The Blog for the Sports Gamer

Saw this linked from over at DSP and just had to share.

Our friends at Grey Dog Software have given us a few updates (Hi, Tara!):

First you can check out new screenshots of Total College Basketball by clicking here.
Next, you can find a trailer for the game by clicking here.

In other news, if you’re a huge fan of Midway’s Rush series, EBGames has a great deal for you. Preorder LA Rush for release in October, and get Midway’s Arcade Treasures 3 for FREE. All of the “Thunder” games (4 Wheel, Arctic, etc) are included on that disc, so if you long for some Dreamcast memories, this is a great deal! The full game list:
Badlands™
Hydro Thunder®
Off Road Thunder: Mud, Sweat ‘N Gears™
Race Drivin’®
San Francisco Rush The Rock: Alcatraz Edition™
San Francisco Rush 2049™
S.T.U.N. Runner™
Super Off Road™ & Bonus Tracks Pack

In other news, check out this Gaming-Age thread about the ‘looting’ and the race of said ‘looters’. I offer no comment on it, I just thought it was interesting.

Well, the fall TV season started last night with 2 hours of the new Fox show Prison Break. A little hard to believe that a guy would get arrested and sent to jail just to break out his brother, but I was hooked. It looks to be a very entertaining show.

The only question I have is this: how can it last more than one season? I mean unless he doesn’t break out of prison I guess that would be the only way to handle it. And then, he’s only in jail for 2 1/2 years anyway, and then his brother would be dead…so I’m not sure how that would. In the meantime, it’s enjoyable fare.

I too flipped back and forth to MNF and saw the Rams player hurt. You know you’re in fantasy football mode when you think “is that guy on my roster” but then realize he’s part of an entire Defense.

I’m still bumming about my team. 0-16 is a possibility. I should have let the computer draft. Even then, maybe I would have sucked but then I had an excuse. Ugh.

This is insane!

Games should not be allowed to be this addictive. Really. It’s criminal just how enjoyable this game is.

Sitting with Ashley, who named out pet cat in the game “pretty kitty” (hey she’s 4), I explained to her that when you catch fish in the game you can feed it to the pet to turn it into a stronger creature to help you fight. So we catch a few fish on the pier and then enter the dungeon. One of the fish will turn Pretty Kity into an Owlbear. I love fantasy games and books but an Owlbear is new to me.

Anyway, every time we fight some bad guys Ashley is yelling “Owlbear! Owlbear!”. Finally we meet the boss of the level and a quest target and we’re getting pummeled so I feed Kitty this fish that turns her into this enormous…Owlbear. The lvl 2 boss had no chance and died within a matter of seconds. Pretty Kitty all of a sudden is no friggin’ joke.

Ashley cheers, “Kity the Owlbear!” As a reward we’re now walking around with this flaming staff, that is on fire all the time, not just in combat.

I admit, it was pretty darn cool.

FATE is like Diablo but with a lot more charm. It’s totally engrossing. I can’t wait to see what we can turn that cat into next…

Okay, first thing’s first. I am monumentally relieved to read this morning that Rams defensive back Terry Fair only suffered a sprained neck last night and is likely to resume playing soon. On a play that brought back shades of Mike Utley and Reggie Brown, Terry Fair took a helmet between his neck and shoulder last night while trying to tackle Kevin Jones and immediately went limp. He was on the turf, twitching but otherwise completely motionless. Having seen that scene occur live on the Lions home field twice in the last 14 years, it was hard not to assume the worst. And the fact that it was a former, and very much liked, Lion in Terry Fair lying there didn’t help. When he left the field and gave the assembled players and fans a thumbs up it was shades of Mike Utley all over again, so I can’t say how happy I am to read he’s just fine.

That was the only good news to come out of last night’s game.

