NBA Live 10 Preview

EA Sports’ NBA franchise has certainly seen its share of ups and downs, as fans of the series can attest. The developers knew that the game was simply not what it could be and entered development of the 10^th edition with a renewed focus and direction. The result? A completely revamped title that targeted the goals of being ‘relevant, fun and true to the game.’

The game has been reworked from the ground up, with the game’s dynamic DNA driving not only the presentation but the storylines.

The title was shown off during an EA “Playing with the Pros” event in the Burnaby complex near Vancouver in Canada in mid-July and if first impression matter, then EA has most certainly made all the right moves to give the franchise a fresh look and feel.

It begins with a massive effort on the five-on-five gameplay and moves straight on through to the video-on-demand elements with the ESPN feed as well as a new and fresh commentary by Marv Albert and Steve Kerr. The user interface is more culturally relevant (to the NBA environment) and a bit edgier and every arena is authentic to some degree. In regards to the latter, the dev team has taken great efforts to mimic the atmosphere within the arenas – if an arena is bright and showy, that will be part of the game, whereas if the environment is a bit darker, you can expect to see that as well.

The game will include a “couple of hundred signature sound effects” and more than a “couple of hundred new animations during stoppage in play.”

In addition to the upgrades to the arenas, there have been improvements to the player models with new player lighting and shadows.

There are “new levels of detail,” it was stated during the presentation, bringing “pretty much a brand new look.”

The control scheme has been addressed as well and the game sports improved controls, and the AI is much better this year. There is a simplified control scheme for new users but the control elements are layered – meaning that hardcore NBA Live fans will be able to play the game the way they want to and still find it challenging. Some of the changes include moving all the shots to one button … however, body position will determine the type of shot that goes up.

“Live 10 is the epitome of control you can have over the game,” the rep team stated.

As mentioned, player movement has been addressed, not only on the ball-handler, but off-ball movement as well. More than 150 new moves have been implemented, and the team put a lot of effort into making the ballhandler look right with contextual movement. The new levels of player motion are dependent on real-world tendencies.

While the presentation was short and very directed to the heart of the gameplay, there is little doubt that NBA Live 10 is shaping up to be a whole new beast, but one that should delight players.

FIFA Soccer 10 Preview

Publisher: EA SPORTS™

Developer: EA Canada

Category: Sports

Release Dates

N Amer - 10/20/2009

Intl - 10/02/2009

Official Game Website

Also available on:

• 360
• NDS
• PS2
• PS3
• PSP

FIFA 10 on the Wii may not be a whole new beast, but it’s almost close to it.



The game, showed off during a Playing with the Pros event at the EA complex in Vancouver, B.C., Canada on Monday, has made substantial improvements to the gameplay core elements and that should translate into a much smoother and more enjoyable experience.



At one time, the Wii iteration of EA Sports touted FIFA franchise boasted 8-player teams, but with FIFA 10, it’s back to full-sided 11-versus-11 games. And that is just the beginning of the changes.



An EA representative stated that the feedback from the community indicated that players “wanted to see great shots, see more accurate shots and see great saves.” Well, the development team took all that to heart in revamping the mechanics of the game. Player movement was addressed, not only with the ball handlers, but the players off the ball as well. The truly hot shots on net are given a slow-motion effect, done by shaking the Wii remote, and if playing on the opposite side, while the shots are laser beams, they are not unstoppable, but the timing on the defensive side (again, shaking the Wii-mote) has to be tight to pull off the stop.



And to that end, the control reaction time has been tightened up so that when players trigger an action on the Wii-mote or the nunchuck, they will see the action immediately realized in the game. There will also be more rebounding opportunities for attackers, so the cardinal rule of following the shot is applicable with FIFA 10.



The game also sports a new visual style, which borders on a more arcade-like look. And the crowds get much more into the game, reacting to action much more.

During a hands-on time, the game played well and the controls were easy to understand and use. Passing felt reasonably tight and the shooting mechanic worked well. The flow of the game seemed to move at a consistent level and the sound was solid as well.

Another area where improvements have been made is in the multiplayer. The online experience has received attention and two-versus-two gameplay has been added to the mix. And that means that two people on one console can play online against two people on another console. That should make for some robust gaming sessions and first-rate online games.



