Review: Madden '08 (Wii*)

Graphics- 7/10
Sound- 9/10
Gameplay- 7.5/10
Replay Value- 9/10
Overall- 7.5/10

I was in need of my yearly Madden fix, but this year all that happened was I became anxious for the Madden to loose its license agreement. In a hit or miss series of games, this year features lots of misses.

When I got home to start playing Madden '08 the first thing that I noticed was the much improved loading times. This year is a vast improvement over last years average load times, and much better than the PSP version that I had last year was. However my enthusiasm was short lived, because once I actually started to play the game, I realized I was in fact playing the Gamecube version. I can barely notice the difference between the current Gamecube version and the current Wii version, graphical speaking. I have only noticed minor things, like extra shiny helmets, and new player animations. To counter the negativity, there was something that I was very pleased at, and that was the controls. I have found them to be very responsive and easy. The first thing that I would recommend that you do, is go to "learn Madden," it teaches you what you need to do, and you can start playing rather quickly.

As far as actually playing the game goes - it isn't bad. Once you get used to using the Wiimote to throw a pass, it is all good. Especially once you learn to set a" primary receiver." Doing that is a fairly simple task, and can really help you out. Before you snap the ball - when you are surveying the field by holding down "B" - you hit the button of the receiver that you would like to throw the ball to. Now that you have done that, all you have to do is flick the Wiimote to throw the ball - you don't have to hold down a button. As far as running the ball, it is very fun - you use the Wiimote to stiff arm and the Nunchuck to juke. On top of that the power moves have improved, because you just have to shove the Wiimote forward, instead of last year where you had to shove both the Nunchuck and Wiimote forward. As for this years new feature (player weapons) it is all fine and dandy, but I honestly don't use it all that much. What the feature is supposed to do is help you identify superstars allowing super star players to be noticed. For example Randy Moss is a "spectacular catch" receiver, allowing him to make amazing one-handed grabs and Reggie Bush is an "elusive back," making him more agile then most players. The other way to play is superstar mode, and there is only one big change this year is the creation process. Gone are the days of randomly shifting through your parents "DNA," and it is instead replaced with a point system. You are assigned a certain amount of points which you can add to your players attributes.

The other big new feature on the Wii this year, is online capabilities, which flat out suck. It takes you way to long to find someone with a strong enough signal to play ( it has to be full, other wise you will not be able to get past three minutes without ramming your head through the wall.) Then once you find someone with a strong enough signal the game still has way to much lag. Not only that there are a lot of glitches with the scoring system. For example I was playing someone and I was winning, so they decided to be a little baby a quit, but hey what do I care I get the win and there DNF % goes up. Ha, I was wrong - we both got a win plus a DNF. Other times it has worked to perfection, making the system extremely hit and miss.

There are a few other problems that I have noticed, but the big one is freezing. It always seems to freeze whenever I go to team schedule in my franchise instead of weekly schedule. It is easy to avoid, I understand, but it is still something that I shouldn't have to deal with. The only other problem is that the Gamecube version is better. Yeah, thats right. The Gamecube version has a ton more options and ways to play. The Gamecube version contains certain options such as create-a-team, that are lacking in the Wii version. So, what am I trying to say? Buy the Gamecube version, seriously. Unless you need sucky online play, there is no reason for the Wii version. The only other feature, that the Wii version has is Party Mode, which is how your Miis are involved in this particular Wii game. Should I expect better from Madden, you ask? Well, probably not, but I do and this game has failed me in that regard.

Pros: Good controls, Load times, Got my yearly Madden fix.
Cons: Everything else.

Review: Dan

Available for many systems. Review for Wii version only.

Review: F.E.A.R. (360*)

Graphics- 9/10
Sound- 9.5/10
Gameplay- 9.5/10
Replay Value- 9/10
Overall- 9.5/10

FEAR was the game to get on the PC awhile back, but now it's on the 360, and that age old question comes up again; did it survive the port?

I had high hopes for FEAR on the 360 for 2 reasons; 1. this generation of consoles has the power to port PC games successfully, and 2. when FEAR came out for the PC, I couldn't run it. Thankfully, the port was a success. The 360 makes fine work of running the game. The graphics, as a shining point of the PC version, was what I scrutinized first. The difference between the graphics on the 360 and those of the PC were non-existent, if anything. The textures were flatter than those in Gears of War, but this is no surprise, as FEAR on the PC is an older game. The resolution, colors, and lighting was top notch, though. The textures did little to hold back the visuals as a whole, as the overall picture was sharp and very easy on the eyes. The most important part of the picture was the lighting, though. As a horror game, FEAR uses the lighting heavily to influence the mood, and it does this quite successfully.

