Author: jcalvert

NCAA Football 11 – Worth Considering?

Last year I gave up on EA’s NCAA Football series. I just did not see enough improvement to make it worth my while; the series had grown stale. Besides, these days I just do not have time to tackle two football titles. I have thrown my time towards Madden, but there was a time when I eagerly anticipated the next annual NCAA Football installment.

So far this year I am still on the sidelines. While I have pre-ordered Madden 11 (a $20 videogame promotional credit from Amazon certainly helped persuade me), I have decided to wait on some of the reviews to come in before making a decision on NCAA Football 11.

I am going to be out of country this week, so that actually buys me some time to read some of the initial thoughts, especially from some of the more informed blog sites. Speaking of reviews (and review scores), this article on the influence of review scores is worth a read.

So far the early scores on metacritic are favorable. I wonder how long that will last and if NCAA Football 11 will hold up. If anything, if NCAA Football 11 provides a “fresh” experience, I expect it will garner higher review scores than Madden 11.

Of course a little competition for EA would be helpful, but thanks to exclusive licensing deals with the NCAA and NFL, that is not going to happen.

Share

Cannot wait for F1 2010 to arrive!

I ran across this great F1 2010 commentary [via N4G], which is an excellent developer write-up and depiction of the racing action found in F1 2010 [360 version] complete with bugs and such. Seriously, if you are a fan of F1 videogames, this is worth a read.

I recently sold my F1: Formula One Championship Edition, which looks to be somewhat collectable (well over the original list price on Amazon). I also sold GT5 Prologue, which in my opinion was a very disappointing game; cannot think of the last time I played it. I enjoyed GT4 for the PS2 much better, but alas it will not work on my new Slim; besides, my youngest son broke the game.

I decided that with F1 2010 (September’ish – hopefully) and GT5 Collector’s Edition (November 2) on the way, it was time to dump some racing games. At one point in time I would have kept both games. After all, F1 CE is “collectable” and I own all the other Gran Turismo game, but times are different. I am getting much better at rotating out games instead of sitting on them. Some value for a dust collector is better than … well, dust.

Share

Braves – Mets (NL East Up For Grabs)

Braves need to take at least 1 out of 3 this weekend before the All-Star break in order to hang onto first place in the NL East. With their poor performance on the road (taking 2 of 3 from the Phillies earlier in the week was an exception) I would be happen with anything other than a sweep at the hands of the Mets. If the Braves could somehow pull off 2 of 3, the Braves would look fantastic heading into the All-Star break.

ESPN has a nice preview of the upcoming series, complete with some interesting notes and tidbits of information. The pitching match-ups look outstanding!

METS (47-38, second place/NL East) vs. BRAVES (50-35, first place/NL East)

Friday: RHP R.A. Dickey (6-1, 2.62) vs. RHP Tommy Hanson (8-5, 4.19), 7:10 p.m. ET

Saturday: RHP Mike Pelfrey (10-3, 3.39) vs. RHP Tim Hudson (8-4, 2.44), 4:10 p.m. ET

Sunday: LHP Johan Santana (6-5, 3.15) vs. RHP Derek Lowe (9-7, 4.40), 1:10 p.m. ET (ESPN)

I am just keeping my fingers crossed that Jeff Francoeur does not “beat the crap” out of Atlanta.

Go Braves!

Share

PSP Update

I thought this was a great PSP article on kotaku via N4G. As documented here, my PSP ownership has been very hit or miss. My periods of PSP enjoyment are often followed by very long (as in months) dry spells where the PSP does not get any love.

Over the last few weeks that has changed. I really think that for the most part I have been playing the wrong games. Gems like Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters and God of War: Chains of Olympus are very worthwhile PSP gaming experiences.

Share

Home? Not Impressed Yet …

I decided to “try” Home yesterday just to see if there was any reason to log in daily, weekly; am I missing out?

Before jumping in [Home and this article] I think it is worth quoting two Home articles from the official’ish blog, which pretty much summed up my prior opinion of Home.