All in all, the Wii version of FIFA 10 is shaping up nicely and should have Wii users ready to strap on the cyber cleats and center the ball when the game releases in mid-October.

NCAA Football 10 Review

Many sports fans eagerly anticipate the release of NCAA Football each year rather than Madden. That's because the fast-paced, loose style of college football can often be riskier and more rewarding than its NFL counterpart. While I have often found the NCAA Football series more enjoyable than Madden, I've yet to be truly wowed by EA's efforts for the current generation of consoles. In the past few years, NCAA Football hasn't been able to stand toe-to-toe with Madden. This year brings a solid offering with NCAA Football 10, but I'm still not blown away. Though it may be good, NCAA Football 10 isn't the ultimate gridiron game.



For me, gameplay is the most crucial part of any sports game. A good chunk of what's changed this year is the fact that everything's more accessible (a good thing) and in many ways a lot easier. One of the best additions, the setup play, also makes it more likely you'll win. Or at least improves your ability to easily strategize your play calling. Setup plays are nothing new to football games. You run a bunch, get the corners and linebackers to creep in, then call play action and burn their asses. The new setup play function in NCAA Football 10 makes it all transparent. You'll see from the play select menu which plays are linked (so you know which running play is executed to look identical to which play action passes). And as you successfully perform a play, a percentage appears on its linked counterparts. This is how "setup" the defense has become due to your previous plays. It's the likelihood they'll bite on play action (or think a draw play is going to be a pass, etc). It's a nice little feature many might ignore, but it's this kind of transparency that helps make play calling more entertaining.



One thing I wonder, though, is why there isn't a setup play for defense. As defenses surely try to confuse quarterbacks so they can't tell when the linebackers will blitz or if they're using man or zone coverage. Perhaps that's coming next year.



There are some other improvements to the gameplay. In particular, there's a whole new set of animations, which help give a better feel to the game. There's more gridiron realism this time around, even if the overall visuals haven't changed much since last year. A lot of the gameplay changes are subtle -- the AI adapts to your play style, pursuit angles are better, you can actually see the pocket now. It's certainly a more refined game than NCAA Football 09 and one of EA's better football offerings on this generation of consoles. At this point you're probably looking at the score for this year and last year and scratching your head. Well, keep in mind that it's two different reviewers and I didn't hold last year's NCAA Football in such high regard.



Unfortunately, something that hasn't changed is the presence of a few bugs. I've seen middle linebackers stuck jittering back and forth like epileptics, for example. When I had the game randomize names for every player, I ended up with a cornerback named 1090 (his parents' fave radio station?) and a tackle named XXXXX. I should mention that my entire NCAA Football 10 experience was on a retail version of the game, so barring a title update at launch, these types of issues still exist. Game bugs are like Russian Roulette. I may have been the unlucky sap to pull the trigger when the chamber was loaded. You might be luckier.



There is one other major gameplay change this year, which can't be ignored. This year, EA has included a "win" button on defense. Hold it down and your defender takes proper position (even sticks to his receiver like peanut butter to a bear's ass). And if the man he's covering blocks instead of running a route, the win button knows to attack the running back. Another option is Family Play, which simplifies offense and defense removing the complicated buttons and boiling it all down to as single button to do just about everything. Yes, this happens to also be the win button from defense. If you still can't win (which I feel should be virtually impossible at this point), there are plenty of micro-transactions for all facets of the game that can quickly give you the edge needed to destroy your computer opponent.

The Bigs 2

2K Sports hasn't had much critical success with its MLB 2K series since picking up the exclusive third-party rights for baseball. But the one bright spot was The Bigs. Good news for America's Pastime -- The Bigs is back. Included in the recently released MLB 2K9 is the announcement trailer for The Bigs 2.

The trailer showcases The Bigs' over-the-top presentation and reveals that some of the game's greatest players are going to be stepping up to the plate this summer. Ozzie Smith, Wade Boggs, Roberto Clemente, and Reggie Jackson are among the Hall of Famers revealed in the trailer.

No platforms are mentioned, but the trailer's visual quality suggests that at least PS3 and Xbox 360 are included. It's unknown if a Wii version is also in the works.

