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
Thursday, January 23, 2014
11:57 AM - January 23, 2014. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
Last week, I took a quick look at the declining state of arcade pro sports games. I concluded by suggesting that you check out those that made the genre great, before they become too difficult to track down.
To that end, here are my favorite arcade games featuring players from each of the four major pro sports.
Read More - The Four Best Arcade Pro Sports Titles
Monday, January 13, 2014
10:59 AM - January 13, 2014. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
Some of the best reviewed and best remembered sports games of the past two generations have been of the arcade variety. In fact, these titles were once a staple of the genre. I’ve spent the same amount of time playing NBA Street, NFL Street, the Midway titles, and The Bigs as I have their AAA counterparts. (For this article, I’m purposefully leaving out extreme sports and racing games, which often intentionally straddle the line between sim and arcade).
What makes these titles shine is their ability to capture what we like about sports -- gameplay, player ability, roster management, etc. -- in quick, hard-hitting doses. When playing an arcade title, I don’t care about slider adjustments or statistical realism; I just want to see how the next play unfolds and ultimately affects the scoreboard. In some ways, these games are the purest representations of sports available.
But yet, these titles continue to disappear from the marketplace. Why is this?
Read More - Arcade Games: Where Art Thou?
Friday, January 3, 2014
12:16 PM - January 3, 2014. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
For all the hype Madden and the NFL gets each year, it's surprising that there are very few pro football text sims available. Even those available don’t get much press.
I’m not sure why, either. Football is as ingrained in statistics as baseball, and there are multiple quality baseball text sims produced each year. American football is more popular here in the states than football (soccer), yet there are at least two annual soccer sims that regularly get top billing on Steam.
However, for whatever reason, finding a football text sim is difficult. Perhaps the most “mainstream” was the NFL Head Coach series, produced for consoles by EA. But there’s been another option quietly gaining a following among football fans for over a decade: Front Office Football. The seventh iteration of of FOF was just released by the small company Solecismic Software; will Front Office Football 7 fill the pro football text sim niche?
Read More - Front Office Football Seven Review (PC)
Monday, December 30, 2013
09:51 AM - December 30, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
Major League Baseball 2K13 was the last baseball game on Microsoft consoles, for now.
As I mentioned in my review of the PS4, baseball games have always played a large part in my console purchasing decisions; World Series Baseball on the Xbox was the very definition of a "console-seller" for me.
So there's a certain tragedy as we head into 2014 with no sign of baseball on the Xbox One, and no baseball titles other than Sony's own MLB 14: The Show on PS4. The once full field of baseball titles from, say, 2004 (World Series, All-Star, MVP, High Heat, Slugfest) has dwindled to one.
Read More - Top Five Stories of 2013: The End of Microsoft Baseball (For Now)
Thursday, December 12, 2013
12:04 PM - December 12, 2013. Posted by DustinT. Written by Caley Roark
Though you may buy it from a place that sells video games, and play it on a machine called a gaming console, I would hesitate to label Gran Turismo 6 as a game.
The word I find more accurately describes this title is simulation. When thought of in the same vein as flight and economic sims, it's a bit easier to overlook some of GT6’s flaws -- even if this is the best entry in the series to date.
Gran Turismo 6 Review (PS3) - Read More
Monday, November 25, 2013
02:16 PM - November 25, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
It was over ten years ago when I purchased an Xbox, based solely on the availability of one game: World Series Baseball. I was amazed by the graphical fluidity, realistic ballparks, and features (like managing staff) that couldn’t be found elsewhere.
Last summer, I found myself in a similar position. Just as I had done in 2002, I made a console purchase based almost entirely on the availability of baseball games. I preordered a PS4.
Now, having spent a weekend with the new console, do I feel that this decision -- regardless of future baseball availability -- was a good one? Should you jump on board the next generation with Sony’s new console? Is the PS4 even a good console as a whole?
The answer, unfortunately, is a resounding “maybe.”
Read More - PlayStation 4 Console Review
11:02 AM - October 25, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
Because a baseball game with players on steroids brings the best image possible for baseball.
Despite my interest in the sim-side of sports games, I’ve really enjoyed a lot of arcade-style titles over the past (two) generation(s). I occasionally revisit the NHL Hitz and NFL Street games, and I think WWE All-Stars is my favorite wrestling game.
