It is 53 degrees as I write this. In December. The high today is to be 57. Now, I realize Wichita is relatively far south as far as latitude goes, but puh-lease. I don't care about melting ice caps or the submerging of Florida (the sooner the better for that), but I want my winters back.
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Sunday, August 01, 2004
Dog Days of Summer
Intelligent TV is so rare these days. Especially on networks. Especially on ABC. The last great ABC show was SportsNight and we all know how well they handled that. I still hope, though, to find quality shows on broadcast TV and have not yet given up on sampling new shows--unlike many, many others.
Thank goodness for that because otherwise I would never have discovered The Days. This is a great--well, very good--show, if one likes episodic drama as I do. I doubt it will be successful, but I am enjoying the episodes I see, and, yes, I am making a point to see it. Who could not love a show when a nearly 40 mother and her high school daughter are both pregnant? It's funny and well written. Yes, some of the scenes are a bit precious. Yes, there are cliches in abundance. Still, it's a fine project, and one far more deserving of being on the air than so much utter dreck that abounds.
Thank goodness for that because otherwise I would never have discovered The Days. This is a great--well, very good--show, if one likes episodic drama as I do. I doubt it will be successful, but I am enjoying the episodes I see, and, yes, I am making a point to see it. Who could not love a show when a nearly 40 mother and her high school daughter are both pregnant? It's funny and well written. Yes, some of the scenes are a bit precious. Yes, there are cliches in abundance. Still, it's a fine project, and one far more deserving of being on the air than so much utter dreck that abounds.
Tuesday, July 06, 2004
MVP Baseball 2004
I ignored reviews and past years' experiences (of others, not me) and got EA's MVP Baseball 2004 the others day. It is truly a mixed bag.
I've been playing computer baseball games dating back to Epyx's The World's Greatest Baseball Game on the Commodore 64. I've never been completely satisfied with any of them, although the Amiga version of Earl Weaver Baseball comes closest, probably. Certainly, that game taught me more about baseball strategy than any before or since--a feature sorely lacking in modern games.
The ads for MVP proclaim that the game's all about the art of hitting. Can't disagree there; hitting is much more frustrating than in any other baseball game I've played. It does get better with practice (imagine that!), but I'm still not satisfied with it.
On the other hand, the game's pitching component is the most enjoyable I've used. Go figure. My favorite part of baseball games is always, always, always batting, but I'm having more fun (or at least success) pitching here. So kudos to EA on that.
And the decision to include AAA and AA teams? Brilliant. They're a blast to play. I'm only a month or so into my first dynasty, so I'll be interested in seeing how things go from here, and if I run into the bugs in this mode that others have noticed.
EA's manuals get worse and worse, though, and this one is no exception. I am tired of figuring gameplay out by intuition! And the announcers? Annoying, annoying, irritating, and exasperating. Did I mention annoying? Commentary is the Achilles heel of this generation of sports games, as I've mentioned before.
MVP Baseball 2004 frustrates me because, as I've heard of previous games, it teeters on the edge of greatness, but it's not there yet. While I'm waiting for the perfect ball game to emerge, though, I'll keep playing.
I've been playing computer baseball games dating back to Epyx's The World's Greatest Baseball Game on the Commodore 64. I've never been completely satisfied with any of them, although the Amiga version of Earl Weaver Baseball comes closest, probably. Certainly, that game taught me more about baseball strategy than any before or since--a feature sorely lacking in modern games.
The ads for MVP proclaim that the game's all about the art of hitting. Can't disagree there; hitting is much more frustrating than in any other baseball game I've played. It does get better with practice (imagine that!), but I'm still not satisfied with it.
On the other hand, the game's pitching component is the most enjoyable I've used. Go figure. My favorite part of baseball games is always, always, always batting, but I'm having more fun (or at least success) pitching here. So kudos to EA on that.
And the decision to include AAA and AA teams? Brilliant. They're a blast to play. I'm only a month or so into my first dynasty, so I'll be interested in seeing how things go from here, and if I run into the bugs in this mode that others have noticed.
