Author Bio
Christian McLeodHome Town: Bloomfield Hills, MI
Sports: Baseball, Hockey, College Football, Basketball
Games: NHL 94, MVP Baseball 05, Punch Out, Excitebike
Teams: Detroit Tigers, Red Wings, and Pistons, Michigan State Spartans
OS Username: Bumble14
Tags: Xbox Live: Bumble14
Thursday, May 7, 2009
04:19 PM - May 7, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Christian McLeod
MLB 09: The Show has been out for over a month, and many baseball gaming enthusiasts have hailed the game as the best baseball video game ever. As a baseball elitist myself, there is no denying that the game is extremely impressive. 
It has been five solid years since I have enjoyed a baseball game as much as this year's iteration of The Show. Because of this enjoyment level, I have found myself glued to my PS3 cultivating my Road to the Show career and running a somewhat successful Detroit Tigers dynasty.
Read More - Three Things MVP 05 Still Does Better
Friday, April 24, 2009
09:27 AM - April 24, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Christian McLeod
With the 2009 NFL Draft only days away, I am taking a look at the last 10 picks of the first round. There is still some major talent left on the OS draft board at this point. In other words, the top teams in the league are only going to get richer.Read More - Operation Sports NFL Mock Draft: Picks 22 - 32
Thursday, April 16, 2009
09:55 AM - April 16, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Christian McLeod
Last week I looked at the top ten picks in this year's upcoming NFL Draft while also exploring the repercussions of each pick in Madden NFL 10. This week I will take a look at picks 11-21. The final ten picks of the first round will be covered the week of April 20 -- so all you Steelers fans be patient.Read More - Operation Sports NFL Mock Draft: Picks 11 - 20
Thursday, April 9, 2009
10:11 AM - April 9, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Christian McLeod
With the NFL Draft only a few short weeks away, I could not think of a better way to generate some discussion than putting together an Operation Sports Mock Draft. The draft not only discusses individual team needs, but also discusses what exactly each of these picks will mean when you pick up your copy of Madden 10 in August.This week I will cover the top 10 picks, with picks 11-21 hitting next week, and picks 22-32 coming the week of April 20.
Who will your favorite team take on April 25? Look no further...
Read More - Operation Sports NFL Mock Draft: Picks 1 - 10
Thursday, March 26, 2009
01:01 PM - March 26, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Christian McLeod
As a child of the '80s and early '90s, the majority of my earliest sports-gaming memories were forged on the Nintendo Entertainment System. I can remember countless hours spent with games like Pro Wrestling, Punch-Out!!, Excitebike, Baseball, Ice Hockey and many more first-party, non-licensed, titles for Nintendo's first home console. When the Genesis was released, followed by the Super Nintendo, the days of first-party Nintendo sports titles seemed to be scaled back drastically. Starting with EA's NHLPA and Madden series, licensed sports games became more of a necessity in a market clamoring for realism in the sports-gaming sector.
This trend was the beginning of the end for unique sports titles on the Nintendo consoles, and also served as the end of the fictional players and teams of yesteryear. One of the more disturbing results of this shift in sports gaming was that Nintendo, in many ways, even abandoned its own first-party sports titles -- I would argue that there has not been a relevant sports game on a Nintendo system since the N64 days.
Read More - Why Sports Gamers Need Nintendo
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
05:36 PM - March 17, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Christian McLeod
In today's world of ultra-realistic sports releases, there is nothing that can ruin a gaming experience quicker than a bad control scheme. With newer games featuring increasingly complex button layouts, it is pretty easy to become overwhelmed, even downright frustrated, when attempting to control your favorite virtual athletes. Who has not experienced the dreaded throw-the-controller-at-the-wall syndrome brought on by a clunky controlling sports endeavor? It is times like these when I find myself dreaming about my favorite control schemes in a specific sports genre. I yearn for those special control schemes that are able to achieve a zen-like flow in my hands, making me feel like Jimmy in the blockbuster hit The Wizard.
In the history of sports gaming, I have gone hands-on with several wonderful control layouts. Of the schemes that have left favorable impressions, there are five that stand out from the rest. These fives games feature controls that set the bar for their respective genres, influenced their competition, and to this day, stand the test of time. Here are my picks for the five greatest sports video game control schemes of all time.
