FIFA 2005 (PS2) More Impressions

More time with the game brings me to another frustration that I am having a hard time looking past. The CPU controlled players on offense are worthless. When I fire a shot at the goalie, and it is deflected, I do not want everyone to sit around and watch the CPU defenders eventually clear the ball. No, I want my guys to run like bastards towards the ball in hopes of getting a rebound, second look, cheap shot, etc. Maybe there is a setting that I am missing?

Same thing goes for my CPU defenders when the CPU is attacking in my box. They should do everything is their power to get to the ball to desperately clear. Instead, there is no appearance of urgency, no desperation; just lollygagging.

The game is not a total disaster; far from it. The new first touch system is pretty cool. It allows you to flick the right stick in the direction you want your player (about to receive the ball) to redirect the ball. This is important because it helps clear space while keeping a run going. I have discussed before my lack of dexterity when it come to gaming, so I still need lots of work with this feature, but the potential is evident.

I have yet to score with the new “chip the ball shot over the goalie” feature, but I am getting a lot of use out of the new “chip through-ball” feature. It gets pretty crazy when you do a chip through-ball, followed by a first touch, and then fire in a shot.

The sucky manual is really bothering me. I have no idea how some things work, or should work. The manual says that I can use the L1 shoulder button to call in defensive help to cut off a player, but damn if this does not seem hit or miss. I hope someone gets a PS2 specific FAQ posted sooner rather than later. Is it too much to ask for a decent manual? I am not asking for color or anything, just something that describes the game’s controls, features, strategy, and so on. Winning Eleven does this right, so shame on EA for such a lackluster effort.

I will post more later. The verdict is still out on how good or how bad FIFA 2005 is compared to WE7. Right now I think that WE7 easily has the better playing game, but it too has plenty of issues. We could pick apart games all day long, but at the end of the day fun factor wins out. So far, so good, but FIFA 2005’s lack of any semblance of computer controlled AI players is starting to grate very, very quickly.

Share

FIFA 2005 (PS2) Impressions

As promised, as I got off my lazy bones and decided to post some gaming impressions. I have put in a few games of FIFA 2005, and the following are a few random thoughts in no particular order.

At first glance the game is much improved over its predecessor in many areas. The gameplay is better, but there are still issues. The graphics are wonderful; I have yet to see slowdown. The ball physics are greatly improved. The new player inertia physics are a welcome addition. Basically it seems as if the developers finally rebuilt FIFA.

At times the AI is really stupid (CPU players on offense and defense tend to watch too much of the action), but at other times they actually try to help. I am not sure what the pattern is or I would share. I am sick of CPU controlled players in the box watching rebounds instead of clearing (on defense) or putting in a quick shot.

I do not remember the CPU aggressively attacking the ball when trailing in last year’s game, but in FIFA 2005 the defenders get more and more tenacious as the clock counts down towards the end of the game.

I have seen the CPU draw plenty of penalties, cards (no red yet), and I was event awarded a penalty kick, which is something I do not think I saw at all last year.

Thus far I have three disappointing aspects of the game: magnetic posts, cross buildups, and lack of detailed statistics. First, all shots seem to gravitate towards the posts. In fact I would say that 95% of the shots I have seen (my own and the CPU) have been towards the posts. It is almost as if there is some magnetic quality. The variety is decent once the ball reaches the goalie – either he saves, there is a rebound off the goalie, there is a rebound off the post, or the ball somehow sneaks into the net.

Another disappointment is that the CPU only builds attacks along the sidelines in attempts to land crosses. I am hard pressed to think of a buildup down the middle, a simple break away, or anything of the link. Buildups that end in crosses into the box seem to be the rule of the day.

I have yet to play the career mode so maybe complaining about the lack of statistics may be premature. I just want to see more than a few simple game summary stats, bookings, and goal scorers. In this regard, Winning Eleven has me spoiled. Even the older World Tour Soccer releases did a better job of game statistics. FIFA continues to get this wrong year in and year out.

I have had a great time keeping possession with simple passes, lobs, and through balls as I play “keep away” or try to build up for a decent attempt. One thing I have not been successful with is taking the ball from end to end because the CPU defenders usually shut me down. I am sure this may change once I get a handle on the current skill moves.

I have yet to see the CPU try a blast from well outside the penalty area, but I know it is possible to score from 22 or so feet out, as I managed to drill one in (to the far post of course) from the corner of the penalty area.

