The 2009 Video Game Thread

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

Since I ended up getting Madden someplace else, I switched my Madden reserve money to Lego Indiana Jones 2. My son loved the first one.

I'm not sure how different the levels will be for the first 3 movies, thought the Crystal Skull is in now.

The exciting thing is you are going to get to create your own levels. I think that will make it a lot of fun.

I think they added levels that take place between the movies. I'd love to see them make a Lego Batman 2. Plenty of storylines they can do with that cast of characters.

[Jughead Spock]

k, finished off Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 (thanks to having a cold/flu over the weekend). Very meh about the whole experience. By the timer, it says it took me 10 hours, I assume that includes simulators, etc. Don't even know if I'll bother with a replay.

The story really peters out in the 2nd half. The battles definitely got tougher, for the most part... but I beat the final boss with one guy (Luke Cage). On Super-Heroic. It didn't get tedious, but I think most of that was because I was working on all the unlockables (which weren't much, another 'bonus' to the pile). I entirely gave up on caring about leveling up about a third of the way into the game.

I'd highly recommend renting first and blast through it.

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by Jughead Spock

k, finished off Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 (thanks to having a cold/flu over the weekend). Very meh about the whole experience. By the timer, it says it took me 10 hours, I assume that includes simulators, etc. Don't even know if I'll bother with a replay.

The story really peters out in the 2nd half. The battles definitely got tougher, for the most part... but I beat the final boss with one guy (Luke Cage). On Super-Heroic. It didn't get tedious, but I think most of that was because I was working on all the unlockables (which weren't much, another 'bonus' to the pile). I entirely gave up on caring about leveling up about a third of the way into the game.

I'd highly recommend renting first and blast through it.

I haven't finished it just yet, but I'm ready to put it down. The game is way too easy. There has only been 1 boss fight so far that hasn't been a straight button masher for me. This one is pretty lame....

Spoiler

The fact that the Civil War aspect of the story only lasted for a couple of missions is a big disappointment for me. That was the main advertised story line. It should have lasted much longer than it did.

[Jughead Spock]

Agreed, the storyline really went lame in a hurry. Too bad.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Some great stuff here. Game engine footage from GT5............



HD version of the video.........

Gran Turismo TV

Forza footage was also released of the same car in action..........

GameSpot Video: Forza Motorsport 3 Ferrari Trailer

[Epi_862]

You do realize that in-engine and in-game are not -really- comparable?

That being said, to me, they look identical - which is to say they both looked great, which is great news for ps3 and 360 owners alike.

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Some great stuff here. Game engine footage from GT5............

HD version of the video.........

Gran Turismo TV

Forza footage was also released of the same car in action..........

GameSpot Video: Forza Motorsport 3 Ferrari Trailer

[whomario]

2K slowly catching up in terms of giving out good information.

First off a pretty awesome short trailer showcasing player reactions (facial expressions, bench player reaction etc) :

YouTube - NBA 2K10 Official Trailer #3

then a new developers insight, this time on the are lacking most in 2K9, defense :

2K Sports

Defensive Rotations

Defensive Rotations are new in NBA 2K10. Last year, our Help Defense system relied on assessing the best defender to help based on distance from ball and closeness to basket. However, it failed to truly represent the fact that rotations in basketball are part of an underlying strategy by the coaches to cater to their defensive strengths. In NBA 2K10, we spent a ton of time trying to balance these rotations correctly based on defensive awareness and ball position.

The rotation of the defense usually creates an opening that the offense will have. Think of it as pulling a short blanket to cover your body. As you pull it one way, another extremity will be exposed. The game is to expose the least important extremity, and hope that the offense doesn’t realize where that extremity is.

The new fun element on defense now is a security that help comes in a timely fashion, but if the offensive player recognizes where the rotation leaves the open man, you will need to recover as quickly to him as possible, and that isn’t always feasible.

Rotations also factor in the double team logic, now. What that means to the user is that the rest of the team will rotate to cover in case of a double team. Again, all of this because playing team defense is a preset strategy and not just an awareness check.
In doing all this, we created a new dynamic in playing team offense and defense and added a dimension to our game that was previously lacking.

tons more in the article, check it out

[Neon_Chaos]

mmmmmm

Can't wait for NBA 2k10.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Neon_Chaos

mmmmmm

Can't wait for NBA 2k10.

Ditto. It sounds like they are addressing all of my biggest complaints about 09.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Epi_862

You do realize that in-engine and in-game are not -really- comparable?

That being said, to me, they look identical - which is to say they both looked great, which is great news for ps3 and 360 owners alike.

