Posts Tagged ‘year in review’
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#1 of 2011: FIFA 12
Joining the elite class of Pastapadre Game of the Year winners is 2011's top entry FIFA 12. Though not without its own issues what it offered was the most well-rounded and fully-featured experience embodying everything one could ask for out of sports title. FIFA 12 also gets credit for taking a chance by introducing new technology and innovating in a time where companies have become more risk-averse than ever. (more...)...
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#2 of 2011 – Tiger Woods 12: The Masters
Last year NBA 2K11 transcended the typical sports game genre by beginning to tap into the rich history of the league and featuring Michael Jordan - resulting in a special feel to the edition of the series. With Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters it was the inclusion of Augusta National, which had never before been featured in a video game, that took the series to new heights. It may only be a one-year bump but Tiger 12 was one of the most compelling sports games of the year possibly even f...
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#3 of 2011: Madden NFL 12
Madden NFL 12 faced a number of obstacles on its way to release - from the uncertainty over the league lockout to a number of defections at the EA Sports Tiburon studio. It also followed up a largely disappointing iteration the prior year with the prospect of two disappointing releases in a row doing some irreparable long-term damage to the series. Despite some glaring areas of weakness Madden NFL 12 was the most complete and well-intentioned version of the series to arrive this generatio...
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2011 Community Choice Award Winners
After tallying over 21,000 votes across the various categories it's time to take a look at the results and crown the winners of the 2011 Pastapadre Community Choice Awards! (more...)...
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The Biggest Stories of 2011
This year brought about many significant developments in sports gaming - from news on exclusive licenses and effects of lockouts, to major changes taking place at the EA Sports Tiburon studio and the introduction of a subscription service, along with continuing concerns over account security with ties to FIFA. There was a lot that happened that will influence the genre going forward. Continue on for recaps of 2011's most important stories. (more...)...
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#4 of 2011 – MLB 11: The Show
MLB 11: The Show attempted to combat a growing sense of lack of advancement in the series by introducing advanced right stick controls - a tactic first completed by its competitor but done so here in a more refined sense. The Show edged forward in its already established areas of strength but still had its share of struggles where it has traditionally faltered. (more...)...
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#5 of 2011: NBA 2K12
Following the remarkable NBA 2K11 (which took home top game honors) was never going to be easy and the NBA lockout compounded on that by severely damaging the value of NBA 2K12. Now that the season is underway the product has surged in terms of relevance. Extreme online problems and removal of Crew, bugs afflicting modes like My Player, and poor communication did the damage that even the lockout couldn't enact - but the primary area 2K12 really delivered on was still quite an accomplishment...
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#6 of 2011: WWE All-Stars
The segment of arcade-style sports offerings has largely been dying out over the course of this console generation. There has been a resurrection as of late, with EA Sports bringing back NBA Jam and NFL Blitz in particular, but have done so by shifting them to to digital-downloads at discount prices. WWE All-Stars was a full-fledged retail release that delivered an immense amount of fun and content to justify the price. Better described as a fighting game than a wrestling game All-Stars not ...
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#7 of 2011: NCAA Football 12
When a yearly sports title concentrates more on enhancing gameplay and the existing features rather than introducing big new ones the typical expectation is that it will at the very least be polished and avoid some of the growing pains that befall early-stage innovation. NCAA Football 12 made subtle improvements across the board but despite being theoretically rich in content faltered tragically due to broken and incomplete features and poor communication. (more...)...
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#8 of 2011: NHL 12
The NHL series has been one of the most steady sports offerings over the last several years. EA Sports innovated and delivered vast improvements earlier this console generation but has started to come under increased scrutiny for lack of advancement the past few years. While it didn't completely break out of that growing perception NHL 12 delivered enough improvements to keep the majority pleased at least for one more year. (more...)...
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