Top Stories of 2008

14) Secondary Mode As An Individual
It began with Campus Legend and has grown to include Superstar, Road to the Show, Be a Pro, and Become a Legend. It has now become expected that games deliver on a secondary mode as they have really caught on with consumers. Expansion has been seen online where Online Team Play has resulted in a huge activity increase in EA Sports games and others are attempting their own online modes as well.

13) EA Sports Freestyle Created
EA Big was scrapped in favor of a new brand known as EA Sports Freestyle. This label would incorporate games that were more accessible or on the arcade side. It got off to a rough start with Facebreaker which is anything but accessible and literally painful to play. The next release was Celebrity Sports Showdown on the Wii. However things may be looking up for Freestyle if the 3 on 3 NHL Arcade set to release in February for $10 as a downloadable title turns out to be as enjoyable as it sounds.

12) EA Sports Halts Most PC Games
Complaints about the quality of the EA Sports PC games as well as pirating led to EA making the decision to shut down most of them for the 09 cycle. They’ll be returning with the 2010 offerings, re-vamped with a new strategy. Details of how they’ll be changed haven’t been discussed, but look for something similar to what they are doing in Asia with online based games. It seems likely that the games will be free and then either subscription based or supported by advertising and look to capitalize on micro-transactions.

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Padrecast: MLB 09 The Show Fact Sheet

It’s the return of the Padrecast! After doing a handful of them last year I wasn’t really satisfied with what I was able to offer on my own. The idea though is to have a shorter, more focused discussion that is unedited and just presented as-is. I’m joined by my OS Waiver Wire co-host Chase Becotte in what should be a continuing series of them. It’s a change of pace from the normal show we would do.

To kick it off we wanted to discuss the MLB 09 The Show fact sheet. We basically just run through it making some observations related to the improvements and features for this year. There is also some talk about whether the series is doing enough to innovate which is a topic that came out of a posting I had last week. You can download the file directly or use the player located below.

Download File
[podcast]http://www.pastapadre.com/wordpress/padrecasts/padrecast-122908.MP3[/podcast]

Utopia Podcast 12/29

Earlier today I joined Chris Jacobs (CDJ) of ncaaStrategies to record the Utopia Podcast. Over the course of an hour and a half we review the year in sports gaming. This is done primarily by going through the Top 10 sports games of the year I laid out over the last couple weeks and discussing each one in detail as well as why some others didn’t make the cut. There are also some thoughts added on where the games could be headed next year.

To listen to the podcast download it directly here or or listen via the podcast player here.

#1 of 2008: NCAA Football 09

The NCAA Football series has always filled its role as the first football game of the year effectively holding me over until Madden. I’m more of a fan of the pros than college so there is more attachment to Madden. Once that was released I’d turn my full attention to it even though in many cases NCAA was a better game.

That was the case until this year anyway. NCAA Football 09 introduced Online Dynasties which changed the course of sports gaming and how the games can be enjoyed. I’m still playing NCAA to this day in multiple dynasties and have barely touched any others sports game over the last two months. That displays just how much value NCAA 09 offered.

The dynasty setup bypasses the difficulties of leagues in that you can have a dynasty that consists of teams that rarely have head-to-head games. Scheduling becomes less of an issue. Teams also always have something to play for. Even if they aren’t in the National Championship hunt there is always building for the future. This allows dynasties to continually progress at a smooth rate. Basically you have the interaction and competition by being involved with other users without the frustrating elements that have plagued online gaming. That would be mainly taking a larger member dynasty into consideration. It should not be forgotten that many of the active dynasties out there consist of 2-4 close friends where more head-to-head may be appealing.

Tiburon delivered the wide open gameplay that was promised with NCAA 09. It still seems to lack some of that “anything can happen” feel as the game leans towards offense but in more of an efficient manner than a big play one. There were some well documented gripes such as the ineffective pass rush, overly accurate QBs, and over-powered kicking. Despite that scores and statistics were realistic when using six minute quarters even with the “wide open” gameplay. Most importantly the games remain fun to play.

NCAA Football has always taken a backseat to Madden. This is the year where it really surpassed it though. While Madden remains somewhat stale avoiding any risks, NCAA took a big innovative leap by adding the Online Dynasty. Not only did it make it my top sports game of 2008 but it stands as a barometer for all future sports titles to live up to.

