So this week was filled with a lot of great news bits. Some of the best news for all gamers was that Jack Thompson received a recommendation for disbarment for ten years. In between the Florida-based lawyer getting his though, was a ton of sports news. In this past week, a number of things have come to light that are very good indicators of the sports gaming season to come. Rather than ramble on about them, here are some of the many news tidbits.

NHL 09 gets its first video
http://www.gamespot.com/video/946760...cial-trailer-1

The trailer for NHL 09 shows some good things and some bad things to be sure. It’s a great first look into what will hopefully become a title that lives up to the standards set by its most recent predecessor.

Graphically, this game looks beautif…err….tough and vicious. The players look especially good. The jerseys look fresh and the little of the faces we see also look good. Even more shockingly is that the fans look great. One of the most common complaints about any sports game graphics-wise is that the fans look like cardboard cutouts. This game looks to be trying to break that mold.

The problem in this trailer to me was quite unnerving though. Granted we’re only seeing a relatively early build, but while not horribly so, some of the animations looked a little…..jerky? The one that sticks out most in my mind is when Zdeno Chara (#33 for the Bruins) slides in front of a shot. The puck seemingly barely touches him and bounces off to the side. This isn’t to say I’m wholly worried yet, but the animations definitely seem to need a bit of cleaning up.

I’m extremely excited to see the final product of this game and only time will tell if it can outdo NHL '08.

No more Tony Hawk from Neversoft?
http://www.totalvideogames.com/news/...311_7163_0.htm

There have been rumors going around recently that Activision will be changing the developers of the game to new developer Robomodo and allowing Neversoft to put its focus into the Guitar Hero games (all 1 million of them).

I am honestly excited by this possibility. Sure, Neversoft has never gone horribly wrong with the Tony Hawk games, but after Skate’s stomping of the most recent title, it almost seems a reworking of the title is an absolute necessity to be able to compete in this generation; and Clearly Activision feels something is wrong as well since Tony Hawk is only coming to the DS this year.

A new developer would likely bring a new perspective and likely boost this game with some fresh ideas and hopefully a new physics engine. The style of the game doesn’t even need to be exactly the same as that of Skate, just something a little less "arcadey." Only time will tell if this turns out to be true as the next game isn’t slated until a 2009/2010 release.

Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff off to a good start
http://media.ds.gamespy.com/media/14...0&RSSid=879254

So last week, Gamespy posted a grouping of screenshots for the upcoming Nintendo DS title, Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff -- there was also a ton of previews posted about the game all over the Internet -- and so far, things are looking good.

This is exactly what I wish more companies would do: re-imagine a classic game with upgraded graphics, but leave the larger feel of the original largely intact. The basic look of the game is still there, but with a more polished feel for the newer generation of gamers.

My distant hope for a similar redo by THQ in the form of a re-envisioned WWF No Mercy aside, this Tecmo revival had been rumored for a while, and so now I'm happy to see the series back in action.