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There was a time, known as the 1990s and early 2000s, when actual competition existed between the producers of sports games.
Players who wanted a football game could choose between the Madden, NFL 2K and NFL Quarterback Club. Players who had a Sony console could choose NFL Gameday, at least until that series vanished from gaming in 2005.
Of course, NFL 2K and NFL Quarterback Club series are also relics of an earlier time. EA Sports enjoys an exclusive NFL license, and thus are the only publisher to make an NFL video game.
It's a similar story for basketball and hockey. 2K Sports' outstanding NBA 2K series has emerged as the (for now) unchallenged king of NBA simulations, and EA Sports is the only publisher making an NHL game.
Baseball is a little bit different. Sony Computer Entertainment's MLB: The Show franchise enjoys wide acclaim, but is exclusive to Sony consoles. 2K Sports gets to publish their MLB 2K series for all consoles, but their game has yet to earn the same kind of admiration as The Show.
Personally, I consider MLB 2K11 to be a "B+" game. I've actually been playing it quite a bit lately and have been having fun, but every now and then I will see a player animation that just does not make sense. It's not a bad game by any means, but my heart will always belong to MVP Baseball 2005.
That said, it's almost time for new baseball titles, and here are the trailers for MLB 12: The Show and MLB 2K12. If you have a PlayStation 3 and want to play video baseball, you actually have a choice between the two titles.
MLB 12: The Show
MLB 2K12
Players who wanted a football game could choose between the Madden, NFL 2K and NFL Quarterback Club. Players who had a Sony console could choose NFL Gameday, at least until that series vanished from gaming in 2005.
Of course, NFL 2K and NFL Quarterback Club series are also relics of an earlier time. EA Sports enjoys an exclusive NFL license, and thus are the only publisher to make an NFL video game.
It's a similar story for basketball and hockey. 2K Sports' outstanding NBA 2K series has emerged as the (for now) unchallenged king of NBA simulations, and EA Sports is the only publisher making an NHL game.
Baseball is a little bit different. Sony Computer Entertainment's MLB: The Show franchise enjoys wide acclaim, but is exclusive to Sony consoles. 2K Sports gets to publish their MLB 2K series for all consoles, but their game has yet to earn the same kind of admiration as The Show.
Personally, I consider MLB 2K11 to be a "B+" game. I've actually been playing it quite a bit lately and have been having fun, but every now and then I will see a player animation that just does not make sense. It's not a bad game by any means, but my heart will always belong to MVP Baseball 2005.
That said, it's almost time for new baseball titles, and here are the trailers for MLB 12: The Show and MLB 2K12. If you have a PlayStation 3 and want to play video baseball, you actually have a choice between the two titles.
MLB 12: The Show
MLB 2K12
NFL Blitz, the game in which NFL football players can catch fire and compete against robots while playing a 7-on-7 game, is available for download today.
The intentionally ridiculous game started as an arcade title and evolved into a console game. Stores sold console versions from 1998 to 2003, and NFL Blitz now returns as a downloadable game for PlayStation 3 and XBox 360.
The game costs $14.99 on PlayStation Network or 1200 Microsoft Points on XBox Live.
NBA 2K12 is a testament, in video game form, to America's love of professional basketball. Perhaps more than any other sports video game*, 2K Sports' latest offering shows a respect and love for its source material that most other titles do not match.
And given the labor troubles afflicting the NBA this season, NBA 2K12 may be the only way basketball fans will be able to enjoy the professional game for a long time. That makes it a little harder to decide if NBA 2K12 is a "must buy" for the fan and his or her hard-earned $60.
On the "pro" side, NBA 2K12 offers a quality single-player experience and by featuring a dozens of NBA legends in its "NBA's Greatest" mode, 2K Sports offers a worthy successor to 2K11's "Jordan Challenge" feature and thus has probably done more than any other developer to make annual sports titles feel like a worthwhile experience.
On the "con" side, real-life business issues mean consumers may not be able to use this year's game as a mirror for the real-life NBA for several weeks, if at all.
