Author Bio
Jayson YoungHome Town: Nashville, TN.
Sports: Football, Basketball, Hockey, Soccer
Games: Old: Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball, Tecmo Super Bowl III: Final Edition, NBA Hangtime, New: All Pro Football 2K8, NHL '09
Teams: Vanderbilt Commodores, Tennessee Titans, Nashville Predators, Memphis Grizzlies
OS Username: OS: wEEman33 Xbox Live: wEEman33 BSD
Tags:
Thursday, March 19, 2009
12:21 PM - March 19, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
Gamers who have some experience playing PC games are undoubtedly familiar with Valve Corporation and its homegrown anti-cheat client. 
Valve's innovative "VAC" (Valve Anti-Cheat) has gone through two iterations -- the marginally successful VAC1 and the industry-leading VAC2 -- since its implementation into the classic online shooter, Counter-Strike, way back in 2002.
The service has done so well that, if one was to name any of the most popular PC shooters right now (Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, etc.), there is a good chance that it is being "watched over" by Valve's VAC client.
Read more - Are Console Developers Doing Enough to Punish Cheaters?
Monday, March 16, 2009
12:31 PM - March 16, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
One of the major criticisms facing NHL 09's recently released patch is how it has allegedly turned the game into a "pansy" representation of the sport, which favors slow, deliberate strategy over the aggressive type of play that dominated the game prior to the second patch.This article is out to prove those criticisms wrong by showing that, on the contrary, the game still does reward aggressive tactics -- it simply no longer rewards the type of overaggressive tactics that would be blatant penalties at any level of hockey.
So here are a few tips to help gamers keep the pressure on opponents while avoiding the parade to the penalty box.
Read More - NHL 09: How You Can Keep Playing Aggressive Post-Patch
Monday, March 9, 2009
12:05 PM - March 9, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
While most sports developers tend to roll out patches that amount to little more than a type of "cosmetic surgery" that fixes bugs, glitches and other technical issues, EA Canada has taken its post-release support of NHL 09 beyond the status quo. The studio has put out a pair of patches that have addressed the game’s technical flaws and also addressed some of the serious gameplay flaws that had gradually brought the online community to complete ruin.Read More - NHL 09: When a Man Loves a Patch
Monday, February 23, 2009
09:36 AM - February 23, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
Last week, I talked about the decline of the arcade-sports genre, but this week I will be discussing how the genre can rise from the depths. It was only 10 years and two console cycles ago when Midway's NFL Blitz franchise was so popular that it actually outsold Madden '99 across the N64 and PSone platforms.
We are also only a half-decade and one console cycle removed from a time when EA's Street brand was strong enough to have four games in its portfolio sell over a million copies -- the three NBA games and the first NFL Street
How, then, did things fall apart so rapidly for a genre that, one console cycle ago, seemed to be on the rise?
Read More - Part II: How the Arcade-Sports Genre Can Rise Once More
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
06:23 PM - February 18, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
For those of us who grew up with sports games, it does not seem so long ago when the difference between a "simulation" and "arcade" sports game was about as marginal as the difference between an A and an A+ in gym class.Back in those late-1980s and early-1990s, rather than thinking about how "sim" or "unsim" a game was, the only thing the majority of sports gamers really thought about was how "fun" or "not fun" the games were.
Granted, some gamers from that era may have been a bit more obsessed with "statistical realism" than others, but in general, the gameplay is something that NES, Genesis and SNES gamers never really looked at with any judgments of "realism" in mind.
Read More - The Decline of the Arcade Sports Game (Part I)
Monday, February 2, 2009
11:56 AM - February 2, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
For my money (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw...=operasport-20), College Hoops 2K8 remains the most fun you can have with a basketball game.Of course, that statement says just as much about the quality of 2K’s College Hoops swansong (superb) as it does about the quality of the competition in this year’s playing field (mediocre).
While many football fans have already gotten used to revisiting retired superstars for a virtual fix of their favorite sport, it would be nice if basketball fans were not forced to carry out a similar fate.
Read More - The Cagey Veteran Amongst a Group of Flashy Youngsters
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
11:52 AM - January 21, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
You know you are dealing with a relatively unknown developer when its most well-known titles are a pair of turn-based strategy games for Nokia’s infamous N-Gage.But despite developer RedLynx’s inexperience on "standard" gaming platforms, or even with the racing genre in general, Trials 2 still ends up being one of the most unique, enjoyable racers in recent memory, in part because it is more than just a racing game –- it is also an obstacle course, a stunt arena and a reminder of just how difficult it is to control the forces of gravity and inertia when your 150 pounds of flesh are high in the air, holding onto 250 pounds of bone-crunching metal.
