Saturday, October 3, 2009
FIFA 10 Out Now.....in Europe...damnit!
Much like last year, Europe gets FIFA 10 a good few weeks before North America in a move that has me scratching my head once again. Perhaps someone from Konami's old marketing department made a move to EA Sports and came up with this bright idea?
Speaking of Konami, the PES 2010 demo has been up for a good few weeks and after some solid play I have to say the demo actually surprised me. Nothing revolutionary, but I like the changes in game speed, the shooting is solid and after not playing Winning Eleven in a good few months I was reminded again just how good the off-the-ball AI is. The visuals are also pretty damn good with some stunning player faces. I'm also intrigued by the new tactical options and player cards.
Of course, the same negatives are still present - the dribbling is restrictive compared to FIFA, the cross-field balls still have too much pace, and the overall presentation still pales in comparison to EA's game. I'm also still amazed that Konami can still managed to screw up even the limited licenses they have with Alonso and Arebeloa still at Liverpool. I'm sure that'll be fixed in the final game (er....I think) but you think Konami would try to put their best foot forward for a demo.
*sigh*
In another head scratching move, I checked out the demo for Football Genius on Xbox Live and while I think it's neat to have a soccer trivia game I have no idea why it's 800 MS Points ($10). This could easily have been an Xbox Community/Indie game selling for at least half the price and if that was the case I'd pick it up. It also doesn't help that the demo questions are pretty piss easy.
Okay, now back to Batman Arkham Asylum.......what a game!
Cheers,
Batman...er...I mean Lavan
Speaking of Konami, the PES 2010 demo has been up for a good few weeks and after some solid play I have to say the demo actually surprised me. Nothing revolutionary, but I like the changes in game speed, the shooting is solid and after not playing Winning Eleven in a good few months I was reminded again just how good the off-the-ball AI is. The visuals are also pretty damn good with some stunning player faces. I'm also intrigued by the new tactical options and player cards.
Of course, the same negatives are still present - the dribbling is restrictive compared to FIFA, the cross-field balls still have too much pace, and the overall presentation still pales in comparison to EA's game. I'm also still amazed that Konami can still managed to screw up even the limited licenses they have with Alonso and Arebeloa still at Liverpool. I'm sure that'll be fixed in the final game (er....I think) but you think Konami would try to put their best foot forward for a demo.
*sigh*
In another head scratching move, I checked out the demo for Football Genius on Xbox Live and while I think it's neat to have a soccer trivia game I have no idea why it's 800 MS Points ($10). This could easily have been an Xbox Community/Indie game selling for at least half the price and if that was the case I'd pick it up. It also doesn't help that the demo questions are pretty piss easy.
Okay, now back to Batman Arkham Asylum.......what a game!
Cheers,
Batman...er...I mean Lavan
Friday, September 11, 2009
Off to Paris for a week!
Some more FIFA 10 demo impressions just before I leave for my (belated) honeymoon;
I will revise my impressions - the more I play the more I am really enjoying the changes they've made. The new dribbling is very subtle but you start to notice it at slow speeds and subtle movements/turns - still not the revolution EA Sports were making it out to be but improved nonetheless.
Player movement without the ball is completely analog with regards to speed - i.e. if you just want to jog back into position slowly you just move the analog stick slightly. This will be great for online team play if you want to get back into position but there's no rush to do so.
I retract my statement about player interactions only being graphically impressive - after more games I think it's a big change. You can now foul or even shove players off the ball just by moving the stick (you don't have to hold down A/pressure or the speed burst button) and you can really tell the difference between stronger and weaker players.
The ref often gives cards without resorting to a cutscene - it's all done in game and seamlessly. Likewise, you can take free kicks quickly without any cut-scene or change in camera angle. I know Winning Eleven has done this the past few games but neat to see it here. Also, you can take quick goal kicks and the players don't automatically teleport back into position by the time you've got the ball.
Free kicks are still ass but you can now select the free kick taker without going into the menu - just hold down R2.
I love the shooting - you can really drill the ball with certain players and Fat Frank (Lampard) has one hell of a shot.
