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.
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.
Yes I’m alive
I know it's been a long time since I've posted. I honestly don't have a good reason why. I guess I could blame some personal things going on or just the fact that I haven't been playing many games, but neither is a good reason.
Gaming:
Madden: I'm in season 3 of my Patriots franchise having won my first 2 Super Bowls. My players are starting to show their age however and ratings are dropping. Overall I'm rated an 83. Part of that is that I refuse to pay top dollar for most players. I'll pay someone rated an 80 the minimum rather than someone rated an 86 10M a year. I did find a strange bug this year. In week 6 I decided to try to trade around some draft picks. Being 5-0 I found 2 teams that are 0-5. Both were willing to trade me pick for pick. So my 1st round for their 1st, my 2nd for their 2nd and so on. That's an easy way to start boosting your team. Linebackers jumping 20 feet in the air making 1 hand catches still piss me off.
NFS: The Run - I have only played about an hour of this one, but I like it. My son just finished the run across country so maybe I'll start putting some more time in. I actually like the gamepad controls better than the wheel.
Diablo 2 - Yea, still playing this one...enough said
Movies
Rise of the Planet of the Apes - This is a very good movie. I was not a fan of the ones in the 70's but I loved this one
Captain America - Just so so. I really liked how they picked the guy to become Captain America, but not really enough action in the movie for me
Music
I've been using Spotify since Dan sent me an invite and still like it a lot. Not everything I look for is on there of course, but I have found a bunch of new music. My current favorite is "Falling in Reverse". I had never heard of them, but they were a Spotify recommendation. Now I listen to them all the time. They will be in Atlanta on January 24th. It's a Tuesday night. I will be going!
Sports
The Patriots D has been terrible and I don't see it getting any better. They might be the strongest team in the AFC, but if the O has a weak week they can't hold on. I still think the Packers will repeat.
Red Sox - What were they thinking? Bobby Valentine? Give me a break. We might not sink to the level of Baltimore, but we are going to have issue this year. On a positive note, I'm glad they let Papelbon go. Give Bard a shot. Sure he might be a little rough stll, but I honestly think he's ready. Of course maybe that's why I'm writing here (when I do) and not on the Red Sox payroll.
Clemson looked great in the ACC title game and I think they can handle West Virginia. Next year looks very promising too with Boyd, Watkins and Hopkins coming back. I expect Dwayne Allen to leave for the NFL, so that will hurt, but Watkins was so impressive as a true Freshman, I can't wait to see him next year.
Thursday notes
So, now that the site is all upgraded and looking much prettier... I'm still working on other ways to improve it. Nothing set in stone yet, but I'd like to keep things moving.
And from there... let's go to something that has been annoying the hell out of me.
- Kotaku's Gut Check. In theory, it's a great idea. Get all the editors together and recommend games based on their feelings for them. The problem is the fact that they're recommending that you buy every game. At this point, I think there has only been 3 games or DLC packs that they have looked at that they don't recommend.
You devalue your process when you say that everything is good. It's like Jeanne Wolf's Hollywood reviews for movies. If you say that everything is great, no one can really trust your opinion.
Oh, and one of the titles that they didn't recommend was Rocksmith, which is absolutely awesome.
Ok, that's my gripe for the day.
- Don't forget to set your fantasy lineups before tonight's game, if you have any Falcons or Jaguars players.
Even if you were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs, there are still games to play to determine who finishes in 5th through 8th in the league. (Feel free to post those rankings everywhere on the internet if you obtain them.)
Glen W. Haag
6th place finisher in the 2011-12 Sports Gamer Blog Fantasy Football league, is an incredible title to have.
- Don't know how many people saw this, but with the new CBA being approved for Major League Baseball, there will be more replay in baseball, possibly for the opening day games. Fair/Foul calls, Trapped ball catches, and fan interference could all be reviewed under the new rules.
I'll still keep railing on the league to state that they need to go with the NHL approach. Have a room in New York, or wherever, where every single game is being watched and recorded. Have a replay official there that makes all of the calls. I believe that it's the fastest way to get it done and if the person watching the replays knows all the rules, there is no reason that the on-field umpires should have to look at a video to come to the same conclusion that an umpire sitting in New York would.
- Lastly, I'm going to be doing an interview with some of the people behind the new NFL Blitz for the PS3 and 360. Any concerns about the game or questions that you would want me to pass on?
- Have a great day.
MLB 11: The Show – $12.99 and MLB 2K12 – $9.99 at Gamefly.
MLB11: The Show (PS3) - $12.99
Speaking from experience, PS3 games from Gamefly are usually in terrific shape when they arrive.
They are this price until tomorrow afternoon, so act now if interested.
Monday notes
- There is no point in getting into a back and forth as far as it relates to the Braun matter, as there is so much more left to the process.
Having said that, if he had done everything right, he wouldn't be dealing with this appeal anyway.
Whether he is cleared or not, his whole career will be labeled as being that of a cheater. Hell, everyone outside the state of Wisconsin thinks of him as a cheater right now and the process isn't even completed yet.
No point in lingering on the point now though, as the appeals process will take a month or so to complete.
Not planning on seeing him until June at this point though.
- You haven't lived until you have to listen to Dan rave about his fantasy team performance every week.
My team pretty much went the direction I thought it would in the first round as I lost ugly. My team was pretty reliant on McFadden and Forte and when both were down and I had to start a backup running back for the Colts as my best option, I knew my days were numbered.
Still, there are some good teams left in the running. Hopefully one of them will knock off Dan.
- Hard to know what to think of Packers game yesterday as the Raiders didn't really look all that interested in playing.
What I do know is that it was one of the most boring games that I've ever watched. Sadly, I don't think this weeks game against Kansas City will be all that interesting as well.
Some of the local pundits are already spending countless hours talking about how little Rodgers, Woodson, and Clay Matthews should be playing in the coming weeks.
The argument always ends up being that "but what if they get hurt playing." News flash to guys who cover sports every single day... These guys could get hurt on any play in any quarter. Taking them out in the 2nd quarter isn't going to change anything. Sure, the odds of them getting hurt increases while they are on the field, but injuries can happen on any play.
- Not that I'm a huge fan of UFC, but I had a chance to watch UFC 140 on Saturday night due to the fact that Microsoft gave it away for free to users who were in the beta test for the new dashboard (which is awesome because I can now have two consoles with the same profile without needing a memory card.)
Some of the fights were flat out great, and some... well... you get things like this happening. Here's the x-ray of his arm as well.
You know how in the NFL if someone really gets hurt, they show it once and then never again? Yeah... not in the UFC. They showed Nogueira's injury, over and over again. I had to turn away after seeing it the second time. Just too tough to watch.
I don't know if I would pay $50 or whatever it is to watch all of the fights again, but it did make for a much different Saturday night than I normally have.
- Enjoy your week.
Braun tests positive for PED’s
The appeal is still ongoing, but no one has ever won an appeal.
I have no idea how anyone could be so stupid to test positive if it's all true.
Thursday notes
- As a reminder, there is a game tonight (Broncos and Jets,) so if you have a starter for any of those teams, make sure you set those rosters today. 3 games to go in the season and every single team has a chance to make the playoffs. You have to love parity like that...
- I'm not sure, but is ESPN done with their love fest for Coach K yet? The amount of wins that he was able to put together was remarkable, but (as Deadspin speaks of) didn't he already set this record?
- This just in, the NCAA makes a lot of money... and doesn't have good security on their Sharepoint site.
Remember, these aren't slaves, they're student athletes.
- Dan and I were chatting last night and we both agree that Super Mario 3D Land is terrific.
Not once in my with the game last night did I experience any sort of eye strain or issues with the 3D effect in the game. It is easily the best implementation of 3D on the platform, in my opinion.
The first thing I realized was how much "out of the box" type thinking that I needed to do while playing. Typically when you play a platformer, you're entirely reliant on the camera showing you the places where you can go, but when the game can use the 3D effect, it can trick you into thinking you're at the "front" (for lack of a better word) of the screen, when you can still move closer to the nearest part of the screen.
One thing that didn't surprise me though was the fact that extra lives are quite easy to obtain. After a few playthroughs of the first few levels, so that I could obtain all of the "big coins," I found that I had over 30 free guys.
I know that the greater challenges will come later, but the game has been incredibly good to this point.
- Also last night, I started to mess around with EA Sports Active 2. I've been feeling like a total slug of late (outside of hockey,) so it was time to start trying out a new cardio type exercise program for home.
The nice thing about this one is that it uses 3 different sensors so it can detect both of your arms and one of your legs while you're doing your workouts. Along with that, one of the sensors functions as a heart rate sensor, so you get a good idea of how much you're pushing yourself during your routine.
As far as a console based exercise routine goes, I felt like it did a good job of varying the types of exercises and working on various different muscle groups. The mountain bike segments are especially awful as you alternate from doing squats, to jumps, to running, and then back to doing squats and jumps again for about 2 minutes. That really wears your ass out after a time.
The greater challenge for me will be sticking with the software and really dedicating myself to exercising... when I could be playing games.
- So, Houston is moving to the AL in 2013. Any thoughts or concerns about that?
- Have a good rest of the day.
Kinect Sports: Season 2 impressions
When I got home last night I tried out Kinect Sports: Season 2 which had just arrived via Gamefly. If I had to sum up the game in one word it would be 'Ugh.'
The game consists of 6 different sports (Football, Golf, Baseball, Darts, Skiing, and Tennis.)
Golf and Skiing were probably the only two of the sports that were actually enjoyable to play though, although Golf seemed to be very easy, as I hit a 160 yard chip in eagle on my first shot. As for Skiing, you tuck for speed and shift side to side to make it through your gates. Both did a decent job of motion detection and could have been fun to play with others.
Now let's move onto the rest...
Football - Pick your play from 1 of 8, either by hand gesture or by saying the name of the play, then duck under center (by squatting in front of the TV with your hands out,) and say "Ready, Hike" (or wait 5 seconds.) Then once the ball is snapped, you stand up and wait for a green icon to appear above any one of your three receivers. Once the receivers is open, then you making a throwing motion that points towards who you want to throw to. After that you run in place until he is tackled or scores. Basically the game involves talking, waiting, making a throwing motion, and then running in place. You don't do anything on the defensive side of the ball, instead you watch a drive summary for the other team.
Darts - This game had the potential to be a lot of fun, and could have been a great multiplayer game, but I had terrible control issues in the game that caused it to be more frustrating than anything else. You hold your arm up in front of you like you are aiming a dart, then pull your hand back and mime a throwing motion. When it worked, it was fun. The problem that I ran into was that the aiming marker on the screen kept jumped all over the place. My initial aim would be at the 20's, then all of a sudden the reticle would be in the bottom left of the board, then it would jump back to the 20's, then to another part of the board. After 1 match, it became too frustrating to want to continue with.
Tennis - If you haven't seen this video from Kotaku, you don't need to do anything other than to hold your hand out to hit the ball. Sure you can step into a shot and swing to generate more power, but for the most part, you can just wait for the CPU to make a mistake. I also had some issues with Tennis due to the fact that my character would swing when I didn't move my arm or it wouldn't detect my foot moving forward to provide power for a shot. This game mode alternated between frustrating and just plain boring, once you find that you don't even have to move your arm to hit the ball.
Baseball - Batting involves making a baseball swinging motion at the screen and timing your swing to hit the pitch. If you hit early, you can pull the ball to left field, or wait to hit to right. After you hit the ball, if the fielder doesn't have a play on the ball, your player will automatically run to 2nd or 3rd. If the fielder is closer to the ball he (or she) will either make the catch or you will have to race to the base to beat the throw. With this game (or football, for that matter,) was I able to determine the appropriate speed at which to run in place to run faster. It seemed that no matter how fast I ran, I was never able to really alter the speed at which they ran.
As far as pitching is concerned for Baseball, you choose which arm you throw with for each batter by sticking out a right arm to be right handed, or the left arm to be left handed. Then the catcher will prompt you with information such as, Joe doesn't like fast throwing left handers. From that information, you try to mimic the instructions in order to best the batter. Multiple problems came into play with this due to the fact that sometimes when you would stick out your arm to determine which arm you were going to throw with and it would detect that as a throwing motion and the game would then make a pitch. Also, the detection of arm angle and speed seemed to be very erratic as I could never get the game to detect the same pitch consistently even if I used the exact same motion.
Before you say something about whether or not there might have been an issue with my Kinect that was causing all of the erratic movements, I spent time with the tuning application in between a few of the games and found that the system was detecting my body frame and, for lack of a better term, skeletal grid without any issues. I was in a room that was lit from overhead without any back lighting behind me that could have skewed the camera.
Every minute that I played the game became a minute that I was more and more frustrated with the controls.
The only really redeeming aspect of the game was how well the voice controls seemed to work. There were a few issues now and again, but for the most part, if you saw it on the screen, you could do it. Although if you have all these voice controls, it would be nice to be able to say "Xbox: Go to Dashboard" to exit a game.
If you have young kids, they may enjoy this take on some of our favorite sports games, but my advice for adults would be to stay away from this title.
Wednesday notes
- If you listened to last weeks podcast, you'd know that Dan and I were trying to convince Craig to pick up Batman: Arkham Asylum. I can say without reservation that he should pick up Arkham City as well. Damn, this game is fun. While some of the Advanced Augmented Reality training segments are pissing me off a great deal, it's still a terrific game.
If you like games where you are Batman....
- What was funny about picking up Arkham City was the experience in doing a pre-order at Best Buy. I walked in, picked up a copy of the game, walked to a register and tried to buy it. Denied. "You have to go to customer service to pick up a pre-order."
Wait in line at customer service, denied. "You have to go back to the game department to pick that up." Oh, and he took the game away from me at that point too.
Walk back to the game department and wait in line. When I get to the front of the line, he takes my receipt and says, "Oh, you pre-ordered this yesterday.... this isn't going to be easy." He spends 5 minutes looking for "my" copy of the game, then gives up and goes and picks one up off the shelf and rings me up.
All in all, the process took about 15 minutes... when I could have just picked up a brand new copy off of the shelf, walked to the register and left with the game in 2 minutes.
Remind me to not pre-order a game from them again...
- One of the things that I love about having Dan in a fantasy league is that he'll always find something to complain about. Only Dan could complain about the scoring system, when it would actually have helped him win a game. Now if he wants to complain that 300 yards passing should get you more points, I'd probably be on board with that. But the QB touchdown points? C'mon Dan. In week 4, you lost by .20 and started a QB that got you 2.22 points. This last week, you started a running back that didn't even play. Not saying that there are many options out there... but when you start someone who didn't play... I can't take responsibility for that.
- Not too surprising to see Carson Palmer traded to the Raiders. Just surprised to see that they gave up 2 -1st round picks to get him. Now it just remains to be seen if Dan will complain about who gets him in the fantasy league.
- Lastly, OOTP v 12 has dropped to $19.99 for the World Series. If you've been waiting to pick it up, this is as good of a price as you'll probably see for a while.
Monday notes
- Moving on to the Michigan State/Wisconsin game on Saturday, I hadn't seen this until this morning.
For the link impared, William Gholston for Michigan State jumped on a pile late against Michigan and wrenched Denard Robinson's head around, then punched another player in the head later. Both events caught on camera. Not really sure how he managed to not be ejected from the game, but it will be interesting to see how the Big Ten handles something like this.
In the past when players have been caught doing stuff like this, the team usually suspended them (like in the case of when OSU's Robert Reynolds choked Jim Sorgi of Wisconsin in 2003.) Hopefully Mark Dantonio does the right thing and suspends him before the Big Ten has to get involved.
This is a huge game for both teams, and is the first big road test for the UW as they try to prove that they are one of the top teams in the country.
Should be a fun one on Saturday night.
- I've decided against picking up the NHL Gamecenter package. While it would be awesome to see the Islanders, especially when they're playing as well as they have to start the year, spending $160 to do so just seems like too much at the moment. Also, my wife said that it would be my Christmas present if I bought the package... and I guess I want to hold off for something better than that.
I can always catch the highlights later, I guess.
- Yesterday, I started to play Madden again after listening to Dan and Craig talk about it on the latest podcast and found that I was enjoying the game, with the major exception being the fact that I still get so tired of seeing linebackers jump up and knock so many passes out of the air.
I really tried to get out of the mindset of trying to run slant routes, but what I found is that running an offense, like the Packers do, is nearly impossible in the game play.
We'll see if things change all that much with the upcoming patch for the game. Usually things don't get tweaked too much, but we might be surprised.
- There is a demo out on the Xbox marketplace for Kinect Sports Season 2. I haven't seen which sports are included in the demo, but for those of you out there with a Kinect, give it a go.
- I think I've finally caved and have decided to purchase Batman: Arkham City tomorrow. I have a $10 reward cert and $35 gift card to spend at Best Buy, so being able to pick up the sequel to a game that I absolutely loved (Arkham Asylum) seems like a win/win for me.
- Fairway Collector's Edition is still the game that is absorbing the majority of my gaming time right now though. Simple, yet incredibly addictive gameplay with a sports feel. Just a terrific game.
- Oh, and I am partial to Nelson Cruz of the Rangers due to the fact that he came up through the Brewers system, but my dislike for the Cardinals and Tony La Russa wins out as the main reason to pull for Texas this year. As every sports fan should know, you never cheer for a team in your division to win the championship, other than your own. (And that's my last baseball post for this season. I'm sure that will make everyone happy. heh.)
Sunday night notes
- Idiotic comments from CardinalsFan aside, it was a fun year and this team, when they make the decision to improve defensively, should be pretty good again next year.
Having said all that, Go Rangers!
Not that I'll be watching. I'm baseballed out.
- At least the Packers and Badgers are still undefeated. Next Saturday's game against Michigan State should be a terrific one. Can't wait to see the Badgers play a good team on the road.
- Have a good week.
Riding the Pines – Episode 74
Well, we got the whole band together tonight.
Dan, Craig, and Glen get together to discuss all of the recent sports games.
Dan rants about the scoring system in Fantasy Football
Craig rants about Glen not buying NHL 12 after he did
Glen rants about the Brewers.
Another classic episode.
Here are the links to grab the episode
Enjoy!
Couldn’t have been said better than this…
A tweet that I saw during the game.
Tonight's Brewers game is brought to you by the letter 'E.'
4 f'n errors? Are you kidding me.
Thank goodness I'm playing hockey on Sunday, so I won't have to watch Marcum pitch.
Friday notes
- As I said last night, I wouldn't have expected a start like that out of Randy Wolf, so that was pretty amazing.
Watching him throw his breaking stuff in the 7th inning was a thing of beauty. He had the hitters completely on their heels at that point and then K-Rod and Axford were able to come in and slam the door.
It goes without saying that this has to be the biggest start of Zach Greinke's career. There is a huge difference between coming home with a 3-2 lead and coming home down 2 games to 3.
The main difference this time around is that I can't, in any way, see them pitching to Pujols again. The hitters behind him haven't really hurt the Brewers in the last few days, so I think they'll continue that strategy until it actually does burn them.
That's the one advantage that the Brewers have with Braun hitting as well as he is right now. They can't really pitch around him to face Prince, because if they do that... they'd probably want to pitch around Prince as well to get to Weeks.
It's an entertaining chess match to be certain.
- We're hoping to record a p0dcast tonight, so that's something you can all look forward to.
- I picked up a few games last night, Forza Motorsport 3: Ultimate Edition and Prince of Persia collection for the PS3.
I had some credit at Gamestop, so I was able to get the Forza collection for $20, which is a pretty good deal considering all of the DLC that it includes.
The Prince of Persia collection dropped to $20 at Toys R Us and that was the price point that I've been waiting for to buy it, since I never played any of the originals on the Xbox or PS2.
- Pretty close to picking up a wheel stand to go along with my Logitech and Microsoft wheels. Here's the page for the one that I'm looking at. Hopefully it'll work out well. As I said earlier in the week, the DIY wheel setups look awesome, but I'd like something where it will be easy to swap out either of the wheels without much of a hassle. This one really looks like it could do just that.
- Have a great weekend.
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