March 2008

College Hoops 2K8

March 21, 2008

Another year brings us another college basketball game, and while most developers will forgo any real enhancement to college series to work on full NBA games, Visual Concepts and 2K Sports have really added decent content to make this worthy of looking at.

The biggest change from last year is the addition of the 6th man meter. This feature attempts to show how home-court advantage really helps the team dominate. By completing successful plays in succession, you fill up a meter that represents the hype of the crowd, and by topping off that meter the A

NBA 2K8

March 21, 2008

PS3 / Reviews / by Paul Bishop /

A solid contender for the best basketball simulator out there, 2K8 improves upon last year’s game by adding content and removing fluff, while focusing on creating a smoother gameplay model. But like layups, the results are mostly there but with an occasional miss.

Once you hit the boards you will notice several different features that have been enhanced since the last outing. Player animations have been improved to incorporate signature moves, and a more realistic momentum foot-planting mechanic allows for a dramatic flow of the action. The latter may be point of contention for some casual gamers as the action has slowed down to incorporate this realism, but it ultimately works to make a more true-to-life experience. AI has been tweaked to make it a nice balance for casual gamers and hardcore alike. Offense AI still puts pressure on you to stop while the Defense AI gets watered down. Combined with the momentum changes, you just can’t barrel into the zone, you need to shift around to get into the crease, but beyond just getting in the way, the defense doesn’t do much to try to stop you. Many times you can sit there and do the same play over and over, and the AI won’t learn, or worse, won’t even attempt to intercept, and while this is a good thing for the casual folks, this may leave some hardcore fans bored.

Along the same lines there seemed to be a tendency for missed layups that should have been golden. Even the announcers seemed to mirror my bafflement as I miss undefended hoops, but regardless it sticks out as incongruent to the whole. The new Lock-on-D is another one of those love it or leave it additions to the game. By locking on and using the analog stick to adjust your position you can make it virtually impossible for opponents to get past you. This may be a good thing for people like me who like to win a lot, but for the majority of people it will just feel like a cheat after time.

Beyond the standard pick-up and play functions present, the main drive of the game is the Association mode in which you take complete managerial control of your franchise; it is too bad you have to navigate through the sub-par menu system to access this though. The plotline feature is now gone, but you start by recruiting and paying players and assigning them slots which are generally broken down in to two categories of personality and positions; players can thus be laid-back/starters or showman/star players. Managing the team becomes a feat as you balance personalities and play time to improve morale and work towards winning seasons.

The old street ball feature has been modified into the Blacktop section of the game which includes a brand new dunking contest mini-game. Street ball remains virtually the same as you can take many favorites from past or present and take them up against the CPU or against friends. The dunking contest is a nice bonus as you master the three sections of a dunk to impress the judges and your friends including online partners. Online adds a solid element to the gameplay as you create a profile which captures your playing style and is viewable by others and go head to head against others.

Graphically the game looks sharp, with little deviation between it and its 360 brother, the lighting, coloring and character animations all look smooth and crisp. The already mentioned addition of signature moves provides inspiring visuals as the players pull no-looks, and awesome dunks. Player avatars do a fair job of representing their namesakes, although there is a wide spectrum where certain players look good and others look horrendous (insert your ugly basketball player joke here), while clothing edges still have a tendency to disappear into player bodies. Crowd models are great at filling the ambiance of the court, including accurate swells in sound as the game gets heated. Announcers do an accurate job updating the play-by-play status but don’t really bring much else to the game.

NBA 2K8 is a great experience that moves past the multiple nits it has against it to vie for greatest basketball simulator out there, for casual or hardcore alike.

Devil May Cry 4

March 20, 2008

Reviews / Xbox 360 / by Mate Bors /

The Devil May Cry series has been notorious for its difficulty, insane action, and a bad-ass anti-hero, Dante. Unsurprisingly, gamers were shocked to learn about the switch from Dante to a new character. Was this change good for the series? Was Capcom able to deliver on the hype and anticipation of the first Devil May Cry on a “next-gen” system?

Nero, the new character, is quite likable. He has his own set of cool moves (such as the Devil Bringer) and his own cocky/badass attitude. Nero’s journey leads through exotic forests, dark castles, and other mysterious places, trying to regain his abducted love, Kyrie. Japanese-style insane difficulty abound, but players can choose between “Human” and “Devil Hunter” difficulty, as well as a few more once you unlock them. You can even set the game to do some combos for you. If the difficulty of previous DMC games turned you off to the other titles, the lower “Human” difficulty of DMC 4 will make it worth your time to give the franchise a second chance.

Visually, the game is top notch. The game looks great in every environment, and all characters look unique. Dante’s and Nero’s moves are beautifully choreographed, making the game feel as realistic and ever. Voice acting, which can often break a game, is quite good here, though hearing Nero scream his secret lover’s name every five seconds per cut scene can get annoying.

