Thursday night notes
-Man, it's Thursday night and this is the first time I've had a chance to get to the PC since Monday. Work has been incredibly crazy this week. I've had about 1 hour to play Skyrim this week and that about sums up all of the gaming time I've had. Weekend is coming up soon, hopefully that'll mean some time for relaxation.
- One of the things that you have to worry about when a new platform is released is that the titles on older platforms will start to get neglected. That certainly looks to be the case with MLB12: The Show for the PS3. Removing franchise features from the console version so that you can spend more time working on the PSVita version? Um.. yeah, that's not a big win for the rest of us.
Considering the fact that online play for The Show has been terrible for the last few years and they're still not really addressing all of the issues there, it's just hard to look for much improvements in this years game.
- I have to agree with Bill Harris in his feelings about the rumor of Microsoft eliminating the ability to play used games in games for their new console. As much as I would like to see Gamestop reigned in... I don't want retail markets being the only ones that control the pricing for games. You could look at titles only dropping $10 to $20 each year after release. That would absolutely suck for gamers on a budget. If Microsoft tries this, they will kill their next console before it even gets off the ground.
- Congratulations to Prince Fielder (and sadly, Scott Boras) for making the deal that they did to send him to Detroit. He gave Brewers fans some great years and some absolutely terrific memories. I really hope that he plays incredibly well there.
- Lastly, don't know if you saw this, but the play made by the ballboy at the Australian Open today definitely deserves a look from everyone. Crazy reflexes there.
Things I get tired of hearing
Pundits complaing about why the no-TD wasn't reviewed, if in the same sentence they say it wouldn't have been overturned. Sorry, but it was pretty obvious it was incomplete. Besides the booth was pretty incompetent when you could see the heel of a Ravens player step out of bounds but yet it was called a TD anyway. Whatever. Hey here's a thought, don't miss obvious FGs and we don't have this lame ass conversation.
RIP – Jim Irwin
Most of you won't know who he is, but Jim Irwin was the color analyst, early in his career, and play-by-play voice of the Packers until he retired in 1998.
An absolutely terrific announcer who gave us countless great calls over his years with the Packers.
Here's his call of the last moments of Super Bowl XXXI.
He passed away today at age 77.
Monday notes
- Watched about 15 total minutes of the two championship games yesterday. Once your team is out of it, you just get burnt out on football... at least that's my opinion.
Two things that bother me about both games. Why wasn't Evans non-catch reviewed with 22 seconds to go? I don't think that it would have been reversed, but it was pretty damn close to having two feet down with possession before being knocked out. This one reminded me a lot of that catch and maybe because it was called a TD on the field, it made all the difference. Still, with the NFL so obsessed about getting calls right, that one should have been reviewed considering the situation.
The second thing is morons threatening to kill people when they make mistakes in games. For the love of crumb cake, people.... it's a game that you watch for entertainment. Dumbasses.
So, we get a Superbowl that I will have absolutely no problem missing (due to the fact that I play hockey at the time that the game goes on.) I know that other people here will have different opinions on that matter though.
- Outside of that, I went ice fishing this weekend and had a good deal of fun with that, catching 5 Northern Pike and putting them all back into the water due to being too small to keep.
It's something that I do with friends once a year and it's always a lot of fun. If people can't understand the beauty of a sunrise like this one, I'll never understand them anyway.
- Have a great week.
SOL: Exodus this week…
It's not that often that you really get surprised about a game's release date, but SOL: Exodus is releasing on Wednesday on Steam.
As a long time fan of Space action flight games, it really looks like a game to try out, especially at the $10 price point.
There is a bit of concern about the length of the game, considering it mentions only 8 missions, but with a development team of 6 that has only been working on the game for a year or so, I would think we'll see something worth the asking price.
I'll post some thoughts once I get some time in on it.
Wow.
I cannot believe the Patriots won that game. I really thought Baltimore had that TD at the end. And to miss that FG. Holy crap. What a game.
Year End Awards
Well, it's late January and I just realized, I hadn't posted my best sports games of 2012. This is Dan's list and Dan's only.
Football: All two games were broken and boring. If I'm forced to pick, I guess Madden, by default. I do enjoy Ultimate Team, I have to say. Okay, I'll go with Madden. (Remember Blitz was a 2012 game)
Futbol: Hands down, no question, FIFA 12 takes the award. I love it on the PC. I'm still playing it. Fantastic. Near perfect. PES on the console can't hold a candle.
