Gaming News and Notes

Over the last three weeks, starting right before the Thanksgiving break, I have been on a torrid (for me) gaming rampage. I think I have logged more hours on my PS3 (and even a few on the oft forgotten PSP – Ghost of Sparta) than I did in total January through October.

I have to say it has been fun. Almost like a kid in a candy store. Gaming nirvana if you please. I have found this latest zone has helped me decompress and even get in some quality time with the kids. These days I don’t question how long this ride will last; I just keep on plugging, enjoying it until I put down the controllers.

Crazy Taxi
After pickup up my PS3 Slim for Father’s Day, I flipped Crazy Taxi on eBay. Not because I no longer enjoyed the game; I consider it one of the ultimate pick and play titles. It is just a damn good arcade gaming experience, which blends the perfect elements of short bursts of gaming excitement and the pursuit of high scores.

Besides, the PS3 Slim more or less forced my hand, since it is not PS2 backwards compatible. Of course in my back pocket I knew Crazy Taxi would be headed towards the PSN.

The PSN edition seems to be the same game, minus the licenses (Levi’s, KFC, music, etc), with slightly harder controls compared to the PS2 and Dreamcast versions. Crazy Taxi is still a fun arcade experience; one that the boys enjoy playing with dad. As an added bonus, the PSN version also provides the pleasure (or frustration – take your pick) of pursuing Trophies.

FIFA 10
Shame on me for not playing this one more over the past year. FIFA 10 is a fantastic sports game, and the virtual pro feature being balls out fun. In my dotage, I have a hard time pulling off decent skill moves, so my pro still seems a little stiff and rough around the edges. As a striker, I am all offense, with almost no defensive skills. I think my rating is currently 72 and climbing.

Rumor has it Santa is bringing me FIFA 11 ($29.99 during one of the Thanksgiving deals), so I figured I better maximize my FIFA 10 experience before Christmas so I will not feel so guilty when I trade in or eBay FIFA 10. And maximize I have; in fact I have probably spent more time with FIFA 10 than any other game in this article. Fun and highly addicting!

Gran Turismo 5
After waiting an eternity (at least it seemed that way), we finally have a proper Gran Turismo on the PS3. I picked up the Gran Turismo 5 Collector’s Edition – I love the series, even if it is not the best pure “racing” experience around.

After starting off with one of the 25+ versions (or whatever) of a Toyota Corolla, I have been slowly making my way through the game. Due to so many other games in my rotation (or call it my gaming backlog) I have not started the long slow GT grind. I have picked up my B and A licenses, and while I could keep on trying to progress, I have been working on locking up all B and A license Gold trophies, which seems damn near impossible for some.  I actually find this pursuit more relaxing than frustrating; I get in a zone and keep plugging away, slowly decreasing my times until I strike Gold.

The only GT game that I managed to “complete” at 100% was the first release – Gran Turismo for the PSOne.  It has been a long time since those days!  I doubt I have that much spare time to really go after that mark with GT5; however I am sure I will maximize my value (gaming dollar).

I think the game has already been patched 3 times, so the developers did end up rushing the game, which is a bit of a surprise considering the long delay. Over ambitious? Probably.  At least the developers are supporting the game and trying to make things right by the fans.

Sports Champions
My family has discovered the joy of playing Bocce. At least we are enjoying Sports Champions version of Bocce, and we are having a blast learning the rules and associated skills.  My mother is giving my oldest son a Bocce set for the backyard. I love it when videogames cross pollinate real life!

I think my kids’ favorite is volley ball, closely followed by disc golf. My favorites are archery and disc golf, and I also find gladiator duel an interesting diversion. Ping pong is the favorite of my 3.11 year old, but I find it damn near impossible.

On a side note, I need to get two more Move controllers for some serious volley ball and archery dual Move head-to-head action. What would that investment be? Almost $325? I have already “invested” $100 camera + Move controller, $50 second move controller, $35 Navigation controller, $30 Move charge station. Ouch. Archery is a blast with two controllers, so I can only imagine how much fun it would be to have a two-player archery duel with 4 Move controllers!

On more side note. The Navigation controller seems poorly supported. I think the only Move game I have that takes advantage of it is Heavy Rain. Need to come back to Heavy Rain in a future article.

My Aquarium
Did I really buy this one? Just for the hell of it I downloaded My Aquarium. It is a great concept, with extremely poor execution. The graphics are not acceptable; in fact I was not even sure this was an HD title, but from what I have read, My Aquarium is in fact presented in HD … just without the normal eye popping graphical glory. It really is a damn shame that this virtual screensaver does not look nicer, and to make matters worse, the interface is unbelievable clunky, complete with unresponsive controls.

