You can’t judge a book by its cover, but they never said anything about games. Which is good because with Rick Nash on the cover of NHL 2k9, I’m buying some version of it no matter what. But I digress, as this is supposed to be about my impressions of the game, not my man crush of the player who could be the MVP of the 08-09 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The intro: The animation sequences and voiceover work are very nice, as are the video segments overlaid onto the ice during the pre-game.

Game play Graphics/Animations: The players almost have a bit of a cell-shaded quality to them, as if Visual Concepts (the games developer) said “let’s remind everyone this is a video game and not a hockey simulation”. I’m not sure if I like the way they’re drawn or not yet. The skating, shooting, stick-blocking, and goalie animations are particularly nice, but the contact animations (anytime a player hits the boards or another player) seem lacking. Maybe they weren’t done when they finished coding the demo, but right now it looks every time players make contact that they’re both going to apologize and say they didn’t see each other coming, because that’s how it looks. Also, you can’t really tell the difference between the relative sizes of players. Granter, neither Pittsburgh nor Detroit (the only two teams in the demo) are what you would call bigger teams, so maybe when Boston’s Zdeno Chara is on screen there will be a noticeable difference.

Controls: With the obvious success of EA’s skill stick addition to the NHL 200X franchise, it was only a matter of time before 2k got on board.  Unfortunately, 2k has chosen the name “Pro Stick Evolution” for the new control setup that uses the left analog to control player movement, and the right analog to control the stick. I know they had to avoid copyrights, but that’s not the world’s best name. The nice thing about it is that it works really well, so I can live with the name. Passing, shooting, blocking, dekeing, and the rest of the standard hockey game moves work as expected on either the new or original controls. The hybrid control set wasn’t to my liking, but some may find it helpful in transitioning from the old to the new control systems.

AI: I know this is just a demo, but I’m a bit concerned about the defensive AI in this game. I should not be able to skate right up the middle into the high slot and shoot on the goalie without one or both defenders moving in to take me out. Maybe they have the defense dumbed down so players can learn how to shoot more easily, but from what I’ve seen so far, the games idea of defense is to have every player on the ice cram themselves into the very front of the goal crease and try to get the puck. I’ll be hoping this is just a basic subset of the AI that was still being completed. It’s a short demo, so it’s hard to see how much effect things like players getting tired, injuries, and penalties will have on the gaming experience.

Fun factor: The demo has a pretty short pickup time, and with the basic control set, I was able to start winning regularly against the AI opponent after the 3^rd game.  Additionally there is a special move modifier button that advanced players will want to try out.

Conclusion: The game looks promising, but I’ll want to take the full version for a spin on my Xbox 360 before I can give a definitive answer to the age old question: EA or 2k? One thing’s for sure; I’m going to give the Wii version of NHL 2k9 a try before I make my final decision. Hockey sticks are maybe the second best usage for the Wii Remote (behind lightsabres, and tied with golf clubs), and everyone I know who plays the NHL franchises has been waiting anxiously for a Wii version. Hopefully, NHL 2k9 will live up to its early promise.

I was grocery shopping tonight, when down the aisle came a woman in a small white and lime green outfit. It said "WiiFit" across the back. I stopped and talked to her for a couple of minutes,  and evidently Nintendo has contracted for some WiiFit demos in major metropolitan areas this summer. It's been on display at the Community Arts Festival, this weekends Jazz and Rib fest, and will be set up for the first 5 days of the Ohio State Fair. I know the WiiFit is old news to a lot of folks, but this will be my first hands on. I promised to catch up with her at the Fair on August 2nd, and maybe sooner if the fiance and I have time on our visit.

I meant to post this last week, but it got busy between my birthday, training for a 5k, and waiting to hear about my next work assignment so I let it slide. But here is my first impression of On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episodice Adventures .

 It's fun. And I mean a lot of fun.

There are a lot of tie ins to the humor of the Penny Arcade online comic strip, but even if you aren't a big fan you can enjoy this game. It's cell shaded, there isn't much sound, and the combat can be a bit reptitive at times, but otherwise it's a thoroughly enjoyable romp. Combat is turn based, but thing are so well done you don't really notice how much you've done the same thing over and over again til the game is done. They've even included combo attacks letting you maximize the potential of all 3 main characters.