The Bigs 2 Features

Platform: Xbox 360

• Season mode featuring full MLB schedules, stat tracking and roster management, as well as the ability to play as part of the team and general manager.
• Epic arcade action featuring larger-than-life gameplay, stadiums and player models provide a truly heroic baseball experience.
• The ability to train your players in action-oriented mini-games triggered by advanced legendary moves.
• Pitcher/batter duel in the Batter¿s Wheelhouse, where hitters are strongest, but sneaking a pitch past the hitter will shrink the wheelhouse for the rest of the game.
• Earn power-ups trigger special effects, like a massive windstorm to prevent sluggers from belting a big home run.

The Bigs 2 Preview

2K Sports scored a hit with its 2007 arcade baseball title, The Bigs, and after two years of lackluster baseball sims, they’re trying to recapture past glory with a sequel, The Bigs 2. I got my hands on the game at E3, and last week, I listened in on a conference call with Producer Rob Nelson and Associate Producer Damon Purdue, both of whom gave details on the game.

So what can you expect to see in The Bigs 2 when it hits stores tomorrow? Follow me to the jump to find out.

The Bigs 2 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 2)
Developer: Blue Castle Games
Publisher: 2K Sports
To be released: July 7, 2009

As you might expect, The Bigs 2 is an over-the-top sports game; as Nelson told it, “playing the game is like watching a highlight reel of baseball.” But he also noted that developer Blue Castle Games was “not out to break baseball” -- perhaps a subtle jab at Midway’s last-gen MLB SlugFest series, where infielders could literally punch baserunners. The challenge with this kind of game, Nelson explained, is to provide a fun, easy-to-grasp, pick-up-and-play experience ... without going too far into the arcade realm. So for more dedicated veteran sports gamers, there’s actually a level of baseball strategy to The Bigs 2 -- but the game doesn’t require less-skilled gamers to know the ins and outs of the sport.

Since the original Bigs provided such a solid foundation, they didn’t want to change the controls too much; the goals with the sequel were to improve on the original by tweaking things that hadn’t been done right and adding new features. The three major additions to the franchise are: a full 162-game season mode, which gamers had been clamoring for; the Legendary catch system on defense; and the Wheelhouse mechanic. And the gameplay has been improved as well -- for example, you have to make many more choices about when to use turbo.

Each hitter has a part of the strike zone that glows orange -- their “Wheelhouse,” an area where they have an increased chance of getting a hit, and where their hits will be harder. Better hitters have larger Wheelhouses. As a pitcher, there’s a classic risk/reward situation with the Wheelhouse: you’re taking a chance by throwing into it, but if you’re able to get the pitch past the hitter, his Wheelhouse will shrink for the rest of the game.

On defense, players who you might consistently see on the “Web Gems” segment on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight will be able to make “Legendary” catches. This entails things like leaping ten feet into the air to snag a line drive or snaring a would-be home run from high above the wall. Legendary catches are controlled by context-sensitive mini-games (in other words, quick-time events that will require you to press a certain button at the right time). For example, a circle that shows where a fly ball is going to land will flash green when you’re supposed to dive for the ball.

The Bigs 2 also features a varied power-up system. Again, it’s baseball’s upper-echelon players who feature special characteristics. A-Rod has the “all home runs are no-doubters” power-up (in other words, his homers can’t be caught, even by outfielders with a Legendary catch rating), while Derek Jeter -- Captain Clutch himself -- gets a boost to his attributes when the Yankees are behind. Red Sox DH David Ortiz also has no-doubter home runs, but after seeing how anemic his hitting has been this season, maybe that’ll be changed in a later roster update (PS3/360 only).

Blue Castle has also changed up the franchise’s unique career mode, Become A Legend. In the first Bigs, you simply created a player and attempted to lead your team to World Series glory. This time around, things have taken a turn for the worse: your player has suffered a career-threatening injury, and after rehab, you start off in a Mexican league to build up your reputation from scratch and work your way back up to the majors. On the way, you’ll play in Japan as well, though Nelson and Purdue were quick to point out that the game doesn’t have any affiliation with real Mexican or Japanese baseball leagues. The game actually offers a full career this time, instead of just one year.