I know the difference, which is why I noted it. My intention was not to compare, otherwise I would have commented on whether one or the other looked better or worse.

[MizzouRah]

Damn.. 2k really does basketball well. They need to get their hockey and baseball games in order!

[Balldog]

I'm going to try not to buy NBA 2k10 but its going to be hard, my problem is I don't have a favorite team and I don't care for the NBA all that much.

Fully customizable draft classes is making it hard to not pull the trigger.

[rjolley]

Has anyone tried the NBA 2K10 draft camp DLC? I tried the demo and it seems like fun. Wonder if the full game is worth it.

[whomario]

wouldn´t bother with it now with the full game right around the corner where you can do basically the same thing only there it´s in a summer league setting (with real life young players from the league).
It was a very nice game to get an idea of what to expect in 2K10 (wasn´t fully 2K10 engine, more like 2K9,5 ) and a great adictive time waster, but at this point it´s only use would be to get a head start for the full games my player mode as you can import the player you created in the DLC.

[whomario]

New Video : NBA 2K10 Screenshots and Videos for Xbox 360 - Operation Sports


And Screenshots, including menu, sliders, ratings (new rating system FTW) etc : NBA 2K10 Screenshots and Videos for Xbox 360 - Operation Sports

Love the new look of the game, love the menus, love the biger difference in ratings (indivicual ratings go from 25-99, OVRL roughly from 35/40-99 instead of like 60-99 as before)
Menus might be strange at the beginning but i just love that new style, much more friendly to the eye and might be a real improvement.
Couldn´t watch the video at work, if anybody finds a youtube link or even better a downloadable links ...

According to the first reactions from mods that got to play the game over at OS, defense is indeed highly improved in terms of AI and scoring in the paint got tougher again. That´s all i needed to hear really
Apparently commentary is actually worth listening to this time around for some time.

[Neon_Chaos]

Anyone tried the NBA Live 10 demo?

I tried to get into it, but I couldn't. Everything felt off. Not sure if it was because I've been playing 2k the past 3 years, but Live doesn't do it for me anymore.

[whomario]

Live got a real nice feel on the perimeter, but everything inside the 3 point arc is way off. Driving to the paint without resistance, unbelievably awkward layup animations, a joke of a postgame etc. Plus even the good things like the step back jumpers feel off in that they are way to powerfull, kind of like that "super-shot" feature back in 06 or 07 (?) .

I´d say don´t worry. If you´ve played 2K and had just a few gripes with 2K9 you´ll likely love 2K10 as they seem to have corrected nearly every widespread issue (in particular lack of help D and rotations, too many PiP, no midrange game) .

Q&A Topic at OS from Mods getting to play the game : NBA 2k10 Q&A - Full Game - Operation Sports Forums

And apparently drive & kick is back !

[Neon_Chaos]

Mmmmmm

I seriously can't wait for 2k10.

[MikeVic]

I traded for Batman: Arkham Asylum... just started it, but on the case it says I can play as Joker for the PS3 version? Anyone know how to get that?

[Eaglesfan27]

Not sure if this applies to the PS3 version, but the 360 version had a card inside with a code to redeem a download (for a challenge map.) It was a 1 time use item.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Not sure if this applies to the PS3 version, but the 360 version had a card inside with a code to redeem a download (for a challenge map.) It was a 1 time use item.

lol ah dammit that better not apply to the PS3 version too, since it's a used game and I'm guessing the previous owner used the code then.

[MikeVic]

Ah a quick Google search says it's a DLC challenge map thing, so I should be alright.

[RainMaker]

Well I downloaded the FIFA demo and loved it. Heard there was still going to be an issue of every team essentially playing the same style. But I did think the gameplay was really fun.

Does anyone know if you can do multiplayer manager mode?

[RainMaker]

Also downloaded the PES demo. It was fun, although not as fluid as FIFA. The physics aren't as good and it wasn't as much fun to play. It did however have superior AI when it came to computer controlled players. They passed along the backline, kicked it out when in trouble, and made some interesting passes that I didn't even see. This is opposed to the FIFA AI which is just a go forward and attack mindset.

So it seems PES has much better AI and potentially better gameplay. But FIFA wins in every other category. Not sure what to go with here.

[Big Fo]

The last few seasons I went with PES on the Wii (which if anyone hasn't tried it is very non traditional, you use the IR pointer to aim passes, shoot, and send players on runs) which I really like but it'll only be six or seven months since the last one and I wonder how much Konami will have improved it in that time. I might switch over to FIFA for a year, I'm not that great at the demo but it was pretty fun.

[MJ4H]

The new FIFA on Wii will have IR pointer passing, too, which is the best part of the control system in PES to me, so I'm interested in that.

