Hey what is up everybody at PN and XBL Radio, Mr B4 here to give you the latest news as to what is going on in the gaming community. I do not have news for you today, what I do have for you is a review of a game that I recently played for the Wii. The game is called We Love Golf, it was developed by Camelot Software Planning, and published by Capcom. It is basically an arcade style golf game like Mario or Hot Shots Golf, but with Wii controls.
Before I get into my thoughts about this game, let us take some time to go over the modes available:
What is up everybody at P*N and XBLRadio, Mr B4 here to show you what took place at my local Gamestop for the Midnight Sale of Madden 09 and some modes of the Madden 09 All-Play Wii Version! Click on ahead for some videos and if you have any questions and/or comments please send them to xblradio@platformnation.com
*NOTE: This was my first time hosting and editing the show, so just keep hat in mind when you are listening. There may be a few errors here and there, and I apologize for that in advance, I did the best I could, with some help from my GF (Seachelle86)*
Hey what is up everybody at PN and XBLRadio, Mr B4 here giving you the latest news as to what is going on in the gaming community. Today I have an announcement for you about the upcoming release of a game that everyone who is a gamer, whether they like sports or not, should know what it is. What am I talking about, I am talking about Madden NFL 09. I will be picking up both the 360 and Wii versions of this game tonight when I go to the midnight sale at my local Gamestop.
You might be asking yourself, well, it is just another Madden game with updated rosters and barely any new features at all. Why should I pick it up again? First of all the release of this game marks the 20 year anniversary of the franchise and you should also buy it because of some of the other great features that this game has to provide.
Here are some of the features that this latest installment is going to have, for both the Wii and 360/PS3:
If you have ever tried to play a Tiger Woods PGA Tour Game you will know that unless you are Tiger Woods it is going to take a lot of practice, or MS points, in order to compete. Golf: Tee It Up! would be the complete opposite from this; in fact my friend, Luck503, was getting eagles and long distance chip-ins on his second round of 18. This just demonstrates Golf: Tee It Up!’s casual pick-up and play style that would be a great addition to everyone’s XBLA library.
Gameplay:A-
Golf: Tee It Up can be just your classic 3 A button click golf game, but for the golfer that wants a little more depth it has that also (see Controls). When you first start Golf : Tee It Up! you will notice the quick play option, for when you just want to get to hitting some balls, or you have the choice to pick from stroke, match or cup challenge modes. Add to this the option of 1-4 player local, multi- or co-op modes and, over Xbox Box Live, 2-4 player multi- or co-op play and what you have is one highly addictive golf game! Did I mention the Character Customization? No. Well it is in here also. You can pick between Male/Female Characters, as well as customize their clothing. Everything from hair, shirts, pants, shoes, and gloves is customizable; and sometimes even humorous, as choices range from bunny and monster parts to studious and work attire. Although more options would have been nice there is word of future DLC coming!
Controls:B+
As stated above Golf: Tee It Up! can be played as just a 3-click A button style game that anyone could pick-up and play, or for the more in depth golfer this game has the detailed controls they would be looking for. Before your shot use the Left/Right Bumpers, for the map and flight of ball respectively. The Left Stick is used for the majority of movements, while the Right Stick determines the spin placed on the ball (see orange dot on ball in upper right of screen). The Left and Right Triggers move through the available clubs, while the B Button can add a boost to each shot, if you still have any Focus Time left (more on later). Once the shot is all lined up is when the 3-click A Button comes into play. Once to start the swing, once to set the power of the shot and one to set the accuracy. Then after the ball is hit is when the Focus Time comes into play. Using the Left Stick you can make minor changes to the path of the ball, granted you have Focus Time left. This is limited to 4.0 seconds per hole and can be compounded from hole to hole (up to 12.0 seconds). While the Focus Time does not do major changes in the path of the ball, I would suggest the best time to use the Focus Time is with a putter in hand. After lining up your putt holding down the X Button will show you the path the putt will take. Since the putting is the hardest part of Golf: Tee It Up! this helps read the hills and valleys of the greens; making putting a lot easier!
Graphics/Sound:A
Golf: Tee It Up! uses a detailed, cartoonist style which fits right in with its casual setting. Running in 720p, and with very little online lag, I have not experienced any issues with the graphics of Golf: Tee It Up! In fact I find myself getting lost in the scenario while playing looking for hidden easter eggs. Using 5.1 Surround Sound my friend and I experience what we thought to be a bird in the house, but soon realized it was the games. Also just a hint: if you see or hear a bunny hoping around, and happen to be wearing some bunny attire, hit your ball near the bunny for another “special sound”!
Replayabiltiy:B
With 1-4 player local play, 2-4 player local/online/co-op play in a variety of modes like stroke, match or cup challenges Golf: Tee It Up! will have you playing over and over by yourself, with friends, and/or against random people over Xbox Live. The only issue I have with Golf: Tee It Up! is it launched with only two (2) courses, Caribbean and Parkland. As stated above, it has already been said that future DLC courses and character customization pieces will be release, not yet known if premium or free DLC, but one more course, at least, would have been a welcome addition.
Overall:A-
I would say with its single player alone I would recommend to go download/play the trial and give Golf: Tee It Up! a serious consideration for purchase. But then add in all of its various local and online modes, the detail that two people on the same console can go online and play those various modes; I would say to stop reading this now and go purchase Golf: Tee It Up! its that good.
Then after you purchase it send a message to any of the XBLRadio Hosts and let play a round!
Please comment here or email xblradio@platformnation.com with any feedback!
Hey there all you sports fans. Kemanswar has been doing some stock car racing this past week with NASCAR ’09 for the Xbox 360. This year’s cover athlete is Jeff Gordon, driver of the number 24 car in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. At the start of the game he provides the tutorial to help get you started. Any time Gordon is explaining anything to you it is via cut scene; you can skip it or listen to him talk. If you are a fan of NASCAR you already know the basics but let’s break it down anyway.
