Madden 2009
August 3, 2008
Well, it’s that time of year again. Time when the new football videogames for the year come out. Or rather football (singular) videogame comes out. Yes, that’s the Madden franchise and yes I am anything but a Madden fan. I long for the days of the old NFL 2K series. They completely beat the tar out of Madden.
Football used to be the number one video game I played. Not since Madden bribed the NFL and got an exclusive license to produce NFL licensed video games has that been true for me. I know Madden has always been the #1 football video game, but for me it has always been lacking.
Each year since the bribe, I hopefully await the release and hope the folks at EA Sports dont sit on their exclusive license and actually work to put out a good video game. This is true for any genre, but competition breeds better games and video gamers are the winner. Hate to beat a dead horse, but these exclusive license means we video gamers are the losers.
I bought last years version of Madden after withholding the previous season. I should have rented it first. I played it for a month or so and then was just so frustrated it hasn’t seen my TV screen since. I still occasionally play the NFL 2K5 Xbox edition because its still the best football gameplay out there.
So, I was excited this year when some of the rags were heralding the praise of Madden 09 as finally entering the HD and next generation era. Once again, my hopes were raised. I was also excited to learn that a demo version would be available on the Xbox 360 a couple of days ago. I downloaded it on day 1.
Unfortunately, the demo leaves you wanting more and really doesnt give you much idea what the game really is like. And EA Sports should just throw that stupid Tron like IQ Quiz at the beginning. In my mind, complete trash. Definitely not a place I would spend any time in the game. The meat of the demo isn’t much better. It’s way too short and way to limited as to what you can do to get a feel for the game. I can say the graphics are definitely improved over the last few editions.
Thus, I cannot make a decision on purchasing the game. I so want a football video game that I can enjoy and play often. I will have to shell out a few bucks for a rental or two to see if the game is up to my standards. I truly hope it is and I really hope its a purchase I can make. Maybe someone needs to make a Tecmo Bowl (yeah, right) arcade game for the Xbox 360. That would get more play time from me than past Maddens.
Sean’s Team Loses Tough Scrimmage
June 5, 2008
Sorry to do another post about Sean’s baseball team, but quite frankly, it occupies a lot of our time right now. You will get a break from it with the Alma Dolores International Dance Studio Summer Recital coming up this Friday and Saturday. Sean will miss one baseball game because of that and that doesn’t exactly excite me.
Anyways, yesterday Sean’s team had a scrimmage against a regional travel team from Southeast Arizona. These kids have to try out for games, pay the coach and play all over the state. I say it was a scrimmage but it was essentially played like any normal game except for a few exceptions.
- It was agreed to play 9 innings – our games usually end at 6 innings
- Pitchers were limited to 3 innings
- All players batted – not just those in the field
This was the most enjoyable game of the season to watch. The other kids were bigger than our and I think they could be 1 year older. It was obvious they were well coached and organized. I had said in a preview post about this game, I didn’t expect our team to fare to well.
Despite coming out on the short side of a 6-5 loss, I was wrong. It was a close game and our kids hung with them the entire way. In fact, we outplayed them and probably should have one if not for one sloppy inning in the field.
Through the first six innings, both sides chipped away at the plate and scored a run here and there. They were up on us 4 – 3. In the seventh, we got sloppy in the field and made several errors on quite easy plays. The errors allowed them to score 2 runs and take the lead 6 – 3.
They took that 6 – 3 lead into the bottom of the ninth when we started a rally. With one out, we had runners on 1st and 3rd base. Our batter hit a looper to right field. The right fielder charged the ball hoping to catch it but it bounced in front of him and got by him. The runners easily scored and the batter ran to the third as the ball was relayed back to the infield. The coach had a tough decision on whether to hold the runner at third or try to have him score. It would have been a very close play with a good throw.
With only one out, I think the coach did the right thing and held the batter at third. It turns out the throw home was a bit wild and he would have scored, but playing the percentages was the right call. Unfortunately, the new two kids struck out and we stranded the tying run on third base.
It’s amazing how enjoyable (and faster) a game can be when both sides throw strikes and swing the bat. In too many of our games, the other side can’t pitch well and doesn’t like to swing the bat. That makes for long games. We usually end up mercy ruling them.
Hats off to the kids for playing a very good game against a very tough team. While it officially was a scrimmage, I still count it as a loss which makes Sean’s teams’ recored 14 – 2 this season. This game will only help with the state tournament coming up at the end of the month.
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