I’ll end on a few random items that do not directly affect the gameplay, but nevertheless are worth mentioning. I am not sure how much it will matter to readers but the manual sucks; it is only 12 or so pages. The music also sucks. Most of the other EA Sports games come with strong licenses. Not sure what is going on with FIFA 2005, but the music does not do it for me. The save feature also sucks – looks like you can only save to the 1st memory card slot. I think the announcers are unbelievably repetitive; after a few games I think I have heard all they have to say.

Wow. Been a long time since I hit hard with an impression, and I have to say that it feels nice.

More to come later.

Share

ToCA Race Driver 2 and IGN

I was debating ordering ToCA Race Driver 2 for the PS2 since I have always been a big fan of the series and Codemasters. So this afternoon I started clicking on various reviews and eventually arrived at the IGN ToCA Race Driver 2 review. After seeing several references to the Xbox, and a specific one to Xbox Live, I remember why I started reviewing games in the first place.

This will, undeniably, force Xbox Live players to use a much more finesse and less brute force as they plow throw the twisty turns of ToCA.

I can understand if a mega site does not want to completely review a cross-platform game. I can live with that. I can even live with a ton of copy/past for a review. Just give us readers a little heads-up and let us know the games are basically the same, so the original review is serving as the review for the ported releases.

If they pointed out the differences between the Xbox and PS2 then I missed it.

Don’t let the silly name convention fool you; it’s the true sequel to last year’s outing and with a few months between the Xbox release and the PS2 release there are a few small additions as well.

Other than mention of the new Catalunya track, I see little else to let us know the differences between the Xbox and PS2 version. For those of us with multiple platforms (as if I have an Xbox) it would be nice to know what sort of updates (if any) were provided for the PS2 version.

Mega sites may provide a ton of reviews, but they still suck.

Share

NCAA Football 2005 – QB Sacks (and Cheating AI)

A lot of gamers have claimed that NCAA 2005 took a step (or three) backwards this year. Most of the problems center around passing problems; both the ability for human players to complete passes, the CPU AI’s lack of ability to come up with a half-way decent attempt to completion percentage, and super human DBs that cover way too much ground.

I think I have done a good job of overcoming difficulties in the passing game. I can put together 50% (or higher) completion percentage days with ease. The CPU does a much worse job, unless the school is an “elite” school with a renowned passing attack, but there are still too many dropped passes.

I can live with both problems, but it is downright irritating that the game still suffers from the “QB sack” problem. Just what is this problem? Human players can almost never get a pass off as the CPU is about to sack your QB. I could live with this problem if it also affected the CPU, but it does not. Time and time again my QB starts the throw motion, even getting so far as 75% (or more) through the animation, only to tuck the ball back and take a sack. The frustrating part of this is that the CPU manages to get balls off, even throwing the ball away, out of bounds, after the QB is wrapped up by my defensive player. I have watch replays where the CPU QB is completely wrapped up, but manages to throw the ball way with a strange underarm throwing animation. In short, it sucks.

I am not saying that I cannot sack CPU QBs, I can. My frustration is that the CPU is allowed to get away with blatant cheating. I cannot stand it when a game is created in such a way that the CPU is able to do things that I cannot. I can live with some of the other problems such as super fast CPU defenders that are able to cover an ungodly amount of ground in a single bound, and I can even live with some of the dropped passes. The “QB sack” problem grates on me because it has been in at least the last four versions.

I sincerely hope that EA considers addressing this problem, as well as other issues, in the inevitable follow-up next July.

Share

Northeastern 14 – Navy (#78) 31 (NCAA Chronicles 2005, Season 1, Week 3)

Another week, another infraction to take care of; this time CB #23 was recommended for a 3 game suspension due to academic infractions (bad grades). I said the heck with that – this is Navy, so I only suspended the guy for a quarter.

I did not know what to expect with Northeastern. I figured it would be easy, but that never seems to be the case with my games. I let them stick around a little longer than I should have, and once again my experimentation at the end of the game (once in hand) almost cost me. With that said, there were really no worries with this one.

Week 3
#5 Georgia 20 – South Carolina 12
USC remains #1

It is obvious by now that I can run the ball and control the clock. The risk of running an option attack is playing from behind, having to come from behind. Luckily we outclassed our opponent, so we did not have to worry about coming from behind. I do worry about our ability to come back if and when we are trailing somewhere down the road.

The game was rather mundane, but a scary moment happened when my starting QB (#6) went down with an injury in the 2nd quarter (he later returned after the half). My backup came in cold off the bench – 3:18 to play in the half, 16 yard line, 4th and 10. My back (QB #2) easily took the ball in for a TD on the next play. Looks like I may have a capable backup.