Midway games will be available on a pay-to-play model, but will also have free “timed plays.” And as you master each game (meaning: you pass level 10), you in turn unlock unlimited plays for that game. Add into this the 100 + rewards (one reward for each level of each game that you beat – including a free personal space), and we think you’ll find the Midway a great value. [source: Home blog]

Like a real arcade at a fair or on a midway, right? Micro transactions are a good way to slowly let your cash slip away.

“Andy’s Room” transports players to the world of Buzz Lightyear, Woody, and the other toys owned by Andy Davis. Packed with mini-games and fun interactives, Andy’s Room is a must-have addition to your personal space collection. Pick yours up this Thursday from the Estates store in the PlayStation Home Mall. [source: Home blog]

Ah, another micro transaction.

After jumping into Home, I made a virtual avatar, and decked him out with my minimal choices in my wardrobe. If I do not want a “bland” online presence, it looks like I need to play to play; rather shop to add some personality. Same for my virtual home space, which was virtually empty.

I walked around and explored a little while in the main meeting area, played a fireworks mini game and won a sparkler, and walked around in the midway space (play to play, no thanks) and poked around in the mall.

One thing struck me over and over. In a MMORP such as WoW you are paying a monthly fee, which enables you to upgrade your character’s (avatar) appearance by earning new levels, items, etc. The best I can tell, in the world of Home, you get in for free, but in general you do not earn anything to change your avatar’s appearance. I could be wrong on this one; instead you use micro transactions to do the needful.

Maybe there are free game spaces, and options to earn free items, but I did not stick around long enough to see if I could uncover anything useful. I just cannot see myself paying $0.11 for a “cactus in a pot” decoration for my apartment. Forget about paying $1.99 (and probably a lot lower and much higher) for a new jacket for my avatar.

Good for Sony for striking gold. I could not believe the number of avatars that I saw running around that must have spent a decent amount of money in the mall. Every one of these clowns has given Sony some real money for an upgraded virtual appearance. I wonder how much they have spent decorating their home space?

With all that said, maybe I am being unduly harsh. If you are use to throwing money fees at an online service, this is really the same thing, assuming there is some value to be found in Home over and beyond playing dress up. I have yet to find it, but I admit that I did not look too hard yesterday. I’ll try again later.

Share

Plus – Upon Further Review

Started to call this one “Plusing” – not really a word, but sort of catchy. I wanted to get some additional thoughts on Plus update on this wonderful holiday weekend. This love tribute to Plus from IGN pretty much hits on the mark and mirrors my viewpoint.

Colin Moriarty: We shall see. Rumor has it that Zen Pinball is going to be the next free game, and I don’t own that one either. But yes — the discounts have a lot of power with me as well. They already have me considering buying Cuboid (which I will get to keep even if I choose to stop subscribing to PlayStation Plus). But to me, what’s really exciting about PlayStation Plus isn’t what we’ve already seen and what we already know but everything that could potentially come to the service in the future. After all, as Jeff Rubenstein told us on Podcast Beyond last week, PlayStation Plus won’t be a static service. It will evolve.

The only real disadvantage I see to Plus is that some free games that I already own, in this case Zen Pinball, may be offered as the “free” (er, rental) game. That will sort of diminish the overall value of Plus; hopefully there will be enough free DLC and discounted content to make each month worthwhile.

Is Plus worth the money? As I have previously pointed out, as an initial annual subscriber I am getting Plus for $3.33 a month.

