Hockey Fight!

Fighting in hockey has been a controversial subject for a long time. However, it is an integral part of the game whether people like it or not. In hockey, players are often in dangerous positions where serious injury can occur from a cheap shot. Take Patrice Bergeron from the Bruins for instance. A cowardly cheap shot from behind effectively ended his season and came near to killing him. In order to deter this sort of thing, it takes more than a two minute penalty for roughing or a double minor. It takes the fear of getting the piss pounded out of you if you do that kind of shit. Enforcers have always been around in hockey. As great as Wayne Gretzky was, he would arguably not had as great a career if he didn't have guys like Dave Semenko and Marty McSorley watching his back. If all teams had to worry about was a two minute penalty, they would have cheap-shotted him all over the ice. I am not here to argue about whether fighting in hockey should be allowed or not. Suffice it to say that it is and always will be a part of the game. If that isn't your cup of tea, go watch another sport.

On to the point of the post. How do you simulate something like fighting in a hockey video game? Honestly, I have turned off fighting in pretty much every hockey video game I have played. The form it takes in video games is just gratuitous and does not model real life in its effect on the players or the game. First of all, it has never been fun to me. The game mechanic has always been very simple and unsatisfying. It also never has the effect on the players that it does in real life. Games can be turned around by a good fight. It gives the other players on the team a boost and builds morale. If you are sitting on the bench and your star players are getting pounded by cheap shots and questionable treatment, it gives you a lift to see one of your guys go out and beat the hell out of the player who is taking liberties.

I would like to see fighting in video game hockey have the same effect. There would be a reason to keep a few enforcers on your team this way. If they happen to also be able to play like Terry O'Reilly and Cam Neeley then that is a bonus. I would propose having an option to take the fighting out of the player's hands and let the computer simulate it. You as coach could send out your enforcer to do his job at strategic times and his ability would determine the outcome and change the morale of your team for better or worse. Not having control of the fight would make the outcome less certain. Let's fact it, the way hockey fighting is simulated now you would have to really suck to not win most fights. Fighting is a big part of hockey strategy and has been poorly implemented in hockey video games.

What do you think? How would you like to see fights implemented in hockey video games?

Stephen King on Video Game Violence

Rikathos sent me this link to a post from Stephen King on violence in video games and the way politician's use it as a whipping boy. I have to say I concur.

NCAA mini review

Bill Harris over at Dubious Quality has a mini review of NCAA 2008. Check it out if you are interested in the game. As usual, his thoughts are pretty spot-on. Check the site out for some great video game commentary even if you aren't into football games.

What have they done to my hobby?

At the risk of sounding like an old coot, I am gonna post about how my gaming hobby is being ruined by becoming too mainstream. I started gaming back in the day on the Commodore Vic 20 and the game Zork. Needless to say the gaming industry has come a LONG way since then. Some of it has been for the better, some of it not.

There was a time when a game would come with a nice thick manual and involve a significant learning curve. I remember buying games and not even playing them until the next day while I read the manual and learned how to play. I can't remember the last time I bought a game with a manual thicker than fifteen or twenty pages. Ingame tutorials have been helpful, but when it comes down to it the publishers just want you to buy their hint book for another twenty bucks.

Manuals are one thing, I'm okay if I can pick up a game and it is easy to play but hard to master. However, I am increasingly able to do less and less in games than I used to. In order to illustrate my point I am going to use two new racing games recently released for the Xbox 360 -- Forza 2 and DiRT. Both games are well done and fun to play, but my options are significantly limited when compared to old classics like Grand Prix Legends. For one thing, each game starts you out in events without any kind of qualifying run. Forza 2 puts you in position based on how powerful your car is for some reason putting the most powerful cars in front and DiRT starts you out last. What happened to qualifying for position? What is worse is when you do end up racing, the races are only a couple of laps. Has our collective attention span diminished that much? I remember when you could set the number of laps you wanted to race. How does it hurt anything if I want to race twenty laps? I am guessing this has something to do with online records and achievements. Even in DiRT's "exhibition" mode you can only go as high as five laps. The manuals have almost no help on setting up your car for better performance. Again, they want that hint book money.

This is just one minor example of how the gaming hobby is becoming watered down. It seems as time progresses we are given less options all the while paying more money. The future doesn't look too bright either with the success of the Wii and its reliance on the mini game. I would love to see Wii baseball with all the features of a full fledged title, but sadly it is looking more and more like the standard and not the exception.

Super Ghouls and Ghosts for the Wii Virtual Console

Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom

The third game in the legendary Ghosts 'n Goblins series of video games, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts follows Arthur in another quest to rescue the princess, his fair maiden and damsel in distress at large. Players take control of Arthur and defeat the creatures of the night to save the day once more. Discover what glory awaits those brave enough to take on the armies of Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts.

Age Rating: E

This is one of my all time favorite platformers. It is incredibly difficult, but still very addictive. Part of the strategy is knowing what weapon to have in certain situations. The twitch factor is high and you really need to be paying attention or you will die fast. Nintendo did a good job with this one. The graphics look great and the controls are smooth and responsive on the Wii Classic Controller. If you are a fan of platformers, this is a must buy.

