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August 22, 2008
Review: Madden NFL 09
It's been 20 years, and Madden's still got something left in the tank.
A franchise that has seen its share of recent ups and downs delivers an outstanding package of football in "Madden NFL 09."
This latest version of the wildly popular video game combines a visual face-lift with an arsenal of new features to give the franchise something that wasn't prevalent in the last few editions: the sense that it truly belonged on the current consoles. You get the feeling that this is the game that coach-turned-announcer John Madden and EA wanted to make all along.
The easiest things to notice are the overhauled visuals, where the players look a little bouncier (some might say cartoonish) on an HD screen.
Every contest features a stunning, detailed shot of the stadium's exterior, and then the player gets an eyeful of the revamped lighting system as well as possibly the
nicest-looking grass field ever assembled for a football video game.
As far as how the game moves, it's a mixed bag.
On one hand, the player models are both extremely detailed and proportionally sound. They're also reasonably well-animated, especially in the running game, where run-blocking and the fight for extra yardage is augmented by the new "total control animation" system, which lets you string combinations of moves together.
Instead of simply accepting the notion of being tackled, you can still try to "break" your way out of it by either spinning or stiff-arming your way free. This is especially fun with an elite all-around runner like the Chargers' LaDainian Tomlinson.
On the flip side, the players look goofy when they run in replays, where they glide over the field like Chinese kung-fu heroes running in midair.
Aside from the "Crouching Tiger" moments, the in-game visual experience is still a lot of fun. The game plays with the camera, focusing more on faces, panning from offense to defense and then zooming in on players on long runs and shaking, as if the camera was running behind him.
The weather system is also jaw-droppingly gorgeous -- all it takes is one game in the snow to convince you.
Adding to the overall impact of the game is the new voice commentary team of Tom Hammond and Cris Collinsworth -- gone is the random radio voice that made the experience seem lifeless and detached.
Hammond's not bad as the play-by-play man, but Collinsworth's color commentary is gold. He ad-libbed a lot of his stuff for the game, so players will get to hear him discuss things ranging from the beauty of 7-yard pass plays to musing about the physical skills of Vikings tailback Adrian Peterson.
Aside from that, Collinsworth even ties into the game's "backtrack" feature, where he breaks down a bad play and highlights things that could have been done better. He'll highlight open receivers downfield, or touch on an area of the offensive line where pass protection broke down.
Backtrack ties into another feature called "rewind," which gives you a chance to make up for a bad play. Throw a stupid pick? Press a button and turn back time, "Prince of Persia" style, to the point before the ball is snapped.
At first, I hated the idea of an in-game mulligan, but the feature actually grows on you once you start using it as as a learning tool. Plus, you can set the number of times you can use it, and it's not available online. For casual and serious players, it's a nifty gadget of gameplay.
Another way players can learn is through the new "virtual trainer," where players can hone their skills in various aspects of the game and boost their "Madden IQ" score.
Madden IQ is the signature feature this year, where the game attempts to nail down a player's exact skill level and tailor the game experience to him or her. The better you do in any game, the higher your IQ rises -- and the harder the game gets.
The theory is that a numerical score leads to a more accurate matchup and assessment of your skills.
The only issue I have is the discrepancy in experience between tallying your Madden IQ in the virtual trainer and playing an actual game. It's stunning. Those who rack up an "all-Madden" rating in the trainer will be in for a harsh wake-up call when they start losing yards on consecutive carries. Not a bad test for the hardcore, but casual ballers might get scared off.
In the few "Madden NFL 09" online games I've played so far, I experienced a little lag, and the message boards are rife with stories of glitches that I didn't have the pleasure of witnessing.
If you're a football fan, this version of "Madden" is easily the best one you'll find on the 360 or PS3. Looks like the tread's not off the tires for this franchise -- not by a long shot.
Score: 9 out of 10.
Posted by Redmond Carolipio at 11:35 AM | Comments (0)
An array of Soul Calibur custom characters
Some people have fallen in love with the create-a-character feature in Soul Calibur IV. Check out this kaleidoscope of creativity, which includes everyone from Solid Snake (hero of MGS4) to adult film goddess Tera Patrick to UFC fighter Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Check it out.
Big props to Chris from Riverside for putting this together.
Posted by Redmond Carolipio at 10:40 AM | Comments (0)
August 20, 2008
EA offering free gas in L.A. to celebrate 'Mercenaries 2'
On Friday, Aug. 29, game publisher Electronic Arts is going to take control of a Los Angeles gas station and offer free gas to people. The event is trumpeting the release of Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, which is being developed by Pandemic Studios. The game takes place in Venezuela, and as you can guess, fire plays a big part in the experience.
