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Tuesday, May 22, 2012
01:53 PM - May 22, 2012. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
#1 -- Pittsburgh Penguins
Based around skill and lots of it, Pittsburgh brings a youthful and talented attack to the powerplay. With the likes of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin rocking offensive ratings between 90 to 95, you've got a threat up the middle on either powerplay unit. Add to that James Neal's beastly offensive output for the 2011-2012 campaign (reflected in decent stats for NHL 12) as well as the veteran presence of Chris Kunitz, and Pittsburgh can get it done.
Pittsburgh's defense is well-suited to the offensive game, with solid players like Paul Martin and emerging talents such as Kris Letang. Martin brings to the table a reliable set of skills, complete with solid passing and power on his shots in the mid-80s. Letang has good power on both his wrister and slapper, and his puck control and passing are both at 90, which is great for setting up the skilled forwards up front.
Pittsburgh's goaltending, 2012 playoffs aside, is still quite serviceable with Marc-Andre Fleury between the pipes. His 90 ratings in breakaway and five-hole will be a boon if the penalty killing team gets a shorthanded chance.
Based around skill and lots of it, Pittsburgh brings a youthful and talented attack to the powerplay. With the likes of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin rocking offensive ratings between 90 to 95, you've got a threat up the middle on either powerplay unit. Add to that James Neal's beastly offensive output for the 2011-2012 campaign (reflected in decent stats for NHL 12) as well as the veteran presence of Chris Kunitz, and Pittsburgh can get it done.
Pittsburgh's defense is well-suited to the offensive game, with solid players like Paul Martin and emerging talents such as Kris Letang. Martin brings to the table a reliable set of skills, complete with solid passing and power on his shots in the mid-80s. Letang has good power on both his wrister and slapper, and his puck control and passing are both at 90, which is great for setting up the skilled forwards up front.
Pittsburgh's goaltending, 2012 playoffs aside, is still quite serviceable with Marc-Andre Fleury between the pipes. His 90 ratings in breakaway and five-hole will be a boon if the penalty killing team gets a shorthanded chance.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
01:02 PM - May 16, 2012. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
#3 -- Edmonton Oilers
Since neither of Edmonton's goalies are very good, it's a worth noting that this team has put the NHL on notice that they have some youthful players that know how to score when they have the man advantage.
Sam Gagner helps stabilize things up the middle, but the emergence of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins could mean for some interesting dynamics next season for sure. It'll be interesting to see what ratings RNH finally lands on next season, especially since he missed some games with an injury this year. Add to this potent young mix the likes of Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall, both of whom possess respectable (yet slightly underrated) numbers in NHL 12, and you have some dynamic scorers on two different powerplay units.
On the back end, Edmonton is solid enough to support the skilled young forwards up front. Admittedly, Ryan Whitney needs to find the game that has eluded him over the last couple of years, and Cam Barker is still growing as a player, but both possess shot power numbers trending towards 90, and each of them has some pretty good puck possession and passing to boot.
02:36 AM - May 16, 2012. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
#4 -- Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia enjoyed the sixth-best powerplay in the NHL during the 2011-2012 campaign statistically, and they benefited from some key scoring from the likes of Wayne Simmons and Scott Hartnell. While the emergence of Simmons was helpful this season, it's still the likes of Claude Giroux and Danny Briere who have the ability to dictate the pace of each powerplay unit's attack that spurred the Flyers on when they had the advantage.
Both of these players feature similar attribute numbers in NHL 12, with puck control fringing on 90 and mid-80s shot power and accuracy.
On the defensive side of the Philadelphia powerplay, things are still solid, even without the physical and offensive presence of Chris Pronger. Matt Carle and Andrej Meszaros are both still in their mid-20s, and each of them have some reasonable offensive ratings in NHL 12. Meszaros has a slapshot power of 88, and Carle has some key ratings in the mid-80s. Neither player is going to light the world on fire, but their job is to get pucks on next and support the likes of Giroux and Briere.
As for their goaltending, Ilya Bryzgalov had a hard time adjusting this past season to a new market, but the guy is a freakishly talented goalie who can hold the fort down solid with excellent attributes if a powerplay starts giving up opposite-end chances.
Philadelphia enjoyed the sixth-best powerplay in the NHL during the 2011-2012 campaign statistically, and they benefited from some key scoring from the likes of Wayne Simmons and Scott Hartnell. While the emergence of Simmons was helpful this season, it's still the likes of Claude Giroux and Danny Briere who have the ability to dictate the pace of each powerplay unit's attack that spurred the Flyers on when they had the advantage.