Basketball: As much as I enjoy NBA2K12, the online just completely sucks. Therefore I have to pick the game I keep going back to the most, and that is NBA Jam. That game is on fire!
Hockey: NHL '12, no doubt in my mind. Excellent game, but why no PC port?
Racing: This is a hard one. Lots of games and lots of updates. Gran Turismo is a whole new game with that update and is awesome. Dirt 3 is awesome too. Forza 4 is very, very cool. NFS The Run has its moments. Driver SF is cool so is Motorstorm Apocolypse, especially in 3D. I think for the best true racing game, I'll go with Forza 4 and GT update as a strong runner up.
Baseball: I wasn't jumping up and down with either title this year, but I played the Show more than I played MLB2K. Online still is busted but the RTTS mode is always fun.
Best use of the 3DS in a Sports game: Draw between FIFA 12 and Pro Evolution Soccer. The only platform where PES gave FIFA a run for the money.
Licensed game I wish we'd see: NCAA Hockey.
Best Lacrosse Game: Like EA the same guy did the two lacrosse games for the Xbox. There's College Lacrosse and MLL 11. I went with MLL '11 because it's licensed and has pretty good stats. Not the best game I've ever played, but I've played a hell of a lot worse games for $5.
Platforms I dumped in 2011: Nintendo Wii, Sony PSP.
Platform I'm going to buy in 2012 but wish I didn't: PS Vita
Don't give up on this platform yet: Nintendo 3DS.
Best Kinect game: Kinect Sports Season Two. I like it. Sorry. It got reamed in the press. Glen hates it. I think it's cute, over quick and a fun game. Bite me.
Best Move game: Uhhhh.....
Most disappointing PC sports game: Tiger Woods '11. I subscribe to TW online and I enjoy it. So I thought I'd be getting a new product with the stand alone game. Nope. It's the same f'n game as it is online, except you get some cash, points and can play Augusta. Major disappointment.
Coolest Trend: Sports games are back on the PC. Who needs crap resolution and slow loading times when you can run it in SLI mode on an SSD drive? Thank you EA and 2K for giving us FIFA and MLB and NBA. Now can we just get NHL on here?
Well I think that covers most. Have any other requests?
Interesting
I do want the Patriots to win...but..if it doesn't go our way...the thought of the Baltimore Ravens playing the Super Bowl in Indianapolis is one of the ultimate F-yous to the Irsays...that would be a pretty great "so glad you took the team out in the middle of the night to have such a crappy record and by the way wanna give us our rings you a-hole" moment.
And yes I know, the Baltimore team was actually the Cleveland team, but hey, at least they didn't take Mayflower trucks in the middle of the night. 
Thursday night notes
- Funny that Dan mentioned the Zombies in NFL Blitz. I was pretty sure that we spoke of them in the interview. To me it didn't seem like any connection to Mutant League Football. It just seemed as if they were throwing in random strange teams, such as the mascot teams that they've done with NCAA and other games. I guess when Owen Good reports it, it's a story, but when I report it... hehe. Just kidding.
- Getting a chance to go ice fishing this weekend. I only get to do it a few times every year, but love it each and every time. Getting to yell, "Tip Up!!!!" and run across the ice to try and bring in a Northern is always a great time. Plus, I get to do it with a few great friends. Definitely one of my favorite weekends of the year.
I'd say that it takes the sting out of the fact that the Packers are not in the NFC championship, but the funny thing is that the loss really didn't bother me all that much. To be honest, I'm much happier that they lost last week than to lose in the NFC title game or the Super Bowl.
Two of the three worst defenses in the league lost last week... will New England go down this week?
- Hope everyone caught the season 3 premier for Archer tonight. Tape 'em up.
- Ryan Braun's appeal began today at the league office. I have absolutely no doubt that he'll get suspended for 50 games. It'd be nice to hear what their explanation for the test is though. Certain it will be bunk though.
- Grabbed the Resident Evil Revelations demo off of the 3DS store today. Absolutely no idea why I did so....
- After a bit of a lull, a few more sports games are starting to come out next month. Grand Slam Tennis 2 for the Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360. UFC Undisputed 3 for the PS3 and 360. And SSX for the PS3 and 360. Nice to see that we'll have some new sports games to talk about very soon. I'm efforting interviews on each of them.
- Lastly... I tried out the Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning demo last night on the PC. It seems like the combat could be fun, but two things bothered me. Really long loading times for a demo, and Quick Time Events that give you experience bonus on certain kills. QTE's are just about the most annoying thing that I can recall in games.
