With all the leaks and job signings, it was inevitable that EA was bringing back NBA Jam on the Wii. In a press release today, it was finally confirmed. Shipping sometime in 2010, the series remake is set to meld the old with some new gameplay, promising to stay to true to the original. Since EA hasn’t released any screenshots, my guess is we won’t see the game at retail until the Fall or Holiday season.
Here’s where I worry about NBA Jam on the Wii. I’m praying that EA does not shoe-horn motion controls into the game. I want classic button controls and don’t want to be flailing around my living room to pull off a monster dunk. Second, will we get any online play with this being on the Wii? My guess is that even if we do, it’ll be piss poor (not because of anything on EA’s end, but because the Wii’s online system is terrible).
I have to think this would be better served up as an Xbox Live Arcade and PSN title, or even a full retail title going multi-platform. Non HD graphics, potential poor online play, and most likely motion controls will quickly turn this from old school NBA Jam into a game that sits on my shelf instead of being played.
If you haven’t picked up Dragon Age: Origins yet on your Xbox 360 or PC, you might be interested to know the game is shipping for Mac on December 21st. You read that right Mac gamers; you’re not the red-headed step child you once thought. Well, not as much.
You can preorder the Standard and Digital Deluxe versions now, with the Deluxe edition netting you a collection of wallpapers, in-game bonus items, the game’s soundtrack and the Warden’s Keep additional content. In addition, both versions will ship with The Stone Prisoner and the Blood Dragon Armor. That’s some solid content for us Mac users.
From what I’ve played, Dragon Age: Origins works better with a mouse and keyboard, so if you have a Mac and have been holding out, here’s your chance. Get some.
Worldwide, soccer is the most popular sport, with passionate fans found in every corner of each of the 7 continents. No other sport generates such loyalty. This may come to a shock if you have been living in a cave, or if you live in the United States, as we still deem football and baseball (our national pastime) as our go-to, sports of choice. Slowly, with the respectable growth of the MLS, we have started to jump on the bandwagon and give futbol, I mean soccer, the chance it deserves. Hopefully, with the release of FIFA Soccer 10 from EA Sports, we will start to appreciate the chess-like strategy and exhilarating tension that makes soccer the great sport that it is.
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EA has a stranglehold on the sports gaming landscape. Madden is in a place all by itself thanks to exclusivity rights. NHL has now distinguished itself as not only the best hockey game, but maybe the best sports game. FIFA has all but caught up to Winning Eleven Soccer and may have surpassed it this year. This leaves basketball. It is the one major sport that EA has a gaming license for that it just cannot seem to finally get, leaving 2K sports to hold that crown. At least for now. NBA Live 10 has brought EA back into the question of what basketball game to buy. The gap between NBA Live and NBA 2K still remains, but said gap has closed tremendously.
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Ever since a labor lockout forced the NHL to miss an entire season, the sport has been trying its hardest to get back into favor with the fan base. Last year they made terrific strides as NHL 09 was the best sports game of the year by far, even trumping titles as Madden and FIFA. EA was faced with the decision on how to improve on what is an already stellar game. They followed the very simple, but effective mantra for NHL 10: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
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Whether you like them and their antics or not, Brett Favre and Michael Vick will be added in today’s Madden NFL 10 roster update. As expected, their ratings have decreased, but they still aren’t too shabby. Vick won’t be a starter, so you’ll have to modify your depth charts to get him in the game.
What’s uncertain at this point is how these additions will affect their respective team ratings. Will the Vikings become more of a powerhouse? Will Philly’s playbook have more prominent Wildcat additions? We’ll have to wait and see after we play the game with the roster update (which should be live now, according to a tweet from EA). For now, I’ll go back to destroying people with the Giants power running game.
The middle of August has been synonymous with many things: sweltering heat, jellyfish down the Jersey Shore, and Madden on the shelves. The yearly football juggernaut has arrived and those of us lucky enough to get our hands on an early review copy have not put this game down since we got it last Thursday. This is the best Madden of this or any generation. The title may have changed, but the product has remained the same. You won’t need to look any further for football on a console this year. Madden NFL 10 has arrived.
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Amidst the myriad of changes in Madden NFL 10 to enhance realism, EA Sports added the ability to change the game speed. The Default, Slow, brings things closer to the actual speed on the field. However, it’s a bit too slow for a video game. Luckily, you can change this setting to customize Madden to your liking.
The first thing I recommend doing when you pick up Madden next week is going into the Settings menu and changing the Game Speed to Normal. This brings it back closer to last year’s game. It still feels slightly slower than that, giving you a touch of added realism, while keeping a balance with being fun. You can set the Game Speed to Very Slow, Slow, Normal, Fast, and Very Fast.
I haven’t had a chance to play around with all the speeds yet, but based on the ones I’ve tried (Slow, Normal, Fast), the “Very” settings have to be overly dramatic changes to the speed that you’ll only want to try after a few beers with your friends.
Make sure to check back Monday at 3pm ET when the embargo lifts on Madden reviews. You’ll be able to read our thoughts on this year’s iteration and see if it’s worth your cold hard cash.
I fired up a review copy of Madden NFL 10 for the first time today. As usual, one of my first stops was checking out the Achievement list. This year, there are 24 Achievements, most of which have a fairly high degree of difficulty. Each requires you play on the All Pro difficulty setting, which may be too much for the normal Madden player. You have to remember that Madden sells millions of copies every year to people who many would consider casual players. Most of these Achievements will go unrewarded to the majority who aren’t comfortable playing on All Pro.
A couple that jumped out at me include tackling Adrian Peterson for a loss 3 times in a game, tackling Antonio Gates inside the 5 yard line, forcing Kurt Warner to fumble on a sack, intercepting a pass intended for Randy Moss, and intercepting Peyton Manning 3 times in a game. A lot of these will remain unlocked on large number of consoles.
Sports game Achievements have run the gamut from too easy (the early titles of this generation) to way too hard (Madden NFL 10 could fall into that category). At this point in the life cycle of Achievements and Trophies, I would have thought developers could narrow in on the sweet spot, but it seems that hasn’t happened in the sports gaming world just yet.
Want to see all the Achievements? Hit the jump.
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