Month: June 2012

E3 Updates – Is It Going To Be A Noob Friendly Year In Gaming?

Throughout the next few days we will be bringing you the latest information from E3.  There are many details expected by the gaming community and some rumors that might be validated or debunked.

Some of the rumors we hope to validate are –

Will they announce another name change?… This is turning into a gaming version of the Artist Formerly Known as Prince

Metal Gear Solid: Revengeance/Rising – A game that had many people talking about the joy of running around with a cyborg version of Raiden has the opportunity to get people excited again… until they finally cancel the project and make the gaming world cry.  Metal Gear games are notorious for being tough to learn but usually worth the time it takes to master them.  The problem is that it is now veering away from the storyline of Solid Snake and towards the character ‘Raiden’… he is highly preferred in Japan, but most American fans hated him in MGS2: Sons of Liberty.

When Medal of Honor came out a few years ago it was met with excitement and then disappointment after people found it was a half-cocked game with little value outside of camping small maps. Warfighter hopes to surprise a skeptical public.

Medal of Honor: Warfighter – Is most likely going to focus on the multiplayer aspect but they are doing this with the last development crew they used (Danger Close) rather than Battlefield’s DICE team.  Chances are good that this game will either gain a little bit of fanfare or completely flop at E3.  Don’t expect this game to be the big news, but the outcome of EA having another failed attempt at taking down Call of Duty might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for EA having anything worth bragging about for this generation of consoles.  Sales talk in the gaming industry and EA hasn’t been able to talk for a long time.

Half-Life 3 is one of the games that might just sneak up and become the most talked about game of E3. Stay tuned.

Half-Life 3 – In terms of games that have had an amazing quality and storyline, Half-Life is a series that continues to amaze everyone that jumps into the foray.  Chances are good that this will once again be the best FPS out there but it will probably lose out in some circles because of the Call of Duty crowd.

Which games are you looking forward to seeing come out of E3?  Chances are good that some games (Warfighter) will flop hard while some other games (Half-Life 3) will make people want to go out and pre-order immediately.  Then you will have the previews for games like Metal Gear Solid: Revengeance that will make you want to hide in a cardboard box and wait for a game that will never be released while having people walk past you thinking “?”.

 

Camping Is Killing MW3

Modern Warfare 3 is suffering right now.  It is suffering under the weight of cowards and ‘try-hards’ that have one mission… Ruin FPS Multiplayer games for everyone.

The Downfall of FPS Gaming = Camping

You might know this practice better as Camping or Spawn Camping.  The problem that is starting to truly reach epic proportions can be noticed on almost any match of MW3 in Team Deathmatch or/especially Domination.

When a casual gamer or even a dedicated gamer wants to blow off some steam and shoot away for a few minutes that sense of relaxation can turn into a pulse pounding version of digital road rage.  It would be one thing if people were getting beat because of a great strategy, but the fact that MW3 and many other FPS titles have broken spawning and broken, socially maladjusted, pathetic neophytes at the controls it can make someone ask why they are playing the game in the first place.

We have spent a lot of time talking about gaming being a hobby and past-time that should be focused on relaxation and recreation.  Unfortunately, this is being taken away almost daily as gamers decide to consciously ruin the games they claim to enjoy for nothing more than selfish (useless) reasons.

If you think camping will help you ‘go pro’ because you will have a high kdr I am not sorry to say that you will be sorely mistaken when you go to play the people that have true skill and reflexes.

Dear Campers,

Please stop ruining the games you claim to love.

Love,

The People Moving On To RPGs

Madden 13 Franchise Mode Details Coming Soon

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT UPDATES ON CONNECTED CAREERS!!!

 

As of next week (June 4) there is going to be a new blog released from EA Tiburon that is going to focus on ‘Connected Careers’.  The most important part of this for Madden fans is the hope for details about Madden’s Franchise Mode and what improvements or additions have been made.

It would be simple (in theory) to just add player morale to the player traits section. It shouldn’t be an editable value, but making it a dynamic value that fluctuates is a must for Franchise Mode immersion and longevity.

Madden 12 saw a jump in quality for Franchise Mode, but there were still many bugs and glitchy occurrences that cast an ugly shadow on some of the details that really can’t be overlooked.  Some examples include –

  • Making it to the Super Bowl with a team like the Browns more than once but having the same banner showing that it is their first trip.
  • Being able to sign Free Agents for much cheaper by going to the “Free Agent” section rather than “Player Management” (where you have to pay players a more realistic salary instead of cheating them with a 1-year $620 deal for a guy that would/should demand more.
  • Schedules generated year-to-year are random and can end up giving you 6 straight home games and all your division games in the first ten weeks. (The NFL is making a constant effort to schedule division opponents at the end of every season to make late season games matter, this should be done in Madden as well)
  • Draft logic and trade logic is still busted as we covered before.
  • The lack of a decent system of Player Value that should mean you have to pay a player based on his performance rather than just his OVR.  If you have a QB that breaks every record (regardless of your sliders, his OVR or anything else) he should have a high value that essentially equates to you having to pay more to keep him around.  The current system of OVR plays too much of a role and takes much of the focus away from the Skill Ratings which should be the first thing you look for.
  • Another missing component that has been in NBA 2k and even PS2 Madden titles is morale and attitude for players.  This is something that MUST be in Madden in order for Franchise Mode to really hold any water past what it can hold currently.  Franchise Mode needs more personality and that should start and end with the personality of every owner, GM, Coach and Player in the game.
  • If you draft a QB in the first round like the Browns did with Old Man Weeden and you have Colt McCoy being relegated to back-up his morale should take a major hit.
  • Trade Demands and Holdouts – Take a look at the current situation with Drew Brees and tell us that this shouldn’t be in the game.

These are just some of the changes that must occur in Madden 13 for Franchise Mode.

A Brief Segway/Comment on The Drew Brees Situation

This holdout (which involves Brees and the Saints disagreeing on a contract extension because of a few million bucks) must end soon if the Saints hope to save any face in the months following Bountygate.  Brees led this team to their only Super Bowl Championship and now is being jerked around like he was simply a role-player.  Without Brees the Saints would be like the 2011 Colts without Peyton Manning (or worse).  Already, they are without their Head Coach and other major personnel.  The worst part really involves the current interaction between interim-Head Coach, Joe Vitt and Brees.

This isn’t Vitt’s team.  This is something that must be made abundantly clear between the players (especially Brees) and the ownership.  Payton is serving a one-year suspension which really makes Vitt look like the guy that comes into a broken home and tries to lay down the law.  The response from the players (his children) will most likely result in some sort of “Your Not My (Real) Dad!!!” interaction.

To make it short, the situation with the Saints this year could result in a Top-10 Draft Pick next year that will take over for a spiteful (rightfully so) Drew Brees.

This once again begs the question – Where is the personality in Madden’s Franchise Mode?  Hopefully we find out on Tuesday.