Read More - Five Greatest Sports Gaming Control Schemes of All Time
Thursday, March 5, 2009
03:58 PM - March 5, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Christian McLeod
It is an exciting time to be a baseball fan. Spring is in the air, unless you live on the East Coast, and Opening Day is only a few short weeks away. With both The Show and MLB 2K9 being released earlier this week, baseball fever is in full effect. If you are a hardcore franchise gamer like myself, there are still a few weeks left before the official Opening Day rosters are released. These few weeks leading up to Opening Day serve as my yearly virtual spring training, allowing me to play as many exhibition games as possible. Aside from wanting to learn a new baseball game's controls and enjoy its additions, I have an ulterior motive when engaging in these extended, no pressure gameplay sessions: scouting.
There is no better way to learn certain players' skills and tendencies in a new baseball game than to actually take control of those players. Not only is this useful in the particular exhibition game you are engaging in, but it is also critical when starting your dynasty. Let us face it, if you are anything like me, you completely overhaul your chosen team's roster before the season starts so you can suit your individual team needs.
Read More - Building the Ultimate MLB Video Game Roster
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
10:01 AM - February 24, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Christian McLeod
With President Obama passing a $787 billion stimulus bill last week, I really started thinking about how much the sports-gaming industry is in need of a bailout as well. Sure, financially developers seem to be struggling like the rest of us, but it is the lack fresh ideas, common-sense programming and attention to detail that really seem to be hurting the industry as a whole. With games at $60 a pop, and with many gamers cutting back for their own economic reasons, it is truly a time for your average taxpayer/sports gamer to stand up and demand more from their games.Imagine a world where we the gamers had a say in how our games were developed. Imagine a world where we could say what our hard-earned gaming dollars would be appropriated towards within a sports-gaming development studio. Today I am going to pretend that we live in this world, and will explore exactly what could be done to give us the best possible sports games on a yearly basis.
Without further hesitation, I give you the first ever Sports Gaming Stimulus Bill. This is my attempt to boost gaming quality, eliminate consumer spending on sports titles that collect dust after a week and promote consumer confidence and spending in the sports-gaming sector during these troubled economic times.
Read More - The Sports-Gaming Stimulus Bill
Friday, February 13, 2009
09:25 AM - February 13, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Christian McLeod
When NBA Live 09 was released last fall, there were two major aspects of the game that reviewers could not pass judgment on -- Live 365 and Dynamic DNA.These were two new features that were so dependent on the start of the actual NBA season that it would have been impossible to evaluate them properly until the actual NBA season had a few months under its belt. Four months after the game's release and a few days before the All-Star festivities, I am happy to report that these features are overwhelming successes in my eyes. Do not just take my word for it either, Live 365 and Dynamic DNA were a smashing success with the OS staff and community alike, winning our coveted Best Roster Update award for 2008.
Why exactly are Live 365 and Dynamic DNA such groundbreaking features? In order to answer that question, I think it is very important to examine the relatively short history of roster updates on consoles.
Read More - NBA Live 365 and Dynamic DNA: Four Months Later
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
09:49 AM - February 3, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Christian McLeod
Last week, I covered numbers 15-6 on my most dominant sports teams of all time list (Part I and II). This week I finish off my list by revealing the top 5. Below are numbers 25-6:
25. Minnesota Vikings (NFL 2K)
24. Philadelphia 76ers (NBA 2K2)
23. New York Mets (MLB 2K7)
22. Detroit Lions (Tecmo Super Bowl)
21. Los Angeles (Blades of Steel)
20. Cleveland Indians (Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr.)
19. Buffy’s Gym (Sammy Sosa’s Softball Slam)
18. LA Lakers (Bulls vs. Lakers)
17. Pittsburgh Penguins (NHLPA Hockey)
16. Chicago Bulls (Tecmo NBA Basketball)
15. Utah (Bases Loaded)
14. Denver Broncos (NFL Gameday 99)
13. Detroit Red Wings (NHL 2002)
12. Seattle Mariners (Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball)
11. TIE San Francisco/Boston (RBI Baseball)
10. Philadelphia Eagles (Madden 94)
9. LA Lakers (NBA Street)
8. Sacramento Kings (NBA 2K1)
7. Florida State (Bill Walsh College Football)
6. Orlando Magic (NBA Live 95)
Determining the top 5 was no easy task. Each one of these teams brought a whole new level of cheapness and frustration to sports gaming. In the end though, there could only be one team left standing.
