Hockey season is almost here, so getting ready for the long haul of the 82 game regular season is a big deal for fans. I myself am a fan of the sport of hockey first, THEN I am a fan of the Dallas Stars (my local NHL hockey team). I might celebrate a great highlight goal or sick move, but I’ll hate the team that player plays for with a passion. I ultimately just want to spread the gospel of hockey so it can have a larger following, as well as a bigger showing on ESPN not ESPN 8 – The Ocho. This led me to dabble in rooting for the Chicago Blackhawks last year for their exciting and talented young hockey team. I started this when I needed a team to get behind and cheer for since that club actually made it to the playoffs (*cough* My Stars didn’t! *cough*). So which one of the two hockey games being released this year are going to tickle my jock strap and get me in the mood for the hockey season? Find out after the jump as I review 2K Sports NHL 2K10.
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When motion controls first hit the scene a few years back, playing a baseball game where you can actually swing was what I wanted most. Many gamers preferred the light saber fantasy, but I am more of an athlete than a mathlete. Anyway, the baseball game to play this season not on Sony hardware is The Bigs 2. This is like baseball on steroids, no pun intended. The game is a hybrid of a baseball sim and NFL Blitz. The Wii version is different from the other console versions making it a clean single as opposed to a walk-off home run.
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During a recent 2K media day, we got a chance to take a look at The Bigs 2 on the Wii. The sequel to 2007’s arcade baseball title adds a few new modes and tweaks to turn up the fun factor. With the Wii version being the best selling edition of the original, 2K chose to show off this version of the game.
The first thing that hit me was how well The Bigs 2 looked on the Wii. Character and stadium models (while tweaked to look extreme) are terrific on the platform. Things look even better on the Xbox 360 and PS3, but based on controls, the Wii version may be the one to pick up. Pitching and hitting with the Wii Remote are very fluid and not over-done or gimmicky, so you’ll definitely enjoy it.
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After sitting in on developer conference call for MLB 2K9 last Friday, my anticipation for this year’s 2K Sports baseball title wasn’t very high. The past few year we’ve heard the “going back to basics” speech, so hearing it again did not give me a lot of hope for this year’s title, even if Kush Games was out as the developer and Visual Concepts was in. Today, 2K released a demo for MLB 2K9 on the Xbox 360 (PS3 version coming on the Thursday update).
I played the demo a few times and, to my surprise, I was impressed. The game actually plays well this year, thanks to Visual Concepts. There are still quite a few things that don’t bring the game up to the level of Sony’s The Show, but it’s a huge huge step in the right direction for 2K.
The 849mb demo shouldn’t take you too long to download. If you don’t have a PS3, I can honestly say it’s not a bad move to buy the 2K baseball game this year. If you do have a PS3, I’d still go with MLB 09 The Show. We’ll have full reviews for both games in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for those.
You know what I’ve always found odd about the MLB 2K series? The still screenshots look phenomenal but quickly lose their luster when you see the game in motion. The animations and such just always disappoint me. I’m a baseball snob, though. I played my entire life and pitched a few years Semi-Pro before I blew out my knee, then I turned to coaching. Since I’m so in love with the game, I expect the best out of my baseball video games. In previous years, the MLB 2K series hasn’t delivered. Hopefully 2K can turn it around this year, but I remain skeptical. We’ll see in March.
For now, check out these two cool screenshots of Tim Lincecum.
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Last night I had a chance to discuss all things 2K Sports’ NHL 2K9 with the game’s Producer, Ben Bishop, as well as the Online Producer, Jay Iwahashi. We talked about the changes made since 2K8, new control schemes, Wii features, and new online modes.
To start with, the game development has moved from Kush Games to 2K Sports in-house studio Visual Concepts. Almost everything started fresh, so you’ll notice tons of changes in the gameplay, AI, and presentation. With Visual Concepts handling the development, the NHL team was able to to work closely with the NBA team to get a lot of cool changes in the game’s presentation. Both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions will be running at a crisp 60 frames per second in offline and online modes.
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Today I spent a bit of time on a conference call with Matthew Seymour, Executive Producer on 2K Sports’ upcoming boxing title, Don King Presents: Prizefighter. The first bit of the call discussed the game, then it turned into a confusing rant from the mouths of Don King and Larry Holmes. I spent half the time laughing because I had no idea what they were saying and what was going on.
Anyway, let’s get to the game. There is plenty of competition in the boxing arena with the Fight Night series, but Prizefighter looks to stand out by offering a huge, dramatic experience in the career mode. In a move never been done before, 2K is telling your story through a sports documentary centered around your character. In what should take about 15 hours to complete, real video will discuss your character’s career from the perspective of Don King, cut men, girlfriends, etc. Sounds terrific to me.
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In a developer call earlier today, Matthew Seymour, Executive Producer of Don King Presents Prizefighter took a little rip at EA Sports and their upcoming arcade-style boxing game, FaceBreaker. When asked about his feelings on the competition, Seymour had this to say:
FaceBreaker isn’t a boxing game.
Yeah, I can’t imagine EA will take this one lightly. Seymour says FaceBreaker is more of a Street Fighter type of game hybrid and that 2K takes the integrity of the sport seriously.
We’re trying to get in touch with EA for a response, but haven’t heard anything back yet. We’ll keep you posted. Check out our full coverage of the conference call later today.
I got to spend a little bit of time today talking with Anthony DeLuca, the Producer for 2K Sports upcoming Top Spin 3. We discussed a lot of topics surrounding the game’s development and upcoming release.
In the eyes of the development team, tennis games were starting to become static and they wanted a more fluid gameplay to complement playing tennis is real life. Top Spin 3 does this as it more realistically portrays what you are doing on screen with the inputs you give on the controller. New methods of control with the right analog stick have been implemented to give a more fluid feel to the game. For the Wii, how hard you swing and the angle of the Wii remote determines your shot type and speed, which is pretty cool.
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2K sent over word that they’re working on some patches for MLB 2K8 for a few issues. Mainly, the framerate issues are being fixed on the Xbox 360. But that’s not the only console with stuttering issues. The PS3 version is about the same in terms of the slowdown in the field.
When asked about a patch to address these issues on the PS3, a representative for 2K had this to say:
At this time, these are the only updates 2K Sports is working on for MLB 2K8 for these issues.
So 2K has no plans at this time to fix the framerate on the PS3. Yet again, PS3 users getting the shaft. Sad. Very sad.
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