There are a few weird bugs (my keeper clearly stopped a penalty shot from crossing the line and it still counted) but overall I'm really enjoying this the more I play it.
I will revise my impressions - the more I play the more I am really enjoying the changes they've made. The new dribbling is very subtle but you start to notice it at slow speeds and subtle movements/turns - still not the revolution EA Sports were making it out to be but improved nonetheless.
Player movement without the ball is completely analog with regards to speed - i.e. if you just want to jog back into position slowly you just move the analog stick slightly. This will be great for online team play if you want to get back into position but there's no rush to do so.
I retract my statement about player interactions only being graphically impressive - after more games I think it's a big change. You can now foul or even shove players off the ball just by moving the stick (you don't have to hold down A/pressure or the speed burst button) and you can really tell the difference between stronger and weaker players.
The ref often gives cards without resorting to a cutscene - it's all done in game and seamlessly. Likewise, you can take free kicks quickly without any cut-scene or change in camera angle. I know Winning Eleven has done this the past few games but neat to see it here. Also, you can take quick goal kicks and the players don't automatically teleport back into position by the time you've got the ball.
Free kicks are still ass but you can now select the free kick taker without going into the menu - just hold down R2.
I love the shooting - you can really drill the ball with certain players and Fat Frank (Lampard) has one hell of a shot.
There are a few weird bugs (my keeper clearly stopped a penalty shot from crossing the line and it still counted) but overall I'm really enjoying this the more I play it.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
FIFA 10 Demo (PS3) Impressions
After what seemed like forever Sony finally posted the FIFA 10 playable demo up on PSN. Some quick thoughts after six or seven matches;
i) Lots of new tackling animations and in particular last-ditch tackles and shot blocks. These are really neat and make the play even more dynamic around the box with more rebounds, blocks, and ricochets. There are more than a few times players will hurdle over a tackle and this will take them off stride - I`m not sure I`m totally keen on this. On one hand it`s neat that a player can dodge a tackle and keep his balance, but there were other times I would rather my player go to ground and win the foul.
ii) Player interactions (i.e. shoving/shoulder barge) graphically look very impressive but functionally I`m not noticing much of a difference.
iii) Ball physics are improved, the ball is less floaty than last year and the crosses are almost perfect now with a fantastic degree of whip with good players. For some reason the long cross-field balls still seem to hang up a bit in the air too long. Shooting is improved with more pace on the ball and I scored from outside the box once in those six matches.
iv) Again, I`ve only played six or so matches but I`m not seeing a massive differences in the dribbling and nothing as of yet groundbreaking with the `360 degree` dribbling.
v) Keepers are very agressive coming off their line but I`m a bit concerned that this might lead to more chipped goals as in those few games I think I saw at least four chipped goals.
vi) You can dribble around the keepers - I sold Cech on a beautiful step over and fake shot with Messi before walking the ball into the net.
vii) Response times are very good and at this point I`d say they`re as good as Winning Eleven without having those pinpoint turns on a dime.
That`s all for now, I`ll write more later but color me impressed. My favourite demo moment was when a CPU Ashley Cole took the ball of Messi and in response I tried to mow him down with a flying slide tackle using Toure and not only knocked down Cashley but followed through and hit little Messi as well!
i) Lots of new tackling animations and in particular last-ditch tackles and shot blocks. These are really neat and make the play even more dynamic around the box with more rebounds, blocks, and ricochets. There are more than a few times players will hurdle over a tackle and this will take them off stride - I`m not sure I`m totally keen on this. On one hand it`s neat that a player can dodge a tackle and keep his balance, but there were other times I would rather my player go to ground and win the foul.
ii) Player interactions (i.e. shoving/shoulder barge) graphically look very impressive but functionally I`m not noticing much of a difference.
iii) Ball physics are improved, the ball is less floaty than last year and the crosses are almost perfect now with a fantastic degree of whip with good players. For some reason the long cross-field balls still seem to hang up a bit in the air too long. Shooting is improved with more pace on the ball and I scored from outside the box once in those six matches.
iv) Again, I`ve only played six or so matches but I`m not seeing a massive differences in the dribbling and nothing as of yet groundbreaking with the `360 degree` dribbling.
v) Keepers are very agressive coming off their line but I`m a bit concerned that this might lead to more chipped goals as in those few games I think I saw at least four chipped goals.
vi) You can dribble around the keepers - I sold Cech on a beautiful step over and fake shot with Messi before walking the ball into the net.
vii) Response times are very good and at this point I`d say they`re as good as Winning Eleven without having those pinpoint turns on a dime.