I should have had 3 more points, but my kicker was slightly short on a FG attempt at the end of the half, clanking the ball off the crossbar. And it was a resounding clank. At this point I was up 24-7 so the game was as good as over so I decided to let the backups see some action, and to experiment with some of the lesser used plays in my playbook.

               1st   2nd   3rd   4th   |  Final
Northeastern   0     7     0     7     |  14
Navy           10    14    0     7     |  31

Once again I did well passing, but the passes are really there to help with the run; I mostly roll out looking to run and rarely throwing unless my target is very open. My offensive line is giving up way too many sacks; this will hurt me at some point down the road.

                   Northeastern   Navy
Score              14             31
1st Downs          11             21
Total Offense      241            356
Rush-Yards         15-(66)        47-231
Comp-ATT-TD        9-32-1         8-15
Passing Yards      175            125

Sophomore SS #25 was named Defensive Player of the Week (for Independents) – 2 Tackles, 2 INTS, 1 TD

My starting QB (#6) continues to do a bang up job of leading our option attack. He had a 123.3 QB rating, and while he was only 8-15 passing, there were 2 recorded dropped passes.

We really improved on 3rd downs, and we easily won the turnover battle. We have to get better in the redzone – I have to make sure I do well in the red zone because each drive is important when you run a ball control offense.

Other interesting Navy stats/figures/numbers
7-13 (53%) 3rd down efficiency
6-3-1 (66%) in the redzone (redzone-TD-FG)
TOP 8:08 – 15:52
Turnovers 4 – 1 in Navy’s favor
Next up: Navy travels to #74 Tulsa (1-1)
Combined Opponent Record: 2-5
Share

Duke (#94) 14 – Navy (#88) 24 (NCAA Chronicles 2005, Season 1, Week 2)

First let me get the preliminary stuff out of the way. I decided to go with Navy because in all my years of NCAA Football I have never played with them so Navy should be a fresh experience. Second, I like the idea of an independent school – I am not tied to a league as I would have been with my traditional NCAA Football favorites – North Texas, Texas, SMU, and Georgia. Navy starts the year (in NCAA 2005) ranked #88 – so there is a challenge. Finally, Navy runs an option offense, and I love me some option offense.

I am playing on All-American, 6 minute quarters, with heavily tuned sliders. I will discuss these in a later post. NCAA 2005 does have a tendency to drop too many passes, but I have found slider settings that compensate well enough to give me an enjoyable gamplay experience.

One thing I am doing different this year is not listing player names for default players. I will go with number for current roster players, and names for new players. I can go into reasons in a later post.

Week 1 was a bye week for Navy. I’ll post recaps every of other games each week to keep the flavor interesting.

Week 1
USC 62 – Virginia Tech 28
USC had 511 Total Yards in a total Hokie
Week 2
Georgia 42 – Georgia Southern 7
LSU 35 – Oregon State 32

Prior to getting started with my first game I had to take care of some NCAA rules violations. FS #33 (I cannot list these guys names since they are serving our country) was recommended for a 3 game suspension due to Fraud/Team Rules Infractions. At the time I did not realize that he was one of my key players (74 overall rating). I took the recommendation and told the kid to sit for three games.

       1st   2nd   3rd   4th   |  Final
Duke   0     7     0     7     |  14
Navy   10    7     7     0     |  24

Out of the game I dominated with a strong option attack, getting my primary backs (QB, HB, FB, WB) involved quickly. Duke struggled time and again with the option, and play-action passes were easily setup and completed as Duke cheated against the run. The option is a beautiful thing when implemented correctly – truly the option is the great equalizer in college football.

                   Duke           Navy
Score              14             24
1st Downs          10             15
Total Offense      160            263
Rush-Yards         12-(-5)        38-186
Comp-ATT-TD        11-36-2        8-17
Passing Yards      165            77

Obviously the passing completions to attempts for Duke were not too hot. I’ll have to give it a few more games to see if more adjustments can be (or should be) made. I have figured out how to pass, but the CPU just does not put up a good ratio.

I was actually doing very well with my passing attack (7-11) before I started experimenting towards the end of the game. I was up 24-7 and decided to get creative; I’ll have to be more cautious next time as my excitement got the better of me and resulted in an INT and two wasted series.

There was nothing really exciting to report in the game – I kept the ball on the ground and pounded the heck out of Duke’s defense. I completed just enough passes to keep Duke off balance, but I have to get better with third down conversions. My offensive line can run, but pass blocking was lackluster, as my guys up front gave up 3 sacks.

