Author Bio
Jayson YoungHome Town: Nashville, TN.
Sports: Football, Basketball, Hockey, Soccer
Games: Old: Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball, Tecmo Super Bowl III: Final Edition, NBA Hangtime, New: All Pro Football 2K8, NHL '09
Teams: Vanderbilt Commodores, Tennessee Titans, Nashville Predators, Memphis Grizzlies
OS Username: OS: wEEman33 Xbox Live: wEEman33 BSD
Tags:
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
MXGP 2's most enjoyable moments happen when your rider has the whole track to himself, and the only thing he's competing with is the digital stopwatch climbing higher in the corner of the screen. Time Attack is the only mode I've been able to appreciate in Milestone's third attempt at simulating the sport of motocross. Because once I started sharing the courses with 21 computer-controlled bikers, MXGP 2's unrealistic collisions and rudimentary AI ruined my fun.
Read More - MXGP 2 Review (PS4)
Friday, June 17, 2016
02:54 PM - June 17, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
Boneloaf's multiplayer fighting game Gang Beasts is adding a two-on-two soccer mode sometime this year as part of a free update for existing owners of the PC version. Gang Beasts has been in Steam's Early Access program for nearly two years, and when it appears for the first time on PlayStation 4 (perhaps as a launch title for Sony's virtual reality headset?) it will include Boneloaf's new soccer beat-'em-up experience, as well as the existing free-for-all deathmatches that are already available on PC.
Like in the last-man-standing survival modes, your beast can still grab hold of opponents, only now that move's purpose is to keep people from making a play on the ball instead of using it to toss enemies into death traps. A familiar selection of punches, headbutts and kicks can also be used to temporarily knockout the other team's beasts.
You won't have to worry about dribbling since the ball will automatically stick to your feet while you try to walk it into the enemy's goal. Kicking the ball, however, is a much safer method of scoring because the ball will explode into the air after each goal, knocking over anyone who gets caught in its path and preventing enemies from getting the first touch on the new ball once it respawns in the middle of the court.
Monday, June 6, 2016
12:01 PM - June 6, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
How should you hold the controller?
I use two different grips on my DualShock controller, depending on how much cursor movement I want to make:
A "fingerprint" grip with the center of your thumb meeting the center of the joystick will maximize the amount of movement you can make with the hitting cursor, letting you sweep the cursor across the far corners of the screen. This is a good grip to use with tall hitters who have large strike zones, or in situations where you are trying to protect the plate and avoid striking out.
I also feel like arching my thumb up a bit gives me improved control over the cursor, but I know plenty of people who are superb hitters that prefer to keep their thumbs completely flat. So experiment with both holds (arch versus flat) and stick with the style that's most comfortable for you.
Read More - MLB The Show 16: Zone Hitting Against Online Pitchers
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
12:00 PM - May 31, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
Corey Dickerson, David Peralta and Michael Conforto are three corner outfielders who can crush right-handed pitchers, but don't expect them to help your team in any other way. Their fielding attributes are high enough to avoid errors, but their ratings are also low enough that they won't be making many assists. You'll want to store some substitutes on your bench who can hit left-handed pitching and are capable of playing better defense, but for only 100 stubs a piece, the hitting this trio provides is a tremendous value. I regularly rotate these three right-handed killers in my corner outfield spots, starting the two guys who have the highest Inside Edge boosts on that day.
Read More - Diamond Dynasty's Silver and Bronze Sleeper Players: Hitters and Fielders
Friday, May 20, 2016
11:33 AM - May 20, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
Are you tired of playing baseball games where the pitchers are more likely to hit home runs than the first basemen are likely to complete 3-6-3 double plays?
Have you run out of curse words to scream while you helplessly watch lengthy fielding animations that are too slow to throw out 40-speed sloths, and too unreliable to consistently complete simple defensive acts like stepping on a base for a force out, or tagging out an oncoming runner?
Are you baffled by hitting and pitching systems where mysterious, unexplained attribute ratings have a bigger impact than basic bat physics in determining where a ball gets hit?
Have you lost interest in playing inside quiet ballparks with deflating atmospheres and dull commentary?
If so, you should absolutely own a version of Konami's Power Pros. But depending on which modes you want to play, you might not need the series' latest release, Power Pros 2016, which arrived last month on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita.
Read More - Is Power Pros 2016 Worth Importing on the PlayStation 4?
Thursday, May 12, 2016
05:37 PM - May 12, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
NBA 2K16 released its sixth title update last week on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One (PC users are still waiting to receive the patch), fixing some of the most popular gameplay exploits in the Pro-Am and MyPark modes.
