Author: jcalvert

White Knight Chronicles

I am surprised that selling ~275K copies of a game warrants a sequel; not complaining mind you, just thought it was interesting that White Knight Chronicles II is nearing a U.S. release.

The North American version will include a fully localized version of the Japanese game with additional on-disc quests that were originally released as downloadable quests in Japan in January 2011. In our North American version, players can start from White Knight Chronicles II without completing the original game — an important point, as the Japanese version requires players to clear White Knight Chronicles: International Edition in order to play the sequel.

It’s a good thing that gamers do not have to finish WKC:I in order to enjoy the sequel. I would be toast; never managed to complete the first title, but will probably look to waste a few dollars and hours on number two.

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Week in Gaming (40? Not so old after all)

NCAA Football 12, what else? It is actually growing on me as I continue to fine tune some of the sliders, but the reality is that under the covers this is still the same NCAA Football that I turned my back on several years ago. Sure, there are improvements, small little niggles that any simulation fan will pick up on, but casual fans are going to wonder why they should continue to “upgrade” yearly.

I have not started farting around with Dynasty mode yet; mostly because of time commitments, and secondly because the developers have taken Dynasty mode in a forgettable direction. Is it really so hard to get this right? Just throw a couple of dedicated NCAA football fans at the helm as “consultants,” find some decent software engineers that understand progression modeling, standard deviation (from walk-ons to blue chip prospects), make it adjustable via various slider settings, and tie it all up with a pretty interface (hire a UI consultant) and we would have the killer experience that we have been longing for since we first fell in love with NCAA Football during the heydays of the 2000-2001 releases.

One can dream, right? Instead, according to Bill Abner at nohighscores, we get recruiting run amuck.

In 2013 we see…

42 quarterbacks rated 90 or higher

41 running backs rated 90 or higher

The country is filled with B+ to A+ rated teams, as progression has simply gone insane. You can make the case that the overall score for these players doesn’t matter, that it is the individual ratings that carry more weight and this argument would hold more water if EA shipped rosters that reflected this. They didn’t. This CLEARLY can’t be how it’s meant to work. EA can’t possibly mean for Ohio U (not Ohio State, but the Bobcats of Athens) to finish 12-0 in 2013 and have an 81 rated HB win the Heisman. That can’t be right.

What this does is effectively make your NCAA Dynasty a crap shoot when games are simmed as truly great programs are likely to go 6-6 because everyone is rated so closely together (unless you are truly a bottom feeder team.) A team might go 11-1 one year, still have a great team the next and lose 5 or 6 games due to randomness.

Is this harsh? Not at all if you admit to yourself that …

(A) NCAA Football is a niche title, which a simulation fan base and mass market appeal. The former demands a decent (that is really the mark at this point – decent) simulation, while that later just wants their beloved team to beat the shit out of everyone else.

(B) While my gaming habits these days are still rooted in simulation experiences, I have shifted (kicking and screaming) into the realm of a semi-casual gamer. This has an interesting impact on my gaming because I can really appreciate the full spectrum more so than at any prior point in my gaming life.

Catherine Demo
I spent a little time with the strange and curious Catherine; what will those crazy Japanese developers think of next? After watching this game for a while, I was interested to get my hands on the demo. It is really just a block pulling/pushing/manipulating puzzle type game, with an interesting story. While I like interesting (i.e. different) games, I am not so sure that I am going to keep this one on pre-order. I would actually like to see how the story plays out; could probably save $60 and just wait for the eventual youtube videos to make an appearance.

The Sly Collection: Sly Cooper and the Thievius Racoonus
Still working my way through this one; currently in the Mesa City section. I missed these games the first time around (PS2 releases) and am glad I am giving the HD versions a go. The Sly games, at least the first one, are all about classic platform gaming action; however a little on the easy side. The cartoon cell-shaded graphic style makes the game appear to be a kiddie outing, but I think adults that grew up in the Mario world should enjoy the Sly games.

Where to from here?
Any gaming time this coming week will probably be spent with NCAA 12, exploring the broken Dynasty mode, looking to see if it is really as bad as has been reported. I’ll probably also turn back to LBP some; have given it a rest the last couple of weeks in order to recharge my appreciation for this true gem.

I also need to decide if I am going to take the plunge on any of the PSN Summer Sale games. I have such a huge backlog of games that I will probably pass; have to admit that Pac-Man Championship Edition DX is tempting me.

40 is just a number … although a scary one!
Speaking of 40, while it’s really not so old, it’s darn hard to believe that my household now features a 40 year-old better half. Cheers to Tonya; 40 is really just a starting point, a silly number if you will.

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Caleb King Gone; Richard Samuel Runs Again

I know I am a day late and a dollar short on these articles; blame it on my computer woes from last week. I just can’t help myself …

I doubt any team is going to take a flyer on King in the supplemental draft (whenever that occurs); maybe a team (thinking New England) that has plenty of 5-7 round picks stockpiled for future days.

These articles are just too nice; King flunked out of school, which is politically incorrect for losing one’s academic eligibility.

Because the Dawgs now find pitiful depth in the backfield, Samuel has been asked to switch positions yet again, returning to the backfield to help provide some stability, depth, and leadership.

Georgia lost its top two tailbacks of the two last seasons — Caleb King and Washaun Ealey – to academic ineligibility and transfer, respectively, since the end of spring practice. True freshman Isaiah Crowell, junior Carlton Thomas and redshirt freshman Ken “Boo” Malcome were the only remaining tailbacks on scholarship.

Did I mention that King flunked out? Ealey left after several disciplinary mishaps. Once again; these writers are too nice, but I guess they have to hold out for scoops. Or something; digressing again, sorry.

So back to Samuel. Good trooper, and all, but unless there are serious injury problems or concerns that the other backs are not going to be able to carry the load, I do not expect to see Samuel more than a handful of carries a game. If Samuel is looked to as the savior, we are facing another lost season.

Go Dawgs!

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NFL Players and Owners Coming To Their Collective Senses?

It looks like everyone may have finally agreed (or darn well near) on how to divvy up the NFL Cash Cow. It’s about time!

One really interesting point in all of the labor negotiations is the short term free agent mess.

The players currently are unwilling to grant NFL teams extra right-of-first-refusals on this year’s free agent class, because many of those free agents were restricted under last year’s uncapped system. Owners have asked that they have the right to designate three free agents whose contracts with other teams they would have the right to match.

I am really curious to see how this plays out as the Falcons offensive line could be greatly impacted.

What happens if, under the new collective bargaining agreement, three-fifths of the Falcons’ starting offensive line is granted unrestricted free agency? Will the Falcons move to keep all three — Tyson Clabo, Harvey Dahl and Justin Blalock? Will they settle for two of the above? One of the above? Who would replace the incumbents? Understudies Garrett Reynolds and Mike Johnson? Can a team poised for a Super Bowl run afford to change so much up front at such a late date?

I really haven’t fretted too much over this due to the downer that is the lost NFL off-season – no real camps, no free agent signings, no rookie holdouts (OK, not so much on that one), early June cap casualties, etc.

I also didn’t bother to write about the Falcons off-season, draft, or schedule – it just didn’t seem to matter. Hopefully that changes soon because I love the NFL and love writing about my beloved Falcons!

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NCAA Football 12 – Very First Impressions

After skipping NCAA Football for the last couple of years, I didn’t really know what to expect, but I was semi-excited. Not “I’m about to get laid” excited; let’s call it curiously enthusiastic.

This is going to sound awful, but my first thoughts while beating down the dreaded bumblebees from Tech 35-14: “The game has not progressed; at its roots, this is still the same NCAA Football that I stopped playing due to discontent in the game’s direction.” I gave up on the franchise a couple of years ago because I thought it had been on a downward spiral since the glory days of NCAA 2000-2001, never really captivating me during the PS2 days and of course somewhat lackluster PS3 offerings.

