Demo for NHL 09 Coming Today to PS3
August 21, 2008 by pastapadre · 4 Comments
The demo for NHL 09 will be available on the PS3 later today (generally PSN updates occur around 3pm PT). The Xbox 360 won’t be receiving the demo until sometime in early September.
The demo includes a Stanley Cup rematch of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings played through the perspective of an individual player in Be a Pro mode.
The new Be A Pro career mode will put you in the skates of an up and coming superstar. Start in the AHL and work your way up to the NHL, with the ultimate goal of becoming an NHL legend. The new Performance Tracker will rate your play in over 60 categories so you will know exactly what parts of your game you need to improve. NHL 09 will also introduce the evolution of online team play - the EA SPORTS Hockey League. Take your created player online and join a team with friends, or scout for players. Featuring 6 vs. 6 online play and the ability to level up your player - you can become the first great name in video game hockey.
Be sure to leave your thoughts on the demo in the comments.
NCAA Football 09 Patch #2 Out Now
August 21, 2008 by pastapadre · 22 Comments
The second (and final) patch for NCAA Football 09 has gone live for the Xbox 360 and should be following for the PS3 in the near future. This patch addresses some gameplay improvements, fixes to different areas of the game such as the sliders, and the addition of being able to view online dynasties on EA Sports World.
Continue on to view the full list of what is included in the patch. Be sure to leave your thoughts on how the patch affects the game in the comments.
EA Releases Awesome New Commercial
August 20, 2008 by pastapadre · 16 Comments
This was new to me but all the same I found it very entertaining. A video showing what was dubbed the “Jesus Glitch” from Tiger Woods 08 was posted almost a year ago on Youtube. You can watch that here if you so choose. In promotion for Tiger Woods 09 EA Sports has released a new commercial in response to that video. This is definitely worth a watch!
Who Will Be The NCAA Basketball 09 Cover Athlete?
August 20, 2008 by pastapadre · 25 Comments
NCAA Basketball 09 has been kept under wraps by EA Sports for quite a while now. For most titles at the very least some basic information would be known three months out from release. Sooner rather than later the first details are going to break which will likely include the cover athlete.
Like last year there are two players that stand out from the crowd. With the 09 titles it was Kevin Durant (March Madness) and Greg Oden (College Hoops) that were no-brainers. But the history of the college basketball games has not always been to select the top drafted players for the cover. It seems likely to happen this year though as EA doesn’t have a competitor seeking a cover deal of their own.
Derek Rose was drafted #1 by the Chicago Bulls and would probably have the edge over #2 pick of the Miami Heat Michael Beasley. Really though it is a toss-up. Both are marketable players with bright futures on teams in strong media markets. Rose though did get more exposure by leading Memphis to the National Championship game last year.
The possibility of a surprise cover also can’t be discounted. Having no competition opens up the potential to do something unique with it such as pushing a feature or concept (think Desmond Howard on NCAA Football 06).
So who do you think and/or want to be on the cover of NCAA Basketball 09? Vote in the poll below and be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments.
EA Sports Developing Tennis Game
August 20, 2008 by pastapadre · 17 Comments
One sport that has been missing from EA Sports lineup of games has been tennis. Today EA announced that they are currently working on one. The game will release first on the Wii in 2009 before coming to other consoles. It is being developed out of EA Canada and will be their first game to use the upcoming Wii MotionPlus.
EA SPORTS will bring tennis to life and allow players to experience the pressure and excitement of competing in the greatest theaters in the game, and it will be the only videogame to feature the All England Lawn Tennis Club – home of The Championships, Wimbledon. The all-new EA SPORTS tennis franchise will offer innovative ways to play, both as or against the greatest players from the past or present, letting you control the ball and work the court like you never have before in a tennis videogame.
Facebreaker Audition Videos
August 19, 2008 by pastapadre · 7 Comments
EA Sports has released some new videos promoting Facebreaker through character “audition” videos. Molotov, Voodoo, Steve, Socks, Spin, and Brick are featured. As of yet there is no footage of the monkey, which I amuse myself by thinking up the possibilities of combining with Photo Face.
Also some more “celebrity” additions to Facebreaker are now known. Spencer and Heidi of The Hills fame and the members of From First to Last join Kim Kardashian and Peter Moore. Considering the significance of them it’s better to think of these characters as a bonus rather than how EA is building an entire game around so-called celebs with Celebrity Sports Showdown on the Wii.
Continue on to view the videos.
NBA 2K9 Previews
August 19, 2008 by pastapadre · 46 Comments
NBA 2K9 is now seeing a fair share of hands-on previews to flesh out the feature list that came out a while back. While much is known of both of the main NBA titles, 2K9 apparently still has a secret online mode in its back pocket to reveal at a later date. Gamespot and TeamXbox recently shared their thoughts on the game and more details on what to expect.
TeamXbox discusses the improvements to the graphics, the ability to share created players, highlight sharing via Reelmaker, and 2K’s version of online team play.
Gamespot also touches on the online mode as well as the presentation, association mode improvements, and gameplay specifics.
NBA Live 09 OTP Screenshots
August 18, 2008 by pastapadre · 34 Comments
EA Sports has sent over a batch of new screenshots featuring the Online Team Play in NBA Live 09. Last week I was able to detail the improvements made to the mode. These screens show some gameplay with the new meter displaying how well your player is performing, club joining and inviting, the trophy room, blog area, user scouting, and the recap screens following the game.
You can find all of the screenshots in the gallery. If you have any questions about the mode or what is seen in the screenshots feel free to ask in the comments.
EA-Take Two Saga Continues
August 18, 2008 by pastapadre · 23 Comments
In a press release today it was stated that EA and Take Two discussed the the potential acquisition over the course of the weekend. EA has now accepted Take Two’s offer to provide them with a presentation that includes non-public information. EA will allow their offer for the outstanding shares to expire at at midnight eastern tonight.
Basically what this means is that because EA doesn’t feel it could integrate Take Two in order to take advantage of the holiday season and as such they will reevaluate the offer. From the beginning that was the first goal of the deal for EA. On the other side Take Two is attempting to prove they are actually worth more than what EA is offering. But the two sides are talking which is more than could be said previously.
At this point regardless of what happens the upcoming 2K Sports releases (NBA 2K9, NHL 2K9) should not be affected.
Importing Plays In Madden from Head Coach
August 17, 2008 by pastapadre · 14 Comments
The integration between NFL Head Coach 09 and Madden 09 is limited to the exporting of plays from Head Coach to Madden. I wanted to try this out in an effort to see how easily it can be done and how well it works. What I found is that it’s relatively easy but doesn’t work exactly as expected.
I’ve put together a video going through the entire process, from the creation and exporting of a play in Head Coach to the importing and usage of a play in Madden. Continue on to watch it as well as read my thoughts on the feature.