#1 NCAA Football 09
#2 NHL 09
#3 MLB 08: The Show
#4 FIFA 09
#5 NBA Live 09
#6 NBA 2K9
#7 Madden 09
#8 Blitz: The League II
#9 NFL Tour
#10 Tiger Woods 09

FNR4 Cover Voting Update

Given that is has now been over two weeks since the poll was added to the Fight Night Round 4 website, I thought it would be a good time to check in on the results. The question at hand is who should the cover athlete be for FNR4? Mike Tyson, Muhammed Ali, or both?

Nearly 50,000 votes have been cast with there being no real front-runner. Tyson leads with 34.9%, followed by 34.1% for both, and 31% for Ali. Since they allow you to vote as many times as you want the results may not be a completely accurate picture, but it seems sufficient enough to realize that opinion is split.

At this point it seems likely that they’ll share the cover. From the start I expected that to be the end result. It wouldn’t make much sense to promote both legendary names and then drop one in favor of the other. After seeing the reveal trailer one of the selling points is going to be creating historical pairings and having both on the cover would convey that even more.

Live Blog: NFL Week 17

955: Alright all set to go. I’ve got the Pats @ Bills and Giants @ Vikings as the early games and will follow along with the others.

957: The intense wind I have to think favors the Bills. Both teams may be forced to almost run exclusively. Field goals will be an adventure.

1004: Bad weather games are always fun to watch. Going to be interesting to see how they deal with this wind.

1008: The first punt goes only 13 yards because of the wind. Crazy.

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MLB Front Office Manager Price Lowered More?

Over the last week I’ve been tracking MLB Front Office Manager’s status on Gamestop. For reasons unknown the 360 version disappeared off the site while the PS3 and PC versions remained. Now there have been a couple new developments that could suggest the price of the game has been changed from the $39.99 it was expected to be.

Thanks to a forum post by PP member doubleot it came to my attention that Gamestop now has the 360 version back up and listed for $34.99. It specifically mentions a “price drop” of $5. While it is possible this was done in error changes usually aren’t made without specific reason to do so. On Amazon the PC version has been dropped to $36.99 while the 360 and PS3 versions are still listed for $39.99.

So what does this all mean? That something is probably up. My guess would be that all three versions will be seeing their price lowered to $34.99. If one would be priced less than the others it would be the PC version. Or it could just be a coincidence that both retailers have made random incorrect changes and they’ll be fixed.

Regardless the price seems to be in a good range for the potential value the title is presenting. Hopefully we find out more on the game especially in regards to the online fantasy mode in the near future.

#2 of 2008: NHL 09

Top to bottom NHL 09 was probably the highest quality sports game released this year. Excellent gameplay, a great secondary mode in Be a Pro, and an amazing online play experience that expanded past anything offered in the past. EA Canada really delivered with both NHL and FIFA this year and it is hard to imagine how they’ll top them with the 2010 releases.

Much of what I explained with FIFA 09 fits with NHL 09. It is a very realistic and clean representation of the sport that has a level of accessibility lacking from most sports titles. Be a Pro plays a big part in this again as focusing on one individual allows for the game to be more simple to play for someone who isn’t as familiar with the sport. It also presents the ability for natural growth in both how to play but also knowledge of the sport. It is a fascinating thing how some of these games have the ability to teach in that regard. We know the NFL feels that Madden is successful in doing so, and we’ll see if interest in hockey and soccer will increase in the US due to how well their respective games are doing.

The big thing though with NHL 09 was the introduction of the EA Sports Hockey League. This took Online Team Play a step further with the addition of not only a Club system but by turning the game into more of an MMORPG. Having your own player, with your own name on the jersey and the ability to improve them brought in this personal feel that is unmatched and had much more draw than taking over a real life player.

I really can’t remember having as much fun in a concentrated amount of time as I did with the first couple weeks participating in the EASHL. It didn’t matter that we were losing, or that I wasn’t any good. It was just an amazing experience. The MMO look and feel was so unique in that setting. And checking after the whistle was always good for a laugh. It should also be mentioned that the online performance, just as with NBA Live 09 and FIFA 09 was flawless. With some tweaks and additions next year the EASHL could be even better.

