The Blog for the Sports Gamer Three guys who love Sports Gaming rant and rave about various stuff.

Thursday notes

- Looking back at when I was a kid, I'm amazed at how many really difficult games I played from time to time.

Games like Mega Man or the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stick in my mind due to the fact that they were incredibly difficult games, but I really stuck with them over time because, well, they were the only games that I had at the time.  I couldn't just put them away and pick up one of any of the ten other games that I have sitting there at the moment and start playing them, because it was the ONLY game I had at the time.

So, when people told me I had to try out Dark Souls, I heard about how challenging it was, but thought it would be worth giving it a shot.  Soul crushingly difficult would be a more accurate description for the game, and after 2 or 3 hours of pointless struggling, I abandoned it because there were countless other games where I wouldn't want to throw my controller out the window sitting right next to me.  So, in the drawer it went, and that's where it still resides.

So, when I started to play the advanced AR missions on Batman: Arkham City, I had a very similar feeling to when I started to play Demon Souls, but I stuck with it... because this felt like something that was actually possible to complete.

The only thing that really kept me going was the fact that I knew that the entire game wouldn't be like that.  The missions, while very difficult and relying on crazy split second reaction time, would come to an end eventually.   That's what kept me going and when I got the trophy bing, I felt like I had really accomplished something.

In fairness, the missions only took me somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes... but it seemed like an eternity when you don't accomplish anything.

I do know now that I will never, ever, want to go back and complete them again though.  That's a certainty.

Having said that, the game is absolutely terrific and I can't wait to get the kids to bed each night so I can start beating the crap out of more lowlife characters in Arkham City.

- Punch a guy in the face and try to twist the head off of the opposing quarterback and get 1 game off.

What's funny is that the Big Ten doesn't even seem to mention the play where he jerked Denard Robinson's head around, the punch is all that gets him the suspension.

- Having said that about the suspension, I wish Gholston hadn't commited the actions because I'd like to see the Badgers play against the best team that Michigan State can put on the field.  The Badgers have a huge axe to grind for the game that they lost there last year and have to prove that they can beat a quality opponent on the road this year.

This week and next weeks game against Ohio State are the defining moments for the Badgers season, and you'd like to see them play them against the best that the other team can offer.

- One last Badger note.  Here's the average score for their games this year.

50.2 to 9.7

Ugh.

- The Jerome Harrison for Ronnie Brown trade wasn't the biggest trade that happened this week, but the fact that the trade was vetoed made it odd.  Now we know the reason why, Harrison has a brain tumor.

As was reported, this is a blessing in disguise for Harrison as neither he nor his team knew he had any issues like this.

Hopefully his treatment can begin quickly and he can start the recovery process.

- Have a good evening