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Thursday, June 30, 2011
12:28 PM - June 30, 2011. Posted by ChaseB. Written by Kelvin Mak
Kelvin Mak checks in today with his look at how some of the new features in Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 will hopefully improve some of the long-standing flaws that have bothered PES fans over the years.
Read More - How Will the New Features Change PES 2012?
Thursday, June 16, 2011
02:50 PM - June 16, 2011. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kelvin Mak
You have to hand it to the folks running EA Sports’ marketing department. Every year they come out with some catchy names for their game's features that never fails to get you excited -- no matter what the feature actually is -- just because it sounds so damn cool. For FIFA 12, it is "The Trinity" of improvements, which conjures up memories of either a leather-clad Carrie-Anne Moss or Sunday school. But hey, it sticks in your head.
Okay, so there's sizzle, but will the end product live up to the hype?
Read More - How Will the New Features Change FIFA 12?
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
01:32 PM - May 10, 2011. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kelvin Mak
Recently OS had a poll about how often our community plays online. The results -- surprising to some -- were that more than half "rarely" do. However, I didn’t raise a brow, because I’m one of them.
Here’s why.
I missed out on being in the social-media generation by a few years -- I know there is no official demarcation for this sort of thing, but while people two years younger than I are all plugged in, I’m still trying to figure out if the official term is tweeting or twittering. So I am what you would call a very "old school" offline gamer. Single player, franchise mode and the occasional exhibition game with a visiting friend. My game world is in the very same room I am, and it does not venture anywhere beyond it.
Read More - DNF: Why This Geezer Plays Offline
Friday, March 18, 2011
05:33 PM - March 18, 2011. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kelvin Mak
Ever since MLB 2K8 debuted on the Wii, each successive release has seemingly been treading the same ground. There are some tweaks here and there, 2K slaps on a new cover, and voila, out the door she goes. This year is no different. Besides a semi-complete roster update and a new "mode" being included, it’s really hard to tell just where the developers spent their time. There’s nothing in the game that suggests a hint of innovation, and everything -- from the graphics to the controls -- seems at least a couple years behind.
Read More - Major League Baseball 2K11 Review (Wii)
Thursday, March 3, 2011
04:11 PM - March 3, 2011. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kelvin Mak
I don’t like "Be a Player" modes. At least, not these Be a Player modes.
The first version I played was Road to the Show from MLB 07: The Show. I still remember thinking at the time that "boy, this was it." A mode I have dreamed about for years. The skinny kid who can barely throw a ball sixty feet, six inches in real life can finally be a fire baller, pitch for the hometown Jays and single-handedly lift them from the basement all the way to the World Series. I don’t know which required more suspension of disbelief: me being in the big leagues or the Jays winning anything.
But as I went further into the game, it became monotonous. I found myself going through season after season while hoping for more. The goals were cool, the games played fine, and it was neat that I could request a trade -- the Jays were awful. But was that it? I could not help but feel that a player's life was much more interesting than that -- even without the extracurricular, Dennis Rodman-like stuff.
To be fair, it was Sony San Diego's first foray into this mode, and I didn’t expect the studio to include many bells and whistles. But has the mode really changed substantially from that point on? You create your virtual self, sign with a team, improve your attributes, win some things (or languish in mediocrity) and maybe change teams a few times. So I would argue that, no, it has not changed that much.
Toiling as an aspiring screenwriter -- I know, my articles are good evidence as to why I am a perennially aspiring writer, as opposed to a working one -- make me take a particular interest in a game’s storytelling elements. Who is my character? What is the game world like? What is my player’s relationship with that world? Simply put, I can’t help but feel that this "world" is drastically underdeveloped in most games.
Read More - Why I Don't Play "Be a Player" Modes
Friday, February 25, 2011
02:47 PM - February 25, 2011. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kelvin Mak
With the Football Manager series growing more and more complex with each iteration, it can be hard for newbies to wrap their heads around what is probably the deepest, most realistic sports-management game on the market today. So I am here to present five things that you may not have discovered yet in FM 2011.
But first, a caveat: FM veterans probably know most, if not all, of these already. After all, as deep as Football Manager is, it's still a game, and it is not necessarily as complex and difficult to comprehend as, say, the mind of the Chelsea management team during this past transfer window.
Another caveat: I did not conduct any "experiments" with these tips for any definitive results, but they have served me and many of my FM mates well so far. All of these things are based on my experiences with the game, which, according to my girlfriend, are abundant.
Read More - Five Things You May Not Have Discovered in Football Manager 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
12:22 PM - February 17, 2011. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kelvin Mak
Thank you, Messrs. Abramovich and Henry.
I was almost going to scrap this article until the two men signed off on some, let's just say extravagant, purchases. Before that, the biggest story of this past European transfer window was Darren Bent. Yes, the money was stupid -- erm, extravagant -- but an article centered on Darren "worse than Harry Redknapp's wife" Bent? Hey, I've got standards too.
You may notice that this list is a little Premier League heavy. Shame, that teams from other leagues are not running around like headless chickens with dollar bills.
Either way, let's look at some teams that just got more interesting in FIFA, Pro Evolution and Football Manager.
Read More - European Football Transfer Roundup and Implications on Video Footy
Thursday, January 6, 2011
07:14 PM - January 6, 2011. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kelvin Mak
After 18 years, no one should doubt Sports Interactive's ability to release another quality version of Football Manager. But does Football Manager 2011 really warrant another 30 odd dollars, or is it just another data update?
The answer is an emphatic yes. It’s definitely worth the money. While there's nothing revolutionary in this year's game, many of the smaller additions in FM 2011 combine to make playing the game a much more dynamic experience than past versions.
Read More - Football Manager 2011 Review (PC)
Monday, December 20, 2010
08:13 PM - December 20, 2010. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kelvin Mak
For the past couple of years, the quality of the once mighty Pro Evolution Soccer franchise has been dropping at an alarming rate. It felt like the developers could not decide what the game wanted to be -- simulation or arcade -- and therefore the end product became a confusing smorgasbord of both. In other words, this year's title needed to escape the gaming doldrums before the series as a whole was marginalized forever.
Thankfully, PES 2011 gives notice that the PES series is not dead. PES 2011 is the best PES of this console generation by a country mile. However, it's not yet the gold standard all over again. It's a very good game in its own right, but dig deeper and you'll find some frustrating flaws that prevent this game from being an excellent one.
Read More - Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 Review
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