That`s all for now, I`ll write more later but color me impressed. My favourite demo moment was when a CPU Ashley Cole took the ball of Messi and in response I tried to mow him down with a flying slide tackle using Toure and not only knocked down Cashley but followed through and hit little Messi as well!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
FIFA 10 Demo Out Tomorrow!!
Unfortunately, the demo's only available in Europe on PSN and Xbox Live however it's fairly easy to create a dummy European PSN account and I'll definitely be posting impressions tomorrow. The demo will be available in North America next week. I have no idea why they would bother with the delay. The teams available in the demo are; Chelsea, Chicago Fire, Juventus, Bayern, Barcelona and Marseille.
On the official FIFA site there's a great new trailer showing a glimpse of some new features including some new animations, particularly for keepers and defenders, and some great player-player interactions like shoulder-barging players off the ball. You can check out the video here.
Another one of my favourite franchises releases in full retail next week, NHL 2010. Last year’s game was fantastic and by the demo that was released recently there’s every indication that the 2010 incarnation will be even better. If you’ve tried the demo and weren’t impressed be sure to set the gameplay settings to ‘Hardcore’, then you’ll notice much more realistic passing (the success of passes is far more dependent upon player positioning (rather than 40 foot tape-to-tape backhanders), there’s a slower pace to the play and some brilliant board play. You can now pin players to the boards and really work the puck down low. It’s really neat. Regrettably, I won’t be around next week so I won’t get to play the game on release but I’ll be trying to play the heck out of it before FIFA comes out .
Of course, that’s when I’m not playing some of the other top notch games coming out this fall! I was looking up the release dates of games I’ll be picking up and I’m not sure when the heck I’m going to be able to play them all!
NHL 2009 - Sept 15
Scribblenauts DS - Sept 15
Bad Company 2 - Sept 30
Gran Turismo PSP - Oct 1
Uncharted 2 - October 13
FIFA 10 - October 20
Borderlands - October 20
Forza 3 - October 27
Ballad of Gay Tony - October 29
Modern Warefare 2 - November 10
Gran Turismo 5 - Dec 29
I’ll pretty much be picking up all of those games and I still have a number of games I’ve purchased but have yet to get to most notably Mirror’s Edge, Infamous and Fable 2! That said, as a gamer I’d much rather have this problem than the opposite. Oh to be back in high school or even undergrad where you can pull of those marathon 10 hour gaming sessions. I remember playing the original Quake on MPlayer via dialup late into the morning during highschool. Not sure work, or the wife, would appreciate that now!
Lavan
(getting his butt kicked online in Battlefield: Bad Company - that's what you get for playing a game a year after everyone's already got used to it)
On the official FIFA site there's a great new trailer showing a glimpse of some new features including some new animations, particularly for keepers and defenders, and some great player-player interactions like shoulder-barging players off the ball. You can check out the video here.
Another one of my favourite franchises releases in full retail next week, NHL 2010. Last year’s game was fantastic and by the demo that was released recently there’s every indication that the 2010 incarnation will be even better. If you’ve tried the demo and weren’t impressed be sure to set the gameplay settings to ‘Hardcore’, then you’ll notice much more realistic passing (the success of passes is far more dependent upon player positioning (rather than 40 foot tape-to-tape backhanders), there’s a slower pace to the play and some brilliant board play. You can now pin players to the boards and really work the puck down low. It’s really neat. Regrettably, I won’t be around next week so I won’t get to play the game on release but I’ll be trying to play the heck out of it before FIFA comes out .
