I know I know, you are all wondering what in the hell would prompt me to write about Madden NFL 2008 when the 09’ version is already out. Simple. Because I aim to review ultimately all of the Xbox 360 games that were ever released for the console. New or old, good or bad. In the US or in Europe – I want to play them all and write about them all. Enough Said. So with that out of the way, I must honestly tell you that I spent ample amounts of hours behind the screen of Madden NFL 2008. It was, by far the greatest football game of all time. Period. And I know what some of you naysayers are thinking. What about 2k Sports and what about the fabulous 2k football series that was inadvertently canned when Madden – or shall I say, EA sports – was awarded the exclusive NFL franchise rights for video games, which if I remember correctly won’t expire until sometime in 2010. So, given that 2k can’t make a real NFL game, and that All Pro Football stinks worse than a sweaty football jersey, all we have is Madden. And it is the best football game out there.
It’s rather unfortunate I must say, that when you can only find one decent soccer game to play for the entire fiscal year of 2007. But at least the one that I am about to tell you all shabby is perhaps, in my opinion at least, one of the better soccer games that you will ever play, and quite possibly the best ball kicking game of the year 2007. Surprisingly, this game was a joint venture by EA Canada and their US publisher, and counterpart, Electronic Arts. And in the candid EA tradition, it saw the first light of day in early October of 2006 – just like all of the sports games that EA makes, which are almost always released the yearend prior to the actual year that they represent.
Personally, I was originally THPS (Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater) fan when the game was first released for the PS1 (Play Station one) and the Xbox gaming consoles. However, as the game has become more intense, they have faltered away from the classic arcade style of controls, in favor of a more realistic approach to the game. Some people were turned away from this. I myself, must admit, that after they started changing the way that the game was laid out, I was also a little perturbed and peeved, but upon finally giving Tony Hawk's Project 8 a real chance at might and muster on my Xbox 360, I must say, that I was dubitably impressed. And if that wasn’t enough, I feel the need to present five candid and viable reasons as to why you should play Tony Hawk's Project 8.
I have had the distinct pleasure of playing and reviewing hundreds, actually thousands of video games over the years. With that cat out of the bag, obviously I know a good game when I see one, and I know a terrible game when I play one. Rarely will a game that the narrative of which surrounds a table tennis game, that is mostly popular in Asia today, ever entertain me. However, when it comes to Rockstar’s (makers of Bully, and the amazing Grand Theft Auto games) they rarely disappoint me, even if they are still not incapable of making a lousy game from time to time. Check out Manhunt, probably their greatest failure, and yes I will add a review of that game at a later date. However, Table Tennis, in my humble opinion, is a surefire win for Rockstar, even if the game never sold that many copies.
I know that all of you skateboarding junkies are already dropping five bucks at the local video game store to get your hands on a preorder copy of the new Skate, Skate 2, but before that comes out, all that you have is Skate—okay well Skate 2 just came out and it rocks, and it will obviously be featured in a future blog review, once I have a chance to play it. However, that does not take away from how amazingly kick ass that the first version of that game is, Skate. I grew up with a professional skater for an older brother, who owned a skate park, his own skateboard company and who sponsored me to skate, even though I sucked.
If you find yourself constantly perusing the gaming isles at your local used video game store, wondering what used games are worth actually whipping out your wallet and blowing your hard earned wad on, it can be an aspect that is rather fraught with difficulty my many friends. But there are some games that come along from time to time that truly offer the very best in the next generation video gaming console experiences that can be had. That being said, I aim to help you better blow that wad you worked oh so hard to attain by offering to you my constantly updated picks of the best Xbox 360 games of all the years 2007-2008, so you can be better equipped to buy the right used game, instead of getting home and regretting your recent purchase. So here are two more to whet your pallet with.
Madden NFL Football 2009
There are so many different Xbox 360 games and so little time to yap to you about all of them and their definitive greatness. However, after giving myself a most certain case of repetitive strain injury or RSI – I have finally had a chance to play hundreds upon hundreds of Xbox 360 games, and all so that I can gripe and laud the best and the worst. This time around, its to tell you of some of the better Xbox 360 games that I have had the distinct pleasure of playing over the years, and trust me, they are damn good games that will make you know that yes, while there are so many cruddy games that can be released, there are in the same sense, an equal amount of decent games.
After getting screwed out of the NFL franchise by rival sports video game production company, EA sports, 2k Sports only had a few other options. One of those options being: produce better other games that can truly allow for them to level the playing field and establish themselves as a firm and a solid competitor in the sports video gaming market. And that is what they have exactly proceeded to do with their lauded and currently leading college basketball franchise, College Hoops. Now on to the next portion of their series for the year of 2008, 2k has churned out another surefire winner with College Hoops 2k8 for the Xbox 360.
