Two new NCAA Football 09 screenshots

When the first screens from NCAA Football 09 were released they were met with a level of disappointment. I expressed that when I questioned whether they were really from 09. EA Sports has now released two brand new screens that are intended to showcase the player models.

NCAA Football 09 Art Director Jason Renfroe shares some details on what his team has done to improve the in game visuals and some of what you’ll see in future screens of NCAA Football 09.

On player models:

“We’ve done a lot of work this year to improve the player models. They have a much more dynamic body shape. A key example here is what we’ve done with our linemen. In years past all of the linemen were big, fat guys. This year we have added lineman body types that are much more athletic. This really helps make the players look more authentic. We also added extra padding to accentuate the players’ form and see the pads and their movement.”

On improved lighting:

“In the past we had one lighting model. This year we have two. One model is for environments and one is for players. This does a lot to help the way players look better when they are in the shadows.

We also added a subtle rim light around the players so they pop more on screen. To improve the look of the stadiums, we’ve saturated our crowds and really brought in a lot of color to better bring out the college atmosphere. Our skies and field art are new as well.”

You can check out the full images below by clicking the thumbnails. Needless to say these look significantly better than the initial McFadden screens.

NFL Head Coach 09 trailer

EA Sports has released the first official trailer for NFL Head Coach 09. Some of the aspects of the game shown briefly include the play creator, free agent negotiation, coaching decisions, and actual on the field action.

The game looks really good at this point and it definitely sounds like they’re on top of the features and options that are necessary to make it work. Graphically it is such a drastic improvement over the previous Head Coach in every way including the on field action, sidelines, and menus. The screenshots have looked great but now seeing actual video confirms that and it certainly appears to at least rival (if not surpass) Madden graphically.

There will be several more videos for Head Coach 09 coming within the next few weeks. Continue on to view the first trailer or check it out in HD at the official Head Coach website in the media section.

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Prizefighter release not likely all that near

Back in January it looked like Don King Presents: Prizefighter was headed towards an early-mid spring release. Not long after discussing that possibility Gamestop moved the date back giving it a May placeholder essentially signaling that they anticipated a May release but were not given a concrete date.

Generally 2K Sports promotes one title at a time with the games being spaced out at least three weeks or month apart. Right now the focus is on the bizarre Nintendo DS game MLB 2K8 Fantasy All-Stars which is set to come out on April 8th. Soon after that the push should shift to the next game in line. That could be Prizefighter, but as of now the best bet is that Top Spin 3 with its May 20th release date is the next to come.

Top Spin 3 has already received more of a push from PR which is a major indication that Prizefighter may have fallen into June or even beyond. Top Spin has had its player list released, cover art revealed, and a handful of screenshots made available. Prizefighter has been limited to two screenshots, and those likely wouldn’t have even been sent out if it wasn’t in response to leaked early screenshots that were loose at the time. Otherwise there has been some some vague info from magazines, but there is no fighter list, final cover art, or additional screenshots. It just doesn’t have the feel of the “next game on the way” that Top Spin seems to have.

With so much attention on Take Two’s own Grand Theft Auto IV on April 29th there is really no space prior to Top Spin where Prizefighter could be marketed. So the next real open period to place it would come in June.

There has been some thought that the impending possibility of EA buying Take Two could be a factor in the relative lack of promotion for Prizefighter thus far. However considering the M.O. of 2K it doesn’t appear to be the case. My thought is that Prizefighter is heading towards a June release date. That could all change though come April 10th with the Take Two shareholder meeting and the deadline from EA being the next day.

Update: After writing this I spotted that Gamestop and Gamefly have just now updated their release dates to June 10th for the 360 version and into September for the Wii and DS. These are not official dates (yet at least) but just another sign that the game isn’t just a matter of being a little over a month away.

1UP justifies SCEA’s pulled prerelease support with MLB 08 review

Back in early January I wrote an article regarding how a few companies had decided to no longer provide 1UP/EGM with prerelease copies of their games. The companies in question felt that they were not being treated fairly and that they could go to other outlets instead. This wasn’t a case of trying to buy off reviews. Instead it was simply wanting their titles to be treated with the proper level of respect. There is obviously no way to stop them from reviewing the game however they weren’t going to provide them with the copies to do so.

One of those companies was SCEA who produces the MLB The Show franchise. Last year 1UP gave MLB 07 a ridiculous 5.5 which was the lowest score the game received. While people will concentrate on the low score the text of the review was riddled with misinformation and factual mistakes.

1UP has just posted its review of MLB 08: The Show giving it a score in their new rating scale of a B-. That equates out to a 6.7 per their system (of C=5) which is how Metacritic converted it. That is the second lowest score given to the game with only the embarrassing 6/10 from X-Play coming in below it. No other media outlet has even scored the game below an 8. Believe it or not this makes it two straight years that The Show is rated lower than 2K’s franchise by 1UP. This year MLB 2K8 on the PS3 got a 7.5 from them. Lets take a look at some of the points made in the review.

