jase12881

I never understood the appeal to that game. For some reason, I just never enjoyed it when I played it :\

Now just imagine those games that don't have definable ends (like a lot of sports games, or like the Sims)...in order to get the credits for those type of games, you have to choose it in the menu or sometimes it's not there at all. I'm -sure- no one goes to the Credits option in the menu in Madden and reads who made the game. I usually skip the credits if I can, or if I can't, I switch the tv so that I can watch tv until the credits are over. That's assuming the game gives you a reason to keep playing after the credits roll...if I know that it doesn't, I shut it off before the credits. Luckily, most games have replay options that give you a reason to play after the game is beaten

You know...I never really got why people said NFL 2k5 was like the best football game ever. Now don't get me wrong...it was ok. It was certainly a good bargain ($20 at retail). But gameplay-wise, I think Madden was much better....although I'll give 2k5 the edge on presentation. The sweetest thing 2k sports had going for it was the half-time highlights. Granted, on the PS2, it was just pictures of the plays rather than video replay, but it was still awesome. Actually if they could actually put some work into the presentation, that would certainly help Madden. Although truthfully one of the biggest things I'd like to see changed is roster management AI in Franchise mode. Back in the early versions, the team would load up on players based solely on their overall rating, and value a 20 year veteran rated 99 the same as a rookie rated 99. But then they tweaked it...and now the AI will release just about anyone over the age of 27 if their contract comes up. I've seen the Steelers release Big Ben after the 2007-2008 season (as an example)...which would never happen in real life. The Panthers seem to -always- release Julius Peppers after the first season...etc. A lot of times the teams do it without even having someone to replace their departing veteran. And I think the reason this stuff doesn't get changed is because of the exclusivity. There is no game of football that comes close to Madden in revenue..so there's no competition. Honestly, I think the best thing for 2k sports to do with their series (Now that the consoles have hard drives and such) is to release a game with 32 completely made up teams...in a completely made up league...but make the entire thing 100% customizable. That way their fans can still buy the game, play their game...and can create NFL mods which will basically make an NFL game without the NFL license. Exportable leagues would guarantee that this is an easy thing to do. Just my two cents.

A while back, I created a family named the Dynasty family. The goal was to see how many generations of sims I could keep in the same house and how long it would take them to go from poor to rich. I basically only let each family have one child...who would then marry and have a child of his or her own. Oddly, every child turned out to be a girl... I messed around with the third generation girl (Amy Dynasty)so much that I barely had time to get her pregnant before she turned to an elder. As she clearly wasn't going to survive long enough to raise the child, I had her maid move in with her. Amy died shortly thereafter, and the maid (Lauren Reeves) was left to raise the child. This was all fine until one day when Lauren was at work, and the Dynasty child (Wendy) was a teenager, almost an adult (3 days away). Wendy went to bed with a somewhat high temperature after having been in the hot tub, and spontaneously combusted. :oblink: The resulting fire took up pretty much the entire bed, and engulfed poor Wendy. I didn't have a smoke detector in the room as I didn't figure there was much need, and she eventually burned to ashes, effectively ending the Dynasty family in the 4th generation. Oddly enough, the bed survived...only Wendy did not.

Werewolves can bite others and turn them in to werewolves. Werewolves stats drop quickly in the day. Zombies are pretty much normal Sims with a limp. Vampires die in sunlight and have to sleep in coffins, but can bite others and make them vampires. Plantsims only have Sunlight, Water and Love as their stats and skip the baby and Young Adult and Teen stages. They can also spore a plantchild as well as having normal children via woohoo.

Hey, we're not retards over here! The majoriy of fans here got into the sport in the late eighties, when teams like the Niners, Giants, Redskins, Bears, Broncos and Dolphins (they may not have won owt, but Marino's a fackin' ledge) were on top, hence them being the most fervently supported over here (along with the Bucs, because we Brits apparently love the losers - TB has one of, if not the biggest UK-based NFL supporter's clubs). Yeah, they're trying to grow the sport over here, so they need teams who are moderately successful at least, but that's not to say it'd be wise to completley ignore the older fans. Who's going to recommend it/talk about it/teach it to the newbies otherwise? Oh, and not everyone loves a shootout, I'm equally (if not more so) appreciative of a solid defensive effort. And don't anyone dare suggest sending Brett Favre over here

There's all but zero chance of it, but how great would it be if the Dolphins beat the Patriots and ruined two perfect seasons at once? 1-15 and 15-1 instead of the much more likely 0-16, and 16-0. It would be funny. Only happens if the Patriots decide to rest their starters for the playoffs though, which they more-than-likely won't do.