Simcity coming to the DS

EA BRINGS SIMCITY TO Nintendo DS PLATFORM

SIMCITY DS OFFERS CITY BUILDING EXPERIENCE ON THE GO TO FANS AROUND THE WORLD

CHERTSEY, Surrey, - February 28, 2007 - Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS) announced today that the SimCity™ franchise is returning with SimCity™ DS, developed especially for the Nintendo DS™ platform. In addition to creating and growing their very own pocket sized city while being on-the-go, players will be able to leverage the unique action features of the Nintendo DS system, discovering an entirely new way to play this internationally acclaimed franchise. The product will make its debut to consumers worldwide in summer of this year.

True to the SimCity series, players will be able to create and control their city in the palm of their hands...and much more. Maximizing the stylus and built-in microphone controls of the Nintendo DS, SimCity DS brings to the franchise like never before the feeling of personal involvement with your city--from blowing into the microphone to put out fires in the city to signing off on mayoral proclamations with your stylus. By enabling the players to communicate with each other, the "wireless data exchange" feature brings additional interactivity into the game. As an added bonus to SimCity fans around the world, the game also offers a wide array of recognizable international landmarks to spice up your city.

"We are very excited to bring the SimCity experience to the Nintendo DS platform," said Takahiro Murakami, Producer of SimCity DS. "The unique Nintendo DS functionalities inspired us to incorporate many new features to delight the most dedicated SimCity fans. The game is filled with fun surprises that will appeal to new and existing fans of the franchise."

Breaking News! Mark your calendars!

I was wrong. I can admit it. Back when the PSP and the DS were first released I thought the PSP was a slam dunk over the DS. The whole dual screen thing seemed gimmicky to me. I perceived the DS as being a kiddie hand held and that the PSP was for real gamers. Since then I have purchased and sold a PSP and am now the proud owner of a DS. I got a pink one for my girlfriend for Valentine's Day and she loves it. She is no gamer by a long stretch, but the Wii and DS are changing that. My ingenious plan is coming to fruition! The first time she buys herself I game, I will have won! Nintendo are doing some really great things with gaming right now on the Wii and DS platforms. I take my hat off to them.

Simcity is a classic game. I spent countless hours building cities back in the day. And guys, for some reason chicks seem to really dig this game. Trust me.

C&C 3 Demo is out, get it at Fileplanet!

March, 2047. A massive nuclear fireball explodes high in the night sky, marking the dramatic beginning to the Third Tiberium War and long-awaited return of the most groundbreaking Real-time Strategy franchise (RTS) of all time.

The critically-acclaimed Command & Conquer™ (C&C) series returns with Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars™ (C&C 3). Setting the standard for the future of RTS gaming once more, C&C 3 takes you back to where it all began—the Tiberium Universe.

In 2047, Tiberium has blanketed the Earth, which is now divided into zones based on the level of Tiberium infestation. Pristine Blue Zones represent 20% of the planet's surface and are the last refuge of the civilized world. Partially habitable Yellow Zones make up 50% of the planet's surface; most of the world's population lives in these war-torn and ecologically ravaged areas. The remaining 30% of the planet is uninhabitable, a Tiberium wasteland swept by violent Ion Storms. Red Zones are like the surface of an Alien planet.

The infamous Kane has returned to lead the Brotherhood of Nod in a massive global assault on the Global Defense Initiative and the few remaining Blue zones left on the planet. Only you can stop him. The fate of humanity – and the planet – is in your hands.

Featuring state-of-the-art, next-generation graphics, an epic story with live action, full-motion video sequences, and the classic fast-paced C&C style of play, C&C 3 sets the standard for the single player RTS experience.

When you decide to test your skills online, a suite of truly innovative features, such as the ability to transform online battles into a spectator sport, unfold.

This is one of the few RTS games I could be competitive with a certain friend of mine. In most of the others he kicks my ass pretty badly. Time for some payback. I'm calling you out, Psycho! On a side note, this game is also coming to the Xbox 360. For those of you who think their PCs might not handle the game effectively at higher resolutions (sadly, this includes me at the moment) you might want to consider the Xbox 360 version. I am curious to see how they implement the controls in this one. EA did a decent job with Battle for Middle Earth 2.

Zelda: Ocarina of Time footage

Lucky North American owners of the Wii can now download Zelda:Ocarina of Time from the Virtual Console for 1000 points. I have been playing video games for over 25 years and I somehow missed out on all of the Zelda fun. I am making up for it in spades now however, as I have about five different iterations of Zelda going at the same time. I'm holding off until the weekend to keep playing Zelda: Twilight Princess so I can see it on our new HDTV!

Settlers of Catan

Big Huge News!

Catan places the player in the role of colonists on the newly discovered imaginary island of the same name. Through strategy and trading, 3-4 players vie for control over the valuable territory and resources of this uncharted wilderness. With ten million copies already sold, Settlers of Catan is the rare board game that appeals to casual players as much as hardcore enthusiasts.


I was introduced to this game a few years ago by some friends of mine who I play D&D with and it quickly became a hit. The design is simple, but the options are many and strategy is varied. It is kind of like combining a card game with a board game with a dice game. Unfortunately for my sake I played against the likes of: The Ice Queen, Red, and The Accountant (who always somehow new what cards everyone had). I may have won once or twice, but not any more than that. It was still loads of fun though. Now I have the opportunity to play against thousands of Xbox Live opponents with whom I might stand a better chance of defeating. Perhaps once I have honed my skills a bit I can return and challenge those who so thoroughly thrashed me in the past.

The game is being developed by Big Huge Games. I think Brian Reynolds is one of the best game designers working today and knowing that the game is in his hands leaves me with a sense of anticipation that I have rarely had for Live Arcade games. Now if they will hurry up and release Cyberball, I will be happy.