Of course, that’s when I’m not playing some of the other top notch games coming out this fall! I was looking up the release dates of games I’ll be picking up and I’m not sure when the heck I’m going to be able to play them all!
NHL 2009 - Sept 15
Scribblenauts DS - Sept 15
Bad Company 2 - Sept 30
Gran Turismo PSP - Oct 1
Uncharted 2 - October 13
FIFA 10 - October 20
Borderlands - October 20
Forza 3 - October 27
Ballad of Gay Tony - October 29
Modern Warefare 2 - November 10
Gran Turismo 5 - Dec 29
I’ll pretty much be picking up all of those games and I still have a number of games I’ve purchased but have yet to get to most notably Mirror’s Edge, Infamous and Fable 2! That said, as a gamer I’d much rather have this problem than the opposite. Oh to be back in high school or even undergrad where you can pull of those marathon 10 hour gaming sessions. I remember playing the original Quake on MPlayer via dialup late into the morning during highschool. Not sure work, or the wife, would appreciate that now!
Lavan
(getting his butt kicked online in Battlefield: Bad Company - that's what you get for playing a game a year after everyone's already got used to it)
Monday, September 7, 2009
While I’ve been waiting for my copy of Batman Arkham Asylum to arrive from BestBuy.ca I played and finished Prince of Persia for the Xbox 360. I love this game – everything from the art-style to the audio and the great controls is top notch. Yes, it’s true that you pretty much can’t die (your companion Elika saves you at the last minute) I think it works well and encourages exploration by not punishing you if you try a jump that doesn`t work. I also love the interactions between the two main characters, the `Prince` and the Princess Elika. At numerous times through the game you can hit the Left Trigger to initiate a conversation between Elika and the main character and these really help flesh out the story of the world. Of course, if you don’t give a crap about the story you don’t have to hit the trigger and you can just play but I think you’d be missing out. Not only are these conversations written well, there is some genuine charm behind the banter between the two characters. The fact that Elika also serves a gameplay function further helps to really create a tangible bond between these two characters. Unlike, that idiot Dom in Gears of War she wasn’t a clichéd annoyance tagging along for the ride – she’s actually a character you enjoyed having around, much like Alyx in Half Life 2.
However, what prompted me to write today is the ending of the game. Now, if you haven`t finished the game skip the next few paragraphs – or better yet, go play the game and come back.
At the end of Prince of Persia Elika dies. Okay, not a big deal, there have been other tragic endings in videogames but what makes this one stand out is what Ubisoft pretty much force you to do afterwards – bring her back to life and the only way to do this is by freeing the evil god Arhiman you spent the entire game trying to imprison! Upon awaking Elika`s first, and only, word is; “Why?” A good question because she willingly sacrificed herself to save her kingdom from Arhiman.
Now if this sequence was a non-interactive cut-scene it wouldn`t be that perplexing as the protagonist has his own motivations for bringing back Elika; throughout their conversations during the game it`s apparent that he values human life more than the inanimate structures of the Princess` kingdom, he doesn’t believe in fate, and of course, he has feelings for her.
But it is not a non-interactive cut-scene. There is a cut-scene where you imprison Arhiman and Elika sacrifices herself and is placed on an altar outside the great temple. Thereafter, the player is given control of the protagonist and there is nothing else to do in the game but save the princess by releasing Arhiman again. There`s no choice of leaving her, honouring her sacrifice and ending the game. Instead the only way to `finish` the game is to undo everything you did in the last 8 or so hours. It`s a very strange feeling to be almost forced to do something you don`t agree with and it`s also the first time I can remember when my motivations have been polar opposite to the motivations of the character I am controlling in the game. Yes, the `Prince` would want to save Elika but I don`t want to and I am controlling him! Again, if this was all out of my hand then I think I would have been able to accept it but to be given the illusion of choice was a bit off-putting. Even my wife who watched the ending was asking why I was releasing Arhiman and my only answer was that it was the only way to finish the game.
While the ending didn’t sully my enjoyment of the rest of the game it did leave me feeling a tad manipulated. Of course, not everyone will share my opinion of the ‘right’ thing to do and if you wanted to save Elika then you’re motivations would be absolutely congruent with the Prince’s and the ending would be fine.