Ninety-foot outlet passes finally fly off-target at an acceptable rate (though I'd like to see the error percentages increased even higher), paint campers can't reset their three-in-the-key count by stepping out of bounds, and the dance between dribblers and defenders has become more believable with the elimination of unnatural speed boosts. Certain hop steps (Stephen Curry) and hesitation moves (#3) still animate much faster than the highest-rated defenders in the game are able to react. But this is probably as balanced as NBA 2K16 can be without significantly reducing the speed of those lateral dribble moves, or adding some new defensive slide step animations that can keep pace.
The purpose of this article, though, isn't providing gameplay impressions (there's already a 400-post thread discussing that), it's figuring out why it has taken until May (seven months after the game's September 25 launch) for Visual Concepts to finally achieve reasonably balanced gameplay in their online MyPlayer modes.
Read More - NBA 2K16's Sixth Patch Finally Balances MyPark and Pro-Am
Ninety-foot outlet passes finally fly off-target at an acceptable rate (though I'd like to see the error percentages increased even higher), paint campers can't reset their three-in-the-key count by stepping out of bounds, and the dance between dribblers and defenders has become more believable with the elimination of unnatural speed boosts. Certain hop steps (Stephen Curry) and hesitation moves (#3) still animate much faster than the highest-rated defenders in the game are able to react. But this is probably as balanced as NBA 2K16 can be without significantly reducing the speed of those lateral dribble moves, or adding some new defensive slide step animations that can keep pace.
The purpose of this article, though, isn't providing gameplay impressions (there's already a 400-post thread discussing that), it's figuring out why it has taken until May (seven months after the game's September 25 launch) for Visual Concepts to finally achieve reasonably balanced gameplay in their online MyPlayer modes.
Read More - NBA 2K16's Sixth Patch Finally Balances MyPark and Pro-Am
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
11:39 AM - May 3, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
If you've played at least one of developer Supergiant Games' previous titles (2011's Bastion or 2014's Transistor), then you probably wouldn't expect them to be making a sports RPG for their third game.
Pyre promises plenty of story (presented in text boxes), some voiced-over cutscenes, and lots of Dead Can Dance-inspired music. But instead of the genre's usual fight-'til-death battles, enemy encounters involve squads of three casting spells and firing energy beams while trying to gain control of a glowing orb that you then try to transport to the opposing team's pyre.
The PAX East demo allows only one character per side to move at any given time, with the other teammates standing in a defensive position waiting for the player to press a button and switch onto them. Supergiant's creative director Greg Kasavin says that multiplayer action scenes are something they're "looking into," even though single-player is "very much [their] focus."
Pyre challenges your party to escape purgatory by rolling a wagon across its dangerous, detour-filled overworld, while defeating any competing exiles who cross your path. Basically, it's a mystical, supernatural Oregon Trail with a much bigger backstory and Quidditch competitions replacing the buffalo hunts.
Supergiant's team of 12 people has been working on Pyre since July 2014, and they plan to release the title on PC and PlayStation 4 sometime in 2017.
Thursday, April 21, 2016
11:26 AM - April 21, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
Prior to this year, repetitive, unchanging lineups had been one of Diamond Dynasty's biggest drawbacks on the PlayStation 4. Whether you were facing squads full of 99-rated created players in MLB 14, or were seeing teams stacked with the same dozen or so diamond-tier studs in MLB 15, the lack of lineup diversity was making Diamond Dynasty matches significantly less fun to play. To solve this problem for MLB 16, The Show developer Sony San Diego partnered with the data research company Inside Edge to alter MLB players' attributes every day based on their actual hitter/pitcher matchups.
As a result, cheap bronze-tier players like Lucas Duda, Kyle Schwarber, Oliver Perez and Tom Wilhelmsen have spent lots of time on my team in Diamond Dynasty's first two weeks, which is something that probably wouldn't have happened without Inside Edge's ratings boosts. Some silver-tier players like Yordano Ventura, Carlos Carrasco, Corey Dickerson and Luis Valbuena were even boosted into the gold tier for a few days of low-budget bliss -- they all cost several thousands less than an actual gold card. Thanks to Inside Edge, users no longer need to spend five to six digits of in-game currency to field an All-Star-caliber lineup each day. All anyone needs to compete in unrestricted online play is a team of bronze/silver players who happen to have four-star or five-star Inside Edge matchups.
Read More - Daily Inside Edge Ratings Bring Diversity to Diamond Dynasty Lineups
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
02:13 PM - April 6, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
In most sports videogames, I spend the majority of my time each year playing the human vs. human modes. Since NHL 09 introduced me to Online Team Play, my motto has been, "The less AI on the field, the more fun I'll likely have." But a combination of server errors, latency, and "challenge failed" messages has kept me from playing much Head-to-Head or Battle Royale in MLB The Show 16's first week.