  • So I got a theme and a couple of avatars – not really my cup of tea. Maybe future updates will have something more interesting than my current retro race car avatar.
  • WipeOut HD. I would have never paid for this without it being seriously discounted. I have always been a casual WipeOut fan of the original PSX and PSP games, but not a card carrying WipeOut junkie. So this version is a rental for 15 months. Kind of hard to say if that is or is not worth it.
  • inFAMOUS – I recently got this with my 250GB PS3 Slim bundle. I have not opened the game yet, so getting to play for free for 60 minutes should be worth it. If I like the game, I can open my store purchased bundle copy. If not, eBay is calling for a “new in shrinkwrap” game.
  • Zombie minis – Did not really enjoy this one, but have not tried it on my PSP. Maybe there is some value there. Still nice to try it for “free” … cough, cough $3.33/month.
  • Rally Cross – Have not played this yet, but I actually enjoyed this one back in the day on the PSX. I downloaded on my PS3 and PSP-1000. Need to see if I can find my old game save. Anything that gives my PSX “free” games is worth it to me.
  • Warhawk bonus content – I do not have Warhawk and do not intend to buy it. Figured I would save it in case Warhawk comes up as a free Plus title.
  • Other game and DLC discounts – Not sure yet if I will purchase any of these.

I think five days in is way too soon to say if $50 for Plus is too much, not worth it, etc. I did enough research going in that I knew this was more or less a subscription service – think of a MMORP monthly fee. I do not think $3.33 (12 months at $50 + 3 months free) is too steep a price for the entertainment that I think Plus will provide me each month.

Share

Atlanta Braves – Independence Day Edition

Going into today’s 4th of July action, the Braves are leading the Mets by 3 and the Phillies by 5.  Back in May I wrote that if the Braves could keep in contention heading into the All Star break, I really like their chances.  So far they have held sever.  [By the way, screw it if it is bad form quoting myself; I rule.]

If Atlanta hangs tough in June (I am still not sure why I am projecting things this far forward) I think they will make or break their season in the first part of July. Closing out the first half of the season, Atlanta hosts Florida, followed by a road trip to Philadelphia and New York. By the time those nine games are over, the Braves should know if they are a buyer or seller coming out of the All-Star Break.

After the Braves host the Marlins today, the first place Atlanta Braves will head to Philadelphia for three games, followed by three games in NY against the Mets.  Trouble?

As good as the Braves are at home, they are miserable on the road.

From Elias: The Braves improved their home record to 30-9 with their 4-1 win over the Marlins. Since 1980, only three major-league teams reached 30 home wins in fewer games than the Braves: the 1998 Yankees (36 games), 1998 Padres (38) and 2008 Cubs (38). [Source:  ESPN July 4, 2010]

There are a couple of ways to look at this trip.  First, if the Braves can manage a .500 trip, which should be considered a success.  Second, their record over the next six games does not matter as long as the Braves do not give first place in the NL East.

Go Braves!

Share

Home Sweet Home?

Over the last few days, several Home articles have popped up discussing the success of Home. According to TheSixthAxis …

Apparently there are over one hundred games now on the service, with fifty virtual spaces and fourteen million client downloads. That’s a pretty big service to provide for free. But hold on, it’s not actually free is it? The service exists, partially, to sell us virtual items (they’ve created over five thousand of them) in micro-transactions. Mr. Buser says “it’s one of the highest-margin businesses in the games industry”. So that’s why Sony representatives keep telling us how great it is!

May the Good Lord help me if I ever decide that I need some “paid for” virtual items for my Home space. If Sony can keep the Home momentum going, you have to admit that it is like printing money. What a great concept. Hire a staff to create “virtual” content that does not require any sort of distribution channel over and beyond the R&D costs associated with the development of the Home environment. Then watch folks fall all over themselves to get the latest, greatest virtual wares as a sort of status symbol in the virtual environment.

I have never logged into Home. I think I will today or tomorrow just to see what all the fuss is about. I am not sure what I expect other than giving Sony one more number to their tally. Maybe as a Plus subscriber, Sony will throw some extra bonus virtual content so I can scream “Look at me, I am a sucker too!”

Share

End of Heavy Rain DLC?

