NCAA 08 Preview

1up played an early copy of NCAA 08. In years past, I have used the NCAA game as a barometer for Madden. NCAA usually comes out a couple month before Madden does.

It looks promising, I really hope they are both good.

Hands on APF 2k8 Preview

over at 2ksports forums, a guy posted an early preview of APF 2k8. Take it with a grain of salt. I haven't heard if it is true or not.

DaTruth24 Rookie

Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Connecticut Posts: 57

---

My thoughts after 45 minutes with it

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sorry mods if this is inappropiate after having my other thread closed. If so, and I COMPLETELY undertsand, then close this one up as well and I won't bring it up again.

After posting this late last night I freaked. I mean, I really panicked. I signed an NDA and while I *probably* won't get busted I am still, for obvious reasons, a little worried about this. With that said, I'll leave this here and keep my fingers crossed. One thing I will add before pasting my original thoughts on this AMAZING game is that I am a diehard football video game junkie. It is what got me into gaming way back when Madden was first released on the Sega Genesis so when I say that this game is absolutely the greatest football game ever, I absolutely mean it! Of course, this is just my opinion but I truly believe that once this game is in everyones hands that, while there will be some folks that don't like the player models, the way the announcers talk or what have you, it will most definitely change the way football is done on consoles/PC's from here on.

Anyways, heres what I posted last night.


Sorry it took so long to get back here folks. I had a monster day and then went out to dinner, etc so sorry to keep everyone waiting.

Okay, first off, it is late and I'm beat. Second, I have an all day long photo shoot tomorrow and need to get to sleep. Having said that i'll get this party started and continue as time permits. Bare with me on this guys. It is busy time for me this time of year and the days ahead are booked solid but i'll give you all the answers I can over the next few days or so.

I only got to play the game for about 45 minutes. Thats because they had several people there and wanted to give some of the employees a chance to play. I imagine you'll start seeing other "reviews" or "previews" pop up. However, we were reminded on more than one occasion that we all signed NDAs and were expected to honor this.

60 FPS. Animations that DESTROY ANYTHING YOU HAVE SEEN IN A SPORTS GAME EVER! Incredible weather effects. A presentation that makes Madden's look like a complete joke (we already knew that 2K5 did this but just WAIT until you see what they have done with APF) Reports from the sidelines, great play by play and color (same guys from the previous games). The presentation makes you feel like you are actually watching a real game of football. 2K5 did this great but APF makes you go ****!

In the 45 minutes I played this game I did not ONE TIME notice ANY repeat animations. Sure, the QB dropping back and maybe the WR catching some times were repeated but everything else was truly remarkable to witness. Over and over again I was floored at what I was seeing. players getting pushed, tripped, slapped, falling over other players with killer collision detection. I did notice some flaws but believe me, it will not take ANYTHING away from the otherwise incredible experience.

When I played PGR on the 360 for the first time I was blown away and thought "This is next gen". Well, PGR now reminds me of PGR one the original xbox now. It seems like LAST gen LOL! APF's graphics, while fantastic (and MUCH better looking than what we saw in GI) it is the animations and tackling, running, the fumbles, gang tackles, refs getting in the way (yeah, this game had REFS ON THE FIELD! SHOCKING HUH) the players emotions (although they do look kinda funky at times) that REALLY are going to freak you out. Did I mention that all of this has dynamic lighting and runs at 60 fps?

It is all here. A TRUE football experience that will FORCE EA to get serious about Madden. Seriously, EA's Madden will get a MAJOR overhaul after they see what 2K has done. I did not, for even a SECOND, think about this game not having official NFL teams, players, stadiums. I immediately got lost in the game play. As corny as that sounds, it was true. It was Madden's first video game that got me into gaming in the first place so it is football that I look forward to every year (except these last few years because of the obvious) and APF has brought back this magic in a way that has to be seen to be believed. All without the NFL license. Imagine that .

The demo only had 2 teams to play ( RHinos and I swear I cannot remember the other team...I was too busy having my mind blown I guess) and only one stadium ( with a GIANT rhino that moved around when you scored) but you could change the time of day and weather. The rain and snow effects were unbelievable. Completely convincing and had a tremendous effect on game play. I had a running back go down with an injury and I watched the replay no less than 10 times. It looked THAT COOL! I mean, you could SEE him get hurt and how it happened. Plays that looked so real me and this guy I was playing were actually getting giddy. I was smiling like a 10 year kid and i'm in my 40's.

