video-games
By Diane M. Grassi
Curt Montague Schilling, has never been one to duck controversy nor a good game of old-fashioned hard ball.
In fact, in the latter part of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career as a starting pitcher, who many experts believe will be an easy entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame, Schilling became a lightning rod for controversy.
Tennis is a strange sport for a video game. I think you’d be hard pressed to find 5 people you know who own a console and play tennis competitively. Now, most people don’t play football either but that doesn’t stop Madden from being a juggernaut franchise. The difference though is that everyone watches football while high level tennis television ratings are about equal to the John Deere Classic in golf. Didn’t see it? Don’t worry — nobody else did either.
So why make a game that has no players and no TV audience? Well, because you can actually take your time to make a polished game. Without yearly refreshes and tight deadlines, you can do something like completely revamp your controls and create a game that makes sense. While EA is busy making games for kids on the short bus and your grandmother (All Play!), 2K Sports went the opposite route and made Top Spin 3 harder than ever. So while the learning curve is pretty steep, Top Spin 3 is absolutely worth it.
Forget the war in Iraq. Forget global warming. I finally found something worth creating a petition for. On Monday December 13th, EA Sports announced that they signed an exclusive 5 year licensing agreement with the NFL and the Players Union. Essentially, what this does is prevent anyone else from creating any football games except for EA. Say good bye to competition.
It’s 45 games into the season and the Phils are 25-20, tied with the Braves atop the NL East. Nevermind what the papers say, this is how it stands in my season on ESPN MLB 2004. Firing up my xbox, I go to my calendar and see that the Braves are next up on my schedule. I can either play this game, simulate this game, or simulate through any game on the calendar. I decide that this is a game I need to play.
There is an option to “Gamecast” the game, which simulates the play by play, similar to what you would see in a post game report. Sometimes, I like to simulate the first 4 innings and then jump into the middle of it. Nine innings is a long time for me and I have short attention span problems. This game, just for you, I start off from the top. The next screen allows me to juggle my lineup and shows me if anyone is tired and should be rested.