The event is officially called "Petrol to the People," and will even feature actors dressed as mercs pumping your gas. The event starts at 6 a.m.
Posted by Redmond Carolipio at 3:39 PM | Comments (0)
Activision signs up stars for 'Quantum of Solace' game
In the "we figured this would happen" department, Activision announced that Daniel Craig, Judi Dench and others are confirmed to do the voice work for "Quantum of Solace," the newest 007 game based off of the upcoming movie. The game actually fuses some parts of "Casino Royale" into the game, so you're also going to hear and see Eva Green as Vesper Lynd, as well as Mads Mikkelson as Le Chiffre, the dude who weeped blood.
I saw a bit of the game at E3, and it looks like it could be very cool.
Posted by Redmond Carolipio at 1:08 PM | Comments (0)
Fallout 3 coming to stores October 28
Just in time for Halloween (it comes out in Europe on October 31). Enjoy the trailer, and the press release is after the jump. Oh, keep in mind, the trailer has stuff that might not agree with kids. You've been warned.
August 20, 2008 (Rockville, MD) - Bethesda Softworks®, a ZeniMax Media company, announced today that its highly anticipated title, Fallout® 3, will be available on store shelves and online in North America on October 28, 2008 and in Europe on October 31, 2008. Developed at Bethesda Game Studios - creators of the 2006 Game of the Year, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion® - Fallout 3 is slated for release on the Xbox 360®video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, and Games for Windows.
"We are very excited to let gamers get their hands on Fallout 3, the latest chapter in this beloved and highly acclaimed franchise," said Vlatko Andonov, president of Bethesda Softworks. "To meet the huge demand for this title by our fans worldwide, we are planning one of the biggest launches of any game released this year."
Fallout 3 features one of the most realized game worlds ever created. Set more than 200 years following a nuclear war, you can create any kind of character you want and explore the open wastes of Washington, D.C. however you choose. Every minute is a fight for survival as you encounter Super Mutants, Ghouls, Raiders, and other dangers of the Wasteland.
Hailed as one of the most anticipated games for 2008, Fallout 3 has already won numerous awards including Best of Show from the official Game Critics Awards at E3 2008, a selection voted on by an independent group of journalists from 36 leading North American media outlets that cover the videogame industry.
Fallout® 3 has not yet been rated by the ESRB.
Posted by Redmond Carolipio at 12:55 PM | Comments (0)
August 19, 2008
Why go to school when you can play Guitar Hero?
A 16-year-old from North Carolina dropped out of high school to dedicate his life to playing Guitar Hero. And the parents? They're cool with it.
Check the story here.
I have no words. Not very bloggish of me, but I don't think I can say anything that hasn't been said already. You can take the easy road and make some crude joke about the parenting, or you can just read, digest, and possibly weep. I hope the kid becomes the greatest GH player who ever lived. I really do.
Posted by Redmond Carolipio at 2:24 AM | Comments (0)
August 13, 2008
Huh ... interesting.
I usually don't like typical "day in the life" stuff in this space, but I thought I'd share this exchange that took place at the UPS Store, where I took my freshly deceased 360.
Me: "So, out of curiosity, how many of these to you get?"
Happy UPS girl: "A lot. People bring them in all the time."
Me: "How many, would you say?"
UPS girl: "Um ... I think about two or three a day."
Me: "Wait ... a DAY?"
UPS girl: "Yeah. They all look kinda mad and just say, 'Hey, I need to send this back.'"
All I have to say is ... boo. See you on Live in two to three business weeks.
Posted by Redmond Carolipio at 2:42 PM | Comments (0)
August 11, 2008
Thoughts from Maddenpalooza: Part 1
I turn 30 this week, and I can think of worse places to start off seven days than at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. I was there for the cutely named Maddenpalooza, a fan festival heralding the release of Madden 09 as well as the franchise's 20th year. I wrote a small container for the Bulletin and the Sun, while Caroline An and Samantha Bravo held it down for the Pasadena Star-News. I mentioned some technical aspects, while the Star-News duo got fan reaction as well as Steve Young.
I spent a good chunk of the day playing, talking and then playing some more. Since there were a few hundred gaming stations, I was able to sink a little bit into the gameplay. As I mentioned before, my 360 died, so I tried to squeeze in as much as I can. Here are some of my first impressions on aspects of the game.