I know all of this sounds too good to be true but I don't give a **** at this point. I know that this game will come out and every single video gamer who truly loves the game of football will rejoice in what 2K sports have delivered.

It is 1:00am and thats all for now. Sorry guys but in 7 hours I have to get up and at them : )

Again, I know (and having gone back and read thru this) can understand it seeming a little over the top. And even may come off as a little over zealous (duh) LOL! and i'll be completely honest and admit that I may be *slightly* going overboard (easy to do once you've just played what is,IMO, and soon to be EVERYONES opinion, the GREATEST game of football ever to grace a console! But I can't help it fellas. I am truly STOKED!!!!!!

It is that good. just wait.

I actually feel sorry for EA. This will make the jerks at the NFL who were responsible for the whole "exclusive" BS take notice that they picked the WRONG COMPANY to do their game justice! Oh man. i almost wish I didnt play it. I have no idea how I can wait for this game now. kind of like Cartman when he was waiting for the Wii to be released I guess.

One last thing. I cannot be here everyday and answer a billion questions and don't get to freaked about it. I have way too many responsibilities so be cool. I'll do as much as I can.

Agent 0 comments on the Cover

The NBA gives its players a place to talk to the average fan. They give the player his own blog. Gilbert Arenas, we found out today, is on the cover of NBA Live 08. You can read his excited blog post here here.

Vick’s Skills were Pumped up in Madden, I want 99s
That’s what I’m hoping now. You know the best part about it? They’re giving me full control of the design, the commercials and like they’re letting me do my own media about it. They’re letting me do my own press conference. Most of the time they’d be like, “Dwyane Wade is on the cover of 2006 or 2007…” But this year they’re letting me do my own. I get to say I’m on the cuh-vahhh.

Oh crap, not another devon hester!

Alien Syndrome Wii Control Trailer

I love seeing how the Wii Controls work in trailers. It sold me on Godfather and Spiderman.

NCAA football 08 Trailer

Modding Student Arrested

Fort Bend Now in Richmond, TX reports the arrest of a student for making computer game maps of his school. The game he made the map for was most likely Counter Strike.

The map the boy designed mimicked Clements High School. And, sources said, it was uploaded either to the boy’s home computer or to a computer server where he and his friends could access and play on it. Two parents apparently learned from their children about the existence of the game, and complained to FBISD administrators, who investigated.

Making maps of familiar places is commonplace in gaming. In middle school, some friends and I based an entire campaign around the Middle School. Teachers were present as "Boss Monsters" you had to kill, along with the normal monster fare you would find in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Oh and Bill the Cat. Our DM had a thing for Bill the Cat.

We grew up to be upstanding citizens of the community.

The police searched his house, and did they find and guns or bombs??????????

“They arrested him,” Chen said of FBISD police, “and also went to the house to search.” The Lin family consented to the search, and a hammer was found in the boy’s room, which he used to fix his bed, because it wasn’t in good shape, Chen said. He indicated police seized the hammer as a potential weapon.

“They decided he was a terroristic threat,” said one source close to the district’s investigation.

Oh a hammer. A dangerous hammer.

The word terrorist is thrown around all too liberally the last 5 to 6 years, and it has to stop. I wont get into it here, maybe on the Poop Laden Blog some day.

Sources said that although no charges were filed against the boy, he was removed from Clements, sent to the district’s alternate education school and won’t be allowed to participate in graduation ceremonies with classmates.

I don't understand why the boy is being punished. No charges were filed, and all they found was a hammer to fix his bed. Oh ya. He's Chinese.

Madden Producer's Blog

Whenever I find I blog I want to keep tabs on, I hit the subscribe button in FireFox. Guess what? His blog doesn't have an RSS feed. COME ON. RSS feeds are essential in updating your product. Get with the program. Anyway, on with the story.

A few days ago, EA sports' Madden producer, Ian Cummings describes what drives him crazy about Madden. Oddly enough, the pet peeves all directly correlate to the features Madden 08 employs.

Missing Features

What happened to defensive hot routes? The strip ball button? Man lock? Defensive assignments? I actually took part in designing all those features, and not having them in next gen totally sucks. We all know Madden 06 was not what we wanted it to be. In the face of ridiculous adversity, we did ship the game, which many other teams weren’t able to do. But to not have these features in 07, what is the deal with that?

Gang Tackling

This is next gen. NEXT GENERATION. How are players still clipping through each other? Why do all the defenders fall down like bowling pins when a tackle starts? Why do we not have swarming defenders piling on to tackles and cleaning up?

Fatigue. Ugh.