For $60, I'll be passing on the game for now. Maybe when it hits the $20 price point in a few months.
If this is true, it would be awesome
The Kotaku resident Sports Guy, Owen Good, has found zombies in NFL Blitz and wonders if this is a precursor to a new Mutant League Football game.
Please, please please do that. Mutant League Hockey and Mutant League Football are two reasons why I still bring out the Sega Nomad to this day. Those are cool games, and you can bribe the ref. Or beat the crap out of him. Or accidentally fall into a hole on the playing field.
That would be cool, huh huh huh.
Tuesday night notes
- Got a chance to use Google Wallet with my new Galaxy Nexus phone today. Google had a deal where you got $10 free when you signed up for the service, so it couldn't hurt to try it out.
Couldn't believe how smooth and slick the process was. Swiped my phone on the pad to activate the wallet, typed in my pin on my phone, swiped the phone again and it was paid. Pretty damn slick. Don't know how often I'll use it in the future, but I was impressed with how easy it was to pay that way. Nice to know that if I ever forget my wallet that I can use my cellphone that way.
- According to the game timer on my Steam account, I have 38 hours into Skyrim. Actual time is a bit less as I left it paused on the start menu from time to time, but it's clear that I'm still really enjoying the game. I do have a drive to start off the actual story portion of the game though as some of the other side missions have gotten a bit more boring as time has gone on. Maybe I should look into joining the Dark Brotherhood... that could be a refreshing change of pace.
- Speaking of RPG's, the Kingdoms of Amalor demo is out tomorrow on the PC and PS3 (today on the 360.) I'm anxious to see how well the game will play, as the early reviews of the demo have been very positive.
- Oh, and about the Packers. Here is part of the fan base. Every team has a group of drunk chicks that take the team too seriously... but man... she's a special kind of drunk and crazy.
- Have a good rest of the week.
Sometimes your team just has an absolutely horrible day.
So many drops. So many fumbles.
Just not their day.
Still lots of good memories of the year. Just a terrible ending.
Skylanders
I bought my son the Skylanders Mega Pack from Best Buy for $79.99 on Black Friday...got it for Xmas for him. He enjoys it and the novelty is pretty cool. The only problem is that he wants more characters and you can't find them anywhere. Apparently they are the Cabbage Patch Kids of 2012. I've been to Target, Walmart, Best Buy, Toys R Us...and all the shelves are empty. The toys that sell normally for $7.99 are going for $50+ on eBay.
Wow. Did anyone else know they were this popular?
Friday Thoughts
Yes, Glen it is possible to be civil in politics. I just wish that Congress and the President would act civil as well.
In other news, iPad 2, rest in peace. I had an issue -- during the superstorm here in New England, last night, I tried to leave my car and picked up my iPad 2 out of my car. I guess I picked it up by the smart cover and it went flying out of my hand and slammed onto the cement floor of the garage. Can you say broken screen?
So I filed a claim on my SquareTrade ADH warranty..I've never had to file a claim before...guess we'll see.
I did have to decide if I could life without an iPad for weeks. I couldn't, so I went to Best Buy and picked up a new one -- this one is white, 64GB. There was only one problem -- they were open box units. And they were having an open box sale...so I got the $829 iPad for $700. Not bad . And of course 4x RewardZone points. I swapped the SIM cards from one to the other and there's my unlimited data plan!
Has anyone had experience with SquareTrade and filing a claim?
Friday notes
- Let it be said that Dan can have a civil conversation with people about politics. The guy amazes me sometimes.
- Very busy week at work and when I wasn't there, I was dealing with typical crazy family issues. Nothing really exciting, just keeping busy.
- Rumors continue to grow about the release of Diablo III. My problem with this is that I'm getting more and more interested in Kingdoms of Amalur. Seeing as how I'm still spending a considerable amount of time with Skyrim, I just don't know how many more games I could spend time on. I guess that's a good problem.
- Sunday's game between the Packers and the Giants should be a great one. People seem to think that this Giants team is the one that can give the Packers the most trouble due to the fact that they can generate a pass-rush with their front four. What's funny is that the same defense everyone loves now, is the one that gave up 31 points on December 4th.
The Packers will win or lose based on their capability to force turnovers. It's what worked for them all year long and I'd be shocked if that wasn't the key in Sunday's game.
- Have a great weekend.
Contact Us
Riding the Pines Podcast
Search Amazon.com
What We’re Playing
Dan:
