Mashing buttons since 1984
GameSpy.com – Gaming’s Homepage – It’s been said a lot here and there, but September is looking crazy for gaming! Along with Fable (a game I’ve been looking forward to for a long time, the reason why I bought an Xbox) there’s also Tiger Woods 2005, Burnout 3, Evil Genius (a PC game on the list!?), and of course a new Pokemon.
Craziness. Looks like I’ll be exercising my right to rent games.
I took a week off last week from the internet and blogging (but not from video games!) while we vacationed with my wife’s family in Utah. A good time was had by all. Luckily my brother-in-law is a big NCAA 200* fan, so we played two seasons of my team on the big screen projector. Many good plays, celebrations and awards were won.
Now that I’m back I am super stoked about Fable coming out this week. I can already see myself punting chickens in my underwear, farting all the while! Can things get better?
I read about this a couple days ago, but I don’t think a Willy Wonka video game could be that good. There have been some great movie-based video games (Goonies on the NES being my favorite) but The Chocolate factory doesn’t seem to be one.
But I would like to see what a Vermicious Knid looks like.
Since I don’t have Madden 2005 and I haven’t played it yet, I thought I’d compare my experience with the two football games I do have. I know I’m not technically comparing apples to apples, but it’s close enough. It’s Fuji Apples vs. Granny Smiths. Or something like that.
Control and feel are both still solid. I am still getting the hang of ESPN’s controls but NCAA’s are second nature to me. The feel is pretty wierd to get used to. NCAA seems more responsive, ESPN is loose and touchy. Passing in ESPN is an exercise in frustration at times.
Environment or atmosphere is definitely NCAA’s domain. It really does capture the feel of a college football game. ESPN looks prettier (NCAA’s crowds look like burn victims) but I like NCAA’s overall atmosphere.
I haven’t delved into ESPN’s franchise mode yet but I think NCAA will edge it out. Dynasty mode, with its awesome recruiting aspect, will be nearly impossible to beat.
There’s more to it than just this, but that’s my five minute take on it. I’m sure I’ll revisit this topic some more in the future.
I still haven’t won a game yet with my Brownies. The Lions and Seahawks have both beat me by a field goal.
I didn’t play any games this weekend, including the ritual FF:TA battle before bed. It was actually kind of nice, we were actually outdoors, camping and picnicking and what not. I didn’t miss the games as much as I thought I would. It has been a nice break.
Now that the work week is upon us I hopefully will get a game of NCAA 2005 in and finally give ESPN NFL 2K5 a whirl. Should be fun.
Over at PlanetGamecube.com they’ve got a list of up coming games this fall/winter for both the Gamecube and the GBA. I’m looking forward to (in no particular order): Paper Mario 2, Metroid Prime 2, Viewtiful Joe 2, and Mario Tennis. I’ll probably pick up NFSU 2 for the Xbox.
They’ve also got news concerning the new “controller” for Mario Party 6: a microphone. This could be good or this could be lame. I don’t do karaoke but I can scream with the best of them. Maybe some voice recognition to see who could imitate Mario saying “Itsa me, Mario!”
Well, in a moment of weakness I picked up ESPN NFL 2K5 at Sam’s Club. I couldn’t pass up the $16.84 price tag, so I grabbed it. I promised myself I wouldn’t purchase another game until Fable, but I’ve been so bad lately. I’m going to try and finish Deus Ex and, along with Goblin Commander, trade in for Fable.
I also signed up for Google AdSense. Why not? I get a TON of visitors to the site, so it should subsidize my gaming spending. Hahah, yeah right. Okay, so I’m only averaging a couple hits a day, but those will increase once people realize how right I am about things. Then those ads will pay off! Just wait!
EA lets us know that Fable has gone gold, less than a month away. Man, this fall-winter is shaping up to be a great video game season.
There was a link to a story on games.slashdot.org to this article about having too many games to play. A problem I’m sure we’d all like to have, but this post came at a time I was thinking the exact same thing.
I’ve picked up 6-7 games at rock-bottom prices (I think I’ve spent 60 bucks total) and I’ve still got other games I haven’t had a chance to play yet. I would say I’ve got ten good games in the ‘queue’ waiting for me to play. And I was thinking “Man, I’ve got to beat Goblin Commander before I start something else.” It felt like it was almost a chore. That’s not right. This is my hobby, not a job or responsibility. I felt obligated to play because it’s sitting right there in front of me.
So I decided to give Goblin Commander another go tonight, and I was not enjoying it at all. RTS games belong on a PC, even though Jaleco did a decent job with Goblin Commander. So I decided instead of feeling obligating to completing the game, I’ll just use it as trade fodder. I could probably get 5-10 bucks for it (about what I paid for it) and pick up something I want to play, like ESPN NFL 2k5. It’s out of my system. I don’t feel like I have to complete it.
So liberating! What a breakthrough I’ve had. But I still will finish Viewtiful Joe if it’s the last thing I do.
cube.ign.com has some snazzy hi-res screenshots of Mario Tennis. Looking very nice.