Author Bio
Caley RoarkHome Town: Lancaster, PA
Sports: Football, Baseball
Games: NFL 2K5, MVP 05, NBA 2k series, Civilization
Teams: Phillies, Eagles, Sixers
OS Username: CPRoark
Tags: Live: Mr Rockit
Friday, October 2, 2015
Blood Bowl 2 might as well use the trendy "2.0" nomenclature, as this isn't a true sequel but rather a reboot. Blood Bowl 2 streamlines gameplay, offers accessibility and along the way loses a little bit of its charm.
Read More - Blood Bowl 2 Review
Thursday, September 17, 2015
09:48 AM - September 17, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
One of my favorite modes in Madden 15 was "The Gauntlet," a mode designed like a ladder mode in an arcade game to assess all of your Madden skills. The mode was pretty innovative, while at the same time reminding players of previous skills trainers, Madden mini-games and the mobile Backbreaker titles.
The Gauntlet returns, er, "strikes back" this year with some new additions. It is still a fun way to spend a few minutes, but it can often be as frustrating as it is addictive.
Read More - The Gauntlet Strikes Back in Madden NFL 16
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
10:39 AM - September 2, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
VooFoo Studios has quietly staked a claim as the premier "table sports" developer, despite the studio's indie status. VooFoo has had critical hits with its pool games Hustle Kings and Pure Pool. The studio's latest game, Pure Hold'Em, brings the studio's quiet sensibility to the ever-popular poker variant.
Read More - Pure Hold'Em Review (PS4/Xbox One)
Thursday, August 27, 2015
01:41 PM - August 27, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
Madden's newest mode is Draft Champions, and so far it's one of the freshest additions to the franchise in years. This is a quick and deep experience that reminds me of what I liked about the Ultimate Team mode when it debuted in UEFA Champions League 2006-2007.
According to EA's early press releases, the developers of Draft Champions had four goals: "Always on the Clock. Every Pick Matters. Keep it Tight. Replayable." With limited plays, I think they hit the mark with each.
Read More - Madden 16: Draft Champions Is One of the Best Parts of the Game
Monday, August 3, 2015
03:31 PM - August 3, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
In the original review for DriveClub, I cautioned users to either wait until the kinks had been worked out or until the free version was released for PS+.Since then, both conditions have been met. Most of the online issues and driving quirks have been fixed or tuned. And, if you are a PS+ member, a pretty packed edition is available to you, free of charge.
Read More - Driveclub Horsepower Expansion and Update 1.20 Impressions
Monday, July 20, 2015
More than five years ago, I reviewed the first digital version of Blood Bowl, a traditional table-top miniatures game based on high fantasy football. That game was reissued about a million times, including multiple versions on the PC and a recent mobile release. While all of these versions offer an interesting challenge and unique gameplay, each was hampered by various issues that kept the title from greatness.
Now, Blood Bowl 2's kick off date is imminent. Can this update fix the problems of a 5-year old game based on a 30 year old ruleset? Based on recent press, I'm confident that it can. Let's look at the issues that plagued the earlier (primary 360) title and how the sequel looks to fix them.
Read More - Blood Bowl 2 Preview
Friday, July 3, 2015
04:08 PM - July 3, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
The best sports games aren't necessarily innovative. But they do, however, contain innovative features.
Take a look at our most recent "Greatest Sports Game Ever" poll, and it's easy to match the top finishers with a ground-breaking feature. MVP Baseball 2005: Hitter's Eye. NFL 2K5: First-Person Football. College Hoops 2K8: 6th Man Meter.
This isn't to say that all great games innovate or that all innovative games are great. There just seems to be an inherent connection between those games we view as quality titles and the ability to bring something new to the table.
Read More - Has Innovation Become a Thing of the Past With Sports Games?
