of the gaming/blog/message board “experts” will slice this one up ten ways to Saturday, pointing out all the flaws, perceived show stoppers, and then some. Hopefully I will enjoy the game and avoid the yearly negativity that follows the hype machine associated with EA Sports football games. In the spirit of a Presidential Election Year, I promise to keep my comments squarely on fun factor, with some pros/cons type of posts.

Finally we move on to Super Stardust HD (with solo expansion), which has to be one of the greatest shooters ever.

I am still struggling to break 6 million …

Last night I just missed breaking my high score; I was within 400K of my 5.9 million record. That damn long snake boss thing on the second planet did me in. That’s right, I have not cleared the second planet, but I have fun trying. My top score continues to be bumped further and further to the back of the buss. I remember when I was in the Top 15K; my score is now ranks in the top 60.5K. My goal this week is to break 6 million. Simple pleasures equal lots of fun factor.

Finally, there is Qore, but it deserves a post of its own.

I have to ask, who cares about the All-Star game? Obviously I must care a little, or else I would not have posted this column. I have to have something to bitch about to make my day complete, so here we go.
Many years ago, back in my youthful days of collecting baseball cards, actually playing baseball, and beating the socks off all comers in Intellivision MLB Baseball, I actually looked forward to the All-Star game. Somewhere in between those bygone days, playing marathon sessions of R.B.I. Baseball (NES of course) in college, a strike ruined season, and steroids, I stopped paying attention.

I admit that every year I may casually follow the All-Star voting to see which players (according to the pundits and various blog writers) are getting screwed out of an appearance, who is popular, and which Braves are getting attention. If there is really a compelling reason, I may even watch a few minutes of the game, but I cannot remember tuning into an All-Star game in the last 2-5 years. With that said, this year’s game has the Yankee stadium thing going for it, but being a Braves fan, and not caring much for the Yankees, I doubt I will bother to watch.

The Atlanta Braves put two players on the 2008 All-Star team: Chipper Jones (starting 3B) and Brian McCann (backup C). Jones is having an incredible year, only recently falling off the .400 mark. McCann can hit the cover off of left-handed pitching, and certainly deserves an appearance. I am sure someone that is not a Braves fan will complain that their 3B and C got hosed. Such is the nature of All-Star teams.

So go Braves, but otherwise I could care less. I am down on the rest of the All-Star festivities, and cannot understand why the game still warrants so much attention.

For what it is worth, I am an equal opportunity All-Star game hater. It has been years since I watched the NFL and NBA equivalents. I guess someone cares, or the games would just go away.

Like magic, clockwork, or another year of the Farmer’s Almanac, the latest, greatest edition of EA Sports NCAA Football is about to ship. Lucky for us, this year we get to spend some time with a demo before blindly throwing down our hard earned dollars. Of course, I would probably end up talking myself into purchasing the game, even if the demo sucked, because I am a glutton for NCAA Football punishment.

My most recent game may give a glimpse of what is to come on July 15 when the full version of the game finally hits stores. I was LSU (Ohio St. is just not going to do it for me), and to make things interesting, I wanted to see how I could do just by running the ball. Two minute quarters, so there is not going to be a lot of action. Ohio St. got the ball first and it appeared that I was going to get an early hand up by recovering a fumble. However, the play was reviewed, and promptly reversed. I think it was a close call, but should be interesting to watch how often reviews come into play.

During the next series Ohio St. managed to break a couple of tackles and out ran my entire defense to the endzone. 7-0 Ohio St.

I took the kickoff a good 30 yards, and started running, pounding the ball inside and out, slowly moving down the field. A 15-yard facemask penalty helped me continue to pick up decent chunks of yards. After a few timely first downs, including one fourth and two conversion, I found myself at the seven yard line, with 17 seconds and no timeouts to stop the clock. OK, to hell with running the ball. I called a play-action pass, intending to hit my TE in the right corner of the endzone, but the Buckeye defense was not fooled by the call, sacking my QB. I could not get the ball snapped in time to get another crack at the endzone or a field goal. Oops.

In the second half I continued to move the ball well on the ground. This is good stuff for someone that loves playing three-yards and a cloud of dust. I ended up turning the ball over on downs around the Ohio St. 20 yard line. I lost the game 7-0, but a few things stood out.

• Ohio St. continued to pass the ball instead of trying to run the clock. I am not sure if this has anything to do with the two minute quarters, but even the announcers were questioning the play calling.
• Ohio St. missed field goals of 56 (wide left) and 52 (wide right) yards. Are you kidding me?
• I do not like the play calling screen, where you pick one of four visible plays. The screen does have a nice page x of y indicator, to let you know how many screens you have to scroll through to see all the plays.
• I do like the option to view plays by formation (I, Shotgun, etc) or type (run, pass).
• I have not seen any crazy super human jumps by the CPU in order to stop a play. The series usually features fast sliding LBs or quick jumping CBs that cover an impossible amount of ground.

I know it is just a demo, but the gameplay is encouraging.

At what point did gaming become such a core? I think it must be some kind of a loss of innocence; it’s hard to describe, but I know it when I see it. I think most of my longtime readers know it as well.

If it were not already painfully obvious, I have been saying for a while that I am no longer a serious game. I laugh at the notion of my “hard core” playing days. Countless hours, dollars, and videogame systems later, what do I have to show for my reckless gaming addiction? Some fond memories, a musty old site archive, and of course this humble site.

Last month Gamers with Jobs posted a great article titled “Embracing My Inner Mainstream Gamer.”

