Amazon DOTD: NFS Shift
This game in a word, is awesome. It is also $39.98 today only at Amazon.com. Hurry and pick it up.
Late Friday night notes
- Pasta Padre has the rosters for the new Madden NFL Arcade. The game will be out on November 24th on PSN and November 25th on the Xbox 360. I'm trying to remember the last time an Arcade game came first to the PS3... but I'm sure you'll remind me of it.
I can't complain about the Packers roster for this. I'm sure they'll give up their share of sacks and the media will blame the QB for most of them though. heh.
- I played around with Lego Rock Band tonight and after 150 achievement points... I put it back in the sleeve to send back to Gamefly. I don't know what I was expecting, but I figured it might interest me enough to buy it for the export feature. Sadly the first 10 or so songs that I encountered were ones that I wouldn't want to have in my Rock Band setlist and that's just about a clincher for me. I might pick up the game for $10 or so sometime next year for the songs... but at the $49.99 price point... I can't see the point of the game. Even for my kids...
- The one game that I keep coming back to this week is Dragon Age: Origins. I'm hardly anywhere in the game, but the little side quests and missions keep making me want to start up the game each night, if only for a little while. While I wish I had the PC version (and a laptop good enough to run it,) I'm enjoying the 360 version quite a bit.
- Got my PS3 Netflix disk today. I've heard that the HD video quality is much better than the 360 version... so I'm curious to try that out.
- Badger game tomorrow. Muck Fichigan.
- Oh and it's my wife's birthday tomorrow. If she sees bothers to read the site tomorrow, and I still don't know why she does read it, I want to wish her a happy birthday.
Quick SGB Madden League update
We just completed week 6 of our league, so I thought I would post some of the interesting information. We chose from teams in the AFC South and NFC West, to make sure we would get more games against a person.
3 teams are still undefeated... (The Giants, the Eagles, and... the Bengals) and the Ravens are the only team without a win.
Here's the records for the participants...
Tennessee is 5-1
Indianapolis is 3-2
Houston is 3-3
St. Louis is 4-2 (gotta love my scrappy Rams)
Seattle is 4-2
San Francisco is 3-2
Arizona is 3-2
I think the NFC West is going to be a ton of fun down the stretch.
Quick Friday note (Good EA Sports deals coming)
If you're thinking of picking up an EA Sports title... you might want to hold out for the Best Buy Black Friday deals.
Fifa 10, Madden 10, NBA Live 10, and NHL 10 will all be $34.99 for the 360 or PS3. Also, Need for Speed: Shift will be $34.99.
Amazon has been matching everyone's deals in years past, so they should have them there on Black Friday starting at midnight PST as well.
Quick Thursday notes
- Sat down with the demo for NBA Unrivaled last night and my initial impressions are not great ones. I did enjoy the game a bit as I played it, but it was fleeting. The gameplay is way to slow for an arcade basketball title. The floor feels unbelievably cramped with 5 players on it and it seems like players are almost constantly jumbled up on the floor.
I want to put in more time with the title, but I'm pretty bummed with my initial impressions. Arcade sports titles should be fast moving and have a great sense of flow to them, but this title seems to be lacking on both of those items.
- Looks like the new Xbox Live update is coming next week. I just don't understand why people are getting so excited about Facebook and Twitter support on game consoles. I barely use my Facebook account and really don't see much of a point of having a Twitter account. I must be in the minority on this one though.
- Started playing Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games last night and I can see that the game does have some promise. I'll talk more about it after I get a few more events into the game.
- Lastly I played around with the NCAA Basketball 10 demo for the 360 and came away very impressed with the presentation. The commentary from Gus Johnson did get on my nerves after a time though. It seemed very generic and I hope that the retail version won't have the repetition that I saw in the demo. Gameplay-wise, it feels almost identical to NBA Live 10. I have this one in my rental queue and really want to look at it further. Thankfully it'll be out next week.
- More later.
Veteran’s Day Thoughts
First off a big thank you to all those who have served our Country!!
I celebrated your day by not working and taking the kids to see A Christmas Carol at the Jordan’s Furniture IMAX theater. WOW. Movie was incredible – 3D Imax is amazing.
Now as for NBA Unrivaled. You have to play the demo just for the pure comedy it is. I mean seriously, Double Dribble looks better. What a $15 embarrassment. But it is tears in your eyes laugh out loud funny to see Kobe sticking his ass out facing the opponent’s net. OMG this sucks.
Wednesday notes
- Sorry for not getting a post done yesterday. I was stuck at the day job until 10:30 and didn't get any gaming done last night.
- Anyone try out NBA Unrivaled yet? I have to hold until the PSN release is done, but I'll probably give the demo a look see tonight on Live.
- Ended up picking up Modern Warfare 2 for the PS3 yesterday, as I have 3 local friends that wanted to play that version. This game is everywhere... even Fox and Friends, and if they're outraged by it... it must be good.
- Picked up Monsters, Inc and Up today. I'm not ashamed to admit that both of those movies made me tear up. When the girl says "Kitty" at the end of Monsters, Inc... man... every time.
- More later tonight... too many games to try out and talk about.
Monday night notes
- We're into week 6 of the Madden League and showing no signs of slowing down. I've had a great time in the league thus far and have had terrific feedback from the others in the league as well. I still see some issues in the angles that players will take when trying to run with someone, but the gameplay is still very solid and enjoyable.