Maybe I just expected too much. Maybe as a former reviewer I stopped appreciating fun, always concentrating on little flaws and gameplay defects. Maybe NCAA Football gave up on me, its core audience from the original PlayStation days.

So here I was last night listening to the same stale and forgettable (dare I say terrible?) commentary that seems to be impossible for the development team to improve. The in-game presentation does not at all seem fresh; far from an ESPN Game Day experience. Did I just see frame-rate stuttering as the players ran to the line of scrimmage? I know I did not just see one of those crazy-ass superhuman, no way that could happen in real life, CPU ball carriers speeding up, skipping multiple frame rates, just to make a first down. Say it’s not true …

I know I am only a few games in, but what’s the point of sportsmanship points when the game’s AI doesn’t seem to understand the concept? As an example, my beloved Dawgs were trashing the fighting chickens of South Carolina (hey, I can dream of future days), 38-0 deep in the 4th QTR; I did a quick out play … mainly because I was still learning the playbook and wanted to practice the play to get the timing down. I got docked -75 sportsmanship points. A few plays later, as time was running out, I kicked a FG, just because I could and I am all for knocking the Gamecocks’ in the teeth. Guess what? +12 sportsmanship points. That makes sense.

I am sure (probably) that as I play more, I am going to uncover actual gameplay elements that make me looked bemused – wow, the gameplay is really improved. Look at those attack angles, look at the closing distance; those DBs are really playing zone defense correctly. Or maybe not; such is the life of a jaded, former reviewer.

Hopefully under the covers, I will actually discover some fun. The greatest compliment to this game will be me falling in love enough to start a Chronicles series, and maybe, just maybe pass up Madden 12.

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Dell Inspiron 1525 Crashes and Data Backup Follies

I guess it was bound to happen; our 3.5+ year old laptop met a cruel fate, as the HDD suffered a catastrophic failure. What a mess; one of these days I will learn to do a better job of backups. I do at work, but not so much at home, as my most recent full backup (images, music, docs, tax returns, etc.) was from Feb. Oops!

So I spent the better part of the weekend running diagnostics, trying to get to Vista Safe Mode, etc. No luck. I did manage to uncover that “system volume on disk corrupt” – not pretty. Apparently Windows Resource Protection “found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.” – not so good.

I could never get into Safe Mode because the system would hang on CRCDISK.SYS; presumably attempting to fix the corrupt files.

It was real easy to see where this was headed. I have another six months of warranty, so when I contact Dell, they are going to tell me to format (restore to system to factory default settings).

So I decided that (A) it was time for a new laptop; really need one anyway (B) I would attempt to recover my data manually. Skipping to (B), I went to Best Buy and purchased a RocketFish USB 3.0 2.5” SATA Hard Drive enclosure, which I used to get access to all my data. For (A), at Best Buy I also picked up a Toshiba Satellite P745-S421 – Intel Core i5-2410M 2.30GHz, 6GB RAM, with Windows 7 (64 bit), which is a nice upgrade over my old Insprion-1525.

The RocketFish worked like a charm; I found all my data intact, copied it to the appropriate location on the new Toshiba, and am pleased that I lost little to no data. While I did manage to pull in most of my contacts, I “lost” my Outlook email, although I figured out a way to browse the messages; I just do not have them loaded into the P745’s Windows Live Mail client.

Today I finally got online with Dell tech support (instead of playing NCAA Football 12); of course we had to go with the Restore System option!

So now the Inspiron 1525 is back in action, sans all the original clutter of loads of software, music, and miscellaneous data. I am now going through 100+ Windows updates and other fun stuff (only without the fun) before relegating the old 1525 to the kids’ school table.

I still have to get OOTP11 and a few other odds and ends up re-installed, but other than that … I am ready to move on to something more fun; say NCAA Football 12!

