Archive for video games

NBA 2K15 launched today, and with it came a bunch of new features and tweaks. The 2K series hasn’t been without its flaws, but it has a long track record of being a very popular and polished game in the sports space for quite some time. I personally think it peaked with 2K13, but I haven’t spent much time with the latest iteration yet. Beyond the updated rosters and souped-up graphics, 2K Studios added a new feature to the already-excellent MyCareer subset of the game. MyCareer, as the name suggests, allows the gamer to create their own NBA player and simulate a career with said character. In the past, MyCareer basically ensured your player would get drafted. No longer. 2K15 makes you work for it, hustling for 10-day contracts as you try and make your way through the lowest ranks of the NBA. The game also added the option of uploading your own face to your player to give the process a bit of hyperrealism. Anyone who has the camera accessory for the Xbox One or PS4 can perform a facial scan and graft that scan onto a virtual body. It’s a pretty cool idea, but early trials have been a bit hit-and-miss.

Fans who picked up the game today have been uploading their attempts at facial scanning to Twitter, and the results have been fairly horrifying. I don’t mean that in an “if my ex saw me on the street dressed like this, I’d be horrified” type of way. I mean it in a full-on nightmare fuel, call-your-doctor-for-a-refill-of-Xanax kind of way. While some attempts turned out down-right goofy, others looked like they came straight from the set of The Walking Dead. 

This is the problem inherent in releasing a new version of a sports video game every year. Games are expensive, and developers are constantly looking for ways to differentiate between versions so as to not seem like just a roster update. They succeed in many ways. The defensive upgrades in this year’s version of the Madden franchise is just one recent standout (NHL15 failed pretty hard in their release, but that’s a different story). As it happens, even the process of facial scanning can be frustrating. A viewing of Owen S. Good’s attempts for Polygon is a short introduction to a man descending into madness.

NBA 2K15 has already sent along some steps for getting successful scans, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some patches coming in the not-so-distant future. In the meantime, enjoy dominating the NBA as a soulless member of the army of undead. If your character manages to overtake LeBron and snack on his tasty brains, feel free to link a video in the comments.

While there are some mobile options to be found out there, when it comes to console gaming, there are only a couple series that allows players the full soccer experience. FIFA 15, this year’s iteration of the long running soccer game, has not only undergone a facelift via improvements to the graphics, but also added new leagues, clubs, moves, celebrations and probably most importantly, possession dribbling has been tightened up, as have goalkeepers.

New ball handling and possession additions have brought more goals and more excitement to the game, however it has made 1v1 defending all but impossible. The control and agility moves, such as new cutting and sharper stopping, has wreaked havoc on my old way of defending the ball more than marking the man. Developers at EA have countered this somewhat by adding the new defending feature called “shoulder barge.” It’s pretty straight forward way of defending the attacking player while he is dribbling. You can use a defender to nudge him off of the ball to gain possession and stop the opponent’s attack. Use it too much and you’ll get called for a foul, however it is an immensely important addition. Without it I’d be giving up goals more often than usual. In my very first go around of FIFA 15, I got blasted 6-2 by Manchester City. In my defense I play as QPR — Go Hoops! — but I was blown off the pitch by City’s precision attack.

Another way EA has attempted to offset the vicious attacks that will be brought to you by the new offensive moves is by retooling the goalie AI. Whether or not they come charging off their line to stop a breakaway or go for a ball punch rather than an attempted catch on a corner kick makes all the difference in the world. Watching your goalkeeper give up a cheap goal near post or get chipped after being late coming off his line is mostly a thing of the past. I’ve had several (what I would call) beautiful build ups only to be swatted away by a keeper who I swore I had beat in the upper 90°.

It would be hard to call me a fan of FIFA as an organization — check out this Last Week Tonight piece for a brief reason why, (warning: language) — however their game has now been out for a week and I’m yet to put anything else into my Xbox. Often franchise games get labeled as a simple “re-skins of last year” and while FIFA 15 hasn’t changed any core aspects, the new version doesn’t feel like the same old song ‘n dance.

Speaking of songs and dances, this year’s FIFA has added a ton of new ways to make the game more involved. The all new lineup of goal celebrations may seem like a small detail to some, but don’t count me among that crowd. From classics like the dead fish to new additions such as Eto’o and his old man routine, the celebrations have are incredibly fun. The added “Dynamic Match Presentation” sports unique fan and team reactions including certain post-goal antics that can get 10 men involved.

