Madden 08 Gamespot Preview

During the NFL draft, Gamespot sneakily posted a preview of Madden 08. EA also released a few screenshots.

What did the Madden team at Tiberion add? Pretty much nothing so far. This version of madden looks like a patch release of Madden 07. This will probably be the game Madden 07 should have been.

It starts with overhauled animations, specifically tons of new branching animations. How many times in previous Madden games did you throw to a tight end or wideout near the sidelines, only to have the animation take the guy out of bounds when he clearly could have gained a few more yards by staying in bounds? According to producers, that will be a thing of the past, thanks to branching animation that was borrowed from another EA property: NBA Street Homecourt. No, you won't be watching Reggie Wayne execute triple back-flips into the end-zone, but on those crossing routes where he's heading to the sidelines, you'll likely see him plant his feet once he's hauled in the ball, and angle up-field to gain those crucial extra yards.

Should have been in years ago.

And speaking of tackling, gang-tackles, long missing from the series, debuted in the PlayStation 3 version of Madden NFL 07 and will now spread to include every version of Madden 08. As producers demonstrated in a video, tacklers can be added onto a pile at any point when trying to bring down a ball-carrier; equally important, tackles can be shed dynamically thanks to the aforementioned branching animation technology. One particularly cool video example of this showed Tomlinson, wrapped up by a defender, make a spin move, only to have an incoming defender run into the defender that first wrapped up LT, knocking him off the running back and letting Tomlinson gain a few more yards in the process.

Same.

Player fatigue has been a sore point in the past few Madden entries and the team has taken that into consideration with Madden 08, blowing out the feature this time around. As producers put it, every action on the field will count against a player's fatigue rating. You spend time scrambling around in the background with Michael Vick, and sooner or later he's going to wear out. In addition, temperature and location will make a difference to your player's performance--think of the thin frigid air at Mile High in December, or the sweltering late-summer heat in Miami. Just as in real life, those kinds of conditions will have an effect on how your team plays. This improved focus on fatigue should definitely affect how you play the game--do you go run-and-gun in order to tire out your opponent's defensive backs, or grind it out with your running backs in order to punish your foe's defensive line? Furthermore, you'll want to stay aware of your player's fatigue ratings as the game progresses? Calling a no huddle after you just sent your wideouts on streaks downfield? Bad idea. In fact, taking your time snapping the ball will actually benefit your team, as they get a chance to catch their breath before the next play.

Yes, Bug fixes. I recommend reading the entire article. Let me know if you come to the same conclusion. Madden 07 1.1

Good Game News: Moms

Over at Health News Digest, they suggest moms use casual computer games to unwind. You can read the article here. This paragraph caught my attention:

Web sites such as RealArcade.com, Lifetimetv.com and GameHouse.com provide hundreds of casual computer games that busy moms can try for free. Louden recommends a quick game of Super Collapse! 3, Aloha Solitaire or one of the many versions of Sudoku to help moms achieve relaxation, mental stimulation and a sense of completion.

lifetimetv.com????? Isn't that the channel in which every movie ends in the killing of an abusive husband. Oh man, don't let Jack Thompson see that.

The 5 Commandments of Wii

Zane Jamal across the Atlantic shows us what the Wii had to teach us. #5 is my favorite. You can read the entire list here.

5. Exploit fat people as your agenda.

I loled like I never loled before.

Manhunt 2 preview at gamespot

Gamespot has a 2 page long preview you can see here

The PS2 game will support a USB headset and microphone, allowing you to make noises to distract enemies and help you line up for a kill.

Wow sweet, The wife thought I looked strange driving in Call of Duty 3 on the Wii. Just wait til she hears me make bird calls and fart noises on the headset. Oh wait I do that already when I play Gears of War with the guys.

Manhunt looks like Splinter Cell with more blood. Am I right on this. Discuss in comments.

Mutant League Football gets some press from Joystiq

Joystiq, every week, has a poll of the webcomic of the week. In this installment, the featured picture was pulled from mutant league football.

Closed circuit to nintendo. Please make this a VC game.

Call of Duty 4 trailer

COD3 was a dissapointment let's hope 4 is better. WWII shooters are overdone, modern middle eastern wars are not, yet.

Halo 3 public beta info

The folks over at Team Xbox have some juicy info for all of you looking forward to Halo3. There is a diagram of the button mapping, and a few details on split screen.

You’ll also be pleased to hear that split-screen will be an option, although limited to two people in the Public Beta. We’ve also done something cool with the splitscreen display for HD monitors – instead of stretching the horizontal or vertical axes into big, scary too wide or too tall horrors, we’ve sensibly windowed the action, maintaining lots of screen real estate, but preserving a proper, playable aspect ratio.

I love when Bungie innovates. This is also good for ian0375 he loves to play split screen online Gears Of War after school with one of his buddies.

This is also a good feature. You can same game videos. Great for catching that butthump or teabag on film.