Other interesting Navy stats/figures/numbers
1-10 (10%) 3rd down efficiency
3-4 (75%) 4th down efficiency
4-3-1 (100%) in the redzone (redzone-TD-FG)
TOP 7:43 – 16:17
Turnovers 1 – 1
Share

NCAA 2005 Schedule Bug?

Now that college football has officially kicked-off, consummated by UGA’s 48-28 victory over Georgia Southern, I have decided to once again “chronicle” a NCAA Dynasty. Despite much clamoring on vagrant message boards about the brokenness of this years NCAA football title, I am finding much success, and once again enjoying the college football experience.

First article should be up shortly. I will keep everyone in suspense for a little while longer. I will say that I did not use UGA because it is too easy for me to win with them (on All-American), and I did not pick North Texas (kind of old hat now, plus playing with/as QB Andrew Smith, who died August 7 in a traffic incident, would be disconcerting), and I did not go with SMU again, because, well, there is not much love there. Anyway, more to come.

I noticed that USC played BYU in week #2 (September 4), which is incorrect in real life because BYU just beat Notre Dame. Must be a strange scheduling fluke. Anyone else see this strange scheduling mistake (playing with PS2 version)? I restarted several times just to see if it really was a fluke, but it looks like the scheduled are always set to not have Notre Dame travel to BYU in week #2 of Dynasty Season 1.

Share

And it is Go, Go, Go! (Copycat Racing Goes Underground)

This is ridiculous. In a span of eight days we have NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup (due Aug 31), Street Racing Syndicate (Aug 31), Burnout 3 (due Sep 7), and Juiced (due Sep 7). The NASCAR game makes sense – it is timed around the new playoff format, but what about Juiced and SRS? They are coming out so damn close to each other that they are sure to stunt to the other game, not to mention that Burnout 3 has more “buzz” behind it, plus the EA marketing arm (and $$$).

The second wave of racing games starts in October with TOCA Race Driver 2 (due Oct 5), which is a surprise release. I thought it was going to remain an Xbox exclusive. I have no idea how well the first title did, but the PSX TOCA titles never did that well. I do not have actual sales data to back up that claim, but I just do not remember any of those titles being chart toppers, despite being solid racing games. TOCA 2 and 3 were way ahead of their time, complete with great racing AI and visible damage.

November will see the release of the heavy hitters – Gran Turismo 4 (due Nov 14), Need For Speed Underground 2 (Nov 15), and Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition (Nov 23). I have preorderd GT4 and NFS:U2, but I have no interest in Midnight Club 3, which is going to be completely lost in the wake of the other two games.

What is the deal with all the copycat underground games? Yes, I know NFS:Underground was late to the party, but EA does this type of game so well that I do not see SRS, Juiced, and Midnight Club 3 standing a chance. Oh well, I have a feeling that 2005 will be a great year for bargain bin racing.

Share

Burnout 3 Looks Impressive

This weekend I had a chance to play a Burnout 3 (PS2) demo at Best Buy. I have never played any of the games in the series so I do not have a barometer, but this thing was pretty fun and impressive. In the few minutes I played I decided a couple of things. First, the game has an awesome sense of speed. Second, the game’s crashes are nothing short of spectacular. I have no idea what sort of lasting appeal the game will have, but I bet the crash mode is about as good as it gets for “pick up and play” action.

Need For Speed is about the closest thing I get to arcade racing these days, but Burnout 3 certainly got my attention. I would put it on my buy list if it was cheaper, but $50 is a little too much for my taste for this sort of game. Speaking of which, I am not sure what EA was thinking when it decided to take over publishing rights; maybe they are playing to make Need For Speed an “exotic” racer once again, while the Burnout series takes over the Ridge Racer arcade style formula. It will be interesting to see how EA positions the two series with future releases.

Share

Crash ‘N’ Burn – Out of the Loop

Today I was slogging through mounds of email, and I noticed that I was sent an invitation from the PlayStation Underground to apply for a beta test position for Eidos’ Crash ‘N’ Burn. Two things come to mind. First, I have never received an invite to be a beta tester before, so that was fairly cool. Second, I am so far out of the loop that I have no idea what this game is about. Still, the email said, “you meet all of the requirements and have been invited to participate in the online public beta test…”

Kind of interesting since I am not a big online fan, and it is a little disconcerting that I am completely out of it when it comes to release lists. There was a time in my life when I could recite (in great detail) tons of games that were on my radar and even complete lists of games that I figured would be lame, or discount rack material. I assume this game is kind of like Destruction Derby, and all good readers (and I suspense Sony too) know that the rolling demo for DD convinced me that I needed this new shiny known as the PlayStation months before Sony took over the world of video gaming.