The downside of the game, sadly enough, is when players take control of Dante again. While it would have been awesome to do some new missions with him, it’s rather tedious that players have to backtrack for almost a third of the game, fighting the same enemies, and even the same bosses. Speaking of which, you fight almost all of the bosses at least three times during the game. I’m pretty sure the folks at Capcom could have thought up something more creative. Also, the transition between Nero and Dante’s character is not too smooth either. The sudden lack of the Devil Bringer can be distracting especially against flying enemies. To compensate, the game unlocks some different melee weapons, as well as guns for Dante, that can be just as fun to do combos with, trying to reach the coveted SSS rating.

Though the game is short (you’ll likely beat it under 10-11 hours), there is plenty of reason to keep on playing. Since most of the missions are around 30 minutes, it won’t feel tedious to replay them. Going for achievements and S rankings in missions will probably allow you to put in another few hours. Not to mention, if you beat the game on Devil Hunter, you will unlock the Bloody Palace mode, where you will fight hordes and hordes of enemies for more than a hundred levels, and some harder difficulties, perfect for masochists.

Devil May Cry 4 could have been the best of the series, if only there wouldn’t have been so much backtracking (which, along with plot twists, are necessary parts of your average Japanese game, I think). The key word there is A

NPD Analysis – February 2008

March 19, 2008

News / by Christopher Farmer /

The February NPD numbers have been released, so as usual every gaming website is talking about just what they actually mean. I would like to thank Snackbar Games for giving me the opportunity to write my analysis for them.

First, it’s worth considering what these numbers actually represent. NPD uses a retail calendar instead of the traditional one, which means that the “month” of February is actually the four-week period that began on Sunday, February 3rd and ended Saturday, March 1st. Also, since four of the twelve months are five weeks instead of four, it’s useful to look at weekly averages and not just total sales. This makes it easier to compare months without being misled by the differing lengths. READ MORE

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

March 12, 2008

Reviews / Wii / by Graham Russell /

Does Brawl live up to the expectations? For the most part, the answer is a surprising yes. Brawl‘s incredible depth and breadth means that players will continue to explore it for months, and the balanced multiplayer mode will keep them coming back for years after that.

For those who haven’t played a Smash Bros. game, it is basically a fighting game featuring platformer movesets. The title brings together characters from many Nintendo franchises and pits them against each other in a four-player free-for-all. Brawl does nothing to change this, and focuses on enhancing the experience. The game supports the GameCube and Classic Controllers, as well as a Wii Remote with or without nunchuk. Though a GC pad makes the most sense, it is nice to see such thorough support, and the other options are certainly playable. Fully customizable button layouts make it so everyone will play how they want.

Brawl‘s visuals are as good as the Wii gets. With widescreen and 480p support, it won’t disgrace a large HDTV. The sound might even outshine that, though. Brawl sports the largest soundtrack in recent memory, with hundreds of songs from various Nintendo series, and a few from other companies.

Solo players will find more in Brawl than they did in Melee; most notable is the fleshed-out Adventure Mode, now dubbed The Subspace Emissary. It is by no means a full title, and only takes 8 to 12 hours for the average player. However, it proves to be a fun diversion and an interesting way to unlock characters. Classic Mode, on the other hand, seems to have gotten a bit less attention. Melee‘s Race to the Finish has been dropped, and a few more levels have been added, making it feel a bit tedious and repetitive. Event and Stadium modes add a bit of gameplay, but it’s unlikely that either will be a large timesink.

It’s in multiplayer that the Smash Bros. series shines. Brawl has increased the roster size to 35 and included 41 stages, ensuring that none get tired too soon. Some additions, like Olimar and Wario, play like no other character, and truly present a challenge. Some returning characters have had their movesets altered, like Mario with his new F.L.U.D.D. from Super Mario Sunshine. For the most part, it feels much the same, and that’s not a bad thing. Characters are largely balanced, so high-level players will be working with a much larger slate of possibilities.

Nintendo and developer Sora have thrown in lots of extras and collectibles. The Stage Builder mode will see a lot of focus, and is adequate if not amazing in scope. In addition to collecting trophies, players can also collect stickers to boost characters in The Subspace Emissary and music to play in regular and created stages. Most characters and stages were made easy to unlock, but collecting all trophies and stickers is a much more daunting task, and will appeal to those gamers that like the 360’s Achievements.

Brawl is certainly not perfect, though. With all the modes, it lacks a certain focus. Most things can be unlocked by playing things on Easy mode, so there’s less of a sense of achievement with getting them, and The Subspace Emissary is filled a little too much with original characters in a title that is so much about nostalgia and fanaticism. The lack of pointer support is a bit strange for a Wii title, though GameCube controllers are definitely the way to go anyway. Also, currently Nintendo’s online servers are unreliable and disconnect-prone. Hopefully this will be remedied with time.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl is a great party game for a great party system. It’s not a magnum opus, but rather the logical progression of the series, and that’s okay. Pick this one up.

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