If you run through the career mode you start out in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, this is where all you rookies will get some experience. You can sign contracts for teams and sponsors, as you progress and meet objectives i.e.: place in the top 25 for 3 races, etc… This gives you Reputation Points, the more of them you have, the more options you have for sponsors and teams. As you complete sponsor objectives and team objectives you also get Performance Points. Use these to upgrade your stats in four categories: Engine, Chassis, Aerodynamics, and Durability; and in the four track types: Speedway, Super Speedway, Short Track, Road Course. Leveling up comes in heavy when you play online (more here later). After some time in the Truck Series, you can move up to the Nationwide Series, think of this as big engines with training wheels. A faster car, better aerodynamics, better stability, makes competition a little bit harder than the trucks. Same rules apply though work your way through the season and build up your reputation and make your way to the Sprint Cup Series.
Sprint Cup Series: fast cars all turning left over and over! This is where the big boys race for the win, or make a smoking wreck in turn four! All your big names and big sponsors are here where big engines cut loose for you to take to the front.
If you were to remove the NASCAR licenses it would still be a decent racer, it has control modes that make it easy for novice users to keep up with the hardcore simulation fans. Speaking of whom, will love to go in and tweak their set up, much like Forza 2. This detail into handling, aerodynamics, tire pressure, etc makes it a worthy simulation (I’m not going to lie; I just looked at the options, as I know nothing about cars).
There is also a race now feature, as in all EA Sports games, and of course the obligatory country EA Trax. One of my favorite features is the option to create your own paint scheme, which for once EA stepped up and is giving you more. You can also upload your very own custom paint job from your computer. Love to edit in Photoshop? Than go to the EA website and download the templates you need to create what ever your mind can come up with. We could talk about the dangers of what some gamers will “paint” on their cars, but that’s been beat to death.
Overall I really enjoy NASCAR ’09, it’s a fun race game that helps you learn how to adjust your cars and build up a reputation. If you are a fan of NASCAR than you will probably enjoy the ’09 outing, heck if you like racers check it out! It’s more about how you control your car and how you tweak your settings that make this a keeper. If on the other hand, you are not a fan of either, but your interest has been sparked, rent it and find out what you think.
Please leave comment here or submit feedback to xblradio@platformnation.com
As the title states,
we here at XBLRadio and Platform Nation are going to be holding an Official MLB 2K8 Baseball League!
Now you may have seen a recent post by Steve519, also of the Platform Nation, about a baseball league for MLB 08 The Show (on the PS3). For arguments sake lets refer to that as they do the National League, “The Senior Circuit”, and we will consider this league like the America League, “The Junior Circuit”.
So if you have MLB 2K8 the show or are getting soon. Sign up over on the forums at Platform Nation by March 24th, 2008 and Opening Day of the 2008 MLB Season will also be Opening day for P*N MLB 2K8 League.
And lets show “The Seniors” what a bunch of “Juniors” can do… (be just like high school all over again!).
Make it to the World Series and you are Guaranteed a Prize. No diamond rings or huge trophies, but you will get bragging rights over all of Platform Nation as well as…
As you know, Aug 30 will be here before you can blink your eyes. That means College football is among us all. With that being said, I thought it would be cool to simulate a full season including the bowl game with NCAA 08 Football by EA with My Xbox 360.
All I did was pick a team, I went with the preseason #1 team (USC). Then I went to the last game for my team (USC) and checked simulate full season. After that it set up the bowl games and I chose to simulate all bowl games.
To say I was shocked on who it picked is a understatement. Boise State was picked to be the National Champs, come on they have a very very weak schedule. Even if they go undefeated, they wont be the 2008 National Champion. I will have to say my Xbox 360/NCAA 08 Football game got it wrong. What about your Xbox 360/NCAA 08 Football game will it be right. Go ahead and give it a try and post your results in our forums as well as your screen shoots.
If you have 2K Baseball, Madden, or any sport game that has a simulation mode try it out and give us your results in the forums.
Ok Maddenites, the time has finally come for you. The midnight sale of “the most highly anticipated football game of the year”, Madden NFL 08, is tonight. This midnight sale will take place at many local Gamestop’s and EB Games stores throughout the world. Check gamestop.com, and ebgames.com for more information.
Now if you are a fan of this franchise like I am, you should not be ashamed to admit that we have not been getting our money’s worth out of the next gen versions of the game since the debut of Madden NFL 06 for the Xbox 360. The 06′ version was completely barren, with only season and play now modes to choose from. EA’s attempt at making the 07′ version better with adding the superstar mode, franchise mode, and the lead blocking control was a good improvement. It did still fall way short of expectations, however, leaving the madden fans wanting more out of this year’s installment.
In any circle you run in, the silent majority is 2K puts out a much better product than EA. NBA 2K7 outsold NBA Live 2007 in Next Generation sales. NBA 2K7 won “Best Team Sports Game” on Spike TV’s Video Game Awards 2006, over Madden! Maybe the majority is not so silent any more.
The ironic part (for those of you that don’t know the history) is that 2K Sports exists ONLY because of the mindless mistake EA made in the past. Do you remember the Sega Dreamcast? Well, EA never signed with them to make games for that console. So SEGA had no choice but to create its own brand of sports: The 2K Series. Who would have thought it would turn out to be the best source for sports games? Certainly not it’s cocky competitor.
It looks like EA is losing money, so we can expect to see the Marketplace flood with content very soon. Seems as though when people buy the full retail product, they prefer the complete game. Don’t worry EA, Chip’s got a Band-Aid® for ya.
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