Joey Harrington is sure to take his lumps in the media and talk radio over this one, but god, it could’ve been Dan Marino in there and it wouldn’t have made a difference. It was like watching a game of Madden with line blocking set to zero. Harrington couldn’t even complete a 5-step drop without a Rams defender giving him a sense of what flavor of Tic Tac he preferred. I lost count of the number of times he was flat on his back, so from where I sit, 9 of 18 for about 100 yards and no picks isn’t cause for alarm. Though, certainly, the offensive line play is.

The bigger concern has got to be the defense. I watched the game with a buddy of mine and when we finally succumbed to boredom with 10 to go in the fourth quarter the Rams had yet to punt. I know their offense is good, but give me a break. Bulger was able to sit back in the pocket and just wait for guys to get open, though with the Lions coverage he didn’t need much time. It was the most pathetic defensive display I’ve seen from the Lions since their last Monday night game (something like three years ago) when they also got pasted by the Rams. (I think it was on the order of 35-0.)

At this point its safe to say my enthusiasm for the season took a serious hit. It’s only pre-season but if this is really what the defense is gonna look like there’s very little point in getting excited. I still think this offense can turn the corner and put up big number… hell, they’re going to have to just to keep things close.

How depressing.

Nice pick, Denver.

Clarett, who hasn’t played in a game since his freshman year at Ohio State in 2002, could garner interest on the NFL waiver wire, but there is a better chance he would get more interest as a free agent. Teams that may consider Clarett include Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Cleveland, St. Louis and Dallas. The Rams and Cowboys considered taking him as early as the fourth round of the draft.

***

NO! NO NO NO! I can’t root for this guy. Winslow and Clarett on the same team that I have rooted for since the days of Sipe and Pruitt? This is too nightmarish to even contemplate. Adding Clarett to a roster is like walking into a hospital and asking to be injected with a Cancer strain. If you root for any of the above teams — be afraid. Trust me, I know that of which I speak.

Well, the Yahoo Fantasy Football draft is over. Picking 7th in a snake draft sucks. But it’s better than picking 8th. With an 18 team draft, around the 13th round, it was a lot of Major League-ish “who are these fu@#$ng guys” being drafted.

I’m not thrilled with my picks…I did get Culpepper and Vinateri, which should help with accuracy. I picked a K 3rd. Yes, I’m an idiot. Defenses went early in this draft. I did pick up TO…no one was willing to risk him. I did. And I tried Ricky Williams. I’m either a genius or an idiot.

It was a fun draft, some draft picks made were a little weird. Someone picked up Correll Buckhalter. Of course he’s out for the season, so maybe that guy thought it was a keeper league. Then again, when you haven’t played two seasons….oh well.

Bill and Todd seem to be talking about music, so I will as well. I now have a Subscription compatible MP3 player so I signed up for Yahoo Music Unlimited. It’s sooo much cheaper than Rhapsody, but it feels cheap too. If you know what you want for music, it’s great though, so I can’t complain.

I hadn’t heard much about th egame after E3, and even then it was kinda “hush hush”. But this is on the EBGames website:

Selection Sunday - No day in college basketball is bigger than Selection Sunday. Watch a broadcast of your team’s placement into the NCAA Tournament. Listen to commentary as video clips give you the low down on all the bracket match ups.

Midnight Madness - Celebrate this nationwide event to kick off the college hoops season. Participate in the first practice of the year with a midnight intra-squad exhibition that has become a college hoops tradition.

Court Awareness - Each player has an inherent set of attributes: consistency, focus, and confidence. Utilize practice drills, scrimmages, and weekly meetings to raise these attributes to their peaks, so that you can optimize your players’ performances.

Coach’s Clipboard - Whether it’s a full court press or a quick shot at the end of the half, give your team a specific direction during any time out situation. Improve your zone defense efficiency and exploit your opponent’s weaknesses by having total control over positional replacements with zone substitutions.

The Online Experience - 2K Sports continues to lead the online gaming revolution as College Hoops 2K6 features seamless online play and the most comprehensive online feature anywhere including completely online stat tracking, buddy lists management, and online leagues.

