Saturday, October 30, 2010

Sports Games... you're ON NOTICE!

I don't think I'm inside my own mind today... Thanks to NBA 2K11, ALL other sports titles are on notice, and this is a call for improvement and the thing that makes me feel so out of my mind is that a BASKETBALL game of all titles is demanding me to ask more of my sports games. This is a rant about sports games and why I love them, why they suck and what makes them great. Feel free to continue on but don't get pissy because I'm not going on about something more important...

So far this year, I've purchased Major League Baseball 2k10, NCAA Football 11 and Backbeaker as well as NBA 2k11. All of these sports games offer something the competition doesn't but only one of these games clearly rises above the rest.

I've voiced my ire toward sports games like Madden and that ire increases with each exceptional sports title that's released. With NHL 11 also earning a lot of positive buzz that only increases that desire exponentially.

Let's start this off by stating, I don't need to hear it. I've heard it all before, "sports games suck!" "They're all the same!" "Why don't you go play a real game?" I respond to those by saying I'd rather shoot a puck into a net or run a touchdown in for 6 points than play video games of pretend warfare that in my opinion reduce the seriousness of what is a very grim aspect of humanity, warfare. That's another rant for another day but today it's about Sports games.

Ever since I was a boy, I have always loved sports games. Hours upon hours spent playing NHL 95 on my Sega Genesis. Back then it was all about putting Wayne Gretzky on the Vancouver Canucks and willing a million Stanley Cup's. Now the goals remain pertinent while the stars of the past have faded from the limelight. That's part of what makes NBA 2K11 such a great game, they took one of those stars of the past, Michael freaking Jordan and based the game around him in a large part.

NBA 2K11 succeeds in aspects where virtually every other sports game manages to fail on one point or another. Lets start with just the gameplay in general.

Gameplay of NBA 2K11 is superb. It re-creates the atmosphere and intensity of professional basketball with stunning realism. The game feels, looks, and plays like a game of NBA basketball that you would watch on TV. The AI is excellent and the defense is stifling. You have to play smart to win in NBA 2k11, it's not all fast breaks and alley-oops, if you aren't using your brain and making smart shots you will get your ass handed to you by the CPU or by other players. NBA 2K11 forces you to play smart on both sides of the ball.

The games perks don't end there. "The Asociation" mode gets props for being maybe the most deep and well thought out 'dynasty' mode in any sports game. 2K has outdone themselves creating a very good game mode here, with excellent AI business sense that attempt smart trades, (though trades that don't always work with the salary cap) and a draft system that's quick, like the real thing, and you don't have to worry about getting burned on bad draft picks which is a CONSTANT piss-off with Madden.

I have yet to try the "my player" mode, where you play a single player from the NBA Draft to NBA super stardom. I have been saving that due to something else.

There's an element that makes NBA 2k11 a step above the rest and that's the inclusion of the Michael Jordan mode, more or less. This mode include 10 challenges which re-create a number of Jordan's Chicago Bulls teams from the 80's and 90's with time-appropriate accuracy as well as some classic teams from the NBA past that include great players such as Magic Johnson, Clyde Drexler, Gary Payton, Larry Bird, Dominique Wilkins, Karl Malone, and others as well. Completing the 10 challenges unlocks the "MJ Career" mode where you can put Michael Jordan in the NBA draft, and play his career through with the great players of today like Kobe, LeBron, etc.

Michael Jordan was rivaled and surpassed only by Wayne Gretzky as far as my childhood sports heroes are concerned, with Barry Sanders placing a distant third. The game mode being built around Mr. Space Jam himself was 100% the selling point of this game for me. With the Michael Jordan game modes, you have a very complete sports game which has excellent game-play, excellent dynasty mode with smart player progression and regression as well as a game mode which will entice old school fans like myself to a game they otherwise would not have bought.

It's the complete package that puts NBA 2k11 above the rest. Hockey could benefit from the inclusion of a Wayne Gretzky mode, though re-creating some of The Great One's greatest moments would probably prove to be more difficult on a Hockey Rink than re-creating MJ's on the hard court. A game mode like that though could help elevate a great game like NHL 11 which has really pushed the bar on Hockey's front move up to the next level and create a lasting appeal that most sports games couldn't dream of.

