The 60 Dollar Expectation - jkra0512's Blog

jkra0512's Blog

The 60 Dollar Expectation

Posted on November 22, 2008 at 03:17 PM.

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First let me preface this by saying I'm extremely hung over, so actions and/or words expressed may not be the thoughts and actions of this station.

Recently, I bought NCAA Basketball '09 despite breaking my own rule. That rule is never buy a sports game that dips below the B- average, even if it's the only game of that sport for the year. C'mon we all have rules and standards! I thought by buying this game I would help EA's bottom line and maybe, by some off chance, I'll be able to singlehandedly fund their college basketball program.

Many reviews have given this game somewhere between C- to B-, saying it's a start. A start?!? My problem with that statement is, when are we ever going to get passed a start? I thought when the game was PS2 and Xbox it was a start? A beginning is great, but like a good book (who reads books nowadays? Real gamers only read game manuals and strategy guides, pffff books) if you delay the plot too long people lose interest.

It seems, with the exception to Madden and NHL, EA is starting over. Which means, "give us your money and we'll try to make a better game next year." Really? Imagine, if you will, a car manufacturer (Bailout? Where's my bailout?) saying that to you? You think you'd be buying that car? I wouldn't and I would tell everyone else I know not to buy it either.

But, now imagine that same car manufacturer has a monopoly and your job is 50 miles away. Buying the car is the only way you can keep that job to support yourself and your family. Oh, by golly, things have changed because now you'll take your chances and hope for the best.

This applies to EA because they have a stranglehold on our sports gaming and while they make some great games (NHL 09) they can make some pretty piss poor ones too (Here's looking at you, Madden 07)

I might be harsh, but with the plethora (strike that, um, scarcity) of sports games because of EA's undying love of buying the third-party rights to our beloved sports, it's hard not be upset. With Peter Moore's new, "let's conform to our casual crowd" speaks volumes of what we can expect from our sports games from here on in. Let me give you a preview:

1. Sim players will now have to actually play the sport of the game they bought to get any enjoyment.

2. EAsy play will be the new All-Madden, Heisman, and Superstar difficulty setting

3. Mascot games will now be the player models we'll use for dynasty games. No more players.

4. Finally, all EA Sports games will feature Joe Buck as the play-by-play with Harry Caray, posthumously of course, doing the color commentary, regardless if they know ANYTHING about the sport they are presenting.

In a long-winded and convoluted way of saying expect watered down versions of our favorite games. We can be promised the world by EA and in some cases we have been (Wide-Open Gameplay = No Defense, despite what NCAA developers say) but we will continually be lied to because EA has no reason to not to put out a sub-par game. Less money putting in effort with the same returns, I'm sure most of us would take a job where you wouldn't have to put much effort into but still get paid the same.

In conclusion, EA is the prostitute we all love coming back for. While she may not be the best, she still provides hours (not minutes) of entertainment. While abstinence might be the only cure to getting something better, she's the only one around so why not have some fun for sixty bones? Sinner...

Comments

# 1 LingeringRegime @ Nov 22

Dude, I feel where you are coming from, b/c I feel the same way. Since I learned today that there are 64 classic teams in NCAA 09, I will probably have this game at the end of the day.

# 2 rudyjuly2 @ Nov 23

So did you like NCAA Basketball 09?

I think the bigger problem is console makers rushing out with the newest console leading to the same pattern. First two games on a console (more this time) are flawed. Third game really good. Then just tweak it forever while we work on the game for the next console! I really hope the 360/PS3 era lasts extra long so we really see improvement. With the graphics these machines put out, nobody will jump quickly to the next console unless they are cheap and games START good.

# 3 jkra0512 @ Nov 23

Yeah, I like NCAA basketball but onl because I don't know any better. I'm not a basketball guy so I really couldn't tell you if this game is good. It has pretty graphics, decent gameplay and my G-Town Hoyas....so I'm happy.