NFL Head Coach 09 thoughts
So, I'm home sick today, hit a 103.2 temp last night, and have spent some time with NFL Head Coach. I do have to say that I'm really impressed by the depth of the game, but I have found a few issues.
- In my first preseason game with the Packers, I kicked a field goal with 20 seconds to go in the half. Cincy brought back the kick to the 25, and proceeded to run on their first play for a gain of 3 yards. They called a time out, and then threw a passing play on the next play that took them to the Packers 39 with :06 to go.
They punted on the next play.
- At the end of the first half, I subbed in the 2nd string offense and then went to Supersim. I looked at the depth chart and the 2nd string back was at the top of the list. I started simming plays and the first string back, Ryan Grant, keeps getting the ball. Cincy's second string players come into the game.... but the Packers starters just stay in there. Very odd.
- My next issue is a really minor one... but it was just confusing to me when I started my first season. The Packers drafted Jordy Nelson, a WR out of Kansas State in the 2nd round this year. He's no where on the roster... no where in the FA pool... Just gone. Then 1 week later, he comes to you to negotiate his rookie contract.
The funny thing is that some of the draft picks are already on the roster, so I thought there was some weird draft issue. Turns out, you get to negotiate some of the deals for the updated roster. Just something to make note of.
- I'm probably missing something on this next item, but you receive Season Goals that you have to achieve during the stages of the game. In preseason, I have 3 goals to train some of my rookies. You have to get them to 25% play knowledge learned or mastered... I've spent 3 practices focusing on 1 guy and he's still only at 2% play knowledge... Not sure how I'll be able to get anywhere near 25%. I'll keep working on that.
The game is incredibly deep and there are a ton of things to manage. Hopefully they'll be able to patch the playcalling AI as the game has been a ton of fun thus far.
I'm going to try and spend some time with Madden tonight and see how I feel about it.
Quick Madden notes
Ok, I have a 101.7 temp... so I'll make this brief.
I didn't want to dig into Madden yet today as my brain isn't firing at 100 percent at this moment...big shock there... but here's what I've seen thus far.
- The edition of Madden 93 is crippled. Exhibition play only. That's a bummer. Not a huge deal, but silly still. Oh, and my PS3 locked up when I quit the game. This was post patch.
In fact, it locked up so hard that I had to actually use the power switch to power off the PS3... not just hold down the power button on the front. Strange.
- The game includes video highlights from last year's Superbowl, as well as Superbowl XXXI (when the Packers beat the Patriots.) Those things should make Dan ultra happy... Heh.
The bummer about the videos is that they have no sort of media interface... No pausing, no nothing. Just start and exit. They were able to do that with Hard Boiled on the Stranglehold Collector's Edition, so I'm not sure what the issue is there.
- I'll spend some time with both Madden and Head Coach later tonight and post some more thoughts then.
Tuesday notes
- I hate feeling sick. Whatever was going on this weekend, is back with a vengence... I'm just about to head out from work.
- Keep an eye on Amazon today if you are a Hot Shots Golf fan. Hot Shots for the PS3 is $25.99 and Hot Shots Open Tee 2 for the PSP is $19.99. Right now the PS3 version is out of stock at Amazon... but there is a pretty good chance it will come back in stock later. They've been having some Deal of the Day issues of late... so keep an eye on it if you're interested.
- I should have a copy of Madden Collector's Edition for the PS3 later today. If I'm feeling any better I'll spend some time with Head Coach and Madden and let you know my first impressions.
EA Oops!
On the last page of today's USA Today, there's a full page ad for Madden. The tag line is "since 1989," and there are all kinds of old videogame hardware and televisions. It's a cute ad, except for one thing: there's a Dreamcast in the picture. You know the console EA pretty much killed by not releasing games for it. Um...how did that fit in the picture exactly?
Late Monday night notes
- Ok. Heading to Best Buy tomorrow morning to get Madden. I'm just that weak. Should have most of the night tomorrow to play it... after a bike ride with the kids. Gotta do the family thing first.
- I was happy with how Rodgers played in his drives for the Packers. Threw an interception, but it was all on the wide receiver, as it hit him square in the chest and bounced off. Threw some good short and long passes... so overall a good game.
