Life is sometimes funny. I will go for long stretches of time, not worrying about the “little things” in a game that used to bother me. Now that I am a borderline mass-market gamer, I just want to have fun with my gaming experiences. Then other times (such as last night) I revert back to my previous life of a jaded sports gaming bastard.
I think I have complained enough about QB sacks for the last 3-4 years that no one much cares about me complaining yet again – but that is what I do best! So here goes … I am sick and tired of getting my ass handed to me in the form of a sack when my QA is tackled (or hit) by a CPU defender mid-throw. It is so damn frustrating to watch my CPU tuck the ball back in and take a sack even if he has gone through three-fourths of his throwing motion. I could live with this (maybe) if the game was fair about it and also sacked the CPU QBs, but no, that would be too damn easy.
Last night this happened several times (North Texas vs. Florida Atlantic); one time the impact rated QA for Florida Atlantic completed some sort of crazy 180-degree behind the back, underarm pass. No kidding, I was in the process of sacking the CPU’s impact QB, who’s back happened to be facing away from the line of scrimmage; when all of a sudden, the QB flipped the ball 10-yards forward to a WR. Wow! That sort of stuff does not make my day. In fact, when I have not had any gaming time for about a week, it really sort of spoils the experience. I thought I had moved passed this already, but old habits die hard.
Another annoyance is that North Texas’s schedule is messed up. I finished up my schedule against Florida Atlantic on the road, but “in real life” North Texas’s last game of the year is in Denton hosting Arkansas State. I am not sure when it happened (maybe the schedule changed after the game was released), but the October 1 game with Troy was moved to Tuesday night – October 4 – on ESPN2, while the Arkansas state was moved to the end of the year Minor squabble, and to be fair, maybe not the fault of EA Sports. I was already jawed up, but I am happy to get to watch the Mean Green on TV!
At the end of my first season I was ranked 32nd in the country; a health 10-1 record, with the only blemish being a beating at the hands of LSU. My next game is the New Orleans bowl vs. the Zips from Akron (6-5). I am now ranked #20 in the country. I guess this mimics real life; sit back and do nothing for several weeks and watch your rankings climb! The whole Top 25 pole system in NCAA 2006 needs to be improved for next year.
I do still like the game, but sometimes the little things get me down. Hopefully I will have time to play and get over it tonight.