Sunday, June 14, 2015
01:17 PM - June 14, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
Like it or not, the "next" generation of consoles are now the "current" generation as the PS4 and Xbox One have become the new standard. Most, if not all, of the coverage from E3 will be focused on games for those two consoles -- as well as personal computers.
Console-like gaming PCs are become popular, and cheaper, ahead of Valve's official Steam machine. But are these machines, like the Alienware Alpha, a good fit for sports gamers? Here are a few pros and cons to ponder if you are considering purchasing this type of machine for your sports action.
Read More - Are Console-Like Gaming PCs A Good Choice for Sports Gamers?
Saturday, June 6, 2015
09:46 AM - June 6, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
The DiRT series got its start almost two decades ago with the original title Colin McRae Rally, a pure rally racing simulation. Since then, the game has evolved to include other types of events, both the interesting (Gymkhana) and the odd (Zombie Infestation). A recent early access title on Steam simply called DiRT Rally seeks to bring the series back to its roots.
Read More - DiRT Rally: Initial Impressions
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
08:54 AM - May 26, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
For a game representing one of the more popular sports in North America, the release of NASCAR 15 has been relatively quiet. NASCAR used to command the same attention as other annual racing games and sports titles. This year, the Gamestop where I purchased my copy had only received two copies for each platform.
Worse, the game comes with a large share of the usual warning signs: last-gen only, later than usual release date, exclusive retailer, budget price, etc. The biggest issue, however with NASCAR 15, is that it's really just a rescind NASCAR 14.
Read More - NASCAR '15 Review (360/PS3)
Friday, May 15, 2015
10:46 AM - May 15, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
There's game out there that features what we as sports gamers love (deep gameplay, loads of statistics, free agency, a college league and draft, team customization, etc.), yet is most likely unknown to a large percentage of OSers.
Frozen Cortex wasn't even on my radar, until it's latest update introduced Manager Mode. Now, it just got done eating up most of my weekend gaming time. What is Frozen Cortex, and why is it so good?
Read More - Frozen Cortex: The Best Sports Game You (Probably) Aren't Playing
Friday, May 8, 2015
It's easy to appreciate a game that knows its platform. Too often we get up-scaled or down-sized titles that fail to take advantage of the system they are on (see last gen Wii games).
To its credit, WWE 2K on iOS knows what works and doesn't work on a mobile device. In the long run, it's limiting for hardcore wrestling fans, but what little it does, it does well.
Read More - WWE 2K Mobile Review (iOS) (Written by Caley Roark)
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
10:01 AM - April 28, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
In March, Out of the Park developments delivered another solid management sim with OOTP 16. The minor changes were enough to solidify the whole package, making it the best looking and best playing version of the series to date. But, what about OOTP’s smaller portable companion, the former iOOTP? How does MLB Manager 2015 fair this season?
Read More - MLB Manager 2015 Review (iOS)
Friday, April 17, 2015
11:06 AM - April 17, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
For those of us who understand the brilliance of Out of the Park Baseball, the annual question isn’t “Should I buy the new version?”, but more so “What new stuff do I get this year?” For me, last year was a bit of a down year. OOTP 15 was a great game, but beyond 3D graphics, the developers didn’t bring a ton of innovation to the series. For some reason, I ended up playing OOTP 15 a lot less than previous years.
After a few weeks with OOTP 16, I will say the new stuff this year certainly warrants a purchase. In fact, though it seems to be said every year, this may be the best Out of the Park game yet.
Read More - Out of the Park Baseball 16 Review (PC/Mac)
Saturday, April 11, 2015
10:48 AM - April 11, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
We often laud the console versions of The Show for their consistent quality — which, admittedly, might come at the expense of groundbreaking new features. However, this slow march toward perfection is an ideal match for a game that is itself slow to implement change.
On the Vita, however, nearly any change can be hard to spot. Outside of directional hitting and some new animations, MLB 15: The Show feels remarkably similar to last year’s version.
Read More - MLB 15 The Show: PS Vita Impressions
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