johnprestonevans's Blog - Operation Sports

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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Are Sports Games Doing Enough?

Posted on February 22, 2012 at 10:10 AM.

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There comes a time in every development cycle where things plateau as the technology is pushed to its limits. With the next generation of consoles on the horizon, developers are certainly preparing, if not working on engines to power their franchises forward. In this last year or so of Xbox360/PS3 (debatable), where does that leave upcoming games for our current consoles?

I have been an avid sports gamer for generations of systems and have thoroughly enjoyed most - if not all ... Read More

Friday, September 2, 2011

Perfecting Broadcast Presentation in Madden

Posted on September 2, 2011 at 08:12 AM.

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Lots of great work was done with the presentation of Madden this year. But there is still a ways to go to make this really look and feel like an NFL broadcast.
1) Sportscenter/NFL Network or some kind of true Network precence. Games need to be introduced properly, starting at the desk with a panel of analysts who break down the game. Go through each team's recent performance, standings, injuries, hot and cold players, predictions and possible playoff implications. This needs to be DYNAMIC ... Read More

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Madden 12 review

Posted on September 1, 2011 at 07:53 AM.

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Madden 12.

Warranted or not, Madden's release remains one of the biggest dates on the gaming calender. Terms like "Madden Fever" and "Maddenholiday" are a testament to the degree in which this game has influenced and affected our lives. But like any world champion, there comes a time when you show your age and are unable to perform at a peak level. Such has been the case for this franchise ever since arriving on current-generation systems. EA has had a tough time finding the proper ... Read More

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Is Current-Gen Madden a Write-off?

Posted on January 15, 2011 at 11:43 AM.

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How do you feel about Madden's current state of affairs? Are things headed in the right direction? Will we see a 95+ score for the franchise before the end of this cycle of consoles? Or is this generation a complete write off?

When I look back on Xbox360/PS3 Madden, I look at a missed opportunity to really push the series forward. In 2005 when new hardware was available to take NFL football games to the next level, the developers started from the ground up with extremely blurred ... Read More

Thursday, August 19, 2010

2K's Presentaion Polish

Posted on August 19, 2010 at 08:14 AM.

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I was reading up on Ben PerLee's preview for NBA2K11 this morning. Im really impressed by 2K Sports. I think they really put out quality games with attention to detail and presentation polish. Here is a paragraph for the preview of NBA2K11, as written by Ben:

"First, lets talk polish. When the developers first went about making NBA 2K11 more polished, they started with the cameras. All the angles now support truer broadcast shots, so now you will never play from an angle that is not ... Read More

Thursday, August 12, 2010

NCAA 11 vs. Madden 11 Quick Comparison

Posted on August 12, 2010 at 08:41 AM.

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Graphics
Madden is very sharp and crisp. The colors are A LOT more vibrant and the player models are tighter than they are in NCAA. That doesn't mean Madden looks more "real" because it kind of has this over-saturated look - not cartoonish per say, but just an amplified reality. NCAA is a bit more muted and faded by comparison. In a way it makes the overall game look more realistic. The stadiums look fantastic in both games, but the crowds in NCAA are horrible PS1 style abominations. Madden's

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Sports Game Presentation: How To Guide

Posted on July 29, 2010 at 10:59 AM.

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The "final frontier" of sports games I feel is integration of an authentic broadcast experience. Getting this stuff just right creates immersion beyond mere gameplay tuning and AI improvements. A presentation that replicates a telecast is the polish to which all sports game developers should be striving for. The thing is, many of these lessons on how to do it right come from past sports games. Over the years we've seen some incredible features added (and for some reason subtracted) from our games.

NCAA 11 vs. Madden 11 (demo)

Posted on July 29, 2010 at 08:40 AM.

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I wanted to share my initial impressions after playing a few games of the new Madden 11 demo.

Overall I was impressed. I was not expecting to be impressed, but the demo exceeded my expectations. I will give you the rundown of the 2 football games and which one is the best for its given category.

Graphics.
Madden 11: Its very close, but Madden remains the sports game graphics king - especially when looking at replays. Player models are fantastic looking. It has a ... Read More

Friday, July 23, 2010

NCAA Football 11 review

Posted on July 23, 2010 at 07:22 AM.

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NCAA FOOTBALL 11

College ball gets the jump on the pros by a week or so in real life. In the videogame world the two EA Football combatants hit the virtual grid iron within a month of each other. NCAA Football has traditionally lead the way with its mid summer launch, giving fans of the sport a chance to "warm up" for the big leagues in August. That has been my experience in the past with NCAA Football. With its big brother Madden warming up in the tunnel, does this little brother have ... Read More

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Sports Games - The League Experience

Posted on April 27, 2010 at 08:44 AM.

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Franchise mode has been a longstanding feature of all major sports games. It is that ongoing "relationship" mode that takes the excitement and connection to a title beyond the traditional single exhibition game. Over the past 10 years or so this mode has grown to include actual schedules, roster updates, daily player tendencies, injuries, training, playbook customization and all the back office administration you'd want to handle without actually drawing a paycheck.

While all of these ... Read More

Thursday, August 20, 2009

MADDEN 10 Review

Posted on August 20, 2009 at 12:12 PM.

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Madden 10.

There are two avenues when it comes to sports video games: arcade and simulation. When John Madden began his storied franchise his vision was to create a football sim that would replicate the experience of playing an NFL game. Up until a few years ago this mantra held true and as technology improved so too did Madden's authenticity. Then something happened in 2004. Another football franchise had turned out an arguably better product for a cheaper price and supplanted EA's ... Read More