Read More - Top 25 Most Dominant Teams in Sports Gaming History (Part III)
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
10:49 AM - January 28, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Christian McLeod
Last week, I began to unveil my picks for the top 25 greatest video game teams of all time. This week, I will reveal all but the top five greatest teams. Disclaimer: As much as I wanted to put it on this list, the super large Pong paddle that your unskilled family members got to select does not qualify since the paddle was not technically a "team." Sorry to all of you holding out hope that the paddle would be number one on the list.
Read More - Top 25 Most Dominant Teams in Sports Gaming History (Part II)
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
03:59 PM - January 21, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Christian McLeod
Mid-January is not really an ideal time to be a sports gamer -- especially when you live in Michigan. You would think that the colder-than-normal temperatures and frequent snow showers would be the perfect reason to spend hours upon hours cooped up in your gaming cave, but that is not the case. The reality of the situation is that the slowdown of new sports-gaming releases, coupled with the fall gaming releases reaching their saturation point, leads to some hardcore sports-gamer doldrums. With these doldrums comes a delirium much like Jack Nicholson in The Shining, or Homer Simpson in The Shinning if you prefer. "Cold weather and no sports gaming makes Christian an angry boy."
So what is one to do if he wants to retain his sanity in such adverse conditions? How about get together with an old friend and have an in-depth discussion on the top 25 video game sports teams of all time? Well, that is exactly what I did last week with my best friend Matt (aka Super Nintendo Chalmers), and not only was there plenty of healthy debate over which teams deserved a spot in this exclusive list, but also some great memories were rekindled.
Read More - Top 25 Most Dominant Teams in Sports Gaming History (Part I)
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
09:59 AM - January 13, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Christian McLeod
It is the perfect time to revisit EA Sports' NCAA Football 09 and discuss the game in postmortem fashion. NCAA 09 did a lot of things right both on and off the field. I wanted to focus specifically on what 09 brought to the table this season, and how these features held up over the course of the 2008 college season. I know there are many of you out there still playing the game -- and many who will not agree with what I have to say -- but as of this week, I feel it is important to at least "officially" end our NCAA Football 09 discussion, and begin our NCAA Football 10 discussions. Plus, it is always fun to take a look back at a title nearly seven months after release because, at this point, most people can speak more calmly about a title that is not so fresh in their minds. Is the honeymoon officially over? How did NCAA 09 withstand the test of time?
Read More - NCAA Football 09 Postmortem
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
12:05 AM - December 24, 2008. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Christian McLeod
Ah, the holidays. A time of giving, a time of joy, but most of all, a time to get excited about what you are going to find under the tree on Christmas morning. As excited as us adults get to unwrap presents (specifically video games we ask for) this time of year, there is one key demographic that is even more excited about what they are going to find under the tree -- the kiddies. With Christmas fast approaching and Hannukah already upon us, I thought it would be a good idea to compile a last-minute buyer's guide for all the little sports gamers out there. These are the titles the little ones will love because of the sheer amount of fun they provide, but most of all, they are the games that will provide the youngsters with a solid sports-gaming foundation.
A solid foundation is what will lead to our youth playing quality games as they grow up -- instead of throwing their money away on the next Barbie Horse Adventure game, or pet simulator.
Read More - 2008 Last Minute Holiday Buyer's Guide for the Kids
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
10:22 AM - December 16, 2008. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Christian McLeod
As promised, here are numbers 1-3 on my list of classic sports games that need to be remade. If you missed part one, check it out here.3)Super Play Action Football
Please tell me I am not the only person who remembers this game from the Super Nintendo glory days? Not only did Super Play Action Football provide a rock-solid football experience on the field, it also offered something no other gridiron game has replicated: high school, college and professional teams all in one game.
Read More - Seven Classics Which Demand to be Remade (Part II)
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