If a “game” begged for updated graphics with Move support, this is the one. To the good, Trophy whores will find a few almost freebies on offer; apparently you can cheat to get them quickly, however I am earning my Trophies the old fashion way. It will probably be a year before all the fish unlock, giving me a cheap Gold Trophy.

Uno
I dismissed this one out of hand when it was previously released, however I did pick it up on sale for $0.99. It is OK at best … I mean it is Uno. I have played a few games online, but I disappointed that a couple of disconnects in the “lobby” counted as game discounts. That or someone figured out a way to hack a couple of wins against me; I am not enough of a junkie at this game to try to follow my statistics to see why the game thinks I have abandon a couple of gaming sessions.

I think you have to really love Uno in order to pick this one up. Not bad for $0.99, but not worth a whole lot more than a single ducket. Then again, this could be a nice diversion if someone wants to get their wife into videogames.

Hustle Kings!
Plus continues to deliver interesting content and discounts. I picked up Hustle Kings! a couple of weeks ago when it was discounted to just under $6. I have only played a few times, but the game seems to offer a really nice pool experience. The bar locations have great aesthetics – music, presentation, and graphics.

I’ll comment more on this one in the future. I picked it up mainly because I suck at pool in real life, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that playing a virtual game will actually help me in real life. To a certain degree it already has, at least when it comes to adding some backspin on pocket shots. In real life I would scratch, following the ball into the pocket, but I am getting the hang of how to avoid this mistake. Hope it carries over!

Hustle Kings! also supports the Move. I am not sure how it compares to playing with a DS controller because I have only used the Move. The game appears to do a good job of supporting the Move, however I have to admit that my poor old fingers and hand gets a little cramped trying to line up fine precession shots. As I said, more on this one later.

Closing
Did I just do that? Good grief; that is a lot of gaming playing!

Happy Sunday!

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Falcons Playoff Aspirations

Funny thing about these Falcons, at 10-2 they control their own destiny to have the NFC come to the Dome. Super Bowl bound? First they have to make the playoffs.

The Falcons must beat the Carolina Panthers and have any two of the Giants (8-4), Philadelphia Eagles (8-4) and Green Bay Packers lose (8-4). A Falcons tie and losses by the Giants, Eagles, Packers and a loss or tie by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5) also would work for Atlanta.

If the season ended today, Atlanta would get the winner of a Giants/Eagles matchup. To be honest, I want no part of Vick returning to Atlanta; that just seems like a good way to really f’up the Falcons playoff run as 1000s of fans (my sons included) would cheer loudly for Vick. No thanks. Been there, done that. Besides, of late, the Eagles have the Falcons number.

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Cardiac Birds

No wonder this year’s edition of the Atlanta Falcons are keeping me on the edge of my seat; their propensity for late game heroics keeps putting gray hair on my poor old chin. According to the ESPN NFC South Blog …

They’ve had six games where they have either trailed or been tied in the fourth quarter and won, including Sunday at Tampa Bay.

Tied/Trailed Winning Score
at Buccaneers, 24-14, 4:31 left
vs. Packers, 17-17, 0:09 left
vs. Ravens, 21-20, 0:20 left
vs. Bengals, 25-24, 13:02 left
vs. 49ers, 14-13, 0:02 left
at Saints, 21-17, 1:55 left in overtime

Of course you can also look at this statistic, especially the home games, and say the Falcons are not doing a good job of putting teams away. Believe it or not, Ravens, Bengals, and to some extent the Packers games should not have been close. I think this is good news because it means that the Falcons still have room to improve going into the playoffs.

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Dawgs Liberty Bowl Bound?

Several sites are projecting that UGA will square off against Conference USA Champion, University of Central Florida (10-3, 7-1 C-USA), in the Liberty Bowl.

I am sure Georgia (6-6, 3-5 SEC) is not terrible excited about playing in Memphis, TN on New Year’s Eve (afternoon), however at this point they should be damn well grateful if they receive any invite. Georgia’s cause is probably helped because some other conferences may not be able to fill their allotment of teams. Regardless of where the Bulldogs play, expect to hear that Bowl Committee’s Chairperson talk about what a rare and unique opportunity it is to have a quality team such as Georgia fall into their laps. That is becoming the norm of late for the Bulldogs; hope I do not hear it again for a while!

You will also hear a decent amount of backdrop on George O’Leary, who once upon a time put out decent Tech teams to face off against the Dawgs. Should be an interesting matchup, and really, this is an opportunity for Coach Richt to get his team up, show that this year was a fluke, and take things back up a notch for the 2011 season.