I find myself once again perplexed at the oddity of useless games that somehow see the light of day for the Xbox 360 gaming console. And under that premise, I understand fully why they would release a soccer game for the Xbox 360, as America and nearly every other continent around the world hosts at least one or more pro soccer teams. Okay, that’s cool, I dig it, even if soccer is not my big thing; well it was in elementary school, but today I am fan of the real game of football, the NFL.
If you read the blog entry below on the shoddy workings of the enormous football flop by 2k Sports, All Pro Football 2k8, then you already know that any video game company that tries to make a football game without have the rights by the NFL is going to already be destined for a most certain failure. That being said, for some reason unbeknownst to me or the masses, the cats over at Midway Games and Point of View deciding that they would create a game to join its retarded brother gathering dust in the discount bin that is labeled ‘$2.99 Clearance’ at the local video game superstore. And that game is Blitz: The League.
Where to start here…because the roots of this uninventive piece of garbage straggle all the way back to nearly the year 2000, when EA Sports was awarded the exclusive NFL license, one that essentially allowed for them to monopolize the video game market for all NFL games, and no other video game company was allowed to created any game bearing the NFL logos, teams, or players – Only EA Sports. Thanks NFL for ruining all fair competition in the video game market as it relates to football. So here is the real scoop on this tragedy.
Perhaps one of the best soccer games ever created, or as the English and Europeans fondly refer to it as ‘football’ – but let’s not confuse this with the hard hitting, helmet busting, pad wearing, strength and conditioning protagonists that comprise the real ‘Football’ teams in the United States. That banter aside, if you are into soccer, then you are constantly on the lookout for a decent soccer game. And to be honest, most video games that came before FIFA World Cup 2006 really blew. Many suffered from the always present lack of consistent AI features, not to mention poor graphics, shoddy play calls, and glitches galore. But this all changed with the April 24th, 2006 release of FIFA World Cup, a joint effort by Electronic Arts and their counterpart EA Canada studios; hey leave it to the Canadians to bring us the best soccer game. But that still does not make up for the lavish song perusing of Bryan Adams.
If you care to take a visit back in time with my dear readers, just a few years mind you, all the way back to the ancient video gaming days of the candid year of 2007, when the dudes over at the 2k Studios decided that they would avidly release their version of the best college basketball game ever – and boy did they awe us with a superb rendition of what is perhaps on the more realistic of college basketball games to ever be released, prior to the newer versions that is, for the Xbox 360 gaming console.
So many games, so little time to burn out your thumbs and acquire a case of RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) playing them. But if you are like me, and your wrists are more worn out than a ninety year old carpenter, then you already know that there are ample amounts of great games that were released for the Xbox 360 during 2008. Of course, it would be far too lengthy for me to ever truly list them and yap about all of them for you in this blog. So I have been forced to boil it down to what I believe are the top three Xbox 360 games of 2008.
Grand Theft Auto IV: This game truly takes the wholly cake and the icing too for the best damn game ever to be created. You play a cunning and illegal Russian immigrant who must forge his way through the unforgiving alleyways of New York City, dubbed Liberty City for this game. You can pretty much do everything.
If you are a football nut and you are a hapless fan of the EA Sports football franchises, then you already know that there are some pretty major differences between the juggernaut games that represent the college and the professional football versions of the popular sports—in their video game format. And seeing how both of these popular games are both developed and designed by teams at the EA Sports buildings, and how they both drive off the same engine for a basis, how in the heck are there, and more importantly why are there so many differences between the interfaces and game play options.
The NFL loving sports fanatic world of video gamers eagerly anticipated the release of EA Sports Madden NFL 2009 for almost an entire year. But after hurriedly ripping the shrink wrap packaging off and discarding the Microsoft seal, I was abound with joy and the similar letdown that I have experienced with all previous Madden Franchises. And it seems that the dudes over at EA, while they have made a pretty decent video game, have also made it entirely clear that they do not keep their ears to the ground when avid gamers complain of common problems with their games. That being said, here is my scoop on Madden NFL 2009 for the Xbox 360 gaming console.Recent Posts
Links
Archive
July 2010
(6)
June 2010
(8)
March 2010
(2)
February 2010
(4)
January 2010
(5)
December 2009
(4)
November 2009
(4)
October 2009
(4)
September 2009
(5)
August 2009
(4)
July 2009
(7)
June 2009
(2)
May 2009
(4)
April 2009
(23)
March 2009
(21)
February 2009
(78)
January 2009
(96)
December 2008
(5)