EA's manuals get worse and worse, though, and this one is no exception. I am tired of figuring gameplay out by intuition! And the announcers? Annoying, annoying, irritating, and exasperating. Did I mention annoying? Commentary is the Achilles heel of this generation of sports games, as I've mentioned before.
MVP Baseball 2004 frustrates me because, as I've heard of previous games, it teeters on the edge of greatness, but it's not there yet. While I'm waiting for the perfect ball game to emerge, though, I'll keep playing.
Monday, June 21, 2004
Xbox 2 News
I'm not a big console person, but I enjoy following the soap opera that is the console wars. Reminds me of the home computer wars when consumers actually had choices. But, anyway. Rumor has it that Microsoft's next incarnation of the Xbox will not be backwards compatible with the current generation because it wouldn't be a selling factor. Also, with radically different hardware, it'd be too difficult--although that's the part that they aren't saying.
I don't have an Xbox, but I always thought the hard drive was a superb idea, and I'll be really sorry to see it go. And as for backwards compatibility, when I got my PS2 that was a selling point to me even though I didn't have a PS1. I realized, hey, look, if there's a game I want in the PS1's huge library, I can still play it. Excellent!
Certainly, historically there is much more justification for MS's decision. The only consoles I recall being compatible were Atari 7800 with the 2600, certainly nothing from the Nintendo/Sega wars.
I don't have an Xbox, but I always thought the hard drive was a superb idea, and I'll be really sorry to see it go. And as for backwards compatibility, when I got my PS2 that was a selling point to me even though I didn't have a PS1. I realized, hey, look, if there's a game I want in the PS1's huge library, I can still play it. Excellent!
Certainly, historically there is much more justification for MS's decision. The only consoles I recall being compatible were Atari 7800 with the 2600, certainly nothing from the Nintendo/Sega wars.
Sunday, June 20, 2004
Now that summer's here, I've been playing lots of the games I didn't have a chance to during the school year. It's been interesting.
I keep reading that NCAA Football is Electronic Arts' second string game behind Madden. That is so grossly unfair. NCAA rocks. It is reason enough to own a PS2. Heck, if it were out on the PC, I wouldn't even own a PS2 probably. Madden does have the aesthetic edge, but the 2004 version feels sluggish to me in terms of navigating menus and waiting on the field. I used to be OK with the commentary, but it is now just getting on my nerves. Too often, what is said has nothing to do with what's going on the field.
Even though Madden is EA's premiere title, NCAA is where the heart is. You can tell that for the people on that team, it's a labor of love. Ironically, I'm not even a big NCAA football fan, but, for me, it's the best version to play.
I hope, though, that in future versions the same attention will be paid to audio that is paid to the graphics. There has to be a way to get better, more accurate commentary. If Earl Weaver Baseball could handle player names in the '80s, you would think someone would be able to program it now. Speaking of that classic, I learned so much about baseball strategy from playing that game--and it was seamlessly integrated into the gameplay. I still struggle with football strategy after years of playing the various pro and college incarnations from EA. Why is that?
I keep reading that NCAA Football is Electronic Arts' second string game behind Madden. That is so grossly unfair. NCAA rocks. It is reason enough to own a PS2. Heck, if it were out on the PC, I wouldn't even own a PS2 probably. Madden does have the aesthetic edge, but the 2004 version feels sluggish to me in terms of navigating menus and waiting on the field. I used to be OK with the commentary, but it is now just getting on my nerves. Too often, what is said has nothing to do with what's going on the field.
Even though Madden is EA's premiere title, NCAA is where the heart is. You can tell that for the people on that team, it's a labor of love. Ironically, I'm not even a big NCAA football fan, but, for me, it's the best version to play.
I hope, though, that in future versions the same attention will be paid to audio that is paid to the graphics. There has to be a way to get better, more accurate commentary. If Earl Weaver Baseball could handle player names in the '80s, you would think someone would be able to program it now. Speaking of that classic, I learned so much about baseball strategy from playing that game--and it was seamlessly integrated into the gameplay. I still struggle with football strategy after years of playing the various pro and college incarnations from EA. Why is that?
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