Now we have MLB 08 PS3, and out of the box it is the best playing baseball game yet. The great thing about this game is that it scales well to your personal experience too. If you are a little leaguer, you can pick it up and have fun while reinforcing what you have been coached in the field.

If you are a pro, you can pick it up and use all the additional knowledge to your advantage, because the controls are so intuitive and ergonomic and the AI is outstanding.

Games like this are rare and need to be appreciated. A BPI this good will even make you a better hitter when playing on the field too.

A game this realistic will separate the men from the boys when playing, because one’s baseball knowledge and instincts will trump someone with lesser skills.

That is the sign of a great sports game. When real skill and knowledge of a sport translate into on-screen performance and outcomes.

Gotta agree with you. High Heat was spot on in terms of gameplay. It got no love because the graphics where subpar.

W/O The vision cone you can sprint straight backwards 25 yards and scramble around like a fool and throw a strike.

Enough said

Biggest point is pre-snap reads and adjustments. I beg to the holy God of videogame football that they do not dumb that down.

If I want Champ to jump the flat route, I should be able to instruct him to do that (just one example).

I don’t mind making the game more accessible at all, but by all means do not “dumb it down”.

I was a fan of the Vision Cone. I hate the fact that instead of trying to tweak it / improve it, they just did away with it. I looked at it more than just making some quarterbacks standing out above others. It was also used on D as I played Safety, CB or even LB.

It was fun to look manual defenders off and it sucked when you got burnt by being looked off and got caught cheating a little bit. I used to use the cone to set my opponent up later on in the game.

While it could be tweaked, it surely wasn’t completely broken IMO. Put me in the camp that wouldn’t play online without it.

I don’t claim to be good. Hell I’m old enough that I get smoked more than I lay the wood to somebody. It’s still about combining the knowledge with the skills. Don’t take the skill out of the game. Too bad it seems with each new version, the 1’s and 0’s of the code have more an impact on the final score than the two players holding the controllers.

BTW… I’d love to know the story behind the “PastaPadre” name. I know those are two words I’ve never seen next to each other.

Yeah, I’ll be waiting until I’ve got more details on both games though before I’d be able to do something like that. Thanks for the suggestion.

Michael… thaat… is exactly what this blog is all about. What do you think he’s going to put on here… Broadway reviews?

Skill in a game is gauged by ones ability to play a game as it would be played in real life. For example, in Madden, people tend to use goalline all over the field. At their own 20 or at your 20 and anywhere in between. This is not skill. It hints at a fundamental misunderstanding of the game of football. To add on to this annoyance, it often times is successful. This is due to EA’s desire to accommodate the brain dead casual gaymer.

Another example would be the idiot who runs 20 yards back with the QB and throws a perfect pass. This too hints at a fundamental misunderstanding of the game of football. This is arcade style football; not sim. How many times do you see an NFL team go for it on 4th and 15? Rarely. I seen the Patriots do it one or two times last season. Now how many idiots do you see in Madden go for it on 4th and 15?? 90 percent, and their successful 98 percent of the time. This is not sim football. The odds should be stacked against any player who decides to go for it on 4th down when its not necessary. Why is it not? Ea’s desire to accommodate the casual gaymer. It’s a lame attempt to make the game more exciting when in actuality its frustrating to people who want to play a SIM FOOTBALL GAME!

If you want to gauge skill is sports games? Look at the SIM player and look at the GIMMICK player and contrast their styles of play. Gimmick player, more often than not, ruin the sports gaming experience. And I haven’t forgotten about the fools who will open up the game with an onside kick! This gross display of game play should be banned online as well as the other gimmick strategies that I mentioned before. Gimmick players should learn the game of football before the try to play a “SIM” football game.[/quote]

How ever noble your intentions you entirely miss the motives of online gamers and the motive is to win at all costs. People don’t aim to play any game straight. That’s why every year everyone wants to know the money plays or exploits in Madden. First off nothing about sports video games is skill. Its all motor reflexes and timing largely. YOU are not playing a sport, YOU are playing a video game which is only exercising your fingers.

People just want to win and they don’t care how they do it. If you actually expect an online game to be played straight up and like its real sport counterpart than you are sadly naive. Madden is the prime offender of this and will continue to be that way. With every new feature that Madden offers, there is a new way to exploit it.