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NCAA Football 12 – Finally Off The Sidelines

For the first time in recent memory (since NCAA Football 09 to be exact), I preordered NCAA Football. It didn’t hurt that Amazon offered a $20 promotional credit (already applied to my account). They also offered up some sort of PDF “starter guide” – have not looked at it to see if offers anything of note.

Enough of that; I happen to be home this afternoon. Strange coincidence that UPS just showed up with NCAA Football 12? Probably not …

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Independence Day – Happy 4th

Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend – baseball, cold blue cans of wonderment, and of course eye candy.

 

July 4th amiclubwear eyecandy ©amiclubwear - probably


God bless America!

 

I have had a great long weekend – plenty of gaming action, two cookouts, and family movie night with the third Pirates Blu-ray. Today we are doing an extended family lunch at our favorite local Mexican joint; seems a little anti-American to eat Mexican on the 4th, but I digress.

Hope you and yours have a great holiday!

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Welcome Back Choices

Today is the last day to claim any “welcome back” games. When Sony’s package went live in early June, I picked up the free PS3 theme and LittleBigPlanet (LBP) for the PSP. I still have not made my other PSP selection; will probably settle on ModNation Racers as Pursuit Force and Killzone Liberation are not my typical fare for PSP gaming.

From a PS3 standpoint, I already purchased the PSN titles Dead Nation and Super Stardust HD. I also own LBP (although the Game of the Year Edition), and inFAMOUS. While I do not technically “own” Wipeout HD, I do have it available to my library as part of the initial PS+ offering. I also took advantage of a PS+ discount last September to pick up the Fury DLC for $7.99, which also renders this option as semi-worthless.

In other words, my PS3 choices are rather limited. I decided on Wipeout HD just because I would now “own” the game; not that I am planning on letting my PS+ subscription expire anytime soon.

I also decided on inFAMOUS; was there really any other choice? inFAMOUS was packed in with my PS3 Slim that I purchased around this time last year as a replacement to my original PS3 60GB system. Would you believe that I never actually played inFAMOUS, much less opened the game? I know; I suck. Figured I would get to it at some point down the road as I work my way through my backlog of games.

By going with inFAMOUS, I figure I can at least flip my copy for a few bucks on eBay or via some sort of trade in down the road, although the value has to be pennies on the dollar due to the game being offered in the “welcome back” package.

Yesterday I attempted to add inFAMOUS as my second game, however it was not offered as an available “welcome back” choice. After a lot of pain and suffering (i.e. research), I realized that because I never deleted and never played the free trial I received last year as part of PS+, I needed to download the trail again, play it, and let it expire.

That is a hell of a lot of work to try to get some value from the “welcome back” package. It fact it was way more work than I anticipated. For some reason the game took impossibly long to download; maybe hordes of other gamers were also making last minute “welcome back” selections.

At any rate, the download completed and installed just before midnight last night. I played it for about 30 minutes before crashing for the night. When I checked the available “welcome back” options this morning, there sat inFAMOUS. So happy days; I am currently downloading the full game now.

I know I should not look a gift horse in the mouth …

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[July 4th Update:] If you failed to collect your free “welcome back” games, Sony has extended the offer: “The Welcome Back offer has been extended until 9am Pacific on Tuesday, July 5th. If you haven’t had a chance to download the offerings, please do so before then.”

If you have not already done so, now is the time to do the needful.

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PS+ Turns One

Actually, the official’ish b-day bash was a few nights ago (June 28), but I am just getting around to finding a few minutes to share some thoughts on year one.

PSN’er markburleson85 maintains a spectacular list of all the prizes, trinkets, discounts, and other miscellaneous crap offered to date by Sony as part of the PS+ program.

Of course spreadsheets are pretty and all, but for the graphics whore in you, check out IGN’s PS+ recap, replete with plenty of pretty graphs.

In my opinion the PS+ service has been well worth the $50 “investment.” While I have played many “free” games that I would have never purchased, I consider that a nice little bonus; sort of a way to round out my gaming experience. The discounts have been nice, but could be better – I would love to see a monthly coupon for a 20% discount on any PSN store item. Of course more exclusive avatars, themes, Home items, and sundry trinkets would be appreciated.