This feature we’re testing is for the moment, just a fun addition, that’s planned to grow into something pretty amazing by launch, and that feature is Saved Films. The version you’ll try in the Beta, is very, very, very limited. We just want you to play around with the general concept. You’ll be reading more about this in the gaming press in the next month or two, and of course you can try it out for yourselves in less than a month.

Liongames Has a deal with Halo 3. 39.99. Tony from Lion Games is a frequent poster on cheapassgamer and passes on his savings to us, the gamers.

Forza 2 Demo "Real Soon Now"

1up reported there will be a Forza demo RSN.

Just don't ask when. "...it is coming soon but we haven't been told a date and Turn 10 doesn't set the dates. In other words, I don't know when the demo is coming so please stop asking :)," said community manager Che Chou. "I know you guys absolutely can't wait to get your hands on the demo but there's a marketing timeline, and even though it may not make a lot of sense now, trust me, there's a rhyme and reason at work here."

Another reason why I hate marketing.

Wiis Will be at Target/Gamestop 4/29

The Comsumerist reports there will be Wiis this sunday.

At least 60 Wiis will be arriving and selling at Target stores this Sunday, according to an inside source.

This brings up an interesting point. Was the Wii shortage artificial? I am not a big conspiracy guy, but I think it was. The shortage benefits:

• The Store (Target/EB/etc): increased foot traffic and increased drive by buying.
• Nintendo: So, so, SO much hype for the machine, the games, the accessories. Word of mouth, exponentially better than TV, radio or email spam ads.
• Mainstream Media: They have some video game story they can latch on to that doesnt have to do with guns, boobs or drugs.

Also, about this time last year, the Xbox 360 widely became available. I see a pattern.

Left 4 Dead gameply trailer and other bits

Some new info about this game from a preview Games Radar.

As of right now, 8 people can play on a server/game together. 4 people as survivors and 4 people as the zombie bosses.

To make a total player count of eight, four other players have spawned as four special zombies who live happily among the ravenous hordes. The Boomer, a fat flesh-balloon filled with explosive gases and zombie-attracting vomit. The Hunter, a quick and agile zombie who jumps out of dark corners. The Smoker, with his 50-foot prehensile tongue. And The Hulk, who is not unlike his greener namesake. As the survivors make their way through the level, it's these infected players who must stop them with their particular zombie powers. Helpfully, they've got infinite lives, so they won't be worried about being a tad gung-ho.

I really hope they increase the number of players per server on Xbox live. 8 players is good, but 12-16 would be outstanding.

Whether they're trapped under a Hunter, lying wounded on the floor or just perilously clinging to a ledge after being punched out of a window by a Hulk, saving a teammate is an awesome feeling, and it creates countless unscripted moments of fear (and subsequent relief). Small touches like the ability to lock doors as well as shoot holes in them add some spice to the proceedings, while the so-called AI Director works silently in the background to orchestrate the flow of zombie hordes.

This is why this game will be popular. For all of the experiences your friends can share and laugh about. Up to about a year ago, this only happened on MMORPGS. Games like Crackdown and Gears of War Co-op have the same sort of feeling, Especially Crackdown.

Shadowrun end of beta event and faq

Apr 30 is the official end of beta for Shadowrun. A lot of the developers will be on IRC during the day monday.

With the beta coming to an end, we'd like to invite all fans of Shadowrun to join us in one last get together before the beta wraps up.

Join us on IRC chat channel #Shadowrun.FASA on the Gamesurge server from 1-7 PM PDT on Monday, April 30th. We'll be giving away prizes, answering questions about the game, and chatting with everyone while we play Shadowrun.

Never used IRC before?

For an easy to use Java-based IRC client, go here.
After choosing a nickname and connecting, type: /join #Shadowrun.FASA

See you on Monday!

Also posted was the end of beta faq it includes demo info.

Q: When will the demo come out?
A: We can't announce a date yet. We should be able to tell you what the release date will be soon.

Q: What will the demo be like? Just like the beta?
A: Can't discuss it at the moment, but please stay tuned.

Q: Will the demo be playable outside of the US?
A: Yes! US, Canada, Latin America, much of Europe, and even some parts of Asia. And it will be localized. We think Shadowrun sounds really cool in Chinese, especially.

Q: So what did you learn from the beta? Did it make the game better?
A: We got a ton of great information about networking, game balance, economy, bugs, and teamwork / community out of the beta. We're telling everyone in Xboxland that closed public betas are the way to go to make better multiplayer games. It certainly made ours a lot better. And in the process, we got to know a lot of great people. And they kicked our butts at our own game. Hm.

My only concern with the beta is with cheesing. In the beta videos I didn't see anyone cheesing. (#7 Definition). This will make or break the game. If the game is fun to play and the glitches are nonexistent, the game will flourish. If the game is glitch riddled or has 1 or 2 overpowered combos or overpowered shotgun in gears of war.

This game also needs to rev up the hype machine. Not many people that play games casually know about shadowrun. FASA needs to hire someone like cliffy b to hype it up. He did a great job hyping up Gears Of War.

I am really looking forward to this game. It looks to me like Counterstrike meets Halo. Peanut butter and Chocolate all over again.