Quantic Dream’s David Cage has indicated that instead of producing more Heavy Rain backdrop Chronicles DLC, the developer has been focusing on PlayStation Move support. According to the article posted at NOWGamer [via N4G], Cage said:

“Unfortunately, Sony preferred to ask us to focus on Move to support the device rather than on creating new content,” added Cage. “On our side, we did not want to spend more time on HR, which would have meant delaying new projects. This is a decision I can understand, and I am certainly happy we had the opportunity to play with this device and to support it, although I am certainly disappointed for fans we could not finish the story of HR the way we intended.”

Too bad. I guess one of these days I better finish Heavy Rain. After switching to my 250GB Slim, the save file was non transferable, and I just have not felt like playing the initial chapters again.

Finally, and this is pure speculation on my part based on poor recollections of an old man, at one point during the various E3 news stories I read that Move support was being added as a new game or premium content. Hopefully this is not the case and it will be just a downloadable patch. If Move support it is paid for DLC, I hope it is free (or seriously discounted) for Plus subscribers. If current games only support Move via a paid for DLC patch, the Move will be DOA.

Share

The Changing Face of Wonder Woman

It looks like Wonder Woman is about to get a complete makeover, which I assume will make her more relevant, and of course provide more T&A appeal. Just follow the money … and you are sure to find some eye candy, even in comic book form.

Over the last couple of days FoxNews has been following the story closely, decrying Wonder Woman’s makeover as fundamentally un-American.

But when asked about the absence of the American flag on the new costume, a spokesperson for DC hedged.

“We at DC Comics are exceedingly proud of Wonder Woman’s heritage and Superman’s heritage as iconic symbols of American patriotism,” the rep told FOX411.com. “Suggestions that any costume changes within their 70 plus years of rich storytelling come at the expense of this heritage are unfounded. The latest evolution of Wonder Woman’s iconic costume is a central part of the latest comic book storyline. All of the classic symbols – patriotic (stars, eagle) and heroic (lasso, bracelets) – are ever-present. We encourage Wonder Woman fans to stay tuned.”

Lynda Carter, the actress who portrayed Wonder Woman on TV in the 1970s, declined to answer Fox 411.com’s question about the removal of the American flag from the Wonder Woman costume. In a previous interview, Carter said she thinks Wonder Woman would want all the upset fans to just “get over it.”

If ‘ol (really old now) sexy blue eyes says FoxNews should let it drop, I agree. Earlier in week, Wonder Woman comic writer J. Michael Straczynski told FoxNews [actually he told IGN]:

“Her look was almost identical to what it was in 1941. Other characters have changed and evolved … and female friends of mine kept asking, ‘How does she fight in that thing without all her parts flying out? How does she carry her stuff?” the writer said.

Good point. If anything the short-shorts and boobage flying around should distract Wonder Woman as well at the Cheeta, who I also figured had a crush on Wonder Woman.

Personally I think the new Wonder Woman art is pretty hot (in a non-sick-o, comic book loving sort of way); however at the risk of Lynda Carter coming after me, I wish comic book artist Jim Lee could have incorporated more of the American flag look into the new outfit.

Speaking of Digital Comics and DC; if you missed the earlier story about DC going digital, you may want to check out this article from IGN Comics. If you are a PSP owner, head over to the comics part of the Official PlayStation Blog or the PlayStation Comics home page for more info on downloading a free Wonder Woman comic.

Share

PlayStation Plus Me Please – Initial Review and Comments

I decided to subscribe to the new PlayStation Plus service last Tuesday. I opted for a year subscription ($49.99) which includes three “free” bonus months, bringing the final price from $4.17 (12 months) to $3.33 (15 months) per month. One of the very first things I noticed was that the T&Cs committed me to an automatic renewal once my subscription expires – I did not see or notice an easy way to cancel the service.

This PCWorld article describes the new PlayStation Plus service as not worth the cost of entry. At least not yet.

