What are you buying this week? (7/12)

[denoginizer]

I disagree with that. Working sliders helps a lot towards customizing the playing experience, and making the game more or less realistic, or at least playing the way that I want it to be played. It's a tired comparison, but I have to use NFL 2K5 as an example here. I HATED that game when I first got it. The franchise mode was completely broken, and on default settings the games were blowouts. But I found a set of sliders online to make the game more realistic, and all of a sudden I couldn't put the game down. I felt like I was actually controlling a real football game, where four yards was a successful running play, and first downs were things to celebrate.

So you've found a football game that pleases everybody?  I'm all ears.  

According to the lead designer a patch to make the sliders fully functional was submitted to MS/Sony about a week ago and should be available this week. Whether you believe that is up to you.  

I was over at Op Sports today and they have a 5 page thread going about the color of a player's sleeves in cold weather.  When these are the people you are trying to please good luck.

[The Grue]

Alabama is decent this year -- for the past decade we've sucked on the NCAA Football series.

You suck in real life, too.  GEAUX TIGERS!!!!!!!!!

[pingwrx]

FWIW people who got the game early and have had the game for a few days are giving mostly positive reviews of the on-field gameplay.  

I know,  EA SPorts is evil, blah, blah, blah.  So take those reviews with a grain of salt I guess.

That's all well and good, but I tried the demo and just didn't like it at all.

Besides, there is a clear pattern on how people react to the game. When it is first released, it gets almost universal praise (this applies to Madden as well). Then as people play the game more and more, patterns start to appear that are all too obvious. Maybe it's the computer throwing too many interceptions. Maybe the pursuit angles are screwed up. Then after awhile the good things fade away and all that's left are the glaring issues, and in the end people find what exploits work this year, which ones don't, and the games become predictable.

After 2008, I decided enough was enough. They have been making the games for too long for these problems to be still going on. I'm tired of playing a game that feels rushed, new features not working, things that worked last year now broken, all of it. So I'm going to keep my money until I feel like they actually have earned it. I made the same choice with Madden. I haven't purchased a Madden game in years except for the one that launched with the 360, and I wasn't going to until I thought they made significant improvements. From what I've read, this year could be the year I finally get Madden again.

I've never tried one of these games, but a friend of mine reported the same issues in the latest pinball game, Zen Pinball I think its called - He said that after a while, he could predict the patterns the ball would go pretty much every time. I guess its hard to make a good physics engine that ISNT predictable

I would have to disagree with your friend imo the physics are pretty good in Zen Pinball not perfect but pretty good.

[JuniorDan]

Way to many backlog across all systems and no time...This sucks...Nothing for me.

[Bullwinkle]

FWIW people who got the game early and have had the game for a few days are giving mostly positive reviews of the on-field gameplay.  

I know,  EA SPorts is evil, blah, blah, blah.  So take those reviews with a grain of salt I guess.

That's all well and good, but I tried the demo and just didn't like it at all.

Besides, there is a clear pattern on how people react to the game. When it is first released, it gets almost universal praise (this applies to Madden as well). Then as people play the game more and more, patterns start to appear that are all too obvious. Maybe it's the computer throwing too many interceptions. Maybe the pursuit angles are screwed up. Then after awhile the good things fade away and all that's left are the glaring issues, and in the end people find what exploits work this year, which ones don't, and the games become predictable.

After 2008, I decided enough was enough. They have been making the games for too long for these problems to be still going on. I'm tired of playing a game that feels rushed, new features not working, things that worked last year now broken, all of it. So I'm going to keep my money until I feel like they actually have earned it. I made the same choice with Madden. I haven't purchased a Madden game in years except for the one that launched with the 360, and I wasn't going to until I thought they made significant improvements. From what I've read, this year could be the year I finally get Madden again.

I've never tried one of these games, but a friend of mine reported the same issues in the latest pinball game, Zen Pinball I think its called - He said that after a while, he could predict the patterns the ball would go pretty much every time. I guess its hard to make a good physics engine that ISNT predictable

I would have to disagree with your friend imo the physics are prett good in Zen Pinball not perfect but pretty good.

Your friend sounds like a jackass. 

[msteelers]

So you've found a football game that pleases everybody?  I'm all ears. 

When I do, I'll be shouting from the rooftops. 

According to the lead designer a patch to make the sliders fully functional was submitted to MS/Sony about a week ago and should be available this week. Whether you believe that is up to you.

I hope that's true, but I'm still going to wait and see. If that patch comes out and people can verify that it works and can find a good set of sliders, I will definitely consider picking it up again. 

I was over at Op Sports today and they have a 5 page thread going about the color of a player's sleeves in cold weather.  When these are the people you are trying to please good luck.

The thing with them is that no matter how much they bitch they keep buying the game. Besides, everyone knows real football players don't wear sleeves when it gets cold. 

[Chaz]

I need to grab the Monkey Island remake off Steam.  Playing it with a controller on an Xbox just doesn't make sense to me at a molecular level.

I may also grab Ikaruga for 400 points, though I'm still not convinced that 400 points to play the first level (which is all I can usually manage) is worth it.

[metallicorphan]

I need to grab the Monkey Island remake off Steam.  Playing it with a controller on an Xbox just doesn't make sense to me at a molecular level.

well Sam and Max wasn't too bad,i do know what you mean though,and Monkey Island controls are meant to of been streamlined for the 360.....maybe try the demo,see if you can get used to the controls?

i am thinking that Monkey Island will be my last game i buy until Batman:AA at the end of next month

[Chaz]

I have no desire to get used to the controls on the 360, since the Steam version will give me the point and click controls that God intended. 

[Bullwinkle]

I need to grab the Monkey Island remake off Steam.  Playing it with a controller on an Xbox just doesn't make sense to me at a molecular level.

I may also grab Ikaruga for 400 points, though I'm still not convinced that 400 points to play the first level (which is all I can usually manage) is worth it.

Chaz, they have all kinds of "Hey, I suck" options which will let you actually get through Ikaruga (of course, you don't get to post your score, but that's not a big deal for me).  I had played the 'cube version and felt the same way.  For $5, though, this is beyond worth it.

[mytocles]

I need to grab the Monkey Island remake off Steam.  Playing it with a controller on an Xbox just doesn't make sense to me at a molecular level.

I may also grab Ikaruga for 400 points, though I'm still not convinced that 400 points to play the first level (which is all I can usually manage) is worth it.

Chaz, they have all kinds of "Hey, I suck" options which will let you actually get through Ikaruga (of course, you don't get to post your score, but that's not a big deal for me).  I had played the 'cube version and felt the same way.  For $5, though, this is beyond worth it.

I was very interested in Ikaruga when it came out for the 'Cube - but after researching it, I knew I'd be in the "Hey, I suck" camp, so I got it for a nephew who could actually play it.  When I saw it as Deal of the Week though, I had flashbacks.   

I doubt I'd get past level one either - even with the options.  Some games and some gamers were never meant to meet! Thank goodness for that pile of unplayed games on the den shelves.  I have a wide  variety of games on those shelves, in which to torture myself, without needing to add Ikaruga to the Frustration List, lmao.