In the grand-scheme of things it does allow Elika to be present in the inevitable sequel which is a positive (though Ubisoft could have just kept her alive at the end of this game).
Lavan
(would willingly let a woman die.....to save the world)
However, what prompted me to write today is the ending of the game. Now, if you haven`t finished the game skip the next few paragraphs – or better yet, go play the game and come back.
At the end of Prince of Persia Elika dies. Okay, not a big deal, there have been other tragic endings in videogames but what makes this one stand out is what Ubisoft pretty much force you to do afterwards – bring her back to life and the only way to do this is by freeing the evil god Arhiman you spent the entire game trying to imprison! Upon awaking Elika`s first, and only, word is; “Why?” A good question because she willingly sacrificed herself to save her kingdom from Arhiman.
Now if this sequence was a non-interactive cut-scene it wouldn`t be that perplexing as the protagonist has his own motivations for bringing back Elika; throughout their conversations during the game it`s apparent that he values human life more than the inanimate structures of the Princess` kingdom, he doesn’t believe in fate, and of course, he has feelings for her.
But it is not a non-interactive cut-scene. There is a cut-scene where you imprison Arhiman and Elika sacrifices herself and is placed on an altar outside the great temple. Thereafter, the player is given control of the protagonist and there is nothing else to do in the game but save the princess by releasing Arhiman again. There`s no choice of leaving her, honouring her sacrifice and ending the game. Instead the only way to `finish` the game is to undo everything you did in the last 8 or so hours. It`s a very strange feeling to be almost forced to do something you don`t agree with and it`s also the first time I can remember when my motivations have been polar opposite to the motivations of the character I am controlling in the game. Yes, the `Prince` would want to save Elika but I don`t want to and I am controlling him! Again, if this was all out of my hand then I think I would have been able to accept it but to be given the illusion of choice was a bit off-putting. Even my wife who watched the ending was asking why I was releasing Arhiman and my only answer was that it was the only way to finish the game.
While the ending didn’t sully my enjoyment of the rest of the game it did leave me feeling a tad manipulated. Of course, not everyone will share my opinion of the ‘right’ thing to do and if you wanted to save Elika then you’re motivations would be absolutely congruent with the Prince’s and the ending would be fine.
In the grand-scheme of things it does allow Elika to be present in the inevitable sequel which is a positive (though Ubisoft could have just kept her alive at the end of this game).
Lavan
(would willingly let a woman die.....to save the world)
Friday, July 31, 2009
Ashes Cricket 2009
Hi All,
I hate moving - well, actually, I hate packing and unpacking. My wife and I have recently moved into our first home and while it's exciting it's a big pain in the butt to try and find 'Item X' from the 3487 boxes you have scattered around the house.
Anyway, while over at my friend's house last week we checked out the demo of Codemasters' Ashes Cricket 2009. The last cricket game I played was Graham Gooch Cricket on the Atari ST (I didn't have a PC good enough to try out the Brian Lara games) so it was quite a thrill to check out Codies' new title.....and color me impressed. Not only do I enjoy the TV-style presentation, the gameplay and in particular the batting seems really deep and enjoyable. There are a nice variety of strokes both off the front and back foot. Bowling is also fun and I even like the QTE catching sequences when you're fielding.
As of yet there's no confirmed US/North America release but I have to think they must have some plans because they did release the demo on the US Xbox Live marketplace. If all else fails I guess I could import the PS3 version which would be region free.
If you're a cricket fan check out.
I need to go unpack some more.
Lavan
PS If you're a fan of 1UP.com's podcast (Listen UP), last week included some discussion about FIFA 10 and Garnett Lee seemed pretty damn impressed with the full/free 360 degree dribbling in the game.
I hate moving - well, actually, I hate packing and unpacking. My wife and I have recently moved into our first home and while it's exciting it's a big pain in the butt to try and find 'Item X' from the 3487 boxes you have scattered around the house.