[Ironhead]

NBA 2k10 is looking pretty good. I didn't pick up last year's game but enjoyed running a Timberwolves dynasty for 2K8. Might have to pick this up. I will be sorely disappointed once again though if they screw up the rookie generation in association mode.

[whomario]

Originally Posted by Ironhead

NBA 2k10 is looking pretty good. I didn't pick up last year's game but enjoyed running a Timberwolves dynasty for 2K8. Might have to pick this up. I will be sorely disappointed once again though if they screw up the rookie generation in association mode.

my hope is that with the opportunity to create and upload draft classes some guys will put in the work and create realistic (fantasy) draft classes and share them ...

[whomario]

NBA 2K10 demo is out, for now only on Live Gold for XBox 360.

And only 1 quarter, no commentary and no playcalling apparently (can´t check myself). I find it ridiculous with what those companies get away in terms of selling a product ...

Anyway, should give an indication as to how the controlls are at least. Buying it anyway, but for some that´s a big point.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Uncharted 2 multiplayer beta is now live for all PS3 users (don't need a code anymore). 1.2 GB download.

I'm extremely excited about the release of Uncharted 2. Haven't heard any bad things about it and the current Metacritic score of 97 places it as the 6th highest reviewed game in the history of the site.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (ps3) reviews at Metacritic.com

[PurdueBrad]

I don't play through a ton of games, ones that I've "beat" in recent years are the Call of Duty series, Ghostbusters, Mass Effect, and probably a handful of others. However, I just finished playing out Batman: Arkham Asylum and I have to say that it was absolutely stellar. There were a couple things that made me have to completely stop just to appreciate what they did. I'm not big into the stealth-style games but this was really enjoyable. I would give it an 8.5 or 9/10 but then there were some mind-blowing scenes (see spoiler) that really make it a 9.5/10. Money well spent for sure.

Spoiler

The nightmares that Scarecrow/Dr. Crane induce are simply amazing, from the number of times you watch your parents getting killed to the last run of nightmares where I truly thought my X-Box or tv had melted down, just really, really well done.

[Big Fo]

Just a heads up, word on the Internet is that the latest Wii system update (4.2) can brick your console so maybe hold off on updating for now.

14 hours in Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story is the second best game I've played this year behind Dragon Quest V. Witty writing, beautiful 2D graphics, and a great turn-based battle system.

[whomario]

FIFA is out in a lot of stores in Europe allready and officially tomorrow. Ended up buying at in the end as my local big store had a 25% offer on all games today.
So far had a few nice games, looks good and plays very smooth. Even more sophisticated than last year though, definitely no game for some mindless fun.

[MizzouRah]

BF2 - OH HELL YEAH!!!!!

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 'Moments' trailer is obscenely awesome

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

Just a heads up, word on the Internet is that the latest Wii system update (4.2) can brick your console so maybe hold off on updating for now.

You left out the part that it only bricks your console if you have illegal software or mods on your system.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by whomario

FIFA is out in a lot of stores in Europe allready and officially tomorrow. Ended up buying at in the end as my local big store had a 25% offer on all games today.
So far had a few nice games, looks good and plays very smooth. Even more sophisticated than last year though, definitely no game for some mindless fun.

My biggest issue with this is the CPU playing the same style every game no matter what team or talent they have. It's an run forward and attack strategy that never changes. They don't adjust when winning or losing.

I think it would be great if each team had it's own strategy.

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

You left out the part that it only bricks your console if you have illegal software or mods on your system.

No he didn't because that is not the case.

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

You left out the part that it only bricks your console if you have illegal software or mods on your system.

No, even people with unmodded systems have reported it happening.

For people who have modded their system, it only bricks when the same error occurs, if the update does what it's supposed to do it just deletes the Homebrew Channel and other non-Nintendo stuff but the system works fine after.

[spleen1015]

Proof Nintendo is the bestest!

hxxp://www.gamespot.com/greatest-video-game-hero/standings/index.html

[whomario]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

My biggest issue with this is the CPU playing the same style every game no matter what team or talent they have. It's an run forward and attack strategy that never changes. They don't adjust when winning or losing.

I think it would be great if each team had it's own strategy.

actually they kind of do play different in 10. Limited sample size for me, but so far i am recognizing differences. Maybe not team-specific, but definitely in relation to the stature of the team and the result of the game. teams that are leading become more defensive in the 2nd half, especially weaker ones, and teams loosing go more attacking.
Changing their formations as well as playing more agressive or more "loose" (not pressing but letting you some space in the early midfield and then attacking about 10-15 metres into their half)

[Big Fo]

Barcelona playing in the same style as a League Two team would put me off a bit.