The fact of the matter is that people always want someone to blame. Parents will blame the retail stores or the game companies because their son or daughter got their hands on a violent or gruesome video game, even though they were the ones that bought the game, and the games have a rating system which -clearly- marks what age they're appropriate for. In addition spending 10 minutes watching the child play the game, or doing that much time worth of research prior to the purchase would give parents all the insight they need. We live in a world where information is seconds away and we basically have a whole library worth of information within reach 24 hours a day. There's no excuse for buying your child a game, or movie for that matter, you didn't want him to play or watch. Video games get blamed for violence that happens in the real world on occasion because people are searching for answers. When some kid goes crazy and shoots up a school, it's easier to blame it on mental problems or video games than to face the real issue or to believe that your family member was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. People don't like feeling helpless. When someone is affected by violence, they want something or someone to blame so that they have something to fight for/against. Also, as someone else mentioned above: Most adults over a certain age didn't grow up with video games, or if they did, it was "Red square fires yellow dot into green square" type of games. They're amazed to learn that games these days have graphics that are much more life like than they remember,and violence looks much more real. Of course the real appeal of video games (for most people) isn't in their similiarity to real-life, but in the differences. I wouldn't like a game where if my character died, the game stopped working forever. Or if in Grand Theft Auto, when you were busted your character would spend the next 4-5 years (everytime you started the game up) in a cell looking at a brick wall. I don't desire to become a soldier after playing a war game (Sorry America's Army, it doesn't work on me!), because i know that in reality when you die once it's game over forever. The fact that you can make mistakes in video games and live to tell the tale (and often even succeed) is a good part of the appeal. Some might argue that it de-sensitizes people to violence, at the very least, but I don't think that's the case. I've played many many video games where people have gotten blown up, guts flying everywhere, and yet graphic footage of real violence on tv still turns my stomach some, and minor violent acts (fights, etc) appearing in front of me in reality still leave me feeling shocked and sort of disgusted. Contrary to what anti-video game crusaders would have you believe, I think for people who have a natural tendency towards being angry, video games can be, if not quite positive, at least not destructive outlets for their aggression. With all that being said, however, I wouldn't worry too much about these people who speak out against video games. Tommy Vercetti might not be able to defend himself, but Take-two interactive and other video game companies can, and will. In America, money rules, and as long as video games continue to be a multi-billion dollar industry, they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. The real worry, to me, is that the video game companies will continue to find ways to milk money out of us for less content, but that's a whole other issue.

I feel like the Lions are over-achieving a bit. I would love to say they're just a great team or just playing with intensity or whatever, but a few things keep stopping me. Number one, in both of their losses they didn't just lose, they got absolutely crushed. Number two, in no facet of the game have they truly dominated even the weakest of team. You could argue that the fact that they lead the league in takeaways means something, but then you kind of have to look at all the yards they've given up even in the wins. If Griese hadn't forced those 3 throws into double and triple coverage in the endzone the Bears/Lions game, the Bears probably would found a way to win. I think against a team like Denver (next week) the Lions are going to look overmatched, in spite of the fact that Denver is struggling this year. With the Lions, I remain hopeful, but I keep my enthusiasm tempered by remembering that we're less than halfway through the Lions' season (7 games down 9 to go.). That said, If Kevin Jones can run against other teams like he ran against the Bears (or better!), and the core of the team can stay healthy/active for once, we might have a shot at making a playoff run. I guess it will depend more on how they do with the rest of their division games, especially against Green Bay.

I have to second whoever said Shining Force II and Phantasy Star IV. The two best RPGs of their generation. Also, tecmo super bowl III. Probably the best in the series, and you can't beat the 100 yard pass! I could probably think of a ton more if I were at home where I have my ROMs, but I'm not. Oh, throw in Uncharted Waters: New Horizons and the NHL games (96 was my favorite) as well (even though they were multi-platform).

Ok, I was wrong about the Bears blowing out the Lions. To be fair (to me!) I wasn't up-to-speed on the Bears injuries at the time, and thought they were playing with all their starters (except Mike Brown who I knew was gone for the season). I'm glad to be wrong though. I would caution all of you talking about playoffs and the like to remember that we're only 1/4th of the way through the season. A team could conceivably be 0-4 right now and come back to make the playoffs. I know it's fun to speculate though, and at the moment the previous 4 weeks is all we have to go by when determining who the best team is. There's still a long season ahead though, and teams can get hot, or cold, or injuries can decimate a team. Even one injury at the right/wrong position could hurt a team bad enough to ruin the rest of their season. That's the NFL though, and why it's so crazy and exciting every year.

I see the Eagles turning it around this week against the Lions. I really hope that they don't but I'd just about bet on it happening. Oddly enough though, the last time the Lions started a season 2-0, they played the Eagles in the third game of the season (2004), and the Eagles destroyed them. I think this weeks game will be a little closer, but I have to say I think the Eagles will win. Even with Detroit winning two weeks in a row, I still don't have much confidence in them. On a side note, if Detroit -does- beat Philly, I hope they start getting a little respect from the national media. The only brief mention they ever make of the Lions is to say it's a miracle that they're 2-0. That's not true though, I think they'll be a average to slightly below average team this year. As far as Leftwich, I think he'll be starting by week 4, and on the bench again by week 8. Also, as much as the Steeler fans around me might not like me saying this, I hope Derek Anderson of the Browns is for real. Not only would that be funny since they drafted Quinn, but also I'd just like to see the Browns prove some people wrong this year.

He's saying it off the 100+ games Norv Turner has coached in the NFL...with a horrible win % and talented teams underachieving immensely under him before.

I think New England, as a punishment, should be forced to pick a single city/state to represent and stop trying to cover the entire New England area! Alternatively, how does the Pacific Coast Patriots sound? Seriously, I don't think it's -that- big of a deal, but I think maybe they will probably be punished somewhat harshly to set an example. (which I don't necessarily think is just)