With NBA 2k11, it has managed to re-kindle the next-to-none interest level I had in the sport of Basketball but it also has manged to create a game which pays homage to the rich past of the sport while using the greatest player to play the game as a catalyst for this trip down memory lane. I don't think a 'star player'  approach would work for every sport, but for games like Basketball, it's helped give NBA 2K11 a boost to a game which would have still been pretty great even without the MJ modes.

So few sports games that come out now couldn't hope to be as well rounded as NBA 2k11, Backbreaker a game that came out earlier this year was a game I was really looking forward to. Gameplay issues which have since been picked, and an overall limited game mode overall really killed the momentum of the game. I like what they tried to deliver and I think the game succeeded at creating an alternative but overall the game will probably be looked back as a failiure.

NCAA Football is a fun football game that re-creates the rabid atmosphere of college football but ultimately it leaves me wanting to play Madden, because I prefer NFL football to NCAA football, hell I prefer CFL football to NCAA football and the great thing is with the NCAA's "Teambuilder" engine, I can re-create CFL teams pretty much to the detail. It's actually a much better team creating engine than the engine Backbreaker uses to create its teams, and creating teams in Backbreaker is one of the major perks of that game. When I have played this years Madden, it pales in comparison to its NCAA cousin. The developers got the most out of the new physics engine where as the new Madden feels like more of the same old-same old.

I always get frustrated with the little flaws of Madden's gameplay that you don't get with NCAA, and it makes me shake my head that two games with the same engine could have such vastly different quality levels. I do believe the games have different developers which makes me think that maybe Madden could use a new developing team to help breath some desperately new life into that game. The way things are going, unless Madden 12 has a trick up it's sleeve, I'm doubtful I will buy that one either. With all the excellent sports titles being released, I can do without Madden.

Now, Tiger Woods Golf did the whole 're-creating' moments in Tiger 10 and that was quite fun, you had to duplicate not just Tiger's but other golfer's moments as well and you could use the points you would earn from those performances to help boost your own personal golf avatar. And it helped make that game a little deeper having another game mode to go to as Golf games suffer from monotony a lot more-so than other sports games do. I get the most fun out of the golf game when I'm playing with my girlfriend, she gets as into it as I do which is a big plus.

I guess that leaves Major League Baseball 2k10, another 2K sports title. Baseball has been like the red headed step-child of the sports game group as of late and 2K took a lot of steps to ensure that 2k10 was deserving of their Xbox exclusive license, given that Sony's "MLB: The Show" has been a pinnacle sports title on the Playstation for years now. They didn't do anything flashy, like anything, with a sports game you have to build the foundation before you start expanding with extra game modes and themes, but 2K10 took a step in the right direction.

They put the focus on the pitcher/ batter duel, and the game is actually the most fun to play which is great for gamers like me who prefer to sim their way through the 'dynasty' modes to see how well their teams play from year to year. MLB 2k10 preferred to make their major game play statement in the ball park which was a necessary action to take. With the gameplay on the right track, they can focus on the game as a whole for next year in delivering a superior game.

It's what Madden needs to do. A "flagship" title that outsells most other games annually should not be so shitty. Sports fans have nobody to blame but themselves as they keep buying it, and the game hasn't changed. Why would it? Unless EA sees a significant drop in sales, they're not going to try to fix what, in their eyes, probably isn't broken.

I want to give kudos for NBA 2K11 for re-kindling my interest in Basketball, I miss the Vancouver Grizzlies like mad and cheering for any other team feels blasphemous. No way in hell I'm going to root for the "Memphis Grizzlies" so that's out the window.

I'm going to look forward to sports titles like NHL 11 and Smackdown vs Raw 2011. Once I get Hockey I'll have a sports game for every sport that I like, and the need to have Madden will be significantly declined. If any sports gamers have anything to add, positive or negative. I'd like this post to serve as a catalyst for discussion about the games we love, and what pisses us off about the games we wish gave us more.

Friday, October 8, 2010

An open letter to love

I don't think I'm inside my own mind today... then again... maybe I am? Allow me, if you will, to tell you all a little story.