Though NHL 09 presented the most enjoyable and innovative mode with the EASHL, it wasn’t able to grab the #1 spot. The longevity wasn’t as strong given that even the appeal of the EASHL wore off over time. Still NHL 09 was a fantastic game and deserves all the praise it has gotten. The franchise now dominates the market and is growing it by bringing in the more casual crowd and even those who don’t follow the sport. NHL 09 isn’t just a great game but has significance reaching beyond that.

#2 NHL 09
#3 MLB 08: The Show
#4 FIFA 09
#5 NBA Live 09
#6 NBA 2K9
#7 Madden 09
#8 Blitz: The League II
#9 NFL Tour
#10 Tiger Woods 09

Live Blog on Sunday 12/28

With a big slate of games scheduled for Sunday I thought it would be a good time to hold another live blog. It is shaping up to be a great day of football. Beginning at kickoff of the first set of games I will have up a live blog posting which will be updated frequently throughout the course of the day and possibly even during the Sunday night game. I’ve listed out a few of the more compelling matchups that have huge playoff implications.

• Patriots @ Bills (1ET): In unfamiliar territory is the Patriots who need to win and hope for the Jets to beat the Dolphins.

• Giants @ Vikings (1ET): A victory for Minnesota would win the NFC north. A loss along with the Bears winning would likely leave them out of the playoffs.

• Panthers @ Saints (1ET): Carolina needs to win to secure the #2 seed. A loss coupled with an Atlanta win would give the division to the falcons.

• Jaguars @ Ravens (415ET): Baltimore gets the #6 seed with a win. Lose and that spot could go to the Patriots, Dolphins, or Jets instead.

• Dolphins @ Jets (415ET): Miami has the opportunity to win the division. New York has a slim chance to get either the division or final wild card spot.

• Cowboys @ Eagles (415ET): Dallas will get the final wild card spot with a win. Philadelphia still has an outside shot at it if they win and get lots of help.

• Broncos @ Chargers (815ET): The AFC West crown goes to the winner of this game who will host the Colts in the first round of the playoffs.

Cover Athlete of the Year

We always hear about the Madden cover curse and to a lesser extent a down or injury plagued season for a player is attributed to a cover he was on. But what about the players that have successful seasons after being on a cover? Last year Chris Paul (NBA 2K8) was probably the top performer amongst the cover athletes. So how is this year’s class doing? Vote in the poll for who you believe to be the best cover athlete from 2008.

Ryan Howard – MLB 08 The Show: Finishing second in voting for the NL MVP he led the majors with 48 home runs and 146 RBI. Helped the Phillies to win the World Series.

Matt Ryan – NCAA Football 09: His name is being tossed out in MVP discussions. Has helped to turn around a last place team and gotten them into the playoffs with the possibility of a division championship and #2 seed still looming. 3,280 yards passing, 15 TDs, 9 INTs.

Kevin Garnett – NBA 2K9: Coming off the NBA championship the Celtics are now 27-2 and look like they could potentially break the record for most wins in a season. He is currently averaging 16.4 points and 9 rebounds a game.

Brett Favre – Madden 09: After looking like he would overcome the famed Madden curse his season hit the wall. From 9-3 to likely missing the playoffs with the most INTs in the league. The story has become the success of Chad Pennington and the mistake made by the Jets to bring in Favre.

Tony Parker – NBA Live 09: The Spurs sit at 18-10 which is solid considering the injuries they’ve been dealing with. Parker has missed nine games and averages 21.3 points and 6.6 assists. And this just in…he is still married to Eva Longoria.

Jose Reyes- MLB 2K8: The Mets choked again in 2008 though Reyes put up comparable numbers to the season that earned him the cover. He hit .297, with 16 home runs, 68 RBIs, and 56 steals.

Darren McFadden – NCAA Football 09: He hasn’t had much of an impact this year as he has missed games or been limited by injury. He had one big outing with 164 yards rushing but outside of that hasn’t had a game with over 46 yards. Total on the year is just 497.

Kevin Love – NCAA Basketball 09: Residing on one of the worst teams in the NBA, Love has come off the bench in the majority of the games and is averaging only 8 points and 8 rebounds. Still perplexing that he was chosen over Derek Rose and Michael Beasley.