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Wednesday, June 12, 2013
10:47 AM - June 12, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
One of the few playable Xbox One games on the show floor was FIFA 14, and even at “65 percent complete,” according to producer Nick Channon, the game looks like the Xbox One version is going to be the one footy fans will want to wait for this year. Amusingly, the producers did actually confirm that the game was running on actual hardware by showing the dev kit, so I can be fairly sure that what I played is a good representation of what FIFA 14 will bring to next-gen consoles this holiday season.
Read More - E3 2013: Hands-On with FIFA 14 on Xbox One
Monday, April 22, 2013
01:23 PM - April 22, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
Now that the trade deadline has come and gone in the NHL, the teams with new assets are evaluating what exactly they got for all of the prospects, picks and players that were sent the other way. Most meaningful players picked up at the deadline were done so for rental purposes as they always are, as teams just want to have them for a potential playoff run. Of course, a few teams made moves for cap reasons and just to shuffle personnel around — a small token to their fanbase that “shows” that the GM tried to do something.
To gauge the impact of some of these players on their respective teams, I figured that a simulation over a season of NHL 13 would tell an interesting tale as to how each player impacts their respective new teams. Oftentimes it seems that rental players get discarded just because a team gets bounced in the first round, so I thought it would be intriguing to see how they would hold up over a full season.
I simulated a full season and playoffs, and I enabled injuries for some reality. I disabled trades, as I wanted to see how these players would hold up over the long haul. It's not a perfect solution, but I figured it might give a good sense of what kind of impact some of these trade deadline players would have. For the purpose of this sim, I surveyed the trade deadline list and picked the ten players that I felt were the biggest acquisitions. This means that I focused on higher-profile trades and avoided teams swapping plugs for seventh rounders and trades of that sort.
Read More - Judging the Rentals: Which NHL Trade Deadline Players Were the Best Catches?
Friday, April 19, 2013
12:22 PM - April 19, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
Operation Sports recently had a chance to get an early glimpse of NHL 14, and senior franchise producer David Littman was there to give us the the lowdown on where the series has been up until now and where it will be headed with NHL 14.
“For NHL this console generation, it's been all about quality and innovation. When you look back at the generation, the NHL franchise really stands with the best of them,” said Littman. “We're really proud of that.”
Littman feels that year after year his NHL dev team has been staffed by people who live and breathe hockey, either from having played it or by being die-hard fans of the sport. He cites the lockout this year being a problem for all fans of hockey, including his dev team, but he feels that the NHL 13 product showed that his group still has the touch even when interest in the sport may seem to be waning in the public eye.
Read More - Producer David Littman Talks NHL 14
Friday, March 22, 2013
12:15 PM - March 22, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
With the next generation of consoles on the horizon, sports games find themselves at an interesting branch point. The engines that have powered sports products for the last five-plus years are starting to show their age, and developers are spinning their wheels when it comes to new features, modes and gameplay systems. On top of all this, the visuals have started to flag in the big franchises, with crowds looking the same, animations showing minimal improvement, and lighting not really changing all that much.
Read More - NHL 14: Keys to Best Last Year's Effort
Saturday, February 23, 2013
03:18 PM - February 23, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
The co-main event for this weekend's UFC event is definitely going to be a serious battle, as two perennial title contenders square off in the light-heavyweight division. Lyoto Machida is coming off of a dominating knockout win over Ryan Bader, but before that he was choked into unconsciousness by champ Jon “Bones” Jones. A win over Dan Henderson, the No. 1 contender in the division (even though he's only fought in it once), would put “The Dragon” into a title fight. For his part, Henderson will try and preserve his contender status by using his considerable power to turn the lights out, something he's done a lot in his career. His most recent scrap against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was an epic five-round war, which Henderson barely won (some argue that it should've been a draw).
Read More - UFC 3 Sim Fight: Machida vs. Henderson
Saturday, February 2, 2013
11:13 AM - February 2, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
With UFC 156 coming up on Saturday, it seemed like a good time for another simulated fight. Since UFC Undisputed 3 doesn't allow for fighters to take on competition from other weight classes, I can't simulate Aldo vs. Edgar, but I figured the co-main event would do the job.
Rashad Evans is taking on Antônio Rogério Nogueira, and each of these guys is at a bit of a crossroads. Rashad is 4-1 in his last five, but he lost most recently to Jon Jones in a five-round decision. Nogueira hasn't fought since December 2011, and while he did last beat Tito Ortiz, he previously lost to both Phil Davis and Ryan Bader.
Read More - UFC 3 Sim: Evans vs. Nogueria
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
01:10 PM - January 29, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
As much as I loved the subtle additions to NHL 13, as well as the more meaningful stuff like the True Skating engine and GM Connected, there are still some outstanding issues with the game in terms of its AI performance on the ice. The team at EA Vancouver has really brought the series along over the years, addressing some bothersome exploits and annoying holdover issues from previous versions. However, in doing so, it has underlined a few pesky problems that remain, and it's also introduced a few new ones. These are five AI issues that I believe still need some work, and I think there are solutions for each one of them. I'll start from the goalie on out.
Read More - NHL 13: Five Items That Still Need Improvement
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
04:17 PM - November 28, 2012. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
As is the norm in WWE releases these days, there's a fairly robust set of downloadable wrestlers created by the community in WWE 13. Whether it's legends, omitted current stars or grapplers from other promotions, WWE 13 looks to be continuing the trend of unique DLC wrestlers from the community. As always, there is some variance in the quality, but you can always use the filters to find specific content or stuff that's rating highly in the community. In the meantime, here's a list of some of the best characters to check out so far.