What do you get for $50 a year? At this point, not much. I counted nine total PP options, including a trial version of inFAMOUS, free full versions of Rally Cross ($5.99), Age of Zombies ($4.99), a Warhawk Fallen Star content pack ($1.99), a Fat Princess: Fat Roles expansion pack ($4.99), and Wipeout HD (19.99), a lone sci-fi theme, and–wait for it–two Fat Princess avatars.

Additionally, Midway and TikGames-Creat Studios were offering a handful of specially priced items, including stuff like Midway’s Mortal Kombat II (regularly $4.99, discounted to $2.50) and TiKGames-Create Studios’ Wakeboarding HD (regularly $14.99, discounted to $11.99).

But that’s it. All told, it’s more like a sampler platter of what to expect–trial versions, freebies, and discounts–when the service finally ramps up. I though that’d be now, but alas, we’re left to hypotheticals and unofficial conjecture about a holiday content fulfillment period.

Facebook
The writer also limited the fact that the PlayStation Store has some stupid, undefined, non intuitive errors. In one case, not being able to directly publish PSN purchases directly to his Facebook page. I do not do the Facebook thing; I know … maybe one of these days I will get with it … probably. I digress.

I am trying to think if Facebook integration is a cool feature or downright silly. No idea, but I doubt the vast majority of my friends would care that I just picked up two free premium bonus Plus Fat Princes avatars. Actually, they would probably say I was a wanker.

Free Games
I downloaded Wipeout HD, Rally Cross (PSOne Classic), Age of Zombies (minis), and the free avatars and theme. I am not really sure what to do with the “free” expansion content – over the weekend I am going to download it to see if there is any possibility of “keeping it around” for later in case Warhawk or Fat Princess become “free” Plus content or maybe discounted content.

Was the first month of Plus worth it to me? Probably not, although I did get Wipeout HD, which is a game I would have never purchased. Based on the reviews I can find, the Zombie minis is considered one of the better made minis. Too bad, because I thought it pretty much sucked.

Back in the day I loved Rally Cross, but I doubt it has aged well. I consider this bonus content for my PSP because I doubt I will play it on the PS3. I am going to look to see if I can find a game save on one of my old PSX memory cards, but even if I do, while I can transfer it to my PS3, I doubt there is a way to transfer saves between the PS3 and PSP.

The rest is well, not worth much to me. What am I going to do with a couple of avatars and a theme? I doubt that I will purchase any of the discounted games and content, although I will give them a look over the weekend; maybe I am missing out on a hidden gem.

Finally, inFamous was included in my PS3 Slim bundle purchase. Since I have not opened the game, I may give the free 60 minute trial a go. If do not like the game, maybe I get some eBay value out of an unopened copy of inFamous.

Automatic Downloads
This was one of the features that sold me on the Plus service. I love the concept of my PS3 pulling down patches and firmware updates in the middle of the night, so I can just install the next time I fire up my PS3 or patched game.

Right now I have no clue how this works. When I started Wipeout HD for the first time, I was greeted with a message that I needed to download the latest version. Strange since I downloaded and installed (but did not play) Wipeout HD Tuesday night, and played it for the first time Wednesday night. My PS3 is set to auto download between 4-6AM.

It is worth watching to see how this feature plays out, and what sort of message or info is provided when I turn on my PS3. It would be lovely if I was informed that a new firmware update, game patch, or demo was downloaded for my gaming pleasure. Or maybe that is too much to ask.

Qore?
At one point I read that Qore would be part of the service. I was an initial subscriber, however I did not think it was worth the money and did not renew my subscription. The only reason I would like to see it is included is for more Plus content. Seems like it would be a nice perk for Plus subscribers, but no real loss if it remains a “paid for” download; I just will not pay for it again.

PSN Future Purchases?
This is where things could get interesting for Sony. Will the Plus service cannibalize other potential sales? Now that I have paid $50 for Plus, I am not sure that I will purchase minis and other PSN titles. At least not right away because sooner or later they could (hopefully will) end up as part of the Plus service, which in turn would devalue my subscription. Of course we are only talking $3.33/month, but in general I am cheap.