- Took a few days off from DJ Hero and came right back stronger than ever. I really, really enjoy that game. The mixes are just so damn good and I think I'm only about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way through the game. I haven't even gotten to the Daft Punk stuff and people just seem to love those. Great game. Expensive (thanks Gamespot trade-in deals,) but great.
- I got a copy of Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games from Sega today and will load that one up tomorrow night to give a look see. I'll see if my daughter wants to help out with some of the games, or at the very least watch a few of them. She loves Mario, so it should be fun for her.
- Anyone pick up the new Excitebike that was available via the Wii Shop today? I've never been any good at the Excitebike series, whether it's the NES original, N64 sequel, or the Excite series on the Wii, but it seems like a great deal to get the game, the track editor, and have online play for only $10. I'm curious for more feedback though.
- No big surprise, but people are screaming for the heads of Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson here today. Such is the life when your team loses to one of the worst teams in the league. The reward is getting Dallas this week. Maybe Romo will start dating someone again... or play too much golf in the 70 degree weather up here. Never know....
Monday notes
- I just received a press release from Tecmo in regards to their new Xbox Live/Playstation Network title, NBA Unrivaled. Looks like a HD version of NBA Jam, from my first glances... here are the details.
- Choose your favorite team: Boasting all 30 NBA teams and the top players from the latest 2009-2010 Rosters, you can choose your team to compete in full 5-on-5 team arcade-style gameplay.
- Multiplayer: Grab a friend to play in online or offline multiplayer mode: Player vs. Player, or 2 Players vs. CPU.
- Momentum Mania! As players play for points, they will also play to fill up their Momentum Gauge. Once the Momentum Gauge is maxed out, the team goes into Momentum Mania, which boosts offensive and defensive abilities, allowing for flashier, bigger plays.
- Style: Experience electrifying effects, outrageous dunks, and fast paced action where no other basketball game has gone before!
- Unlockables: Unlock jerseys from today’s favorites to yesterday’s throwback classics.
- HD Play: For in your FACE action, both Xbox LIVE Arcade and PSN platforms have a supported screen resolution of 1080p.
It's coming on November 11th for Xbox Live but, no set release date for PSN. Hopefully I'll be able to post some impressions of the title soon.
- C'mon Loren, you think I would actually back the Vikings? Ugh. I get stomach pains just thinking of it.
- I spent a bit of time with Dragon Age yesterday and it's been quite solid thus far. There are a few annoyances that I think should have been dealt with for the console releases, primarily in regards to equipment handling. On the PC it's easier to manage your inventory, but when you're on a console title, you should have a button to press that allows you to equip the best things possible. It's a pain in the ass to have to go through your inventory each time you pick up a new item to try and compare it to what you're currently equipping on a few of your characters. Annoying... grrr. Besides that, the story is quite good and the gameplay has been quite a bit of fun. My mage is kicking much ass at this point, and hopefully he'll continue to do so.
- More later tonight.
NBA Live 10 is the Amazon DOTD
Save $20 on the 360 or PS3 version of NBA Live 10 -- only $39.98 today only at Amazon.
Well, that settles that…
If anyone thought that the Packers were just going to be able to beat up on the the lesser teams in the league and make it into the playoffs, this game really proved that wouldn't be the case. The Packers played an absolutely horrible game, keyed by terrible play calling and Aaron Rodgers inability to make good decisions with the ball when it mattered.
The offensive line is absolutely dreadful (which isn't a surprise to anyone) and gave up sack after sack after sack to a team that came into the game with a ton of old defensive linemen who only had 11 sacks on the season.
Absolutely dreadful play. 3 interceptions, a blocked punt.... and giving one of the worst teams in the league their first win of the year.
The playoffs are a pipe dream for this team at this point, seeing as how they have to play against San Francisco and Dallas in the coming weeks. Unless they can make Mark Tauscher and Chad Clifton play like 5 years ago, they don't stand a chance against those two team.
It just goes to show you that you should never pay attention to preseason performance, because it looks like that's the only time McCarthy can out coach any team at this point.
The best thing about this game was the fact that I only saw the last 7 minutes of it... if I would have watched the whole thing I would have lost my mind. heh.
NCAA Basketball 10 Demo Thoughts
Wow.
I am floored by how good this demo is. EA has integrated CBS Sports into the telecast and the way they have done it is phenomenal. I can’t believe how good the presentation is.
It truly feels like you are watching a CBS Broadcast. Add Gus Johnson doing play by play and much better than last year game play and you will be very impressed.
This one is definitely worth looking at, at least on the 360.
Today 3-4PM Est: Get a 360 for $99
Amazon is one upping Wal-Mart today…at 9AM this morning you could buy a 360 Arcade with a $100 gift card for $199. (Net $99). It sold out in about 12 seconds.
Missed out? Try again at 3PM Eastern. Good luck!
NCAA Basketball 10 demo on Xbox Live
I have a soft spot for college basketball and I do have to admit that I am very interested in this title.
Bummer that I can't try it out until Sunday night at the earliest though.
Be sure to post your thoughts if you get a chance to try it out.
Early Friday notes
- Heading out of town for the weekend for a wedding, so Dan will have to pick up the slack.
- Sorry I haven't been posting more, I hurt my back putting up our snow fence the other day (ugh) and have been in a good bit of pain. It's getting better, but it's a slow recovery. Getting old is a bitch.
- No real gaming news to make mention of at the moment.
- Chat more with you soon.
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