Tiger Woods 12 preview: Caddyshack

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters doesn't just add the titular tournament of masters -- for the first time, caddies will feature in EA Sports' golf sim. The club-toting sidekicks have been introduced in an effort to make the game more accessible to players that don't know much about real golf (let alone the great luxury of a personal sidekick).

At a press event, EA Sports designer Daniel Castorani said the new caddy mechanic is only part of a bigger overhaul to the game's AI, which he admitted has been a bit wonky and unpredictable in the past. He explained that caddy isn't an all-knowing intelligence, but rather this supporting character "learns" over time how to make the best recommendations for each shot, supposedly taking into account the courses that the player's played and the player's performances on those courses. Unfortunately, I was unable to test this out, since I only played a few holes of the Augusta course during a short preview session.

"We saw through play-testing and focus-testing that there were people who were coming into our game -- they were excited to play -- but they just didn't know what to do," Castorani recounted. The issue actually affected two kinds of would-be players, Castorani explained: not only the non-golfing gamers, but the non-gaming golfers. "We're unique because we get a lot of people who don't typically play games, but they want to play golf, and so we get people who don't understand the controls. So we took a step back, looked at our game and said, 'You know, sports games are generally complicated, but our game is really complicated.'"

It's true. Golf games are among the most exclusive of sports sims -- if you're not well-versed in shot placement or "bad lies" (and I'm not talking about knocking a couple strokes off your score), it can be tough to enjoy them. Likewise, if you've been known to tee off at the driving range now and again, the transition to a gamepad (or even a motion controller) can be awkward. With the new caddy system, EA hopes to appease both rookie golfers and newbie gamers.

It works like this: Before you take your first swing, the caddy will offer a few different shot suggestions for getting your ball to the green and into the hole, each color-coded to correspond with a perceived difficulty. If the fairway doglegs left, for example, then the caddy will set up an appropriate shot with the right amount of draw (a shot that gently curves from right-to-left for a right-handed golfer). Of course, players can skip the caddy's advice and choose the custom shot option, setting up their own route to the hole.

Having played plenty of golf games before, I found there was some getting used to the caddy system. Once you select one of the caddy's recommendations, you can't alter that shot plan -- if you want to change anything, you have to back out to the recommendation options. (Protip: Longtime Tiger players will probably want to stick with the custom shot option, which is how you map out your fine-tuned shot path the old-fashioned way). Once I got used to the new shot selection mechanic, however, I couldn't believe it hadn't been a component of the series all along. It's a simple and effective way to remove the barrier for non-golfing gamers, as well as non-gaming golfers -- once you've selected a shot, you've got one button to worry about: just swing!

The only drawback to the caddy system I noticed was in its lack of actually tutoring the player. The system doesn't seem to share with you any insight into how it determines its shot calibrations, so it's not going to necessarily make you a more knowledgeable golfer -- on or off the couch. The character will simply offer a few lines of basic dialog as you set up to take the shot.

For me -- a person who's enjoyed not only the Tiger series, but also the Hot Shots games, and at least once a week says a prayer, asking, "Let there be another Links game, oh powers that be!" -- the new caddy feature is somewhat of a lost function. But its value to both non-golfers and non-gamers is really apparent. The caddy will help anyone overcome golf's steep learning curve and enjoy Tiger 12, for sure -- just don't expect that success to translate to the real world. You won't always have a caddy by your side, after all.

David Hinkle

MLB 2K11 hands-on preview

"A major new addition to the online interface of The Show will be the new mode, Online Challenge of the Week. Every week Sony will post a new challenge that players can compete in to win prizes such as signed baseballs, tickets to baseball games – it was hinted at that a major prize like World Series tickets could happen but the prizes haven’t been finalized yet. The challenges that could be posted can range from hitting five homeruns in a row without getting an out or anything of that sort.

There will also be a parlay system in place so you can score big points in the challenge even if you don’t meet the criteria of the main challenge. So, if the challenge was hit 5 homeruns without getting an out and the parlay was hit 3 balls off the wall, you hit 3 homeruns and met the parlay challenge, you could still be in the running for the top prize. Each week, you’ll be able to participate in this mini-game free of charge, but any other attempts will cost you 25 cents.

Graphically, the game is more detailed than MLB 10: The Show with better crowds, more realistic environments, and more detailed player models. The development team took more time with MLB 11: The Show and captured additional player motions, so more players will now perform their own unique rituals on the mound or in the batter’s box. The sense of being in the stadium has been greatly enhanced in this title and you'll feel like you are watching a real game."

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Fight Night Champion review

Fight Night Champion is a multiplayer boxing game for play on Xbox 360 that blends traditional one-on-one pugilistic action of previous games in the Fight Night franchise with new, more gritty story-driven gameplay rooted in the all-new Champion Mode. Game features include: unprecedented precision and accuracy of punches; local and online multiplayer support for four and ten players respectively; and a cast of more than 50 boxers from multiple eras and weight classes.