Let’s see what happens next month.

Share

Return to Comics: Green Lantern Blackest Night

After spending some time with the PSP Digital Comics reader app, and downloading a handful of few and a couple of paid for books, I decided to take an expensive plunge back into my wistful days of my misspent youth. [Not really wistful or misspent, but it sounded good on “paper.”]

I have always been a fan of Green Lantern (especially the Green Lantern Corps – love the concept), Captain America, Spiderman, and Batman. After searching on Amazon for some graphic novels, and after downloading a Green Lantern: Secret Origin title, I decided that DC’s Blackest Night collection would be a good, if not expensive, jumping on point.

  • Blackest Night (collects Blackest Night #0–8, 304 pages, hardcover, July 2010, ISBN 1401226930)
  • Blackest Night: Green Lantern (collects Green Lantern vol. 4 #43–52, 272 pages, hardcover, July 2010, ISBN 1401227864)
  • Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps (collects Green Lantern Corps vol. 2 #39–46, 264 pages, hardcover, July 2010, ISBN 1401227880)
  • Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps (collects Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #1–3, “Green Lantern” #49 and “Adventures Comics” #4-5, 172 pages, hardcover, July 2010, ISBN 1401227902)
  • Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps:
    • Volume 1 (collects Blackest Night: Batman #1–3, Blackest Night: Superman #1–3 and Blackest Night: Titans #1–3, 240 pages, hardcover, July 2010, ISBN 1401227848)
    • Volume 2 (collects Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #1–3, Blackest Night: JSA #1–3 and Blackest Night: Flash #1–3, 240 pages, hardcover, July 2010, ISBN 1401227856)
  • Blackest Night: Rise of the Black Lanterns (collects Power of Shazam! #48, Catwoman #83, Suicide Squad #67, Question #37, Phantom Stranger #42, Weird Western Tales #71, Atom & Hawkman #46 and Starman #81, 208 pages, hardcover, July 2010, ISBN 1401227899)

That pre-order of 7 graphic novels should give me plenty of reading pleasure for my comic jones. If not, then hopefully, hopefully down the road these books will fetch something in return on eBay.

Share

To Plus?

So PlayStation Plus is now available and the $50 question is should I Plus? There was a point in time when I would have said hell no to a subscription service. There was also a point in time where I would have picked it up right away just to be part of the experience (and write a review).

I am leaning towards throwing $50 to the service for several reasons. I really only game on the PS3 (and occasionally on the PSP) so it is not as if I having competing gaming interests. I like the idea of discounts. I also like the concept of automatic download of firmware and software updates; no idea why this would not be offered as a standard service instead of a premium.

“Automatic Download: Subscribers will be able to set their PS3 to wake up from standby at any time of the day or night, download and install any game updates for the games you have been playing so you don’t have to think about it. Also, select demos and videos will be pushed to your PS3 ready to go. System software updates will also download automatically (manual install still required) and then the PS3 will turn itself off again.”

Finally, any additional PSP content is a bonus.

“PlayStation Plus is for PS3 owners as subscribership can only be purchased on the PSN Store. However, some of the content – minis and PS One Classics – available each month will also be playable on your PSP if you have one. Download them on the PS3 and transfer to your PSP, or download directly from the PSP Store or Media Go for PSP.”

So should I Plus? PlayStation LifeStyle posted an article that you will come out ahead with Plus. With that type of value, how can I afford not to buy Plus?

Share

1100 degrees – Or Videogame T&A Returns

I meant to post this yesterday, but sort of, kind of, forgot. Oh well, on with the T&A …

Everyone knows that sex is where it is at, especially with the horny teenage gaming contingent. Not to mention dirty old men with blogs.

So according to N4G, this T&A article was a blazing 1100 degrees yesterday; not sure where it sits today.  How popular is the article?  Apparently enough folks have clicked on the link to burn up the bandwidth.

Mmmm. Tasty little pocket monsters.

Share