In the career mode, your player starts off with a one-star rating for each attribute (out of a possible six; the first Bigs only had five rating stars), and he improves as you go along. The create-a-player interface is more robust, with new swing animations and options for home run celebrations and walkup music. The end goal here is to make it into the Hall of Fame; you collect votes as you go along by performing well. Sadly, you’re limited to only creating hitters once again -- maybe pitchers will be available in The Bigs 3. New to The Bigs 2 are mini-games: power, contact, glove, and speed. They’re intended as fun diversions: the speed mini-game, for example, has you racing along rooftops outside of Chicago’s Wrigley Field.

The all-new season mode wasn’t designed to be as deep an experience as what you’d find in a baseball sim -- you’re not going to be managing players’ salaries or anything like that, and there aren’t any injuries -- but you’ll be able to take a team through a full 162-game season with trades and an All-Star Game. Damon Bruce returns as the game’s commentator, and he’s just as great as he was last time, though it isn’t clear if new audio was recorded for the sequel.

Purdue and Nelson also touched on online play. The Bigs 2 offers an exciting new feature: 2-on-2 online co-op, which is something that the developers of the first game wanted to implement but couldn’t get done in time. The graphics have been altered, as well -- players’ body sizes were decreased slightly to look less outlandish. With all these enhancements to the gameplay from the original, as well as the new features, The Bigs 2 is looking like a solid follow-up. Check out the game tomorrow!

Left4Dead

Left 4 Dead is a co-operative, survival horror, first-person shooter video game. It was developed by Turtle Rock Studios, which was purchased by the Valve Corporation part-way into development. The game uses the Source engine, and is available for Windows and the Xbox 360. The game pits four Survivors of an apocalyptic pandemic against hordes of aggressive zombies. There are two game modes: a four-player, co-op Campaign mode, and an eight-player Versus mode. In both modes, an AI, dubbed "The Director", controls level pacing and item spawns, in an attempt to create a dynamic experience and increase replay value. The game went gold on November 13, 2008, and was released on November 18, 2008 in the United States; and on November 21, 2008, in Europe to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the release of Half-Life. A five-minute trailer was released on Halloween. A playable demo was made available on November 6 for pre-purchasers and on November 11 for the general public, and was closed on November 18, 2008. The demo contained the majority of the first two chapters in the "No Mercy" campaign, and was playable in both single and multi-player co-op. Left 4 Dead was well received with an aggregate score of 88% on Game Rankings and 89% on Metacritic upon its release, with praise given for its replay value, focus on cooperative play, and movie-like experience. As they have done with Team Fortress 2, Valve intends to support the game with downloadable content. Left4Dead in a few words Left 4 Dead is a first-person shooter but makes use of the third-person perspective during certain events or player actions. In Campaign and Single-player mode, the player takes control of one of the Survivors; if four human players are not available, then the remaining Survivors are AI-controlled bots. They play through the levels fighting off the "Infected"—living humans who have been infected with a mutagenic, rabies-like virus to which the Survivors are immune. Survivor characters There are four playable human characters in the game: Francis (voiced by Vince Valenzuela), a tattoo-covered biker; Zoey (voiced by Jen Taylor), a college student and horror movie enthusiast; Louis (voiced by Earl Alexander), a Junior Systems Analyst in his company's IT department; and Bill (voiced by Jim French), a former Green Beret and a Vietnam veteran. Infected characters The "Infected" (voiced by experimental musician, Mike Patton) are the Survivors' foes in Left 4 Dead, and they appear to be partly inspired by the infected from several modern films, including 28 Days Later. An important distinction is that The Infected are not traditional undead zombies, but rather living humans infected with a rabies-like pathogen. AI and the Director The artificial intelligence of Left 4 Dead features a dynamic system for game dramatics, pacing, and difficulty called "The Director." Instead of fixed spawn points for enemies, the Director places enemies and items in varying positions and quantities based upon each player's current situation, status, skill and location, creating a new experience for each play through. The Director also creates mood and tension with emotional cues, such as visual effects, dynamic music, and character communication. Valve has termed this dynamic set-up "procedural narrative."