Loved

If you ever wanted more out of a boxing game, Fight Night: Champion is your game. If you've long grown tired of fighting nameless fighter after nameless fighter in attempt to reach a belt that holds little significant value, Fight Night takes that long used approach to the genre and finally discards it. EA's not gonna let you hop on Fight Night: Champion and just gravitate to the multiplayer component of the game, they've got something to show you. That something, or someone actually, is Andre Bishop. You are thrust into the boots of Andre, an ex-champion whose found himself in a bare-knuckle brawl with a skinhead in a prison sanctioned boxing event.

Then and there you will be hard pressed to turn back from the "Champion" mode. Because it tells a pretty intriguing story for a sports game, and frankly, I've never seen anything else like it in a sports game. A great mixture of story, cut-scenes, boxing action, and little added touches like ESPN reports, and training, really ramp up the immersion in the mode. Not to mention you get blindsided at quite a few spots in the game, and it will leave you questioning if you are actually playing a sports game at all.

But you are, and a realistic one at that. I suppose it's the only route to go once you've mastered the science behind the sweet science, and turned it into a video game. The days of boxing games being a glorified rock'em sock'em robots fest is long gone. The fine tuned analog controls from Fight Night Round 4 have returned, and are as fluid and responsive as when they were first incorporated into the series. Which means all of the grazing blows, and interaction between the fighters, has returned to deliver the finest, if only, boxing experience in gaming.

Liked

Also duly noted in Fight Night Champion, are the amazing graphics. The boxers in Fight Night: Champion achieve a near photo-realistic level of quality when viewed in high definition. The fighter's skin looks uncanny, and in-turn, as do the frequent open wounds that occur in a match. You can literally see the sweat forming on your boxer as a fight progresses. When you combine these many small details into the grand scheme of huge realistic arenas, with a lively audience, and a referee ducking in and out of the match to get a good look at the action, you'd swear you were in the ring yourself.

And the game never really breaks this level of immersion by graphical mishaps, at least not any that I saw in my time with the game. Every animation was done extremely well, with interaction between the fighters that never feels scripted. Each power punch, or grazing blow has it's place in a well timed combination ,and you'll be rewarded with the recipient of your assault reacting accordingly.

Speaking of combinations, it really feels like Fight Night Champion has fully abandoned the old power punching days of years past. If you are looking to knock someone out in Fight Night: Champion you're gonna have to earn it. You're gonna need the full grasp on controls, monitor your stamina, and string together punches to whittle down your enemy defenses before going in for the KO. That being said, the combinations feel intuitive. They are quite easy to pick up, but at the same time feel hard to master.

With this great gameplay, there are a ton of gamemodes to play in Fight Night Champion. Champion mode will hook you like a good game, with a good story, should. But after the lights go out on it, you are left with a literal world of other options to explore. Now for every person that is tired of the traditional boxing game, there's one that enjoys grinding through the ranks and building a fighter in career mode, and Fight Night still has this in Legacy Mode. It's fairly standard as a Fight Night game goes. You will be grinding your way through the ranks trying to become the champion by winning fights and hitting the training camps on a weekly basis. Even more robust are the multiplayer modes in Champion. You've got your standard features that fans of the series have grown to love. You can hop online to duke it out in matchmaking and pick one of the champions that are included in the game. The likes of Ali, Frazier, Tyson, Jones Jr, Holyfield, Paquiao, Hatton, Corrales, there's plenty of historic fighters to choose from as well as characters from the single player or fighters that have been created by you.

There's also a fairly addictive online World Champions mode. Here you can create a boxer and try and take him to the top of one of the fighting divisions, by leveling your fighter, earning XP winning fights. It's quite rewarding, and even from the start with your lowly ranked fighter, the matchmaking service usually pits you against an equal advisary making it an enjoyable experience. Winning fights and earning XP will allow you to increase specific skill sets for your fighter: punches, stamina, chin..etc. Just like other EA Sports titles you can also take the easy way and buy XP packs from the EA store. Which is kind of cheap in my opinion but as long as the matchmaking continues to work it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Fight Night has also gone social in Champion, adding a gym feature which is like a Clan functionality. You can create your own gym and open it to the public for people to join, or you can make it private. If you're just looking to join others you can do that as well barring that they have the gym open to the public. What you'll find in the gyms are groups of players that are conducting a season. It's hard not to really generalize this as a season functionality because boxing doesn't have leagues or seasons, but that's what it is. It's a place where a group of fighters can compete with each other on a daily basis and hone their skills. However, you can also represent your gym in the online world and earn points for your faction.

Needless to say, there's always something to get into on Fight Night Champion.