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NHL 08 roster update and OTP expansion

EA Sports has sent over a document detailing all the player rating changes made in the latest roster update for NHL 08. Continue on to view the details of what players had their ratings go up and which went down.

An update has also been applied that increases the capacity of Online Team Play. An additional three slots have been added on each side bringing it to six on six. That exceeds the total of 10 users involved through OTP currently found in NBA Live 08 and FIFA 08. Now every player on the ice can be controlled invididually. Having all players user controlled has worked very well in NBA Live and should here as well. Unexpected yet fantastic news there.

New: EA has informed me that they have reduced the OTP down to four on four and it will remain that way for 08. That is still an extra slot for each side but really doesn’t add much to the experience that was already available. Not nearly as cool as having every player on the ice under user control.

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Sparty gets Wii cover of NCAA Football 09

EA Sports today announced that Michigan State mascot Sparty has won the voting for the cover of the Wii version of NCAA Football 09. He joins Arkansas’ Darren McFadden and three future announced cover athletes that will represent the different platform versions of the game this year.

After looking at the support that Sparty had received from facebook groups, forums, and media coverage I made the prediction that he would jump ahead of Washington State’s Butch T. Cougar to take the cover. It seems that the campaign behind him truly was the strongest and most organized and it paid off in the end.

Over 700,000 votes were cast resulting in a very close race. The final top 10 went as follows: Michigan State, Central Florida, Washington State, Auburn, LSU, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa State, Alabama, Penn State.

*Please note that the cover art pictured above is not final. This was put together quickly just for promotional purposes to go along with the announcement. The final cover art should be released soon.

Another set of Facebreaker screenshots

EA Sports has sent over 10 new screens from their new arcade boxing title Facebreaker. This now makes for 25 total officially released screens from the game which appears to be headed for an early November release.

These screens feature three fighters (Romeo, Ice, and Molotov) that have been seen previously. Below are a couple that you can view the full size images of by clicking the thumbnails. The remaining new screens and all others can be found in the gallery.

March Madness 08 bracket pack released

Over the last couple months I speculated that the Bracket Pack would return for March Madness 08 and today came official word that is has arrived. It appears to be exclusive to the Xbox 360 at a price of 400 MS points and is available now in the Marketplace.

Not only does it include the 65 team NCAA Tournament bracket but also updated team ratings, 25 new alternate/third jerseys from tournament teams, and the authentic Alamodome Final Four court.

Curiously Oregon’s McArthur Arena, which was voted to be the free download offering, is listed as being included in the pack. That would make it decidedly not free.

EA Extends In-Game Ad Deal

EA has extended an agreement with Massive to provide in-game advertising for their 360 and PC titles. They originally partnered up in August 2006 and have now tacked on another two years.

Tuesday’s agreement with Massive is essentially an extension and expansion of a previous one-and-a-half year deal with the New York-based ad firm. With the new global deal, EA said the next two iterations of annual EA Sports franchises such as Madden NFL, NBA Live, NASCAR and NHL will use the Massive in-game ad network on Xbox 360. The agreement also grants Massive exclusive in-game ad rights to “a majority” of EA’s PC titles.

Opinions seem to be split on the topic of in-game ads but most have at least come to accept and tolerate them. To me they actually increase the realism and immersiveness and I prefer seeing them in. That is as long as they are naturally placed and don’t conflict with the flow of the game or become a distraction. So far they’ve been implemented in ways that haven’t done so and I would expect that to continue to be the case.

MLB 08: The Show 3/17 roster update

A new roster update has been released for MLB 08: The Show. There were 37 player movements made for this week’s live roster with those below having been highlighted.

3B Eric Chavez moved from A’s Position to A’s Minors.
CP Brad Lidge moved from Phillies Minors to Phillies Closer.
RP Tom Gordon moved from Phillies Closer to Phillies Relief.
RP Francisco Rosario moved from Phillies Relief to Phillies Minors.
SP Sidney Ponson moved from No Team to Rangers Minors.
3B Andy LaRoche moved from Dodgers Bench to Dodgers Minors.
RF Delwyn Young moved from Dodgers Minors to Dodgers Bench.
3B Jorge Cantu moved from Marlins Minors to Marlins Position.
3B Dallas McPherson moved from Marlins Position to Marlins Minors.
SP Sergio Mitre moved from Marlins Starting to Marlins Minors

It’s pretty remarkable that not only does SCEA release in-depth roster updates weekly (attributes, trades, injuries, signings) but that they even go to the extent of doing so during spring training. These are transactions that generally would’ve been ignored and deemed unimportant considering the time of year with the first significant update usually being the one for opening day.