Anyway, while over at my friend's house last week we checked out the demo of Codemasters' Ashes Cricket 2009. The last cricket game I played was Graham Gooch Cricket on the Atari ST (I didn't have a PC good enough to try out the Brian Lara games) so it was quite a thrill to check out Codies' new title.....and color me impressed. Not only do I enjoy the TV-style presentation, the gameplay and in particular the batting seems really deep and enjoyable. There are a nice variety of strokes both off the front and back foot. Bowling is also fun and I even like the QTE catching sequences when you're fielding.
As of yet there's no confirmed US/North America release but I have to think they must have some plans because they did release the demo on the US Xbox Live marketplace. If all else fails I guess I could import the PS3 version which would be region free.
If you're a cricket fan check out.
I need to go unpack some more.
Lavan
PS If you're a fan of 1UP.com's podcast (Listen UP), last week included some discussion about FIFA 10 and Garnett Lee seemed pretty damn impressed with the full/free 360 degree dribbling in the game.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
FIFA 2010 - October 2nd 2009
Finally, some more soccer gaming news;
Firstly, EA Sports announced that FIFA 2010 will be released on October 2nd, 2009. No announcement on the demo, hopefully we get that a month or so prior to give us a good taste of the gameplay.
Secondly, Konami have released some new screens of PES 2010 - you can check them out here. The game looks purrty (as a Liverpool fan I'm happy with the choice of team in the screenshots) but more interesting are some of the tactical screens which show some modified and new player movement options. I've been so burned by PES/WE in the past two years that I'm so hesitant to get excited about the game but at the same time my interest has been piqued.
I've been playing Fitba on Xbox-Live (via Community Games) which is a fun distraction and worth a look at 400 MS Points if you're a fan of oldschool football games like Kick Off and S.W.O.S.
You can check out the demo on Live.
Lavan
Firstly, EA Sports announced that FIFA 2010 will be released on October 2nd, 2009. No announcement on the demo, hopefully we get that a month or so prior to give us a good taste of the gameplay.
Secondly, Konami have released some new screens of PES 2010 - you can check them out here. The game looks purrty (as a Liverpool fan I'm happy with the choice of team in the screenshots) but more interesting are some of the tactical screens which show some modified and new player movement options. I've been so burned by PES/WE in the past two years that I'm so hesitant to get excited about the game but at the same time my interest has been piqued.
I've been playing Fitba on Xbox-Live (via Community Games) which is a fun distraction and worth a look at 400 MS Points if you're a fan of oldschool football games like Kick Off and S.W.O.S.
You can check out the demo on Live.
Lavan
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sally's Salon.
I think I might have found the gateway drug for getting my wife to play videogames. My wife discovered Sally`s Salon for the Nintendo DS and has been playing it non-stop It's published by Capcom and is basically a point and click...er...tap game where you manage a spa - it's all controlled via the touch-screen.
Not particularly something I would play for a prolonged period but definitely you might want to check out for any friends who are casual gamers.
In 'less-casual' gaming I've been playing the hell out of FFVII for the PSP and also Red Faction: Guerilla for the Xbox 360. The sheer amount of destruction in Red Faction is astounding and what makes the game so damn fun. Multiplayer is also a blast as all of the most fun modes revolve around environmental destruction.
One of my favourite multiplayer gaming moments happened last week - our team was pinned down as one of the opposing team had posted himself at the top of a large pillar with both the sniper rifle and rocket launcher. After a few minutes of getting killed while trying to shoot him down I remembered I was playing Red Faction and the solution was simpler - just switch to the melee sledge hammer, run up to the pillar and smash the hell out of it until it collapsed!
Great fun! Now I just have to figure out a way to get my wife to play it........
Lavan
PS Well done to the U.S. for getting to the finals of the Confederations Cup and being 2-0 up on Brazil!
Not particularly something I would play for a prolonged period but definitely you might want to check out for any friends who are casual gamers.
In 'less-casual' gaming I've been playing the hell out of FFVII for the PSP and also Red Faction: Guerilla for the Xbox 360. The sheer amount of destruction in Red Faction is astounding and what makes the game so damn fun. Multiplayer is also a blast as all of the most fun modes revolve around environmental destruction.