Note the January 06 Xbox 360 release date. The Xbox/Ps2 version is still slated for 11/7.

I’m not a big music afficianado. Hell, I’ve purchased three CDs in the last twelve months and two of them were last Friday. One of those was Bowling for Soup’s A Hangover You Don’t Deserve (the others were Green Day’s American Idiot -awesome- and Collective Soul’s new release -still haven’t opened it). I’d really like BfS’s track: 1985, which got some radio play but I hadn’t heard much else the group had done. So when I saw the CD on sale at Target for $10 I figured what the heck.

Hangover may not be possessed of musical genius. It may be pure popcorn music. But if nothing else it is by far the most enjoyable new CD I’ve listened to in years. In the CD booklet Jaret Reddick(vocals) challenges the listener to listen to the disc and not crack a smile at some point. (The notes include by far the best “thank you” message I’ve ever read in a CD booklet, for whatever that’s worth.) So on Friday I found myself with an hour to kill while waiting to pick up my wife from work (damn the bank’s 6:15 late closing) and I just couldn’t stop smiling when listening to it. From Ohio to My Hometown to Friends O’ Mine this is offically the disc I’m going to pull out whenever I need a little pick me up. Right now I just can’t stop listening to it.

Some choice lyrics include:

“I hope this song finds you well/I hope that you’re doing f’n swell/I hope that you’re back up if you’ve ever been down/And I hope that you got the f#%@ out of our hometown!” -My Hometown

“We saw the world and the world seems smaller/We’re getting wider, but we ain’t gett’n no taller” - Friends O’ Mine

“I don’t wanna get inside your mind or your pants/I don’t wanna waste my time with love and romance/I want my next ex-girlfriend” - Next Ex-Girlfriend

“All we need is some ice cream and a hug/(chorus)All we need is love and beer.” - Shut Up and Smile

“There’s nothing wrong with Ohio except the snow and the rain/I really like Drew Carey and I’d love to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” - Ohio (Come Back to Texas)

Anyway, if you haven’t given these guys a shot and you like a little mindless/funny rock music, keep an eye peeled. If any of you are BfS fans already, let me know if their prevoius six albums (I had no idea they’d been around this long) are worth the price of admission as I’m definitely primed to hear more from these guys.

Moving on, the Lions are on Monday Night Football for the the first time in like four years so pre-season or no, I’ll be glued to the TV. Joey Harrington is like 14 of 15 passing in two pre-season games (no interceptions), which is staggering. Though he has no TD passes either, which is less surprising. I really think he could have a Drew Brees kind of year, but then I thought the Tigers would finish well over .500 so that shows you how much I know.

I’m waiting for a preview build of Age of Empires 3, which I just cannot wait to see. I’m also going to be doing a Fable: The Lost Chapters review (this better be good Steve). After that, getting back to sports, I’m going to be doing the NHL 2K6 review for Gameshark as well as the NHL 06 review for CGM. All of that plus the book means a lot of work for Bill.

I also went out and grabbed the new White Stripes CD (finally) and The New Pornographers Twin Cinema CD. Good stuff.

Driving to Media Play after going out to grab some breakfast, Ashley and I got into a discussion about coolness. She asked me how cool she was. Fair question. So I told her she was the coolest girl ever. She sighed and said, “Yeah, but I’m not as cool as Batman.”

She’s right. Tough to be cooler than Batman.

Wow. It’s a good thing these news people have desks in front of them to cover their enormous hard-ons for this hurricane. Oh my god. I realize this is a huge story, but the fervor is just out of this world. You almost think if that the hurricane turns into a butterfly they will be disappointed.

Of all the idiotic things, I think this article wins. Don’t you wish your team really lost a championship?

I was watching the little league game until it got booted to ESPN9. I think the kids played a lot better than the Orioles. I just found out Hawaii won. Congrats. Don’t worry Curacao, I feel your pain. Nothing like those little league memories coming back. Never got that far myself, but nothing like being up 6-3 in the last inning and just knowing it’s not going to happen….