I am really looking forward to watch Oregon and Auburn square off in the BCS Title Game. I have very mixed emotions pulling for the Tigers, but unless something strange happens (like Texas vs. Alabama last year), I always support the SEC. It would appear that SEC fans are rabid that way.

Once upon a time I would attempt to watch every Bowl game; doubt I will get to that point this year, but there should be some decent action throughout the Bowl season, which starts December 18. Of course with the advent of the BCS title game, with each passing year, there is a matter of indifference towards the plethora of Bowl games. To the casual fan, these other games are just meaningless. In the immortal words of Ricky Bobby, “If you ain’t first, you’re last. You know, you know what I’m talking about?”

At least SEC fans (yours truly included) can fuss for the next 6 weeks over Cam Newton. That should be fun.

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Falcons – Where is the respect?

I picked this one up via ESPN; where is the respect for the Falcons? Tomorrow’s game at Tampa Bay is a game with huge playoff implications for both teams, the NFC South, and of course any teams in the NFC scrambling for a Wild Card sport. It looks like most of the country will not get an opportunity (the506.com) to see a really good Falcons team, and a nice up and coming Bucs squad.

Cheers to Smitty
Earlier this week I wrote about Ryan being pivotal in turning around the Falcons. The same can be said for Coach Mike Smith.

With a victory on Sunday against Tampa Bay, Smith will reach the second 10-win season of his three-year career. Smith went 11-5 in 2008, his first season with the Falcons. No Atlanta head coach, in the team’s 45-year history, ever has won 10 or more games in more than one season.

The Falcons are favored by 3 over the Buccaneers. The Bucs played ATL really close at the Georgia Dome a few weeks ago, and I expect much of the same thing early; however I do expect the Falcons to pull away early in the fourth quarter.

Go Falcons!

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Elite Status for Ryan?

I should have ended the title with a period instead of a question mark. ESPN NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas named Matt Ryan his NFC South High Energy Player of the Week after the Falcons’ 20-17 victory over the Packers last Sunday.

All Ryan did was complete 24-28 passes, and led the Falcons to a game winning drive with less than a minute to play.

I’ve never been sure exactly what the qualifications are for that distinction. But I’m pretty sure getting signature wins against very good teams and leading late game-winning drives must fall somewhere on that list.

As a Falcons season ticket holder the last three years, all I can say is, been there and done that, and have confidence in Ryan’s ability to overcome adversity.

I know with the Vick resurgence there are plenty of ATL fans that think the Falcons should have waited on Vick to pay his dues to society, however the reality is that the franchise would not have back-to-back-to-back winning seasons if they did not opt to go with Ryan in 2008.

Oh, and for your Captain O. fans out there, you have to love this video segment where Trent Dilfer explains how to beat the Falcons at the Georgia Dome. I’ll save you the time – you have to score more points. Gee, thanks Trent.

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Black Friday Gaming

I am not a huge shopper, except for the stay at home and click on Amazon kind of shopping. This year (at least so far today) I did not see a whole lot of deals that I just had to get.

The tally today is FIFA 11 (DS) and Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii) for the kids, while dear old dad took advantage of a couple of Lightning Deals for God of War Collection (PS3) for a mere $10 and God of War 3 (PS3) for a click under $35. Thanks to the PSP and God of War: Chains of Olympus, I have become somewhat of a Kratos fan. Good stuff.

I am thinking about taking advantage of some of the PSN titles on sale. Joe Danger looks better than decent. I am pretty sure I am going to pull the trigger on Destruction Derby (PSOne); long time readers will remember that seeing the demo of this game made me fall in love with the PlayStation. I have not picked up very many of the 15th Anniversary sale items, but this is one that I will not pass up. Then again … backlog list of games is growing deep. To the good, Destruction Derby will get some use on the PSP.

Gaming today has mostly consisted of Sports Champions, which is a great family title, and of course some Gran Turismo 5 action.

Happy gaming weekend to everyone!

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Gran Turismo 5 Collector’s Edition Arrives

Racing nirvana?  Probably not based on past Gran Turismo titles, however I hope it is a damn good driving experience.

It has been a while since I have actually been around the house on a major “release” day.  Thanks to having several days off, I should get in plenty of time with the game.

Upon firing it up, I was prompted to install version 1.01 of the game, which took a couple of minutes.  The game is currently installing 8GB of data on my PS3 Slim HDD.  According to the progress meter, this should take 20 minutes.

Happy me!