Both of these players feature similar attribute numbers in NHL 12, with puck control fringing on 90 and mid-80s shot power and accuracy.
On the defensive side of the Philadelphia powerplay, things are still solid, even without the physical and offensive presence of Chris Pronger. Matt Carle and Andrej Meszaros are both still in their mid-20s, and each of them have some reasonable offensive ratings in NHL 12. Meszaros has a slapshot power of 88, and Carle has some key ratings in the mid-80s. Neither player is going to light the world on fire, but their job is to get pucks on next and support the likes of Giroux and Briere.
As for their goaltending, Ilya Bryzgalov had a hard time adjusting this past season to a new market, but the guy is a freakishly talented goalie who can hold the fort down solid with excellent attributes if a powerplay starts giving up opposite-end chances.
Monday, May 14, 2012
01:27 PM - May 14, 2012. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
#5 -- Vancouver Canucks
Even though Vancouver had a quick exit in the playoffs, their powerplay in the videogame world remains a threat. Ranked fourth overall in the 2011-2012 season, Vancouver features a puck possession attack that differs from some of the pure sniping ability of other teams, but they find ways to put the puck in the net.
Looking at the their top unit, Vancouver is going to mainly feature a trio of Daniel and Henrik Sedin along with Ryan Kesler's rugged presence. Kesler's shooting ability has improved drastically in recent years, and his NHL 12 rating in this area is 87 for power and 88 for accuracy. When you add to that the 92 and 94 passing ratings for Daniel and Henrik respectively, the puck is going to find its way around the ice. Vancouver's chief defensive pair these days usually involves Alexander Edler and Sami Salo, with a respectable 85 passing rating for Edler and a still usable slapshot of 90 from the aging Salo. Losing Christian Ehrhoff in the off-season hurt this aspect of the Canucks powerplay, but these two still can get it done.
As for goaltending, Luongo as long as he stays on the team this year can be a bit dodgy with some of his rebound control, but his breakaway rating of 90 will help on any shorthanded chances the opposition might get.
Friday, May 11, 2012
01:41 PM - May 11, 2012. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
The track editor for Trials Evolution seemed like it would be totally bananas before the game hit digital shelves, and a week after release that promise has been fulfilled. There has been a steady stream of content for the standard trials courses as well as the supercross multiplayer tracks and wacky skill games. The developers at RedLynx have put out a good deal of entertaining content already, but the community has also stepped up in a big way. Below is a list of some of the best I've seen so far, in no particular order.
Read More - Trials Evolution: Custom Tracks Worth Checking Out
Read More - Trials Evolution: Custom Tracks Worth Checking Out
01:19 PM - May 11, 2012. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
Making crazy faces, shouting at the screen and watching your virtual athlete run down the track all of these were fixtures of Track and Field back in the mid-'80s. Amusingly enough, motion controls of today pretty much replicate the experience of looking ridiculous while miming the act of playing sports, but now we get to do it with more arm-flailing and head-faking. Seeing as motion-based titles are here to stay for the foreseeable future, I'd like a little nostalgia to go along with it, especially in our soon to be olympics crazed country.
In that spirit, I'm pretty sure that something like Track and Field or even many of the events found in its sequel, Track and Field II could provide some amusement in the motion-based arena. Admittedly, many motion-based titles have already hit various summer sports including swimming, sprinting and archery but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of events for us to excel in while we flail our arms. Hell, it could even have quite a bit of charm if developers picked the weirder events.
The joy of playing games like Track and Field partially resulted from getting good at the events, but a large part of it also came from watching your virtual athlete flop around and fail in a blaze of glory. Developers of a modern Track and Field would probably do well to make it more of a party game than an actual mimic of real life. Sure, there could be room for some mastery and creativity, but the ability to look crazy while doing these events is what would be appealing.
Read More - Track and Field: A Perfect Match for Kinect/Move?
Friday, May 4, 2012
05:21 PM - May 4, 2012. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
Is the emerging trend of having to pay to unlock a full game or simply play through it for hours a good or bad thing?
At the end of the day, though, what is truly fair to consumers when the prices are being set in ivory business towers back at corporate HQ? Who watches the watchmen, in other words?
Read More - What is the Ideal Role of DLC in Sports Video Games?