Instead, I can't recall another sports videogame where I've enjoyed battling the computer as much as I have during the opening days of MLB The Show 16's new Conquest mode. It isn't because The Show's AI is especially bright –- it still struggles to keep speedy bunt/steal specialists like Craig "Do not go" Gentry from getting to third base.
And whenever that type of player is on the CPU's team (I'm thinking of you, Kansas City Royals), the AI isn't nearly as aggressive as it should be with their own bunt and steal attempts. Conquest mode's appeal comes from giving these computer matches a meaning and purpose beyond simply being another number that gets added to your franchise's win total.
Read More - MLB The Show 16: Conquest Mode Makes Playing the Computer Fun Again
Saturday, April 2, 2016
05:20 PM - April 2, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
If R.B.I. Baseball were a Major League batter, it would've just swung and missed on its third consecutive strike. Developer MLB Advanced Media has now had three opportunities to put out an arcade-style baseball game on the Xbox One that's worth a $20 download, but even working with successful The Golf Club creators HB Studios for two straight seasons has not helped to make this franchise's comeback attempt a modern hit.
Many basic, expected features remain missing from R.B.I. Baseball 16, such as customizable controls, roster editing, free agency, trades, drafts, player progression and retirement. Most of those features have existed in baseball games as far back as the Super Nintendo, or at least, as early as the Nintendo 64.
Read More - R.B.I. Baseball 16 Review (Xbox One)
Friday, March 18, 2016
01:57 PM - March 18, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
Last week, programmer KingJavo updated the resources page of his website simheads.com with new editing software for All-Pro Football 2K8, NFL Fever 2004, NFL 2K4 and Backbreaker. The All-Pro Football 2K8 editor costs $10 to download, while the other three PC programs can be purchased for $5 each. You'll also need to be a registered member of simheads.com to access its resources page (registration is free).
See some of the new features after the jump...
Read More - New Features Added to KingJavo's All-Pro Football 2K8 Editing Software
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
10:34 PM - March 2, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
While most of its consumers were asleep, Visual Concepts quietly installed a server-side update on Saturday morning that changed the success rate of 3-pointers in NBA 2K16's 2K Pro-Am mode. These adjustments have allowed users to achieve a perfect "green" release from various spots along the 3-point line.
Earlier this month, Gameplay Director Mike Wang revealed that a "green" release in NBA 2K16 multiplies your shot's success rate by two. So if you take a jumper that's graded with a 40 percent probability of going in, and your timing is perfect, that chance of scoring increases to 80 percent.
Read More - NBA 2K16's Latest Shooting Update Has Made 3-Pointers Too Easy in Pro-Am
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
04:04 PM - February 23, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
In a hundred or so head-to-head online matches of NBA 2K16, I can only recall two or three opponents who have taken advantage of the new handoff mechanic that Visual Concepts has assigned to the B button on Xbox One and the Circle button on PlayStation 4.
Read More - Two Buttons People Are Not Pressing Enough in NBA 2K16
Friday, February 19, 2016
05:10 PM - February 19, 2016. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
In Super Bowl 50, football fans watched the Denver Broncos win a championship with arguably the deepest and deadliest defense to play in the NFL's current Penalty Flag Era (TM). But in Madden NFL 16, gamers won't be able to generate consistent pressure on quarterbacks or shutdown opponents' top receivers using Gary Kubiak's dominant defensive unit (I call them Kubiak's defense, because Madden still doesn't include any coordinators or assistant coaches).
Drive Out, Four Verticals, Inside Zone, Fullback Dive –- those four plays are all it takes to consistently move the chains in Madden NFL 16, even on the hardest difficulty setting (All-Madden), against the highest-rated defenses in the game...
Read More - The Broncos' Defense Dominated Super Bowl 50, But Can't in Madden
Monday, February 1, 2016
06:19 PM - February 1, 2016. Posted by Steve_OS. Written by Jayson Young
In the real NBA, it doesn't matter how you win -- all that matters is that you win. But in NBA 2K16's preliminary Pro-Am events, winning all of your games is not enough to ensure qualification for the eventual 16-team tournament. Road to the Finals is the only team competition I've ever seen where running up the score and padding everyone's stats is the key to becoming champion.
Under Road to the Finals' current scoring system, the teams at the top of the leaderboard will be the ones who are exploiting the mode's gameplay flaws by constantly throwing 90-foot outlet passes for fast-break dunks or corner threes, and trying to cause turnovers every defensive possession by repeatedly going for steals and charges.
Read More - NBA 2K16 Road to the Finals Qualification System Rewards Best Cheesers, Not Best Teams - Written by: (Jayson Young)
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