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Ending Credits

Yesterday I threw up an article congratulating myself for completing Afrika, in the process achieving my first Platinum trophy. This is a great segue into a recent IGN article titled “Why Don’t We Finish More Video Games?”

It is a damn good question, and the article brings out a few interesting points that I shall proceed to quote for your reading amusement.

The irregularity of getting a new video game can also blunt your temptation of pulling the rip cord before it’s over. When I was younger, I felt damn lucky to get four or five new video games over the course of a year for my Master System. But now I have the ability to buy more than one video game a month.

Back in my ill spent youth, I too was lucky to receive 3-4 Intellivision games a year. Of course having a December birthday always meant getting shafted – “Christmas will be here in a few days.” Joy. That always sucked.

At any rate, new games were special. These days new games are not exactly special; a dime a dozen. Of course Gran Turismo 5 releases today, however it is not as if I am in dire need of a new game. As the article said, I still have a ton of unfinished games, including F1 2010.

Do you remember game-ending glitches fifteen years ago? Personally, I can’t recall a single game found on a cartridge that suffered from a crippling bugaboo. (PC games have long endured a reputation for shipping before being completely stable.)

There’s now an over-reliance on the ability to patch a console game after it ships via the console’s Internet connection.

I really abhor this aspect of today’s generation of consoles. I remember having arguments with friends and colleagues that PC gaming was a waste of time and effort. Console gaming was the way to go because games were in one nice tidy package, without relying upon patches to “finish” a game. Boy have times changed!

My issue with completing games is one of time; really lack of time. I want to move on to new experiences, and my available free time is limited. I typically end up in a trap of starting a game, playing for a little while, and moving on to the next thing. Moving day occurs because I want to experience the new game, not because the first game sucked.

In theory I am getting better. In the last few months I have “completed” a few PSN titles, God of War Chains of Olympus (on the easier levels at any rate – but I did see the ending!), and of course the lead in for this article, Afrika.

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Would anyone care if she did not have breasteses?

I know I am part of the problem by posting this article, but would anyone care if Danica Patrick was not trying to sell herself as a sex-goddess that happens to race cars? So she finished 19th in the last Nationwide race. She finished on the lead lap – remarkable?

The IZOD IndyCar Series regular led her first laps and managed to finish on the lead lap in what turned out to be an incident-filled event. She finished 19th – her first top-20 result – in her 13th outing in NASCAR’s second-tier series.

It is not like DP even looks all that hot; I mean if she was a Victoria’s Secret girl we would have a good reason to rise and take notice, but blah, I wish the media would calm down on DP. Maybe next year she really will improve and get some top 10 finishes. At least then we would have a reason to talk about her NASCAR achievements.

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Platinum Club

Last night I earned my first PS3 Platinum trophy for completing Afrika. I know some would argue that it is not a “game” in the traditional sense, and I think I would have to agree. Instead it is more of a relaxing after work, late at night, whenever you want to de-stress experience.

Getting to 100% was pretty much a pain in the ass; lots of repetitive type missions, but as I said, it was a stress free pain in the ass experience, which is OK in my book.

I’ll go on the record and say that I had to “cheat” a couple of times to find some of the animals. Cheating in Afrika means reading a guide to find the general location of specific animals required to complete the game. You have to take a picture of a dung beetle. Seriously.

So now I am one of the cool kids, with my cool Platinum trophy. Except the cool kids do not play games like Afrika.

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Halloween Horrors for Dawgs and Horns

The city decided to officially declare Saturday night as “trick or treat” night. You know we cannot have any of the devil’s work happening or witches’ scurrying about on Sunday. That sort of foretold what would happen to my beloved Dawgs and Horns.

First up was the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, which we all know “is what it is” no matter the Presidents of UGA and UFL wanting to call it something different. The Gators own the Bulldogs, winning 18 of the last 21 games. While a lot of Georgia fans thought this year would be different. I entered the game with dread; knowing that this is the year we should win, but could we?

Four turnovers doomed Georgia, the last one on the Bulldogs’ first possession of overtime, resulted in a 34-31 loss. Make no mistake that this was a good game, but as a fan I am ready to throw up (and not just because of the assortment of delicious adult beverages that I had yesterday).

The AJC’s Jeff Schultz sums it up best …

But this program should not be about gauging the degree of severity of losses.

But here’s the reality check. This is not a great Florida team. It entered with its worst regular-season losing streak in 22 years. This is certainly the worst team Urban Meyer ever has fielded. It’s so bad that a 4-4 Georgia team on the wrong end of a lopsided rivalry was favored.

The Dogs lost anyway.

