What's on your "gaming radar" for the next couple of months? (Note, I was going to contract "gaming radar" to "gaydar," but I figured someone might take that the wrong way!) Sports Gaming Nation - one of my favorite gaming websites - has been linking up some news for Fight Night 2005 and ESPN MLB 2K5, two big blips currently in my view.
Fight Night 2004 was an excellent "first effort" (like MVP Baseball replaced Triple Play, Fight Night replaced Knockout Kings) with analog-stick punching, solid ring movement, and an honest-to-goodness effective defense. An actual fighting game that requires strategy and thought - what a concept! The only element that was sorely lacking was the ability to clinch, which will supposedly be rectified in this version. Also included is a "cut man" mini-game, where you can attempt to close up the cuts and keep the swelling down on your pugilist between rounds. If this is as gross as Klitchko's cut at the hands of Lewis, we could see an "M" rating! (I swear, the Q-tip totally disappeared in Klitchko's eyebrow!) Finally, it's definitely worth mentioning that "Big Tigger" will no longer call the action, so Fight Night 2005 will sound more like a boxing match and less like an episode of Street Ball.
ESPN MLB 2K4 was reportedly the best all-around baseball game last season (I personally preferred MVP), but this year's iteration is in the hands of a new developer. The improved and innovative "On Command" baserunning controls, more accurate animations, beefed-up graphics, and a "K-Zone" MVP-style pitching meeting are some of the bigger additions. I'm really intrigued by the ability to actually play as a baserunner, from the baserunner's perspective, as opposed to the batter, and hopefully the new pitching controls will result in more realistic walk totals. Fortunately, since I'm a sucker for baseball games, I don't have to pick the title that looks to be the most promising this season (between ESPN, MVP, and MLB); I always buy every one!
Speaking of MVP Baseball 2005 and MLB 2006, those are other games on my radar for this spring. In addition, I'm very exciting about Winning Eleven 8 being released on the Xbox! The WE series is without a doubt the most realistic soccer experience going on consoles, and it was good enough to force me to break down and buy a PS2 just to play it last summer. Other titles on my "list" are MechAssault 2 (currently out), Ghost Recon 2 (currently out), and Mercenaries, which is creating a little buzz in some of the forums I frequent.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot, I'm supposed to finish all of those other games I have first...
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1 comment:
It's just "people helping people," Jason! Seriously, I honestly pretty much only look to your site for news and such. I love the forums at DSP, but they don't post much news. I can't stand all of the pop-up stuff at OS, so I usually stay away (although that is definitely a quality site). The megasites (IGN, Gamespot, Team Xbox, etc.) don't excite me either, as we've discussed before. Yours is concise and informative, and I don't have time for much else!
Kevin
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