The new look: I didn't think the game really needed a total visual overhaul, but I really liked what I saw from the handful of games I played. Some have griped that the players look a little too bouncy or cartoonish, but at least they seem livelier than the slightly robotic players that had been racing up and down the field in past 360/PS3 versions of the game.
"That's probably the part that me and the team are most proud of," said Phil Frazier, the senior producer for the game. "We replaced a lot of animations, did a lot of new things with lighting and player models. In the past, while they looked good, they weren't really proportionately accurate. This time, we scanned the full body of different kinds of athletes wearing pads, and looked at a lot of high-res photos of players from all angles."
If you look closely while you're playing, you'll also pick up on some other visual knick-knacks. For instance, if you break a long run, the camera suddenly zooms in and starts shaking slightly, as if it's being held by someone running behind you. That's the "impact" camera, and it's one of the new dramatic elements that's been added to the game, along with cameras panning from offense to defense and a "blue" hue that comes over the screen when it starts snowing. That's what Frazier was getting at when he was talking about adding "drama" in the container -- even at the expense of deadly accurate realism.
"We want the game to pop, so yes, sometimes we do exaggerate colors," he said. "But that's the tricky part -- doing that without going overboard."
John Madden and the Sands of Time: I'm talking about the new "rewind" feature, which essentially gives players a do-over by pressing a button. In effect, this "rewinds" the play to the point right before the ball is snapped, so that you have a chance to avoid the mistake you just made. I have to admit ... when I first heard of this (and tried it), a part of me wept. Apparently, I wasn't alone. However, Frazier expounded on the reasoning behind the feature.
"We get two reactions when it comes to the rewind," he. "The casual gamers and fans loved it. The hardcore players rejected it .. at first. It's meant to be a learning tool. You can't use it online, and you and a friend can use it to handicap. If you're really good and the person you're playing isn't good at all, maybe you give them, say, three chances to rewind. If you're a hardcore player playing by yourself, you can use it to work on your game."
So remember, the bottom line is that rewind can be disabled, and that you can't use it online.
It's also meant to tie into the game's "backtrack" feature, which not only functions as a replay, but also lets you know of any chances you missed, like an open receiver downfield. Pretty cool, I thought.
Cris Collinsworth is my hero: One thing I couldn't really stand about the last few games was the disconnected "radio" play-by-play voice. The PS2 and "last-gen" versions had Al Michaels and Madden, while the 360 players were left with Random Radio Guy.
This year, we've got Tom Hammond and Cris Collinsworth, who I actually like listening to when I watch a real game. Hammond's your typical straight-arrow play-by-play guy in this edition of Madden, but the real magic comes when Collinsworth starts talking. It rarely sounds like he's following a script and simply just talking about players and situations he sees on the field.
"We encourage our guys to actually ad-lib," Frazier said. "It's interesting ... we actually adapted our writing style. When we got feedback from Al or John, their thing was that they thought we were being too negative. John would say something, and then he'd say, 'Do I have to be so negative?' Cris would look at the script and say, 'OK, I see what you're getting at here,' and then just start going ... he could literally just ad-lib and talk for minutes. He also told us, 'You know, I actually like getting after the players ... can I be a little more negative?' We said sure, go for it."
You get an earful of Collinsworth's musings, all of which I enjoyed, especially when he was talking about Steelers tailback Willie Parker. In one snippet of thought, he talked about everything from Parker's straight-line speed to the fact that he didn't play that much in college. It's good stuff ... it's like a switch went on and he just started talking about football.
That's all I've got for now. Next time, it's more gameplay as well as some stuff from the retired players who were there.
Posted by Redmond Carolipio at 10:13 PM | Comments (0)
August 10, 2008
Time of death: 2:14 a.m.
My Xbox 360 has died. Which triggered this reaction.
If you see either of the above images, this essentially means you need to send your 360 to Texas to get resurrected, fixed or replaced. It's not the complete Red Ring of Death, but it's close enough. Type in "Red Ring of Death" on Google or the search engine of your choice, and you'll find plenty of literature on it.
What's awesome about the timing of this is that Madden 09 should be arriving in the mail pretty soon. Great. Can't wait to play it ... OH, WAIT. Not that you should really care, but I'm trying as hard as I can to not explode (this blog does belong to a family paper) and I'm also suppressing the urge to light something on fire.
I'd better stop, otherwise I'm going to write something I might regret. I think I'll cool off by playing something on the PS2, which I've had since college. Or maybe I'll play MGS4 on another system ... you know, the one that doesn't carry the life expectancy of a goldfish. Did I say that out loud?
Posted by Redmond Carolipio at 2:14 AM | Comments (0)