Bizsumpark182

As the classification explains this is a guilty pleasure of mine. I love to play NBA 2K6! To be honest I don't watch much NBA basketball at all, I may catch a game here or there and I do watch it on Sportscenter. But I'm not what most people would see as a big basketball fan. Yet, there is something about this game that has me playing it at least once a day.

Let me start off by saying that this is a great looking game. On the court player models look realistic (much better then the #1 Madden) and the details of the arena are represented here perfectly. Even the menus are great to look at, not to mention very easy to navigate. And the cut scenes within the game are very nicely done, never while watching a replay was I stuck watching behind a wall or chair. And of course the animation is very slick and for the most part varied throughout the entire game. My only complaint about the presentation of the game lies in two areas. One, is the before game scenes, I would have really liked to have seen some animated player intros and the modeling for the different scenes before the game could have been better modeled. Two, the crowed, it was very 2D and flat, and for me that does take a little away from the experience.

Sound overall in this game isn't really anything special. 2K Sports has done a great job of having all the right sounds for the on court action. Even the crowed makes the right kind of noise depending on whats going on, even falling into a murmur when the game gets boring for them. But the announcers (although very good) get very repetitive. And the music isn't my favorite kind so I dock a point for that. Overall the best part of the game is the most important part of the game, that being the gameplay. I love the controls that 2K Sports came up with. Using the right analog stick to control your shooting, crossovers and even your stealing attempts was an ingenious idea. And all the controls are easy to get a handle on. But, if you don't like using the stick you can still use the buttons to do all your work. NBA 2K6 does a great job of making you feel like your playing a real basketball game. In the harder difficulties you won't string together a ton of blowouts by 30 or 40 points. And if you get careless and don't plan out what you want to do you will have a very hard time in winning any games at all. This is a game that you have to know basketball to have the full experience. This is a basketball sim at its finest. My only complaint about the gameplay is fouling isn't very realistic. But that is a very minor thing. Now I will be honest in saying that the only mode that I have played is the Association Mode. Which is NBA 2K6's career/multi season mode. Here you will do everything from play games, make trades, schedule practices, and scout college players. You do have to worry about the chemistry of your team. Which means that doing things like making a ton of trades or losing can hurt this chemistry. Fatigue is also a factor, so don't think that you can have practice everyday. Cause if you do, not only do you increase the chance of injury but you but your players will be too tired to play very long in games. Overall NBA 2K6 is a fantastic basketball game that should be played by anyone who wants a true to form basketball experience. Unless you want to have the 2007 rosters and what not I would suggest 2K6 over 2K7. You pretty much have the same experience only, to be honest, better. NBA 2K6 is a game that I will be playing for months to come. And, in my eyes, does the best job of simulation of its sport, in the entire sports genre.

Let me start by saying that this game is much better then last years dismal Madden 05. For starters, the soundtrack in this game is one of the greatest that I have seen. As for every other sound in the game, its about the same as last season. Same old announcers saying the same old things. And the same old grunts from the players on the field.

The graphics haven't really improved much and are actually starting to seem a little dated (at least on the PS2) but then again I've been looking at alot of next gen screens so there is not much out right now that impresses me much. Anyways, there are a few new animations on the field and EA seems to have ditched the camera angles that they used last year in-between plays for some high angle views.

The gameplay has improved over last year, but then again I thought the gameplay in 05 sucked. The controls are as tight as they could be and some additions that were added to the R stick are actually useful. Like being able to push up on the R stick when your the RB and plowing over a defender. Or as the QB you can press the Square button and then flick the R stick left, right, up, down to select and audible within the current package. Its really useful when you see the defense is going to blitz and you just switch over to a passing play without having to move any of your players.

And now for the vision cone. I know that most of you people seem to already hate the vision cone. But, I'm here to tell you. Its not bad at all. I personally like having to be looking at a reciever to make an accurate pass. Although there were some occasions when I had an open back off to the side of me and I just zipped a pass to him and he caught. It has really made my passing skills better. Since in the past I've had trouble with looking at my different recievers without realizing that they are triple teamed.