Read More - Trials 2: Second Edition Review
Friday, January 16, 2009
04:53 PM - January 16, 2009. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
Ever get frustrated by the fact that only a handful of plays in your favorite team’s playbook are actually useful? Have some creative ideas of your own that you would like to try on the field? Do you just want to re-create the plays you used to run in the glory days of your high school/college career? Unless your sport is hockey and your game is NHL 09, you are out of luck, because for some unknown reason, sports developers have decided to keep the virtual coach inside all of us bottled up for well over a decade.
Read More - Stagnancy of the "Create-A-Play" Feature in Sports Games
Monday, December 29, 2008
11:55 AM - December 29, 2008. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
For my family and I, the holidays are traditionally a time when we pile into a rental car and head down to Florida to enjoy some warm weather.Historically, the best part of these trips has not been the beaches, the ocean, the golf courses or the big-screen TV with the fancy satellite package; rather, it is the outdoor basketball courts next to our hotel, which are packed every day from breakfast to dinner with a large mix of athletes:
Mostly the courts are filled with kids who are just beginning their high school careers and twenty-somethings like myself who are still in their athletic prime, but there are also a few older guys in their thirties/forties who are just out there reliving past athletic glories.
There is something special about these pick-up games. There is something about getting a random group of people together and bonding around a common goal (scoring hoops) that really captures the essence of sports and friendly competition.
Read More - Taking the Slamball Out of Our NBA Games
Monday, December 22, 2008
02:34 PM - December 22, 2008. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
Sports gamers who have been keeping up with the rest of the video-game industry may have noticed that Blizzard Entertainment’s flagship title, World of Warcraft, recently reached the impressive mark of 11 million subscribers, giving it the largest active player-base of any game to date.With all the profits that Warcraft is generating for Blizzard (per person: $50 for the game, $40 for each of the two expansions, and about $15 in monthly subscription fees -- plus the game essentially cannot be pirated), it is no stretch to assume that sports developers must be thinking about how they, too, could incorporate some of the addictive massively multiplayer online (MMO) aspects into their own lineup of games.
Read More - What Can Sports Games Learn from World of Warcraft
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
04:22 PM - December 3, 2008. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff -- and Tecmo Bowl in general -- seems so simple on the surface, yet there are a surprising amount of nuances to master in it. Nuances such as how to set up your team and playbook before a game, to how to have your squad performing at its best on game days can sometimes be lost overlooked by gamers. To even the playing field, this short guide should give you everything you need to put up a fight against some of the wily veterans you are likely to meet in Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff's online arena.
Read More - Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff Tips
Thursday, November 27, 2008
10:38 PM - November 27, 2008. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
At a time when football games are not quite as plentiful as they used to be, Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff had a chance to be a savior of sorts for football fans.Like All-Pro Football 2K8 before it, Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff's emphasis on player and team customization could have given gamers the opportunity to use their alma maters and hometown teams in a game that was not built by The One Engine To Rule Them All.
Read More - Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff Review
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
08:05 PM - November 11, 2008. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
Few sports games last more than a year.The ones that do live past that expectancy rate (Tecmo Super Bowl, MVP Baseball 2005, NFL 2K5, et al.) survive because they have something unique about them -- something that no other sports game on the market can offer.
Aside from its stellar gameplay, in-depth customization and balanced team-building system, the one thing that has allowed All-Pro Football 2K8 to maintain its position as the game of choice for many die-hard football fans is the strong community that has formed around its online leagues.
Read More: The King of Gameplay and Ruler of the Online Domain
Monday, November 3, 2008
05:04 PM - November 3, 2008. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
Want to be a better EASHL teammate? Check out Jayson Young's article which might help you out, NHL 09: How to Become a Better EASHL Teammate.
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Thursday, October 23, 2008
10:06 AM - October 23, 2008. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Jayson Young
NBA 2K9 may very well be the best game to come out this year. But just as with this season's crop of college football teams, even the best seem to have some major flaws. Check out Jayson Young's article: NBA 2K9 Demoted to D-League For Poor Online Performance and then be sure leave your own feedback!
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