Set in the period when many people belived magic could be real, and machines were just really getting their start, this game combines fruit-violating robots, a little girl with a penchant for invention (and destruction), as well as the typical Penny Arcade irreverant humor. This game can be taken seriously, even though it doesn't take itself seriously.

The only bad part about it is waiting for Episode II.

I was struck with a case of post-late night hockey insomnia last night, and having downloaded the early-release Battlefield: Bad Company demo yesterday afternoon, I decided to put it through it's paces until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.

 The single-player demo gives you some nice glimpses of the plot, the squad based action, and in my opinion some of the nicest graphics seen in a sandbox on the 360. This is particularly true because I was playing on my standard definition tube, and still felt like the scenery was mostly lush, even up close. I noticed some issues with the destructible world elements graphically in solo mode but overall came away impressed.

Where this game shines (like all the prior Battlefield games) is in multiplayer mode. Not to ruin too much of the plot, but your squad this time isn't driven simply by patriotism. It seems the fellows of Bad Company have a bit of Jack Sparrow in them, and are equally motivated by the prospect of gold bars. In the multiplayer demo, you play on a level called "Oasis", which has several small villages laid out across the map. Mountains and water make up the left and right of the terrain, giving a good indication of the types of play available in the various levels of the final game.

Combat is sharp and balanced, and even a mostly below average combat/action player was able to move up a few ranks after only a couple hours of time. If I have any gripes at all, its that the helicopter will need to be "nerfed" slightly, because right now a helicopter pilot who knows what he's doing completely takes over the game. Perhaps with some of the unlockable demolitions weaponry it will be easier to counteract this, but as it stands, tanks and AA guns are little trouble for the choppers.

One last interesting item of note is that progression through the ranks in the demo earns you unlockable item that can be used throughout the real game. I won't give away what it is, but if you plan to play the game regularly, it's probably worth your time to get into the demo.

With the evolution of the gaming market these days, it's hardly a surprise to hear of another shop closing down. But this time, it's a bit sadder than normal, as it is Saitek that is rumored to be closing it's doors at the end of the month.

Purchased a few months ago by Mad Catz, purveyors of middling quality console hardware , it was speculated (and hoped) that Saitek would operate as an independant arm of the conglomerate, infusing some quality into a brand that frankly puts out a lot of crap. Sadly, it looks like Mad Catz will be absorbing a few chosen folks from the makers of such products as the X-52 Pro Flight System and the soon to be released Cyborg Keyboard, and letting everyone else move on.

I just find it confusing when a company like Saitek does so much right that a larger company wants to buy it, but then immediately begins jetisoning many of the people who helped make the company so successful. It's particularly misguided in this instance, where Mad Catz could clearly learn a lot about putting out, selling, and representing quality products from some of the people that aren't being brought over.

While the Saitek brand name will likely live on as part of the Mad Catz product line, it's unclear if the products will follow Saiteks quality processes, or simply wind up being the name brand Mad Catz uses to lure high end gamers into buying their run of the mill products. While I hope for the former, I won't be the least bit surprised by the later.

The fact that many a relationship has felt strain or even fallen under the weight of the ever-increasing weight of the MMO world. WoW is of course the cheif culprit here, but long before the 400 lb gorilla came to be, MUDs and other MMOs were keeping players up all night, and not in that oh so fun sexual way.

 Well, now Yahoo! may finally have some ideas on how to get your significant other to turn the PC off and turn you on (or just listen when you talk)

 http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature/seven-ways-to-win-back-your-gaming-spouse/1194632

So, I've got a new girlfriend. She's a truly amazing woman who I really enjoy spending time with. For any gamer, getting a girlfriend is a life-altering event. For someone who isn't as hardcore as most gamers, it doesn't affect my gaming time as much as it would some others. I don't  really spend the countless hours most other gamers (and gaming writers) do playing. I wouldn't classify myself as a casual gamer by any means, but I'm not extreme either.

What has been interesting for me is that she actually has been an impetus for me to do some gaming (and not in the "my girlfriend is driving me nuts, I need to get my game on" way, either). After a month and a half of not gaming really at all, we trotted out Rock Band the other night. We'd been talking about it for a couple of weeks, and being a pretty serious music fan, she was anxious to give it a try.