Some of you have said that the precission passing has been around for years. And you are right, this is one thing that I think EA has wasted good PR on. Besides that there are a few other good tweaks, like being able to shift the offensive line by pressing L1 and then moving the L stick or directional pad left, right, up, or down. This helps to defend againest the blitzing defense. Also the hit stick on defense is back and just as good as ever. And if I may say so a hell lot more responsive then that crap that was in NCAA 06.

The franchise mode is pretty much the same as last years. So, if you knew what you were doing in 05 you'll know what your doing in 06. As for the Superstar Mode...eh...its ok. But, I did get pretty bored with it pretty fast. On another note I do believe that the Superstar Mode is a good start. I believe with alot of work this could become a mode that will captivate me for more than two hours.

Overall I believe Madden 2006 is a good football game. It may not be as good as it could have been, but, to be honest with the Xbox 360 and PS3 coming I believe that Madden on the PS2 and Xbox will suffer like it did on the PSone. I just hope that three years from now, I'm not still playing Madden 06 on my PS3 to get my football fix.

When I reserved this game I had high hopes for it. When I saw the movie I had even higher hopes for it. But, when I played it....well my hopes fell....and as I kept playing my hopes fell even more.

The game play is fun but poorly exicuted. The voice overs are terrible, I felt as if I was watching a REALLY bad 1950s Japanese movie. The graphics were the best part of the game. But, its pretty bad when I would rather look at the human torch instead of Jessica Alba....I mean come-on. Oh and did I mention that the game is incredibly short.

There are few games that I have played that have had me captivated from the first time I picked up the controller and all the way through to the end. Those few games that have done this for me include Metal Gear Solid, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and this game...God Of War. From the first time that I took the blades of chaos and started becoming a killing machine I had a blast. And it was easy to pull off all the different moves. This is a game that anyone can learn, because you can either button mash your way through the game (although it makes it a bit tougher in my opinion) or you can take the time to learn all the different combos. Now there aren't a lot of different combos to learn. I personally think thats a great thing, because some games will have 50 + combos from the beginning for you to learn...for some that can be over whelming. But with GoW you start with a few simple combos and as the game progresses you can take the time to learn more.

Now not every move deals with the blades of chaos. There are several magic spells that you will be able to perform by the end of the game and even a sword that you can use. But for those of you who haven't played GoW yet, I will warn you, don't get too comfortable with these...there is a curveball in the game. As for the mechanics in GoW, I think they were executed perfectly. From double tapping X to do a double jump, to stringing together a combo for a finishing move, its all very easy to do. And to bring you farther into the game SCEA even went as far as to not make action that you perform just hitting X. Just like in Resident Evil 4 you will have to hit button combos or just simply keep tapping a button to perform everything you do in the game. And boy does everything you do look so beautiful! Every animation, every blade of grass, the various Greek monuments and scenery...its all made with fantastic detail. Of course the cut scenes look even better. But, they are not just all 5 or 10 min long videos, there is also still images or animated images incorporated in as well. This is by far one of the best looking Playstation 2 games ever! And the sound brings you even more into the game. The voice acting is done very well and is believable. And the musical score throughout the game would make the Star Wars Orchestra salivate.

This review barely even scratches the surface of what God Of War has to offer you. Besides playing the game once through in Hero mode you can go back and try you hands of God Mode...which is one of the hardest difficulties ever in gaming. And yes, if you want to unlock everything in the game you do have to pay God mode. Once again this is one of the greatest games that I have ever played and at least for me it has changed the way I look at the Action Adventure genre. Oh and if you need something else to convince you to play this game...its only $19.99.

My first major experience with a NASCAR game was NASCAR Racing 4 (PC) by Papyrus. And it was a great experience! You really had to get your self involved in every aspect of your car to really be able to win a race. So, when I got NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup I had high expectations for the game. I have to admit that maybe I should have brought down my expectations more then a few levels. I'm not saying that NASCAR 2005 doesn't do some great things, but there are many things that I, as a big NASCAR fan, would have liked to have had in my experience with the game.