I am not sure if Sony considers the PS+ program a success, or if Sony is still trying to dip their foot in the water for pay-to-play network services. I do know that a hidden gem in the PS+ offering is the “automatic download” feature, which has been a fantastic timesaver. It is also readily apparent that Sony is moving towards more “cloud” type services, as this has been implicitly implied as part of the core Vita offering.

As PS+ moves into its second year, I hope for newer games, more day one discounts, and previously mentioned shiny trinkets.

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PSP Still Has Legs

Well, at least in Japan. I think it is interesting that the PSP is still managing strong sells in the face of the upcoming Vita and of course the 3DS.

Of course Sony could be heavily discounting the PSP or offering pack-ins, or other incentives; or maybe all three. In fact yesterday I received some Sony propaganda for a PSP-3000 deal (Japan must have something similar). The PSP-3000 Limited Edition Entertainment Pack includes Gran Turismo, MLB 11: The Show, and a 2GB memory stick PRO; all this is yours for $159 MSRP, which is actually a pretty solid deal for anyone needing a PSP replacement or just late to the PSP party.

I have been considering getting one of my boys a PSP; thinking they will go even lower in the final days before Vita, which will happen to be in the headwinds of the Christmas shopping season.

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Journey – Not the Wheel in the Sky

Journey is one of those really compelling games that I have been keeping close tabs on, and now it looks like PS+ is paying some dividends in landing a limited beta invite.

To test Journey’s innovative and unusual multiplayer functionality, we are conducting a small, invite-only beta that will run tomorrow, June 28 and will run through July 12. If you were one of the very earliest adopters of Flower, and you are a PS Plus subscriber as well, watch your XMB inbox for your invitation and entry into the beta. Additionally, we’ve been able to free up a limited number of additional spots for the beta. Please check thatgamecompany’s Facebook page, here on the PlayStation Blog, or our media partners and their sites for code give-aways.

It is not 100% clear from the article if all PS+ subscribers are getting an invite. Keeping my fingers crossed, because I am really interested in this one.

[Update June 29, 2011] I was a day one PS+ subscriber, and I didn’t receive an invite for the limited Journey beta, so it is safe to say that not all PS+ subscribers will receive an invite.

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Now Playing (Closing Out June Edition)

Or maybe we should have called this one the Trophy whore edition. Yes, while putting in a few hours of “fun” time, I have actually been doing a little Trophy chasing (i.e. being a total Trophy whore).

Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet
I am all in on this one, which is great fun to play with the kids. Would I ever actively play this one on my own? Not with so many other great titles out there waiting for my attention. The AI can be kind of cheap and inconsistent. Some of the challenges are really a mess, and while nothing is overly difficult, some wore my patience to the nubs. Oh yeah, and the game will often crash, not saving your hard earned progress, which at times can make for a frustrating experience due to a clunky and slow menu/interface.

With all that said, my four and nine year olds love the game. They are enjoying the game, working to unlock all the characters, and of course earning Trophies. I have had to use a couple of “cheat” guides, mostly to find a few of the “ collectible” items; in most games, including this one, Trophies around collecting stuff are a total PITA. Thus the guides, as I really don’t have enough hours in the day to find overly complicated hidden crap, including BS Trophies. The joys of going after a “family” Platinum trophy, which we picked up tonight.

Ferrari Challenge
It is not the best racing game out there, but at this point I feel like I need to keep slowly pushing forward towards the Platinum. I have written about this one enough in the past to limit this entry to a single, decent racing experience description.

3 on 3 NHL Arcade
I picked this one on sale with a PlayStation Plus (PS+) price of $3.00 (compared to the way over inflated regular price of $9.99). If you are a complete Trophy whore, you probably already have this one. It is ridiculous easy to rack up the Trophies within a few games (2-3 hours tops).