One of my favourite multiplayer gaming moments happened last week - our team was pinned down as one of the opposing team had posted himself at the top of a large pillar with both the sniper rifle and rocket launcher. After a few minutes of getting killed while trying to shoot him down I remembered I was playing Red Faction and the solution was simpler - just switch to the melee sledge hammer, run up to the pillar and smash the hell out of it until it collapsed!
Great fun! Now I just have to figure out a way to get my wife to play it........
Lavan
PS Well done to the U.S. for getting to the finals of the Confederations Cup and being 2-0 up on Brazil!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
I don't read sitting on the bog anymore....
.....because I'm too busy playing videogames! Seriously, after finishing Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on the DS I've turned my attention to my oft-neglected PSP with the re-release of Final Fantasy VII over PSN! Not only does FF VII look fabulous on the smaller PSP screen but I think the PSP is the way to go for playing Japanese RPGs because I don't have to worry about the annoying lack of a save-anywhere feature. Instead, I can just flick the PSP into sleep mode and then pick up where I left off later on. I'm also loving going down memory lane with FF VII, it's a fabulous game and I really enjoy the materia system.
In soccer-gaming, EDGE Magazine has FIFA 10 as their cover-story along with an in-depth interview with David Rutter and Gary Paterson who've been helming the series' amazing comeback as the premiere football title. The interview is 8 pages long and it's neat to read them acknowledge that PES/WE was by far their favourite football title prior to turning FIFA around. Just an indication of how far the once-mighty Konami has fallen.
The biggest game-specific announcements in FIFA 10 have been regarding true 360 degree movement of players. I'm excited but also a little bit nervous as to how EA Sports pull this off. Sure attacking play promises to be more fluid but I wonder what will happen to the defending and how attacker-defender interaction will be modulated.
On the FIFA 10 blog David Rutter also revealed that the new title will finally have a proper practice mode - about bloody time!
Lavan
In soccer-gaming, EDGE Magazine has FIFA 10 as their cover-story along with an in-depth interview with David Rutter and Gary Paterson who've been helming the series' amazing comeback as the premiere football title. The interview is 8 pages long and it's neat to read them acknowledge that PES/WE was by far their favourite football title prior to turning FIFA around. Just an indication of how far the once-mighty Konami has fallen.
The biggest game-specific announcements in FIFA 10 have been regarding true 360 degree movement of players. I'm excited but also a little bit nervous as to how EA Sports pull this off. Sure attacking play promises to be more fluid but I wonder what will happen to the defending and how attacker-defender interaction will be modulated.
On the FIFA 10 blog David Rutter also revealed that the new title will finally have a proper practice mode - about bloody time!
Lavan
Friday, June 12, 2009
Site Redesign, 80 Million For Ronaldo!?!?
Hi All!
Hopefully you got here via Maccas Sports Gaming Page - if not...how the hell did you get here? Regardless, the main site is undergoing a slow and painful redesign but hopefully the new layout will let me post and update more often than I was before.
Along with aesthetic and behind the scenes functional changes there will also be some content changes. Of course I`ll still be focusing on soccer gaming but I`ll also be doing non-soccer and also non-sports game reviews. Along with work, the wedding, a buying a home, and general laziness another reason I wasn`t updating as much was due to a bunch of non-sports games that were occupying my time. I hope to add short reviews and impressions of non-sports games that tickle my fancy.
One of those non-sports games that I`ve been playing more recently has been Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the Nintendo DS. I actually just completed the main story part of the game today and from start to finish I have to say I was thoroughly impressed with this game. Everything from the presentation to the story to the unique (but not overdone) use of stylus controls was top notch. Most amazing is that Rockstar Leeds managed to cram in almost all of GTA IV's Liberty City right into the game! With the exception of Alderney/New Jersey all of Liberty City is represented, block for block, accurate to the 3D next-gen game.