It turns out that she has pretty damn good rhythm, as she has settled in as the drummer and driving for behind the "Brule Blues", our drum and vocals combo, currently playing the seediest clubs of Europe. After catching the Rock Band bug, she even wanted to play a late session the night before we had to get up at 4:30 AM to get her on her way out of town for the National Championship game. She's more into the faster rock songs, so we're a ways from hitting our stride as a band. As we unlock more tracks (and download a few), I think we're going to continue enjoying a couple nights a week of rocking out.

As I sit here in the airport waiting to board our plane to CES, I am reminded of the good and bad about these conferences.

 The good:

- Free food and drinks (this goes double in Vegas)

- Meeting new people and establishing new contacts

- Getting an early view of upcoming products, and hopefully getting in line to review them for our loyal readers

- Leaving Columbus mid-winter and getting away to a (kind of) warm locale.

- Gambling.

 The bad:

- Being up at 5 am to catch a plane

- Rooming with Chuck.

- Spending 4 hours on a plane twice in 4 days.

- Rooming with Chuck.

- Waiting in line for lunch, badge & bag pick up, and anything else really worth doing.

- Rooming with Chuck.

- Listening to jaded journalists complain about how X's product doesn't measure up to expectations for the 500th time

- Did I mention rooming with Chuck? ;)

It seems these days that the really great games come along once or so a year, with little to complain about and lots to love. But what about the games that offer lots to love, but also a decent amount to complain about? That's the case with John Deere: Harvest in the Heartland for DS.

What you get in short with this game is a more realistically based Harvest Moon with a nice sponsorship tie in, and some very good game play. You start as a farmer with a small plot of land, a few basic tools, and a single crop. From there you work your way up to being a corporate farmer with tons of shiny John Deere green tractors, combines, etc.

The farming part which is the core of the game, is well done with one exception. Crop values are astronomical. Your reward for individual crop sales are so high, if real farmers made that kind of money, the government would never have to bail any out. The crop cycles are much closer to a realistic timeframe than in Harvest Moon.

The real problem with the game comes from the technical side of things. There are way too many load screens, far too many video glitches ("Wait, where did I put my barn? Oh there it is, where i was JUST STANDING"), and other technical issues. But I have to admit, I'm hooked. It's been way too much fun playing my way up from being a simple one crop farmer to having tons of land and crops at my disposal.

I haven't used the Multiplayer features yet, but being able to visit someone elses farm isnt all that enticing to me anyways, unless I can drive their tractors.

I've spent about 4 hours playing NHL 08 thus far, and the early reports are thus: NHL 08 is HARD. I've been playing the two NHL franchises annually for years, and owning at both of them from almost the get go. This year, the EA NHL title is showing a lot more challenge. Normally I lose my first game while adjusting to contol changes, win my second game, and am crushing the AI at pro level by 4 or 5 goals after only a few games. This year, I lost my first 2, and have only managed one win by more than 2 goals.

For one thing, the goaltending is a lot tougher. Almost all of the tricks that have worked in the past to result in sure goals are gone. You can still one-time your way past a goalie from the slot, but most of the time you cant do it standing still, it has to be on the rush, and the timing of the pass has to be near perfect

Secondly, superstars will score no matter what. The biggest names in the game are going to get on the board. In 5 games against the Ottawa Senators, I've only been able to keep Daniel Alfredsson from scoring once. I haven't had a chance to explore the player ratings much yet, but AI superstars and clutch 3rd liners can be counted on to try and keep your team close when they are down.

Also, while I like a lot of things, the dynasty mode roster editing should be smarter. I shouldnt have to scratch a guy to send him to the minors. It should automatically do that for me. It's good that there's a popup for when youre sending down a guy who has to pass through waivers, but in general this is the one area i can see so far that needs help.

Finally, this game is about defense. You have to be smart in your own end. Postional defense is far more successful than chasing the puck, just like in the NHL. If you get your dmen running around, you're going to wind up giving up quality opportunities. 

Of course, all this difficulty is compounded by the fact that I'm using the Columbus Blue Jackets with their default roster and manual shot aim, while playing only the highest powered teams in the league. But even at that, I've never has as much challenge as I am with this version of the game. Way to go, EA.