“The truth is that the less time I have to game, the more like an average video game consumer I become. I don’t necessarily have the inclination anymore to peel back the onion layers of innovation cloaked as inapproachability in games with obtuse conceits and arcane controls.”

Well said.

The article made me ask myself, “at what point I lost my gaming innocence?” Did it in start in the late 90s with more and more gaming sites selling out (dare I say going mainstream)? Or maybe it was somewhere between the birth of Thing Number One and Thing Number Two (or perhaps Thing Number Three)? Could it just be a sign of growing up, getting older, and moving on to other interests? Or as the author at Gamers with Jobs just mentioned, maybe it all comes down to time.

“Yes, I can compare the relative value of the next Madden to its predecessor. I can carp about how Halo 3 was in no meaningful way different from Halo 2. I can realize the World of WarCraft is basically a big hole into which I can throw my time, but it’s far more enjoyable to just have fun with these games. We constantly run the risk of taking the whole endeavor too seriously.”

I think those monolithic reviews from back in the day sort of did me in to the point where I burned myself out on gaming. The end result is that I have become much more of a casual gamer (that mainstream thing again). Be it football or racing games; the hardcore sim nut in me is almost a thing of the past.

These days I have such a limited amount of gaming time that I have to play games for fun. It is no longer the other way around. I want a quick “pick up and play” experience, that is fun, semi realistic, but easy enough not to frustrate.

I still enjoy writing about games. In fact, I have done more of it this weekend than I have in several months. With that said, the days of long, verbose diatribes on braking lines, statistical abnormalities, and the like are long gone. I am not into scientific gaming these days. When I do play, it is all for fun factor. Simply put; if it is not fun, why bother playing?

Firecracker, Pepsi, Coke, etc. I call it night racing at Daytona. And what an interesting race it was. I really expected Gordon or Junior to take the checkered flag, but as is often the case at Daytona, interesting things happen inside the final laps. Gordon did have to work through some early handling issues, but towards the end his car was solid. Earnhardt should have had the car to beat, but at a restrictor track, you have to have a willing dance partner.

Daytona at Night © espn.com

In the end, it was not to be for Gordon, who I think was being diplomatic about his spinout with two laps to go. Too much blocking and rearview mirror watching? Maybe. Gordon really needed this one. He ran too well not to get a Top 5 finish.

I like a photo finish as much as the next guy, but having to turn to video, scoring loops, timers, etc to see who beat who when the final caution flag was waved is a piss poor way to end a solid night of racing.

Since the NASCAR boys are done for the day, I can turn my racing attention to today’s race at Watkins Glen (hopefully ABC will come through with a HD broadcast).
I have not watched a lot of IRL races this year, but this one will line up with my schedule.

While I am on racing, WTF is wrong with FOX? It stinks that as soon as NASCAR went to TNT, FOX decided that we want to watch tap delayed F1. If there is nothing else going on, maybe, but I may just watch the live scoring instead. Thanks a lot FOX; way to treat us F1 and SPEED fans.

Every once in a while I check out what is going on in the world of Dungeons and Dragons. I am not sure why. I guess it is sort of a trip down memory lane, and in the back of my mind I think maybe my kids will take this stuff up one day. I digress.

At any rate, “every once in a while” must have been a very long time ago, because I had no idea that a new edition was on the way (or already out). Total sticker shock of MSRP $104.95. Sure, amazon.com and the like will discount the core rules, but seriously, this game is no longer for kids.

I remember back in the day when a highly anticipated new rule book would cost $12.00 – Fiend Folio, Unearthed Arcana, Greyhawk Adventures, etc. None of this $34.95 per book BS for the core rulebooks – Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual.

Actually I am surprised that a new edition made it out the door. I figured that all the new computer games (i.e. WoW) pretty much put an end to the old pen and paper days.

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!

Uga VI passed away last night, bringing to an end a most remarkable career as Georgia’s top Dawg.

Damon Evans, UGA athletics director, bestowed the highest praise on the beast that he could Saturday, in a statement:

“Uga VI was a damn good mascot and a damn good dog,” said Evans.

Well said. God speed Uga VI.

As an addendum, Part 2 if you will, the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer has an interesting bit on Uga’s Columbus connection. For those keeping score at home, the current Uga line began Dec 2, 1955 in Columbus, GA with the birth of Uga I.

Every year I fight the temptation to not spend a bucket load of money on the football annuals, and every year I fail to resist the urge.  Today I threw out several annuals – Phil Steele’s 2007 College Football Preview, Lindy’s Southeastern 2007 Preview, CBS College Football 2007 Season Preview, Athlon Sports Southeastern 2007 Preview, and Sporting News College Football 2007.  That is a lot of duckets and wasted time on reading about college football.

So far this year I have not picked up any of the yearly annuals, but while I was in line at the grocery store, I caught of glimpse of Phil Steele’s 2008 College Football Preview.  [sigh … throws arms up in defeat]  I love this stuff!  Phil Steele’s annual is always my favorite of the bunch; should get me in the mood for some PS3 NCAA Football.

As I write this, Georgia is down 6-0 to Fresno State. 12 at-bats left, so there is still time, but the reality is this one is over.  Too bad.

Yesterday Georgia blew a 5 run lead.  Today they never got it kick started.  Give credit to Fresno State; they earned it.

My favorite line over in the Out of the Park Baseball forum by StrangerFan:

“Dear Lord, crack addicts needing a fix show more patience than some on here.”

That about sums up the OOTPB9 hysteria over at Out of the Park Baseball. I am paying full price for the game and will take a look at it this weekend. I could have pre-ordered, but I decided to throw the extra $15 Markus’ way. I had no problem holding money back from Sports Interactive.