But the arcade game I go back to more than any other is The BIGS 2. One of the greatest crimes of this console generation is how 2K really mismanaged the MLB license; that there was never a true The Bigs 3 makes this tragedy worse.
What made The BIGS 2 so good?
Read More - The BIGS 2: A Look Back at an Arcade Classic
Monday, September 30, 2013
02:57 PM - September 30, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
Out of the Park Development’s Franchise Hockey Manager 2014 is like a highly touted rookie--it has a good pedigree, a lot of raw potential, and fills a need in the sports gaming “roster”.
Unfortunately, you don’t usually give big contracts to unproven rookies, and, for now, I can’t recommend this game at it’s current price.
Read More - Franchise Hockey Manager 2014 Review (PC/Mac)
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
10:04 AM - August 7, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational dropped onto the PlayStation Network last week, after a relatively warm reception on the Vita back in the Spring. Despite being relatively unchanged, the PS3 offers some nice options for players who didn’t have the ability or desire to play the portable version.
Read More - Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational Review (PS3)
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
04:54 PM - August 6, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
The MLB trade deadline has passed, and with little fanfare or fireworks. It seems that two wildcard slots, reductions in draft compensations, and loads of mediocrity have deadened the flurries of trades we are used to seeing.
Again this year, the following players have been run through Out of the Park 14's “Shop Player” feature, to see what the game’s AI GM's would have given up in exchange for these traded players.
To be clear, this pseudo-simulation is using OOTP’s base roster set, and was executed at the trading deadline of a simmed season. Yes, not having the same standings or statistics eliminates a lot of the context of these trades, but hoping/waiting for completely mirrored results isn’t practical. Also, the shop around feature doesn’t group packages; the players mentioned would individually seal the deal for the computer AI.
Read More - Breaking Down the Trade Deadline with OOTP 14
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
02:57 PM - July 24, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
We sit OS's Baseball Beat writer Caley Roark down for a little fact or fiction. Caley addresses topics such as whether we'll see a baseball game on Microsoft's consoles next year to whether the Pirates will sustain their first half performance on into the playoffs.
Read More - OS Fact or Fiction: Baseball's Midseason Edition
Thursday, July 18, 2013
04:37 PM - July 18, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
For the first time, Operation Sports has selected its own 2013 MLB All-Star squad, but we decided to do things differently. This team isn’t selected by the fans, players, or even OS staff members. Instead, it uses the equally subjective measure of player performance--both in real life and simulated by our favorite MLB games.
To find this team, the first half of the season was simulated in both MLB 13: The Show (using OS Full Minor Rosters) and Out of the Park Baseball 14. Then, the virtually selected All-Star teams were cross-checked with the actual teams which took the field earlier this week.
If a player makes two or more of the teams (The Show, OOTP, MLB), they’ve earned a roster spot on the OS MLB All-Star Team for 2013.
Read More - 2013 MLB Games All-Star Team
Monday, June 24, 2013
11:55 AM - June 24, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
At the dawn of the current season, I wrote an article covering the possible futures for video game baseball. I had hoped to be able to revisit that article following E3, providing you with information on the newest hardball game from EA, 2K, or someone else.
Unfortunately, the news wasn’t just thin--it was non-existent.
Read More - Baseball Games Shut-Out at E3
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
11:04 AM - May 14, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
If you’ve played any previous iteration of the Power Pros series, you’ll understand what to expect from the latest: Power Pros 2013 World Baseball Classic. Unfortunately, the game will probably make you wish for a full featured high-res Power Pros title, instead of this light-weight mobile edition.
Read More - Power Pros: World Baseball Classic Review (iPhone)
Monday, April 29, 2013
02:47 PM - April 29, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Caley Roark
By now, it’s pretty simple: you either love Out of the Park Baseball or you haven’t played Out of the Park Baseball.
While that's probably generalizing the situation a bit, as all games have critics or those who are indifferent. However, if you like strategy games and/or baseball, and haven’t tried Out of the Park Baseball, this year's edition of the series is a great time to jump in.
On that same note, If you are a repeat addict, er…user, you’ll find the improvements meaningful enough to give OOTP another summer of your life.
Read More - Out of the Park Baseball 14 Review (PC/Mac)
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