In the pregame radio stuff, they were talking about Rodgers being a game manager... after watching Brian Brohm... I think he couldn't manage a lemonade stand in Green Bay, let alone be a QB for this team at the moment. I'm thinking that it won't be long before the Packers start looking for a veteran backup QB to make sure that he doesn't see ANY playing time this year.
The one thing that was really impressive was a hit that Donald Driver put on a defensive back instead of running out of bounds... if you can catch that on SportsCenter tonight... it's worth seeing. That got me fired up to watch some football again.
- Just so you don't think that I'm anti-Favre or anything like that, take a look at this video of Brett on YouTube. It covers it all. Brett's Keith Jackson impression. Brett asking for Left Handed Footballs and being called a 'baiting mother' by Marty Morningweig. Really funny stuff. It's a great recap of what we loved about Brett here in Wisconsin.
- Michael Phelps is just some sort of machine. He goes out and blows away the world record in the 200 Freestyle... then goes out and ties the Olympic record in the 100m Breaststroke semi.... 50 minutes later. Unreal.
- Now I'm watching the US Men's gymnastic team put on an amazing performance and are really pushing the Chinese team for the gold.
Awesome stuff in the Olympics tonight.
Best Madden Review Ever
Thanks to TV's Craig Tompkins for giving us this no-byline review of Madden 09.
Taken right from the press sheet to you, folks: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/ptech/08/11/review.madden.ap/index.html
Should I Stay or should I go?
I'm debating going out at Midnight for madden. Yes, I am lame. I'm also 37.
In other news, make sure you stock up on MS Points -- Target has them on sale for $14.99
Finally in a game that no one knows about, you may want to check out Little League World Series Baseball for the Wii. If you enjoyed Wii Sports baseball, but wish it had a little more depth, this game is for you. It's also very hard to hit a ball when it's that much closer to you. LL rules apply but man, it's a fun (and strenuous) game for the Wii, right down to the kids favorite movie..but really should a 12 year old be watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Anyway, you may want to gamefly it at least...
Monday night notes
I'm sure I'll be posting more after the Packers preseason game tonight, but here's my thoughts for the day thus far.
- Nice sweep for the Brewers. You have to beat the bad teams in the league if you're going to make a run for the playoffs. Now, onto the west coast trip. 4-2 over the next 6 games would be a great trip.
- Hell has officially frozen over... I'll be picking up the Collector's Edition of Madden, for the PS3, tomorrow. I have $10 in reward certs from Best Buy, and there is a $10 off of $75 coupon out there. Picking it up for $70 makes it easier to stomach... plus I'll probably trade Madden in at some point.
This will be the second time in my life that I've bought Madden for a console. Amazing. The Head Coach hype is just far too much for me to pass up. Plus, I'll have something to talk about here without having to link to Harris and Abner. Heh.
As far as why I'll be picking up the PS3 version, I just prefer the PS3 controller. I know people love the 360 controller, but I've always liked the PS3 one more. Plus I've heard the game is pretty much identical this year, perhaps a slight visual edge to the PS3.
- So, as a Packer fan, I'm really glad that the preseason games are finally beginning. It's amazing how low the expectations are for a team that lost the NFC Championship in overtime, but all of the beat writers here are talking about 9-7 or 10-6.
I just want to see them play... It's been too long.
More later.
Sunday night thoughts
- More good stuff from the Olympics today. Two amazing swimming relay races tonight and Phelps is still alive in his quest for 8 golds. Great stuff.
- Ok, political side note... Isn't there a war in Eastern Europe that... oh, I don't know... the president might want to be dealing with? I guess it's more important to watch beach volleyball, basketball, and swimming events though.
- Gabe Kapler might go down as the best ever signing of a retired player in Brewers history. Quite a comeback today, capped off with a walk off homer by Kapler in the 13th. 4 games back of the Cubs, 3 games ahead of the Cards for the Wild Card. I can live with that.
- Ok... I'm getting really close to caving and buying the collector's edition of Madden... mainly for Head Coach. Any idea what the trade-in value for Madden at Gamestop?
Olympics Redux
Last night, I wasn't able to sleep but thankfully the 12 hour difference allowed me to see a lot of Olympic action live -- it was great seeing the swimming..and then this morning I saw the USA in soccer in a game they should have won (stupid 92' goals), and the basketball game which was quite the exhibition vs China. Heck, even W was there.