Thursday, May 3, 2012
03:35 PM - May 3, 2012. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
One of the more inventive aspects in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 is the country club mode, which allows users to team up for cooperative and competitive challenges, participate in tournaments, raise club status and add members in a meaningful way.
It's a pretty clever feature in a lot of ways, and it's something I didn't credit the game enough for when I reviewed it. However, what's struck me about country clubs is that they actually solve a lot of common problems with team modes in other sports games. Grouping up in hockey or soccer often results in lots of fun, but it doesn't always seems to justify some of the core conceits of team play:
Why should I be online all the time?
Why do we really need so many people on our team?
What if I'm not very good at the game?
The country clubs mitigate these questions by nesting the reasons right into the design.
Read More - Country Clubs Are Finding an Audience with Tiger Woods PGA Tour Players
It's a pretty clever feature in a lot of ways, and it's something I didn't credit the game enough for when I reviewed it. However, what's struck me about country clubs is that they actually solve a lot of common problems with team modes in other sports games. Grouping up in hockey or soccer often results in lots of fun, but it doesn't always seems to justify some of the core conceits of team play:
Why should I be online all the time?
Why do we really need so many people on our team?
What if I'm not very good at the game?
The country clubs mitigate these questions by nesting the reasons right into the design.
Read More - Country Clubs Are Finding an Audience with Tiger Woods PGA Tour Players
Friday, April 13, 2012
07:07 PM - April 13, 2012. Posted by DustinT. Written by Glenn Wigmore
Online play is a staple of today's fighting games, and very few have gotten it right. The UFC Undisputed series has had two mediocre showings in the online space prior to UFC Undisputed 3, so I was curious to see how the servers, community size and general community behavior would hold up about a month after the game had come out.
Read More - The State of the Online Union
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
02:05 PM - April 4, 2012. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
This year's iteration of the Tiger Woods franchise brings with it a reliable simulation, but the developers have also experimented with a couple of key features. A few of these new modes and features don't quite hit the mark and there's a mean-spirited setup to some of the unlockable courses but the core gameplay is very strong, with lots of value to be found in the offline and online areas.
Read More - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 Review (360/PS3)
Read More - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 Review (360/PS3)
Friday, March 30, 2012
03:17 PM - March 30, 2012. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
This year's Tiger Woods release doesn't have an incredibly deep roster of game modes, but there is still some variety to be found on the disc.
Read More - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13: Game Mode Impressions
01:34 PM - March 30, 2012. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
Surviving in the virtual Octagon remains challenging in UFC 3, even with the new amateur controls. While the new scheme may help with some of the delicate transitions that take place in a fight, there are many other small concepts to wrap your head around in order to have success in the offline and online arenas.
Read More - UFC Undisputed 3: Basic Tips
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
12:40 PM - March 28, 2012. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
While most of us would be happy to play our sports games within the comfy confines of consoles and PCs, it's not all bad for sports games in the mobile space. In fact, when a developer embraces the strengths of the medium (portability, connectivity, touch screen), and ignores the tropes of console gaming (fake d-pads, complex mechanics, too many menus), it can actually create something that is a nice change of pace to what you'll find elsewhere, and it won't cost you as much, either.
In that spirit, I'd recommend checking out the following five apps on your iOS device.
Read More - Five Must-Buy Sports Game Apps
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
03:53 PM - March 27, 2012. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
This year's flagship golf release from EA, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13, initially looks to be a mix of old and new, with some new control options and gameplay modifiers as well as some tried-and-true courses and game modes.
The core gameplay of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 seems to offer a relatively accurate simulation, as has generally been the case in previous iterations, especially if played on the higher difficulties. The lower difficulties allow plenty of assists in the form of putt previews, after-touch when the ball is in flight and more lenient swing mechanics. On any of the difficulties you can still always ask your caddie what to do, even on putts, which gives you a fairly accurate idea of where you should be aiming, but it rarely results in the perfect shot since you'll have to tweak a few other things on your own to truly lock it in.
Read More - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13: Initial Reviewer Impressions
Monday, February 20, 2012
10:50 PM - February 20, 2012. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
Several modes have been revamped for this year's UFC release, including the career mode and online matches, and there is also the addition of the PRIDE mode. PRIDE is a particularly welcome addition, as it really changes up how the game is presented and how it plays.
Read More - UFC Undisputed 3 Game Mode Impressions
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