FIFA 15’s league and club pool has grown as well; for the first time you’re allowed to play as any club in the Turkish Super Lig. A total of 33 various leagues and their clubs are available to pick from, plus 47 national teams. The developers have added enough new options and improved graphics, stadiums and offensive game-play enough to keep casual fans interested. For more die hard type fans such as myself, it was never a question of if I’d get FIFA 15, just how much I would like it. Considering the new attack options and higher frequency of goals, I’m more than happy to recommend this game to anyone.

(Header image via Babo Games)

These days it should come as no surprise when a sports team or college build a brand new facility. Be it for games, training, coaching or anything else, a new building or facility can help bring in recruits/free agents. The new Yankee Stadium cost an estimated $1.5 billion. The football facility at the University of Oregon was $68 million. The list goes on and on as when it comes to sports as sometimes spending up front yields long term results.

The continuously-emerging realm of electronic sports, or esports, is no different. Arguably the largest esports league in north america, Major League Gaming (MLG) announced their plans to open a 14,000 square foot state of the art venue in Columbus, Ohio. The building will sport soundproof booths, broadcast platforms for the play-by-play casting and seating for hundreds of spectators. MLG has been hosting live events since 2004. They’ve been around longer than other north american esports league and have added, removed and sometimes re-added various games to maintain strong viewership numbers.

Currently MLG is mostly a console gaming league, however they have included computer games such as StarCraft II (SC2), League of Legends (LoL) and Defense of the Ancients 2 (DotA 2). At the MLG Anaheim event this summer a total of $142,500 was awarded in prize money for various games. In a separate non-MLG event earlier this year, DotA2 set a record for the largest prize pool in esports history, an incredible $10.9 million for The International 4.

This recent news is another sign that esports aren’t going anywhere. With the recent purchase of the streaming platform Twitch.tv by Amazon for $970 million and the popular Minecraft developer Mojang being bought out by Microsoft for $2.5 billion (yes, billion) video games are no longer a child’s hobby or simple entertainment. It’s a business and now we’re seeing the infrastructure being put in place to grow said business. From existing corporate sponsorship to future endeavors like this new facility in Columbus, Ohio, a new era of big business and esports has arrived. Look for the venue to make its debut at the MLG Columbus event spanning October 24-26.

When the next-gen gaming consoles were announced, there was anticipation as to which recurring sports games would make the jump. EA Sports’ Madden franchise did, as expected. So did the NBA 2K series. Some franchises decided to wait a year, as coding for a totally new platform provided some obstacles and barriers that would adversely affect the next series of games.

EA’s Tiger Woods PGA Tour series (they’ve since dropped the Tiger Woods part) was one of the latter. This is what they did during the one-year hiatus from new consoles:

The game is a long way from release, and there aren’t even any demos yet, but it certainly looks like the PGA game is attempting to step up to the challenge of improved consoles. PGA Tour’s cousin in the EA world, NHL 15, took a decidedly different approach.

Players of the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions might not notice much of a difference, but XBOX One and PS4 games certainly have. As it happens, NHL 15 has stripped many features from the next-gen version of the game. This has caused quite a stir amongst fans.

Some of the biggest omissions are the GM Connected mode, Online Team Play, and the EA Sports Hockey League. A comprehensive list can be found on Canada.com’s review of the game. Gamers can still play their friends online in a one-on-one style where each player controllers his/her own team, but the ability for a group of friends to play on the same team (each as their own individual player) is now missing for new systems. The GM Connected feature, which allows friends to compete against each other in all aspects of the sports (scouting, minor-league development, free agent signing) as well as playing the actual games is also missing. There are plans to patch some of the missing features in the future, but not all.

On the flip side, NHL 15 has been lauded for the gameplay on newer consoles. While I have only logged a few hours, I can echo that statement. The on-ice play is pretty fantastic, and genuinely a lot of fun. The addition of the NBC Sports presentation of games (now with Doc Emrick!) is also a nice touch and adds to the realism.

Whether gameplay alone is enough to counter such glaring omissions has yet to be seen. No sales figures have been reported as of yet. If the showing from casual fans — those that really only want to play against friends online or in a season as one team — is strong, then perhaps EA won’t take a huge hit. But from the reports circling around blogs and review sites, it seems as if the hardcore players will skip this version or buy it for the 360 or PS4 PS3. When popular features are stripped away, fancy graphics and snappy physics engines can only take a game so far.

(Header image via BagoGames)