Read More - Ten Coolest Character Creations in WWE 13
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
11:40 AM - October 31, 2012. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
The Fire Pro Wrestling franchise has been around for a couple of decades now, and it has always provided something different than the usual crop of North American wrestling games. There's been a depth of modes and creation features unparalleled in comparable games, and the simplicity of the presentation has imbued the series with a retro charm that provides a great deal of replay value. Add to that a gameplay engine that is full of depth, thanks to its progression-based moves and grappling, and you've got a game that's been tailor-made for wrestling fans.
This legacy makes it all the more unfortunate that the Xbox Live Arcade release bearing the same name is such a disappointment. You would think that adding avatar support, online play, leaderboards, 3D visuals and some exaggerated charm would build upon what came before for the Fire Pro brand, but the developers at Spike Chunsoft have actually watered down the experience so much that it loses a great deal of its depth and caters poorly to any potential audience — casual, hardcore or otherwise.
Read More - Fire Pro Wrestling Avatar Review (XBLA)
This legacy makes it all the more unfortunate that the Xbox Live Arcade release bearing the same name is such a disappointment. You would think that adding avatar support, online play, leaderboards, 3D visuals and some exaggerated charm would build upon what came before for the Fire Pro brand, but the developers at Spike Chunsoft have actually watered down the experience so much that it loses a great deal of its depth and caters poorly to any potential audience — casual, hardcore or otherwise.
Read More - Fire Pro Wrestling Avatar Review (XBLA)
Friday, October 26, 2012
03:50 PM - October 26, 2012. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
With the lockout still in full swing, hockey fans and casual hockey gamers are left to mine the depths of NHL 13 for the delicious marrow of hockey goodness. As always, there is plenty to do in the game, with tons of value in both the offline and online space. Since there is so much to do, let's take a look at what milestones you can accomplish in the next year, with an eye to achievements and trophies for the Xbox 360 and PS3, respectively.
Read More - NHL 13: Five Things to Accomplish
Friday, October 5, 2012
12:43 PM - October 5, 2012. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
With the new skating engine, prominent poke-checking and super-powered goalies, the powerplay looks a little bit different in NHL 13. A lot of strategies from previous years will still find success here and there, but the emphasis has definitely been placed on perimeter play — or at the very least, creating an opening through a cycle so that you can get to the slot.
To start with, the strategies on offer during the powerplay remain the same as in previous years, with the “overload” highlighting skilled forwards, the “umbrella” emphasizing play off the half-boards, and the “shooting” formation for booming point shots. There is also a slider to set the AI tendency for carrying or dumping the puck on the powerplay, which can be useful when you are locked to a position or playing in coach mode. You can also still customize defensive formation on the PP, with “collapsing,” “staggered” or “tight point” options.
Read More - NHL 13: Powerplay Strategies
Friday, September 28, 2012
04:04 PM - September 28, 2012. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
With the dark days of the NHL lockout now a reality, there's little left for most fans to do but relive past highlights and create new ones through the game space. Unfortunately, we can't simulate CBA negotiations in NHL 13 (how great would that be, though?). However, we can fill the void by playing one of the best modes in the NHL series: the EA Sports Hockey League.
Read More - NHL 13: Ignoring the Lockout with EASHL
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
12:07 PM - September 11, 2012. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
Looming lockout be damned, because there is a new hockey game to review.
I think it's safe to say that commercial and critical success have followed the NHL franchise in the last few years, as the hockey product has always brought something new to the table, whether that be a meaningful gameplay iteration or new online modes. To my mind, this year's game takes the biggest risk by skewing the gameplay in a much more “simulation” direction. The speed at which you play is drastically altered by the new skating engine, the goalies are formidable presences, and the tendency for bobbled pucks, missed nets and blocked shots is notably increased.
But does this make for a compelling game overall? I feel this direction serves to represent the sport in a much more accurate way than before, but it may leave some players feeling initially shackled by the change in pace and timing. For those that are willing to get out of their comfort zone a little bit and learn the new skating engine and all of the subtle gameplay changes, you'll find an awesome hockey simulation waiting for you.
Read More - NHL 13 Review (360/PS3)
Monday, August 20, 2012
02:28 PM - August 20, 2012. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
There have been many memorable soundtracks in sports games over the years. Some of them worked because of their great variety and notable title tracks, and others complemented the gameplay in an organic way, demonstrating that the developers had chosen the songs with great care.
It's hard to narrow it down to just a few soundtracks over the years as being the greatest of the bunch, but here are my pick's for the best six soundtracks for sports games in the modern era of sports gaming.
Read More - Six Greatest Sports Game Soundtracks of All Time
It's hard to narrow it down to just a few soundtracks over the years as being the greatest of the bunch, but here are my pick's for the best six soundtracks for sports games in the modern era of sports gaming.
Read More - Six Greatest Sports Game Soundtracks of All Time
Thursday, August 16, 2012
01:38 PM - August 16, 2012. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
Since giving NHL sports Game of the Year in 2007, the franchise has been good to great but not quite on the same level of it's peers. With an impressive list of features coming our way for NHL 13, is this the year the franchise returns to prominence? Kelvin Mak and Glenn Wigmore discuss this possibility in our newest Fact or Fiction. Be sure to give your own answer after the jump!
Read More - OS Fact or Fiction: NHL 13 will be the Sports GOTY
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