At 4-5 overall, they are clinging only to mathematical possibilities for a lower-tier bowl.

The Liberty Bowl never should be the objective.

Time to move along …

Baylor 30 – Texas 22
I didn’t see the game, but looking at the box score was not a happy experience. Every team has down years, but Texas (4-4, 2-3 Big 12) is supposed to re-load, not re-build. I know this next part is going to sound like crazy talk because the Big-12 does not play defense, but defense should carry the day for Texas. Instead the Longhorns lost the 4th quarter 13-3. To f’ing Baylor (7-2, 4-1 Big 12).

Probably too much of that devil’s work happening on the Austin campus, which explains why the Baptist Bears won on the witches’ night.

Sigh. Still waiting for the sun to come up.

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SEC Week 7 Recap

What a wacky week in the SEC, and across the nation. Let’s jump to UGA first; UGA VIII (Big Bad Bruce) started his career with a 43-0 rout over Vanderbilt. After last week’s solid 41-14 win over the Volunteers, it was nice to see the Dawgs not suffer a letdown, which would have been a major step back.

UGA VIII ©UGA

Welcome Big Bad Bruce! Sic ‘em!

Have the Bulldogs turned the corner? Depends on what happens next week with Kentucky. Speaking of the kittens, they decided to roast some chicken last night …
Of everything that transpired over the weekend, I never would have guessed that South Carolina would blow an 18 point halftime lead, not score in the second half, and eventually fall 31-28 to Kentucky. This was the year for Steve Spurrier to finally win the SEC East, return to Atlanta in glory, and put the Fighting Chickens at the top of the college football heap.

Auburn gave up 43 points to Arkansas, but Auburn still outscored the hogs by 22 points. Ouch! It is hard to believe that this one was a two-point game at the end of the 3rd quarter. Auburn looks to be back in a big way. Next week’s showdown with LSU will be huge. The Tigers from the Plains get the better end of the stick since this one will be an afternoon game at Jordan-Hare Stadium instead of a dreaded night game in Baton Rouge.

Alabama, still licking their wounds after last week’s debacle at the hands of South Carolina, went through the motions in their 23-10 win over Ole Miss.

Speaking of going through the motions, LSU had a ho-hum 32-10 victory over McNeese St. If you are going to play a lower division team, you may as well beat their pants off to impress the pundits, voters, and yours truly.

And then there is Florida, who fell 10-7 at home to the hands of Mississippi St. Wow. Ouch. Shocker.

Buckeyes Fall
Around the nation it was nice to see the early Ohio St. National Championship talk squished-squashed by Wisconsin 31-18. Outside of the South I know everyone is sick and tired of the SEC, and really wants another team to step up. Inside the South, I have to say that I am sick and tired of always seeing the media lift up Ohio St. as the great hope. Call it even.

Longhorns Win
Finally we come to Texas; huge 20-13 victory in Lincoln over the not so fearsome Cornhuskers. The Longhorns finally played they way they were expected to play, behind a really stingy defense. Hook ‘em!

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Sports Saturday: Braves Come Back, Dawgs Favored, and Falcons vs. Browns

What an amazing comeback by the Atlanta Braves; 5-4 over the Giants in 11 innings thanks to a blast by unlikely hero Rick Ankiel. This season has been magical thanks to the unsung heroics by a rag-tag list of unknowns and in the case of Ankiel, has-beens.

I’ll be honest; I stopped watching in the 5th … bedroom duties called. What can I say?

While the Braves celebrate this win, returning to Atlanta even at 1-1, Billy Wagner may have pitched his last game, going down in the 10th with a strained left oblique muscle. The Brave’s have a deep bullpen, but the lost of Wagner is another blow in a season where key contributors (Chipper and Martin Prado) keep going down.

Dawgs Favored?
Seriously? How are the woeful Bulldogs favored over the struggling Volunteers? I was shocked to read that some opening lines had Georgia by 13 points. Wow! WTF do those pundits know that I am missing? The current Sheridan odds have Georgia as 11.5 point favorites over Tennessee. Call it a lack of faith, but I really do not see this undisciplined team beating many teams this year including Tennessee.

Falcons Look to Overcome History
Who knew the Falcons so overwhelmingly sucked against the Browns? The 3-1 Falcons should dispatch an inferior 1-3 Browns team, even on the road.

To me this is a must win game. The Falcons need to keep the pressure on the Saints, assert themselves a NFC contender, and you just have to beat teams you are suppose to beat. I am surprised that the Falcons are only 3 point favorites. I expected the line to be 5 or 6 points.

Hopefully the Falcons take care of business, and continue a strong early season showing.

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