A die-hard NBA fan who is most interested in the opportunity to play as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird or any of the other all-time greats featured in the game will probably get his or her money's worth from NBA 2K12. But someone who wants to play online matchups with current NBA rosters will be disappointed. It may not be fair that a real-life labor dispute between NBA players and owners may reduce the game's value, but that's life.
Continue reading Review: NBA 2K12.
Here's the intro for NBA 2K12, perhaps the most exciting NBA video to emerge since last season, since the association's labor dispute means nobody is playing in real life right now..
(H/t Kotaku)
(H/t Kotaku)
Today's a big day for new releases, as Rage, Dark Souls and NBA 2K12 hit stores, while former PC exclusive Crysis becomes available for XBox Live and PlayStation Network.
Rage, from id Software and Bethesda Softworks, is an FPS set in a post-apocalyptic earth. The people at id Software gave the world bloody FPS games like Castle Wolfenstein, Doom and Quake back when the FPS genre was dominated by PC titles and gamers actually played the single-player campaigns. Rage is released for PC, PlayStation 3 and XBox 360.
Dark Souls, developed by From Software and published by Namco Bandai, is the "spiritual sequel" to PlayStation 3 exclusive Demon's Souls. That game earned a reputation for extreme difficulty, and Namco Bandai is banking on that reputation to promote the sequel. Dark Souls is a PlayStation 3 and XBox 360 release.
NBA 2K12 is 2K Sports' latest iteration of its basketball franchise. The developers are trying to build on last year's well-received Jordan Challenge mode with the new "End the Debate" feature, in which players can play as all-time greats like Jordan, Magic and Dr. J to settle who deserves to be known as the GOAT. NBA 2K12 is out for Nintendo Woo, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Sony PSP and XBox 360.
Console gamers probably missed Crysis, Crytek's futuristic FPS that is probably known more for its high system requirements than its gameplay. But after releasing Crysis 2 for PC and consoles earlier this year, the original game is now available for console players via PlayStation Network or XBox Live download.
Rage, from id Software and Bethesda Softworks, is an FPS set in a post-apocalyptic earth. The people at id Software gave the world bloody FPS games like Castle Wolfenstein, Doom and Quake back when the FPS genre was dominated by PC titles and gamers actually played the single-player campaigns. Rage is released for PC, PlayStation 3 and XBox 360.
Dark Souls, developed by From Software and published by Namco Bandai, is the "spiritual sequel" to PlayStation 3 exclusive Demon's Souls. That game earned a reputation for extreme difficulty, and Namco Bandai is banking on that reputation to promote the sequel. Dark Souls is a PlayStation 3 and XBox 360 release.
NBA 2K12 is 2K Sports' latest iteration of its basketball franchise. The developers are trying to build on last year's well-received Jordan Challenge mode with the new "End the Debate" feature, in which players can play as all-time greats like Jordan, Magic and Dr. J to settle who deserves to be known as the GOAT. NBA 2K12 is out for Nintendo Woo, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Sony PSP and XBox 360.
Console gamers probably missed Crysis, Crytek's futuristic FPS that is probably known more for its high system requirements than its gameplay. But after releasing Crysis 2 for PC and consoles earlier this year, the original game is now available for console players via PlayStation Network or XBox Live download.
Remember how so many basketball fans liked NBA 2K11's the "Jordan Challenge?"
The game's developers did. 2K Sports announced today that Jordan and 14 other NBA greats will appear in a new "End the Debate" mode, giving players a chance to electronically settle arguments over which teams and players deserve recognition as the Association's best of all time.
The full list:
The game's developers did. 2K Sports announced today that Jordan and 14 other NBA greats will appear in a new "End the Debate" mode, giving players a chance to electronically settle arguments over which teams and players deserve recognition as the Association's best of all time.
The full list:
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar;
- Larry Bird;
- Wilt Chamberlain;
- Julius Erving;
- Patrick Ewing;
- Magic Johnson;
- Michael Jordan;
- Karl Malone;
- Hakeem Olajuwon;
- Scottie Pippen;
- Oscar Robertson;
- Bill Russell;
- John Stockton;
- Isiah Thomas;
- Jerry West.
You know what people on Planet Earth like?
Soccer, or football, as most of the the rest of the world calls it.
Soccer, or football, as most of the the rest of the world calls it.