Let me start out by saying that this is the best looking NASCAR game that I have ever seen. The tracks are rendered perfectly, the cars look fantastic and realistic, and this game has some of the greatest looking clouds in the history of gaming. My only complaint about the graphics is the painstakingly slow framerate in your rear view mirror when you have a lot of cars in it.

The sound is also a huge plus in NASCAR 2005. This sounds like how a NASCAR game should. The engines roar as you race around the track, your crew chief and spotter keep you up to date on the happenings, even the pit stops sound as they should. And as always EA did a great job of picking a good lineup of songs for this game. Now for the only broken part of the game, the gameplay its self. First I do want to say that the on track racing is great. Cars act as they should for certain situations. If your car is loose then expect the back end to want to go around, if you go into a corner too fast expect to meet the wall very soon. All the modes of the game are great. The fight to the top is a great idea for a career mode, working you through all the different series in NASCAR. And of course you have your season mode, chase for the cup mode (which allows you to play the last 10 races of the season), and different mini games to test your skills in. There are only two parts of the gameplay that I feel are broken and really these are two very important parts. First, EA needs to allow for deeper tweaking when you come in for a pit stop. There are so many more things that can be done during a pit stop then just getting tires, wedge adjustments, fuel and damage repair. You can do sway bar adjustments, if needed be you can add or take away spring rubbers. There are even things you can do that would take almost a minute to complete (for those desperate times). Also, when you run out of fuel your race isn't over. Yes, you will go a lap or more down but your race isn't over. The second big thing for me in NASCAR 2005 is the fact that there is rarely a yellow flag. Most races have at least four or five cautions. You have cars that blow up, have tire problems and of course wrecks. NASCAR 2005: Chase For The Cup is a good NASCAR game for a start. But, EA has a lot they need to approve upon. Unfortunately they didn't do that in NASCAR 2006 or NASCAR 2007. They added more features, but they didn't fix what is wrong with the game. And somethings, like graphics have gone down hill. Lets hope that for the next gen of gaming EA does the right thing and make a game that NASCAR fans will really want to sink into. After all NASCAR is becoming a bigger sport every year. And soon a NASCAR game could compete in sales with the likes of Madden, if done right.

MLB 2K8 is a good game. The controls work well once you learn how to use them. I especially like the new fielding controls, its make it feel more natural. The game looks good and for the most part sounds good (some of the pregame commentary could use some work).

But, once you start really getting into the game many MANY problems arise. First off, is the frame rate issue that hits during gameplay. When you throw the ball and the camera pans across the field framerate becomes very choppy. This is also a problem during some of the cutscenes.

There are also numerous bugs when you are playing in franchise mode. The first one I discovered occurs when you look at or edit your rosters. After you do so and the game validates your roster it likes to reset your pitching rotation back to your number one pitcher pitching your next game, even if he just pitched the last game and is in no condition to pitch. The next one that really bugs me comes up after a rain delay. If a game is called because of rain, instead of rescheduling the game for another day it forces you to replay the game on the same day. Rained out games is something that has been in baseball games for many years now, and its something that 2K Sports should not have a problem making work properly.

There are many other bugs in this game that I personally have not encountered. But, a quick trip to the MLB 2K8 forums will dig up info on many many problems that this game just should not have. Another big issue with MLB 2K8 is the online play. To put it quite simply, it is nearly broken. I played one game and ended up helping the other guy to an almost perfect game because I could not time my swing. Not because of my skill, but because of the poor response time. Many players have said that you have to start your swing before the pitch to be able to hit the ball.

Besides the problems the game is fun. The presentation is very solid. The controls are a breath of fresh air from what has been standard for years now. And the franchise mode, despite its bugs, is very fun to play. Hell, I even like the card collecting aspect that is in the game. But, to be honest unless 2K Sports promised fixes happen soon, I may stop playing the game before the second month of baseball season begins. And I will not like knowing that I wasted $60 on a broken game.