As luck would have it, 3 on 3 is a fun arcade experience for playing with my kids. I can actually see this one sticking around for regular pick up and play sessions. I’m not a huge hockey fan or anything like that, but it is kind of disappointing that the game does not include some sort of team license. As it stands, there are a few ‘real’ players, but it would be nice to give the Thrashers a little glory.

Space Invaders Infinity Gene
This continues to be one of the better shooters around. You can just trip back and completely zone out on this one. I am not sure exactly what a “zen like quality is” but Infinity Gene must be what people mean when they throw out this description.

I’ll have 100% complete if I can manage to complete the game without continuing. Of course I doubt that  will happen anytime soon; not enough skill in these old gaming bones. No regrets; well worth the purchase (I got it a while back for a tick under $5).

Little Big Planet: Game of the Year Edition
Everyone loves LBP, right? Right now I am just kind of playing the game here and there, exploring the different levels, and having a good time experiencing this one with the kids. I am trying to get my oldest kid interested in designing games or programming, so I am kind of keeping my fingers crossed that this perks up his interest.

Up Next …
As we turn towards July, and the long Independence Day weekend, I have several games lined up for my three day weekend rotation.

Dungeon Hunter (PS+ price $10.39, regular price $12.99); looks like some decent co-op gaming action. Notice the theme? I am really turning my rotation towards games I can play with the kids, without have to go 100% in the direction of Marvel Super Hero Squad type games.

Dragon’s Lair (picked it up for $4.99); really just got it for nostalgic purposes. Probably paid $1-2 too much, but it should be enjoyable, and will also give my kids a little history and perspective on the industry and what use to pass as a serious quarter muncher.

Sly Collection; re-mastered HD versions (improved with the addition of Trophies) of all three Sly Cooper classics.
Sly Cooper and The Thievius Raccoonus, Sly 2: Band of Thieves and Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves. I am sure the boys and I will have a blast with this one.

Wizardy; I keep thinking about picking this one up. Maybe a sale will tip me over the edge, but as it stands, I think my backlog is too great to justify this one. But I am so tempted!

Good gaming!

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U.S. Falters in Gold Cup Final

I really shouldn’t be bitter because the better team won. Mexico was faster, more explosive off the ball, and faster.  Did I say faster?  Mexico’s speed was an amazing contrast to just how slow our backfield (and pretty much everyone on the field) is in comparison.

On this day, and really until some significant changes occur within the U.S. program, this Mexico squad will be the superior CONCACAF team for the next World Cup buildup.

Going down 2-0 just pissed Mexico off, although I was going nuts in my living room, in stark contrast to the crap ‘home field’ advantage of playing in front of a pro Mexico crowd in the Rose Bowl.

I never expected the game to start like it did; I was just praying that we could hold the game in check for the first 15 minutes, settle down, and maybe get a chance. Instead, Mexico scored two in a row two times. After four straight goals it was more or less apparent that the U.S. has a long way to go.

Shades of the last Confederations Cup. Only this time we did not wait until the second half to let our opponent back into the game.

So what went wrong? Defense; lack of speed and closing ability. Losing one defender shouldn’t spell complete doom.

Defender Steve Cherundolo, who had played every minute of the Gold Cup for the United States, sprained his left ankle and left in the 11th minute. His disappearance seemed to take some of the focus out of the United States defense.

Are you f’ing kidding me? That is the understatement of the year. I like how Cherundolo has played (plus Cherrrrunnndoloooo just rolls of the tongue), and while I have not written about his consistent play, I had no idea how much he mattered to our shaky defense. Once he was out, it was really all she wrote.

It is not as if Cherundolo would be warming the bench of any major club teams, so it is sad to see such a shocking drop off in his sub. I wonder what the thought process was in bringing in Bornstein? Seriously; WTF was Bornstein doing out there? He was awful, as was the rest of the line and defensive midfield.

Bitter? Yes, but I should not have been, because in my heart of hearts, I knew this U.S. team was flawed, and will continue to be until we see some major changes.

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