Working together with the lighting, the sound is surprisingly realistic. Every shot fired, every step taken, literally everything has a freakishly crisp, realistic sound. The ambient noises and the music blend seamlessly into the gameplay, effecting the mood and, ultimately, how you play. Gameplay, though, is the best part. It reminded me a lot of Half-Life, where adventure and story line were stuffed right into the action, meaning almost the entire game is from a first-person perspective. The game is filled with weapons and different types of grenades, as with most shooters, but unlike most shooters, there are health and reflex boosters scattered through the levels. Health boosters raise your health permanently, and reflex boosters do the same for your slow motion powers. This feature adds a new angle of gameplay, it's kind of like an RPG in this way, giving you the option to beef up your character through tons of fun, truly frightening exploration. As well, finding all the scattered boosters adds wonderfully to the replay value. The levels, themselves, are quite stunning. FEAR is in no way linear, as the levels have tons of diverging, twisting paths; and it's up to you to choose the ones you want to follow. But don't worry about getting lost; these paths, in the end, will lead you to your objective. Besides adventuring through all those horrifying levels, you'll also be treated to a lot of adrenaline filled firefights. The action is loud, fast, and very satisfying. The slow motion powers add to the fights with lots of action movie moments. Besides raising the fun level, the slow motion is surprisingly useful; it's not just another gimmick. Many times, these powers are the reason you survive the battles.

In the end, FEAR is a superb game. The large, free-form level design along with the multiplayer adds a nice touch of replay value. The game is just plain fun; the level design and health and reflex boosters, along with the wonderfully action packed shootouts make FEAR a refreshingly fun and exciting shooter with a great adventure game feel to it; and the complex story from a first person view really adds to the depth, tension and fear.

Pros: Great shoot outs; adventure feel adds to the depth of game play; large levels; superb lighting, sounds, and music; very good story; surprisingly scary.
Cons: A bit flat on the textures.

Review: Vedran

*Available on the 360, PS3, and PC. Review for 360 only.

Editorial: Sports Video Games

You can not ignore the importance of sport games in the video game world. They are a huge deal, and are constantly getting better, which is one of the reasons that they have had such a huge impact on the world of video games. I am a huge fan of sports video games, especially when they are done right, which leads me to the question: Which sports have made the best transition into a video game?

To me the best type of sports game available is baseball. While it is true that baseball is my favorite sport, that is not why I say it's the best. It's the best because they have managed to capture all of the different aspects of the game. From hitting a home run, to getting caught in a run down, it's all there. Every year the game seems to get closer to true simulation, with the player models getting better, as well as the animations. I am not saying that any baseball video game that has been made has been perfect, but they seem to be the closest to perfect available. Now I understand that some people might argue that football is the best sports video game that is currently available. While it is the most popular, it does not simulate the actual sport as well as baseball. There are too many glitches, animations can be lacking, challenges are all luck, and it can be too easy. Now, this isn't to say I don't like football video games. I find them to be very fun. In fact, I am looking forward to the release of Madden '08.

Now on the the fun part - the worst. After thinking about this for awhile, and considering many different types, I remembered wrestling. To me this is rock bottom when it comes to sports video games. These game were never incredibly popular, nor good. The most popular ones were probably the WWE games on the N64, and they were never "sold out" popular. The best games graphically are obviously the most recent games, which I don't know the names of, and I won't bother to look them up. However to me the biggest problem with wrestling video games is the terrible simulation, because of the lack of moves. Think about, there are only so many button combos that you can do on any given controller before it gets tedious. On top of that, there are way more moves in real life then available in the games. I just don't see why anybody outside of hard-core wrestling fans would buy anything from this particular genre.

There are a few other loose ends to tie up. For example - soccer video games. I can't really tell much about them because I rarely ever play them, but from what I understand they manage to do a pretty good job of simulating a real game. Another one is golf - this is probably the most realistic sim out there, but unfortunately it is very unpopular. Last but not least is basketball. Basketball games are certainly getting better and more realistic as time goes on, but they have yet to achieve anything great. Speaking of on the rise - that is something that is true about most sports video games. Ever since the creation of true 3D video games, sports games are always improving, and are becoming more popular due to their realism. Sports video games are something you can't ignore, and something you have probably taken part in over your life. The future of sports video games is looking up, and I can't wait to see what can be done on the new systems - especially the Wii.

Editorial: Dan