From the EA forums I was annoyed to learn that you can't edit players' attributes for offline play, I watched this youtube video that has overall ratings for players on a number of teams and saw some things I'd like to fix once I get the game in a few weeks. Darren Fletcher got dicked over pretty bad for one example.

[whomario]

you can´t other than a little bit of attribute redistributing (take away at one attribute, up another one) .
Didn´t you get the memo ? We have live season now ! It´s only a little bit of our money ! It is really accurate and not at all exagerrated !

Purely a business decicion on there part, no Editor = more incentive to pay for their updates.

Heck, you can´t even save replays to your harddrive, only upload them. Of course, only if you are a paying Gold Member at XBox Live ...

[MizzouRah]

Who's getting Operation Flashpoint Tuesday?

(raises hand)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Interesting info about Best Buy's game trade-in program. Looks like the trade-in amounts are quite a bit higher at Best Buy when compared to Gamestop.

Best Buy’s Trade-in Program Trounces GameStop | Loot Ninja

[Kodos]

Wouldn't mind seeing Best Buy and Walmart eat into GameStop's market.

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Wouldn't mind seeing anyone eat into GameStop's market.

I think Gamestop is worthless to trade games to.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Who's getting Operation Flashpoint Tuesday?

(raises hand)

+1

This series is definitely my favorite for war games. I love the open-ended style of play. You never get the feeling that you are being steered to solve the mission a certain way.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Who's getting Operation Flashpoint Tuesday?

(raises hand)

I'll be waiting for impressions. I am pretty sure I'll get this though, plus Uncharted 2 the week after, then I'll be on a hiatus until Modern Warfare 2.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by whomario

actually they kind of do play different in 10. Limited sample size for me, but so far i am recognizing differences. Maybe not team-specific, but definitely in relation to the stature of the team and the result of the game. teams that are leading become more defensive in the 2nd half, especially weaker ones, and teams loosing go more attacking.
Changing their formations as well as playing more agressive or more "loose" (not pressing but letting you some space in the early midfield and then attacking about 10-15 metres into their half)

That's real good news. Probably my only major flaw with the game.

Last year they all did the same thing so a month in, I could telegraph every pass they were making and knew every weakness in their defense. If that is fixed, I'm really looking forward to manager mode.

Question for you or anyone into soccer. Is there a site or something where I can learn the structures and such for the leagues? They all have different rules, relegations, and weird tournaments mixed in. It's kind of confusing for someone who doesn't follow all these things and I can't find a site that explains it all. For instance, I was kind of following the Chicago Fire but then out of the blue we are playing some Mexican team for something.

[whomario]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Question for you or anyone into soccer. Is there a site or something where I can learn the structures and such for the leagues? They all have different rules, relegations, and weird tournaments mixed in. It's kind of confusing for someone who doesn't follow all these things and I can't find a site that explains it all. For instance, I was kind of following the Chicago Fire but then out of the blue we are playing some Mexican team for something.

not really an expert how it works on the american continent, but i´ll try

There´s allways a domestic league and a domestic cup (with lower level teams participating, changes from country to country how many), then a certain number of teams qualify for 1 or more continental competition, in case of the US it is the CONCACAF Champions League with teams from North America, Central America and the Caribean.
However in the US it´s different in terms of who qualifies than f.e. in Europe because of the Playoffs. Really, wikipedia is an excellent source here : 2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Just click from there to learn about the associated countries league systems and so forth.

Don´t think there´s a good guide out there, at least i don´t know of any. Especially stay away from anything comparing european to US soccer system, the few i have read through the years are rubish ...

In case you are interested, now europe : In Europe it is totally different than the US. There´s leagues all the way down to 10th league or even deeper with promotion and relegation. The first league (Premier League in England, Bundesliga in Germany for example) in basically all countries has between 12 and 20 clubs that play each other twice (no divisions or conferences) and at the end of a season a certain number of teams qualify for european Competitions (champions league and Europa League) depending on the countries´s teams´ previous success in those competitions.
F.e. England gets 3 direct and 1 qualifying bid for the Champions League, Germany gets 2 and 1, a country like Iceland gets just 1 bid for the qualification round.
Europa League is below the champions league, so the teams qualified for that were the next-placed teams in last seasons league after the teams in the champions league.

example germany and england (note how seamless it goes down, and they aren´t even complete, below the "91 regional leagues" there is a number in the high hundreds) :

German football league system - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

English football league system - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

just type in "country X football League system" in google and put any major country in there.


Hope that helps, sorry for not being able to explain it in a sentence or 2, but you just can´t.