Once upon a time there was a boy… He was young, shy. He was angry and he was dissatisfied with things. Sixteen years young, dreams already crushed and an undetermined future. All that seemed true was one person.
That person was a girl who, at first, the boy didn’t go out of his way to know. Not because he wasn’t interested but because he was too shy to really think she could even find the time to like him. That girl ended up being spectacular. She shared common interests, she liked things that he liked, she liked to listen to his unfiltered stream-of-consciousness rants. She liked to be around him.

The boy liked that…

The girl had boyfriends, this stopped the boy from persuing his interest in the girl. The first boyfriend she had was an angry metal-head who postured aggressively and was threatened by the boy’s presence because the boy was simply awesome. The girls second boyfriend was an old friend of the boy so he didn’t want to disrespect the boyfriend by making a move for his girl.

This girl never quelled her interest in the boy. They grew close together as friends. The girl remained a comforting ear for the boy who had a lot of anger, a lot of sadness, and a lot of other emotions that he couldn’t quite understand himself.

The boy wished the girl would dump her boyfriend, because she wasn’t happy with him. He dreamed of the day she would be available and he would be able to sweep in as the prince charming on his epic steed, ready to take the princess to his castle for a happily ever after.

If you haven’t figured it out… I am that boy.

I waited for the girl, for years. She eventually broke it off with her boyfriend and afterward had said she did not want a boyfriend. I respected the girls wishes while my own feelings for her continued to grow strong.

The girl went off to college, while I remained in the small town. I moved out of my mom’s house as we were evicted from our home. Moved in with a friend. I worked two jobs, smoked a lot of weed and blew my money on unimportant things. College, to me, was not worth while because I did not wish for debt due to student loans, and I did not feel that my true passion, Writing, held a profitable future. I want to go to college for a career, this is something I still struggle with but I digress.

The girl was coming home and I knew my time to let my feelings known was nearing. Every day that came closer my fear grew.

Throughout my childhood, growing up, my feelings for the girls I liked always seemed to leave me cold. Backfired, I thought, maybe I was undesirable, maybe I was too loud. I often talked of how teenage girls infuriated me. Of course, in the coliseum of teenaged debauchery that is High School, the teenage girls probably were put off by my rather negative attitude.

Anyway…

After an evening that involved much alcohol, and much weed. I decided to take my chances. I had to make my move because the fear that I would never had taken that leap of faith overshadowed the fear that she might not feel the same.

She felt the same way. The girl I had loved, for years, had liked, and maybe even loved me too at that point.

Of course, due to my intoxication I was confused the next day. Did I fuck up? Was she revolted by the disgusting level of cowardice that was involved with my approach to let forth with literally years worth of feelings forward to her?

No.

In fact, it worked out the exact opposite. She was overjoyed, and it wasn’t long before we began dating. In fact, it wasn’t long at all before we decided to move away together.

I’ve followed that girl across the province of British Columbia, and now I’ve moved with her across the nation of Canada.

My love for her was something I felt that was worth the wait, and it’s a love that I would fight to keep. Time is irrelevant.

Though times aren’t always perfect, the fact that I am spending them with her outweighs any of the lowest lows of my past. Even the worst moments, or those that could be perceived as “the worst” are still amazing compared to the past. I would never change a thing.

Natasha. I love you, I always will. Nothing will ever stop me from feeling the way I do about you.

I will do anything in my power to give you the things you want, the things that you deserve and the things that maybe you even don’t want.

I would give the world to you if it were a possibility. Because my love for you makes me feel like I am never doing enough.

Love is a fickle mistress, but if you have it. True love, in your grasp, you know it’s the kind of power that you would do anything for, and that it’s the kind of feeling that you never want to let go of.

I know I’m not perfect, far, far from it in fact, and I know that I can be a better man.

I just want you to know, and I guess the world to know, that there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to see the smile on your face. It makes even the darkest skies turn blue. And if there’s anyone out there that feels the same way about a girl. They can steal this open letter for it’s not my story. We’ve all got stories of love that has been found and stories of love unrequited. It just so happens that my story is, at least to this point a victorious one.