The game itself uses a 2/3rds top down view with some quasi-cell shaded graphics which work wonderfully well on the DS and despite the traffic and pedestrians the action hardly ever slows down. The missions resolve around the GTA stable of driving and shooting but there's a great variety and the three final 'boss' missions are a blast. There`s no voice work but the story unfolds in 2D comic-book style static cut-scenes and the main character Huang Lee has a some great one-liners.
The game controls via the D-Pad, shoulder buttons (for lock-on) and the four face buttons but the use of the stylus is unique and varied - having you do activities ranging from hot-wiring a car, to assembling a sniper rifle, to arming/disarming a bomb!
If you have a Nintendo DS I wholeheartedly recommend this excellent title - the single player clocks in at about 7 hours but there are lots of other mini-games and activities that you can still play even after the story is done.
Well that's all for today. Hope you followed E3 last week - while there were a ton of exciting titles on display I'm always dismayed by the fact that sports gaming (with the exception of racing games) never makes a big splash in LA. That said, there were some FIFA 10 tidbits.....360 degree dribbling, anyone?
:)
Lavan
Hopefully you got here via Maccas Sports Gaming Page - if not...how the hell did you get here? Regardless, the main site is undergoing a slow and painful redesign but hopefully the new layout will let me post and update more often than I was before.
Along with aesthetic and behind the scenes functional changes there will also be some content changes. Of course I`ll still be focusing on soccer gaming but I`ll also be doing non-soccer and also non-sports game reviews. Along with work, the wedding, a buying a home, and general laziness another reason I wasn`t updating as much was due to a bunch of non-sports games that were occupying my time. I hope to add short reviews and impressions of non-sports games that tickle my fancy.
One of those non-sports games that I`ve been playing more recently has been Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the Nintendo DS. I actually just completed the main story part of the game today and from start to finish I have to say I was thoroughly impressed with this game. Everything from the presentation to the story to the unique (but not overdone) use of stylus controls was top notch. Most amazing is that Rockstar Leeds managed to cram in almost all of GTA IV's Liberty City right into the game! With the exception of Alderney/New Jersey all of Liberty City is represented, block for block, accurate to the 3D next-gen game.
The game itself uses a 2/3rds top down view with some quasi-cell shaded graphics which work wonderfully well on the DS and despite the traffic and pedestrians the action hardly ever slows down. The missions resolve around the GTA stable of driving and shooting but there's a great variety and the three final 'boss' missions are a blast. There`s no voice work but the story unfolds in 2D comic-book style static cut-scenes and the main character Huang Lee has a some great one-liners.
The game controls via the D-Pad, shoulder buttons (for lock-on) and the four face buttons but the use of the stylus is unique and varied - having you do activities ranging from hot-wiring a car, to assembling a sniper rifle, to arming/disarming a bomb!
If you have a Nintendo DS I wholeheartedly recommend this excellent title - the single player clocks in at about 7 hours but there are lots of other mini-games and activities that you can still play even after the story is done.
Well that's all for today. Hope you followed E3 last week - while there were a ton of exciting titles on display I'm always dismayed by the fact that sports gaming (with the exception of racing games) never makes a big splash in LA. That said, there were some FIFA 10 tidbits.....360 degree dribbling, anyone?
:)
Lavan
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Kaka belongs to Jesus....and Real Madrid
I guess a more appropriate title for my first post in ages should have addressed the fact I haven't posted or reviewed on the site in many months. The following are my (lame) excuses;
- Work
- Got married
- Work
- I am lame
- Non-sports gaming
- Laziness
As you can see pretty much none of those excuses hold water so I'll stop now.
Anyway, I've decided to add an actual blogger feed so even if I can't post reviews as quickly as I want to (currently I'm moving at glacial speed) I can still write some random musings.
I'll stop now as I have to check if this feed actually works on the webpage.
Lavan
- Work
- Got married
- Work
- I am lame
- Non-sports gaming
- Laziness
As you can see pretty much none of those excuses hold water so I'll stop now.
Anyway, I've decided to add an actual blogger feed so even if I can't post reviews as quickly as I want to (currently I'm moving at glacial speed) I can still write some random musings.
I'll stop now as I have to check if this feed actually works on the webpage.
Lavan
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