Been doing quite a bit of non-sports reviews. I was able to do Darkwatch last week and usually for every good game you get saddled with a dog. What is the dog? Tune into gameshark.com and find out :).

I like the rest of you are eagerly awaiting Bill’s Q&A with the gentleman from Midway. I saw the IGN video, which seemed to be done by the kids at IGN. Huh huh, he said shit, huh huh..etc.

I also read the OS forum, which of course reading that thread, I now remember why Craig & I didn’t do forums. It always boils down to inane questions that help one specific person. I think generalities are fine but “is there a New Britain team and is there a running back #7 and are his shoelaces are 1/2″ longer on his right foot than his left foot, because I really need to know and this will affect whether or not I buy the game?” really needs to be put in the same pile as “Hey great blog, check out my blog on jean shorts.”

I’m grumpy, dammit, and you would too if your baseball team sucks even more ass than possible.

Writing a book is a lot of work.

Oh, and water is wet, time stops for no one, and puppies are adorable.

I decided to change the format of the book a bit, and was thankfully given the green light to do so by my publisher. The entire Almanac format I have always struggled with just a bit because it never made a whole lot of sense to me. Remember, I didn’t come up with the Almanac idea; I was going to co-author the book at first until the former writer backed out for personal reasons. So I was sort of stuck with it. Todd kept asking if I had any better ideas, and I was like Homer Simpson thinking of dancing monkeys. I had nothing. Finally, months later, I had an idea.

The book is now broken down into months rather than by days. I never could wrap my head around talking about Freedom Force Vs the 3rd Reich on March 10th…just because. So now we’re breaking the book down into three main sections:

-A 2005 Retrospective (by month) where I talk about the significant releases for each month on every platform. (January - October).

These aren’t really reviews of each game (though I guess some are) but I try to approach talking about each game from a different angle. Some entries discuss popular mods for a game, like I did with MVP 2005, while some are basic guides on how to get past boss characters (like Oddworld Stranger’s Wrath). Some discuss a series as a whole, like the evolution of Gran Turismo. That sort of thing. I think the idea is more about it being fun to read rather than it being some kind of all-encompassing cheat guide. You can get most of that stuff online, so I try to keep the guide stuff to a minimum.

-A Holiday Guide which discusses games to be released for the 2005 Holiday season.

-2006 Highlighting some of the more high profile games currently announced that are due out in 2006 (and beyond in some cases).

Sprinkled inside each month are general grab bag essays (The Best D&D games; Why Sports Games are Rip Offs, The Best Game Rental Services), Bargain Bin entries (good games you can get for $20 or less) Closet Classic entries (discussing the importance of games from the 80s and 90s), and Company Graveyards (discussing companies that have went the way of the Montreal Expos).

The reason I bring this up is that a lot of people, a surprising number of people actually, have asked me what the book is about and before I really had a helluva time trying to explain it. I think this presents a clear outline of what the book is all about. Whether or not that interests you is another story, but at least I can answer the question now.

From OS:

Hello Everyone - It’s Ben Brinkman, producer of MVP Baseball. Wanted to let you all know that we’ve got an announcement coming out next week about what the MVP team is doing for 2006. I can’t say any more right now, but I think you all will be very happy about it…

Not to get all sappy but I want to say thanks again to all the MVP fans for supporting us and feeding back on previous versions of MVP. We made MVP for the fans and nothing makes us happier than when you like what we’ve done, and on the flip side nothing makes us work harder when you don’t.

STAY TUNED!!

***

I am tuned in for a college baseball game. I’d prefer a Baseball Construction Set type thing, but hey, a college baseball game would be pretty cool too if done right, and I HATED to see the MVP engine go away. With its flaws it was the best game of ‘05.

Please, guys, just add more walks.

Well it’s official. We closed on the land and we’re set to start the build in November after the zoning is done. Not much time for blogging this weekend between house plans and the Travers Stakes, which I will be leaving to see on simulcast in a bit.