Alas, this said tale ended with a message that stated that the enrollment period was over and all beta tester positions have been filled. At least I know that there is still some hope for me. After all, I did get the email saying that I was cool enough to be a beta testing. Then again, I am sure 1000s of others received the same letter. Still being invited to beta test is something to hang my hat on … I guess.

Share

Father’s Day Game – Champions of Norrath (PS2)

I continue to enjoy the “Father’s Day Game” as my oldest son is fond of calling Champions of Norrath; yes – it was one of my father’s day presents last June. I have yet to finish this game, and I have not played online yet, but it continues to suck me in each time I play. This game definitely causes a case of “just 5 more minutes.”

So why does this game have lasting power? Fun factor and serious replay value; true hallmarks of a worthwhile game.

First, it is hack-and-slash action at its finest! If you just want to power your way through a game with little regard to anything other than “mash, slash, and bash” this one is for you. The cool thing is that the game plays completely differently depending on your character of choice. Do you want to plow through the game with brute force, or would you rather use a vast array of spells? Either way the game is equally fun.

Second, the graphics are exceptionally solid. Snowblind Studios is one of my favorite development shops – they also developed Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, which was the previous bar for hack-and-slash action on the PS2. The graphics in Champions of Norrath are about as good as it gets; regardless of the effects, be it water, fire, spells, arrows sticking to attacking creatures, pools of blood (option for those with small children), level design, or pretty much anything else. Seriously, even your most jaded graphics whore will be impressed.

Third, the intangibles are impressive. The flexible “level-up” system provides some strategy and makes the game a little more interesting than your normal flavor of hack-and-slash games. You get to allocate points to various attributes (strength, dexterity, intelligence, and stamina) and you get to allocate points to various skills (power up your slash attacks, shoot ice/freeze arrows, cast disease attacks, and so on). On top of all this, you also get to power up weapons for a truly creative system that provides a few reasons to plan out your path through the game.

Fourth, the game is a joy to play in co-op mode; my son and I are having a blast playing through this one together. Needless to say, this game has me convinced that I may actually be missing something by not playing online. That is a big omission for this gamer.

Final words – Champions of Norrath has what it takes; the game has an extremely high fun factor, and the reply value is easily worth the price of admission [currently $19.99 new at most major retailers]. Check out Game Rankings for more Champions of Norrath information.

Buy

Share

Air Style Wireless Controller (PS2) – Full of Hot Air

Last summer I imported an Air Style Wireless Controller (produced by Fountech) from LinkSang after reading rave reviews from IGN and PSM. I needed something on the PS2 equivalent to the GameCube’s WaveBird. The Air Style Wireless Controller does fit the bill.

After PSM named the controller one of the best wireless options on the PS2 and IGN gave the controller some sort of 2003 E3 “Best of” award, I figured I could not go wrong. After all, the specs on the box listed the controller as having 50+ hours of battery life, a 30 foot range, and the latest RF technology, I figured I was good to go – wireless I would be – life would be good.

So why am I writing this sad little tale now? After laying out $61.99 ($39.99 + $22.00 shipping) to import this little wireless wonder, I cashed in my losses on eBay last weekend – recovering $17.00 + shipping. Could have been worse I guess.

This controller acted more like IR (line of sight) instead of RF. I had to sit within about 5 feet of my system to get decent response, and even then at times the inputs (button presses) often queued up and really messed up my playing experience. I could go on, and I will…

The controller’s vibration response is almost non-existent, the D-pad is completely flaky when in analog mode, and the controller’s response time complete stinks. Game after game I wondered what I was doing wrong. Gone were my dreams of being untethered from the entertainment center, gone were my hopes of burning a perfect lap, lost were my chances to hit the perfect button combo in pretty much any game.

I found myself frequently changing the 2-AA batteries, and constantly switching between the full-analog mode and the power-saving economy mode. At times the economy mode actually worked better than full-analog mode. Something just did not add up. Maybe my Asia version does not work so well on my US PS2? Maybe the new US version actually performs better? I am not really sure, but I must say that I was completely disappointed in the controller IGN and PSM crowned the would be king of PS2 Wireless.

If you must be wireless, try the Logitech Cordless Action Controller, which is a fabulous alternative to the standard Sony Dual Shock controller, and is actually the real deal when it comes to RF technology.

Dud

Share