Okay, so I'll now say the Olympics are enjoyable. Sorry about that!
Saturday night notes
- I really don't get the Olympic hate this year. To me, it's one of the most exciting series of events in sports. I listened to ESPN today and all they could talk about is how much better it is to watch NFL Live.. what a load.
I've watched Volleyball (both indoor and beach,) Boxing, Gymnastics, Swimming, and even some Team Handball today. I just love to see all of these athletes competing at the sports that they've trained for all of their lives.
It's such a refreshing change from the Favre watch. I've been flipping back and forth between NBC and Universal HD all day, and can see myself doing it for the next two weeks as well.
- I don't know why I can't catch a break, but I keep getting sick. Today, I got home from some errands and have a 101.5 temp. I've been more sick this year than any year in memory. I guess two kids multiplies the number of things that you can catch...
- CC and Sheets throw back-to-back complete game shutouts. All I can hope for this weekend is for a split between the Cubs and Cards, and a Brewers sweep. We're half way there.
- It's nice to hear that the NCAA patch has improved some of the issues. I'll throw the game in my Gamefly queue and see if I can try it out and see how much I enjoy it.
Saturday Thoughts on NCAA, Madden and other…
* So how about those Olympics What's that, you don't care? Me neither. I get more excited about Sonic & Mario at the Olympics. Damn how I loved arcade Track & Field -- not the 360 Live arcade version because you really can't pound buttons....Hyper Sports on the C64 was a lot of fun also...
* Now that patch 1 of 2 is up, I've started playing again. Although we're told that this hasn't fixed AI issues, kick returns seem better to me and I haven't seen the wide open guy go out of bounds. I'm actually starting to enjoy the game, especially with Fairdale Kings rosters. Gasp -- I never thought I'd say that.
* Last night, I went into marathon gaming mode on MLB Power Pros as I'm now doing the review for that. You'll have to wait for the final verdict, but let's just say that MLB Life mode is a HUGE disappointment. In May (MAY!)...there was a 1 for 1 trade: Smoltz for A-Rod. Seriously. What else do you need to know here?
* Amazon is doing FREE release day shipping to Prime members plus offering a $10 gift card on Madden for any version. Oops, sorry Glen, I meant to use our link when I bought it. My bad. I think I'm going to try the 360 version and the Wii version this year.
IGN Impresses with Madden Wii review
You know I've seen (and even probably written) some shit reviews, but I haven't seen anything that has come close to the poetry and prose of IGN's Madden Wii review. To wit,
"If you found it in previous Wii Madden games, you're going to find it here, and you'll most likely find it refined or improved on in some way."
"it's pretty obvious that the company is pulling out all the stops in making this one of the best years of videogame football the industry has ever seen"
Uhh...regardless if this game is good or not, how can a choice of one game be a great year?
Enjoy the whole review for yourself by clicking here.
Thursday notes
- Finally... the Packers and Brett Favre saga is over. My only comment on the deal is that the Packers worked out the best trade stipulation that I've ever seen.
If you don't feel like clicking the link, the Packers worked out the deal so that if the Jets were to trade Favre to the Vikings, they would have to give up THREE - first round picks for doing so. I can't wait to see a feature like that implemented in a game like Front Office Football. heh.
Seriously though, I'm just glad the whole thing is over. Things around here have just been silly since the whole thing started and sports radio has just been hillarious. I just can't believe that there are people that are saying that they won't be Packer fans any more because of this situation. I guess that's what free agency and the like has done to the game... you have to choose to be a fan of your team or a fan of the players that play the game... or so it would seem.
- Midway announced yesterday that Jay Mohr and Frank Caliendo will be part of the voice talent for Blitz: The League 2. I love that Caliendo will be doing color commentary in the game. He's been doing Madden for years, so it should be a piece of cake for him.
- Once any of you have a chance to try out the NCAA Football patch, please post your comments. I'm really interested to hear how much the patch is able to fix.
- Sadly, I'm tempted to pick up Qore today to get access to the Resistance beta (when available.) I never played the last version online, but I'm very interested in the new game... although I hate paying to get into betas....
Grab new Fairdale Kings rosters
After you have the patch...
1. Go to EA Locker
2. Click download rosters
3. Click enter gamertag
4. Type in Fairdale Kings
5. Save roster
6. Enjoy!
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