It's the most wonderful time of the year... - ZekeRoberts's Blog

ZekeRoberts's Blog

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

Posted on July 16, 2009 at 01:57 AM.

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For at least 10 years I have purchased NCAA Football titles, and over 90% of the time this has been on release date or as close to it as possible. Obviously this year there are issues with the game, as expected, and so I pre-ordered the game Monday night (the Gamestop dude told me that they had 20 this year as opposed to 150 last year) and picked it up Tuesday night. Now it is Wednesday morning, and the glaring truth of the matter is that I have spent more time on the beloved forum than playing the game over these last two days. I have looked at roster threads, seeing a 2nd roster group form a schedule for their 360 efforts because the schedule that DKrause's group set out with was going to take too long. I have seen endless complaints about the game failing to be the idealistic "perfect game" and similarly countless replies pointing out the futility of such desires. I have noticed the moderators "tightening the reins" in a mild attempt to selectively shut down the threads that they think people don't need to peruse. I have skipped over the topics of pass rushes and EA roster update mistakes. I have enjoyed reading the input of the developers, yet have been disgusted to see their plugging of "recruiting advisors" that are available through purchasing downloads.

My point? Something I started feeling last year, when I did not purchase this game at release because I was getting married within a month. (side note: my wife bought me the game as a wedding present anyways, and I do think that NCAA 09 is the best of the current gen, but I thought 05 was the best iteration on the ps2) My point is that these are VIDEO GAMES, they are WHAT WE MAKE OF THEM, and it is as simple as choosing to look at the "impressions" thread or the "bugs/glitches" thread. It is as simple as spending the majority of your time on these forums, or playing (and trying to enjoy) the game as it is when it is released.

I will be driving cross-country within the next few days, so I won't really dive in to my favorite hobby until Tuesday or Wednesday. But I don't expect a very accurate 360 roster to be out by then, and I don't play online except against people I know. So what I will be doing is creating the Valparaiso Crusaders, putting them in the MAC, and diving into my dynasty. I will probably try to get the most completed roster I can before I start, and I might tweak a couple of sliders that always help me enjoy the game. I will be creating a 1-star school so I will play on Varsity. I won't expect to do very well, and I will try not to be bothered if completion percentages are too high or if my team leads the country in interceptions as it always does.

But by diving into the game as such, and not worrying about how long I have to wait until the most accurate rosters or the best gameplay patch comes out, I feel like I will be getting back to what this hobby is supposed to be about. I teach Statistics for a living so of course I want a realistic game, but I started playing football video games on the NES with Tecmo Super Bowl. My goal back then was to win a Super Bowl with every team. Starting there with the AFC East, I think I got as far as the Miami Dolphins. Troy Aikman Football for SEGA was brilliant for no other reason than its create-a-play feature. With Tecmo Super Bowl on SEGA I could create a few players and "update" the rosters to fully enjoy my Green Bay Packers seasons. The older and more experienced we get, we inevitably expect more and more out of our games. So it shouldn't surprise that with these attitudes we get less and less every year...

Honestly, I don't know why people have to complain about not getting enough in the yearly update to their favorite game. If you don't like what you get (or what you think you will get), don't pay the company (thEAy that shall not be named) $60. Really. That's it. If you are like me, and can't bring yourself to end your yearly purchase addiction, then do your best to not get caught up in the community's attempts to perfect the game and just find a way to go out and enjoy it in whatever way you know best. I loved 05 because I put Delaware in the Big East, suffered through some losing seasons, jumped to Wyoming and finally turned around Nebraska after they went through a rough patch. Now there may have been some substances that helped me enjoy that year but that's another blog

What I'm trying to do in this cathartic endeavor is remind everyone (including myself) that VIRTUAL still comes before REALITY in this arena, and these games would be nothing without that critical required level of user input that we seem to be apprehensive about. So don't waste your time worrying about what EA didn't do, or how long the OS community is taking to get things fixed, but instead go play the damn game and get your f'n moneys worth. If you can't do that, then what's the point. Really.

Comments

# 1 therockstar2005 @ Jul 16

Amen. I like. If we can get improved stuff from the forums, and new patches, and whatnot, then great. But I think I used to have much more fun with my games when I didn't look at every single review score and pick apart every single thing about a game.

Who knows? I'm gonna go create my SLU Billikens and put them in the game.