The story of our love is just beginning. There are many chapters yet to be told. I hope that you will always feel the same way, and that we can one day close the story on this chaotic romance and know that it was all worth it.

You’re worth it, and you always will be. If I hadn’t taken that chance, and if I was still waiting, I would continue to wait, knowing that I would not sabotage my next chance to tell you that I love you, and that I always have, and I always will.

Another chapter ends, another begins, but our story continues. I’m glad that I’m sharing this story with you.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Its already October? Jeebus! (General rants and updates)

I don't think I'm inside my own mind today... we might as well be at Christmas Eve, once Halloween comes and goes get ready for the two entire goddamn months of Christmas!

Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas. I love the majesty of it, I love how it enthralls children and strokes their little, budding senses of entitlement but I ESPECIALLY love how retail stores eat the shit up too. You can't get ready for Christmas too early in that line of work, if it was up to retail, Christmas would probably go half the year round.

Yeah, fuck that. Why can't we just get pumped for Christmas 12 days before it's supposed to happen. You know, like in the stories and stuff. No that's too much to ask.

It just bothers me, I hate the pressure of the Christmas season. I've never really been the kind of person who's into gifts. I like to give them, but they cost money and I'm cheap. I never ask for gifts because I never know what I want. The things I want are usually expensive, so I don't ask people for them. Makes sense that I try my hand at maybe getting what I want myself.

People ask me what I want, I don't feel comfortable asking for things. It's never personal or anything like that. It's just awkward for me.

In a sense, the whole entire Christmas season is awkward for me.

Just wanted to get that off my chest I guess, let's move on to something else.

Holy shit the Cleveland Browns won a football game! Now 1-3, the talk from Browns fans of an 0-16 season can be quashed. I am not sure how many more football games this team can win but I really hope they can win at least a few more. As long as they keep playing decent football and keeping games close that will ultimately be okay with me, win or lose. This year is about re-building and establishing a team attitude and all of that fun stuff.

With Baseball coming to a close, Hockey season starting up, Football in full swing, it's a good time to be a sports fan.

Work is... work. We'll just leave it at that. I'm still truckin.

I haven't seen many good movies lately. The last movies I watched were Prince of Persia, Hidalgo, Apocalypto and Date Night. Apocalypto was good, but Hidalgo and Date Night were both movies I was left wanting more.

Date Night was a rather by-the-books comedy with some truly genuine laughs but overall a ridiculous plot and a real sense of grasping at straws. The pairing of Steve Carrell and Tina Fey  had so much potential but overall the movie left me wondering why Hollywood keeps making these movies which seem like half of a story idea and then they're just like "Lets but X actress with Y actor and it will be a classic!" Date Night was no classic.      6/10.

Hidalgo was okay. I love Viggo, he's one of my favorite actors. I'd always heard this movie was good so I was excited to see it. Upon seeing it, I realized why I never went out of my way to see it before now. The movie was rather general drama. Man out of his element, a challenge with overwhelming odds, No respect, etc, etc, etc. They tried to kill that horse so many goddamn times that HAD they killed the horse (The horse survives the movie.) it wouldn't of had any impact!     6/10.

Prince of Perisa, well, it was garbage. Period. We turned it off probably half way through, right around when all the drama with the dagger was starting off. The movie just had no spirit and felt as soulless and unmotivated as they came. All the English accents in the middle of the desert? Please fuck off with that!     2/10 (The movie gets points for being based off a cool video game. Thats it)

Movies I want/Need to see: Iron Man 2, Robin Hood, The Expendables, The Town, True Grit, Scott Pilgrim vs The World, Machete, Red, MacGruber

Movies I do NOT want to see: Legend of The Guardians, Devil, Resident Evil: Afterlife, The Killers,

Torn over/Meh: The Social Network, 127 Hours, Predators (I've never seen the original Predator films), Jackass 3-D, The Karate Kid, Get Him To The Greek

So that's how the landscape of my Movie future goes as far as movies I'm interested in, or thinking about. Time to shift gears into work mode, I'll maybe brainstorm updating this thing with something more meaningful (or to a point) sometime later this week.

PEACE!