It’s bad enough that the Madden 07 shipped without fatigue and that it had to be patched. But even with the patch, fatigue is barely even a part of this game! I can’t think of too many things that are more important to a simulation of football outside of stamina and fatigue. It changes the way teams play on so many levels! What good is having a big bruising back without fatigue? What good is it to run a no huddle offense without fatigue? What about a ridiculously hot game in Miami or the thin air in Denver? Those are real life obstacles NFL players have to deal with…why aren’t they in the game? Also, why doesn’t fatigue update dynamically during a play? Vick can run sideline to sideline at full sprint for 10 minutes until someone gets open in Madden right now. That’s obviously less than ideal. And what about fatigued animations? I’d love to see players breathing heavy at the line, or taking longer to get up, or even struggling to run for those last few yards on a big kick return.

Pre-Play Cut Scenes

Why don’t the players run to the line realistically from the huddle in the gameplay camera? I loathe cut scenes most of the time, mainly because I’m totally out of user control. I can’t set up my offense or defense, and after I’ve seen those cut scenes once or twice I’ve had enough.

Later in his blog, He made excuses for the shortcomings of Madden 07. Excuses are like buttholes, everyone has one and they are full of shit.

Only one thing can make the alienated Madden Fan a believer again, and that is a solid product.

You can follow this link to read the excuses.

Jumping puzzles in 3D games

I have never been a fan of jumping puzzles. They are the most annoying game mechanic ever. You know, the puzzles you spend an hour trying to get to the top of, then make one miniscule mistake and you go tumbling to your death and or lose an hour more of your life getting back up to the spot from which you fell.

Popular and annoying in the 8 and 16 bit eras of gaming where Sonic and Mario ruled, the annoyances have returned in 3D fps games such as Crackdown.

Today Newbcakes and I ran through the last few bosses of Crackdown in Sai-Gen and Volk. The kingpin bosses of the two islands were on top of towers, reachable only by platforms. The player must jump from platform to platform and time their next jumps so they dont fall into the lake, and we were getting pissed off. Time after time, ending up in the lake, it was balls.

So many possibilities for screwing up exist in 3D. Angle, velocity, rockets knocking you off, a Z axis and not being able to see the ground add more layers of complexity. On top of that, if you hit a pixel of geometry anywhere, you lose all momentum and fall to the ocean; wasting the time you should be out shooting bad guys.

There is no point to this, game developers! Ladders are a much more efficient use of players time. Anyways, it isn't fun.

Three XBL Arcade games this week

Centipede
Millipede
Catan

I really don't care about the 'pedes, but I am intrigued by Catan.

Legendary board game "Catan" arrives on Xbox LIVE Arcade

Brush up on your plans for expansion and hone your trading strategies because "Catan" is coming to Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360 this Wednesday, May 2 at 0900 GMT (2:00 a.m. Pacific).

"Catan" from Big Huge Games is the Xbox LIVE Arcade edition of the legendary multiplayer board game Settlers of Catan. With over 10 million units sold, Settlers of Catan is one of the most popular board games to hail from Europe, and has been translated into twenty-five languages from the original German.

"Catan" for Xbox LIVE Arcade puts players in the role of colonists on a newly discovered island, where they vie for control of valuable territory and resources through strategy and trading. The game can be learned in just minutes, but will challenge players of all skill levels, even the experts!

Klaus Teuber, creator of the original Settlers of Catan board game, had this to say about the collaboration with Big Huge Games: "I had no doubts that Brian Reynolds would do a great job, and the first version of the game exceeded my highest expectations. The AI is so clever that I even lost several games in a row! Hands down, this game for the Xbox LIVE Arcade is an amazing achievement."

Newbcakes, Ruud, Dave17 what do you think? A replacement for Worms?

Burnout Paradise

Kotaku posted a trailer that looks really really sweet. A press release accompanied the screenshots and trailer.


For anyone that has played Crackdown with me or has watched my driving in Godfather and other driving games, they know how much I love to crash. I hope I get points for running over pedestrians.

Hibachi!!!

Team Xbox reports Agent 0, Gilbert Arenas, to be the cover athlete for NBA live 08. This is great news for heze, my sparring partner in NBA 2k7.

“This is a dream come true,” said Arenas. “I’m a huge gamer and have been playing NBA LIVE since 1995. I never imagined that I would see my face on the cover of an EA SPORTS videogame.”

I wonder if heze is going to switch to Live next year, since his favorite player in the whole wide world is on the cover. Kevin Garnett could end up as his teammate next year. He wishes.