2003 May — Page 4

Basketball is relatively boring in my opinion. You can’t touch
anybody, and you must let the opposition score in the most spectacular
fashion. I am a huge sports fan but I must bitch about the rules
of basketball more than anything. I would very much like to see
more street basketball on TV. That may be why I enjoyed the NBA
Jam games from the days of old. NBA Street Volume 2 has brought
back some of that nostalgia as well given a life to basketball that
I thought was lost.

I was hesitant to get another sports game that was not entitled
Madden. Usually I will play them and dominate, only to get bored
and turn it back in very shortly. It is not the game’s fault that
I enjoy replay ability that sports games do not give. With the high
hopes that I had for NBA Street Volume to, it turns out, while it
is a cool game, it won’t stay in my collection for very long. Allow
me to explain.

Graphics on the Gamecube are considered middle of the road; the
Xbox always will win the title for the sharpest graphics, and the
PS2 for the absolute shittiest graphics in the console comparison.
The version I picked up was for the Cube, and the graphics look
crisp as all hell. The character models are a good translation from
their real life counterparts. The courts are displayed nicely and
are modeled after actual urban courts from around the US. Around
the court are the spectators; which are modeled, instead of the
usual cardboard people we are accustomed to seeing as audience.
Buses and cars zoom by the streets and the graffiti is present on
the walls and the court itself. The look pulled off by the designers
is defiantly there. The opening menus are fucking sweet. I am a
fan of vector art so the transitions between videos were rather
easy on the eye, definitely a nice touch.

The sound of the streets is present as you ball up and down the
court. Cars honking, chatter and ambience of downtown will come
out of your speakers to illuminate the game itself. The game’s downfall
comes with the announcer. While some of his remarks are cool, the
majority of his comments are on the stupid side. When I say majority
I mean somewhere in the vicinity of 99.9 percent. The rattling on
the rims and the chain net sounds are perfect.

Depending on which platform you choose the control scheme is either
great, or a giant pain in the ass. On the PS2 the 4 upper buttons
come in handy as you have three separate turbo buttons and two trick
buttons. On the Cube you will have to use the Z button as your third
turbo, which is not too much of a pain. On the Xbox you will have
to press d
ow
n your analog stick on order to activate your third
turbo, which I hear is a complete hassle.

The Cube controls are not too hard to pull off. Tricks come easily
with the press of the X or Y and a turbo. Figuring out all the combinations
of tricks and dunks is very cool, and easy to remember for when
you want to bring them out of the bag. All in all the controls are
very easy to master, and with some practice you will be tricking
the computer out of their shoes and pulling off double alley oops
in no time.

The challenge of this game, to me, is like the challenge of any
sports game. For a while it is hard till you learn the controls.
After you learn the controls and some basic strategy you will be
whooping the computer’s ass into submission in no time flat. The
game has three modes of difficulty but when you find the computer’s
tendencies you will easily beat the competition.

This game has your usual EA Big fun factor. What I mean is invite
the boys over to run smack and drink beer while you play this game.
By yourself it has a limited appeal, but with a crew I can see how
this game can shine. Even when playing co-op with Soda I already
get bored. Having owned the game for a few days I have had my fill
of super dunks and fresh looking passes. Don’t get me wrong this
is a very sweet game; if I were more a basketball enthusiast I would
be more eager to get exited about this game, or even keep it longer.
I recommend a rental when you know you will have some pals over,
the controls are a breeze to perform (on PS2 and Cube) and people
are quick to pick them up. Other then that, I say the game is just
fine; the only thing that bugged me was the loading times, however
that varies per platform. Have fun ballin’ it up.

Hello, my name is Soda and I am a Baseball Mogulaholic. I’d like
to share my story with you. I have been a baseball fanatic all my
life. I would say that I have invested more time playing baseball
games than any other type of video game. Before Baseball Mogul came
into my life, I’d say that I was pretty strong. I could play a game
for a few weeks and than be able to put it down. I wouldn’t say
that I ever really struggled with “addiction” to video
game baseball. Than came Baseball Mogul. I thought I would be able
to handle myself. “I’m not addicted, I can quit anytime I want.”

Boy was I wrong. Admitting you have a problem is the first step
to getting help.

When I first started playing I didn’t see how I could get addicted.
It’s just a sim; there is no actual game to play. Originally my
addiction began with Baseball Mogul 2002. My addiction carried over
it 2003 as well. One feature I always looked forward to with each
new addition was the new player pictures and action photos. I bought
Baseball Mogul 2004 over the web for download and I was disappointed
that it didn’t come with any player photos at all. Other than that
it was the same old Baseball Mogul screens that I have become so
accustomed to looking at. The best new feature graphically is the
ability to resize that game window. Sometimes that comes in handy.

Baseball Mogul is all about control. Being a GM of a professional
baseball franchise is my dream job, and Baseball Mogul puts you
right in that seat. You control every aspect of how your franchise
is run from how much money you have in your farm system budget to
how much you charge for hot dogs at the ball park. Trying to find
the balance of building a winning team while staying within your
budget and keeping all the fans happy is one heck of a job. At first
I would play as the GM of my favorite team, the New York Mets, but
because of their fan loyalty and high income and exposure they were
too easy to win with. You want a challenge? Try playing as the GM
of Montreal. I spent 25 years building that club into a respectable
franchise, and the only thing I could do to make them any better
was move them to Washington DC where I could make more money. Like
I said before, you have complete control. If you’re a franchise
sports junky, than this is your game.

The main challenge of Baseball Mogul is just keeping track of everything
that’s going on. You have to r
em
ember who you have in the minors
and who gets paid what and when their contract ends and if you can
afford to keep them. The best thing that they did with Baseball
Mogul 2004 is instead of player contracts and budget being based
on a “point” system, they are now in actual dollar figures.
It makes it a lot easier to put things in perspective. It takes
a lot of time and creativity to build a franchise that is successful
year after year. Another part of the challenge is keeping your cool.
One season I got swept in the series and got really pissed off.
I went out in the off-season and signed everyone who was anyone.
The results turned out to be a disaster. Plugging that many new
players into a core that I already had built turned into more losses
than wins, I didn’t make the playoffs, and because of the huge contracts
of every player on my roster I ended up going into debt. Once you’re
in debt you can’t negotiate with any of your players who’s contract
term ends, and I ended up losing five of my best players.

Baseball Mogul is the most fun and addicting baseball franchise
game I have ever played. Everyone who considers himself a fan of
baseball must play this game at some point in time. There are very
few games that I can imagine that you could invest any near as much
time in as you will to Baseball Mogul. If I were to rate games on
a scale Baseball Mogul would get a 10 out of 10 on replay ability.
Yes, it is that good.

The best part, its only 20 bucks. Do yourself a favor, go out and
get this game or download it online at www.sportsmogul.com. It might
take awhile to get the swing of things, but we’ll be seeing you
in our Mogulaholic’s support group in no time.

-Soda Out

May 2003

NBA Street Vol. 2

Baseball Mogul 2004

Featured Articles

Category Archive