Me

As I noted above there are plenty of modes in Fight Night: Champion although some are better than others. Of the ones I mentioned above, the Story Mode and Championship Mode are the shining stars of the group. While Legacy mode and the Gym feature seem to be a little lackluster. Perhaps it's because there aren't many people playing in the gym mode right now, or maybe there never will be. A fighter round robbin just isn't that fun. Boxing is a solo sport and even when playing with a couple of friends, I'd have much rather spent my time leveling up my fighter to level up through Champion Mode. With the online champion component it makes the traditional Legacy mode where you tackle the AI opponents, a little boring as well. I mean it's basically the same thing as the online championship mode, but instead you are fighting AI opponents instead of humans. They could have left the story mode as it was and I don't think many would have complained.

But hey, I'm not one to complain about more content, it's not like you are forced to play it.

Dislike

Boxing is on the decline in terms of its popularity. Eventhough there are plenty of historical boxers to choose from, the current day selection of fighters is pretty bland. Aside from Paquiao, you really don't have any superstars in the mix. Sure, you have heavyweight champions like the Klitschko brothers, but it's a representation and a sign of the times that those are some of the only guys you are going to recognize. There's really a ton of fighters in the game that you've likely never heard of. I follow boxing passively and I didn't. Unless you are a die hard boxing fan, you've likely never seen or heard of many fighters in this game. But I don't want to turn this into an essay about how MMA has taken the torch when it comes to combat sports, no, that point is easily made when the most recognizable fighters in this game are the ones from 10-20 years ago.

Overall

Fight Night Champion isn't just a rehashed version of Fight Night Round 4. EA Canada has added some pretty significant changes that have made the game much deeper. The risky decision to include the story mode, paid off ten fold in my opinion. It gives the game a much needed shot in the arm in the single player department, that has been a long time coming. The inclusion of a really well rounded multiplayer suite will keep you occupied for months if just to hop on and go a few rounds with a stranger. Add in the social aspects and the dangling carrot of a world championship for those with ambition, and you could get hooked for much longer. Fight Night: Champion really has no rival, no seriously no one else makes a boxing game. And that's probably a testament to how far ahead EA is in the game with the Fight Night series, and in Champion they just took a few more steps away from any would be competition.

Al McCarthy

NBA 2K11 PC Review

For a while now 2K Sports has been battling it out with EA Sports for the best NBA simulation. For many years NBA 2K11 has come out on top. This year EA Sports cancelled NBA Elite 11 thus, not giving 2K Sports any competition. Did 2K Sports rest on their laurels or did they make the best NBA simulation ever? Read on to find out.

2K Sports brings back Michael Jordan. It also brings several new modes to the table. There is the Association mode. You can adjust the number of games you want to play. You can also jump straight into the playoffs if you want to skip the entire season. There are 5 on 5 and 1 on 1 pickup games. There is a My Player mode that has you create a basketball player and try to make him into an NBA star. It’s a daunting task because getting your player at a decent skill level is time-consuming. You will reap the rewards if you dedicate enough time molding your player. There is even a Practice mode for first timers and because 2K11 is tougher than previous iterations in the series.

The AI is also good. Players move really well on the court and act as a team. Players will do their best to get open for shots, get in the best position for a rebound, setting picks, and stopping the offense from scoring. However, the CPU steals too many passes. For some reason good three-point shooters miss three-point shots that they should make. Free throw shooting is difficult because it relies on memorizing each player’s shooting mechanic. Players have their signature shots and dunks.

A new addition to the game is the Jordan Challenge. You get to relive 10 of Michael Jordan’s greatest moments. They are very tough and challenging due to the variables involved in each scenario. There are several requirements such as, scoring a certain number of points, getting a certain number of rebounds or assists, having a certain shooting percentage or simply getting the victory. You will overuse Michael Jordan several times due to the requirements for each challenge. Successful completion will unlock MJ: Creating a Legend mode. You can place Jordan on any team you want. You can even play as classic teams such as, the class Bulls, Lakers, Celtics, Jazz, etc. You have My Jordans which awards pairs of Air Jordans for getting milestones and accomplishments.

You can either play the game with either the keyboard or a controller. I think the controller works the best. It’s intuitive and feels natural. It also gives you the feeling of playing on a game console. There are new IsoMotion dribbling controls. It is designed to offer the most realistic dribbling system with seamless transitions between dribbling moves. Add that with a new gesturing system and you have an impressive control scheme. The Isomotion controls take time getting used to but learning the mechanics will be rewarding. There is also a new Dynamic Shot Control. You can perform dunks, layups and jumpshots all by flicking the stick. Shots can be adjusted on the fly so you’re never in an impossible situation when trying to score.

The graphics are absolutely amazing and give you the impression that you’re watching an NBA broadcast. Players look really good with the exception of a few. Skin tones are lifelike along with the sweat. The players’ jerseys move really well. The suits look pretty stiff for some reason. The crowds look good and come to life really nicely. The courts have a nice shine to them. I wished 2K Sports included player introductions because it would’ve been really nice. Hopefully they will include it in future iterations.

The audio is fantastic. Dunks sound great. Shoes squeak on the court. Swishes sound really nice. Crowds cheer or boo. The game also features improved commentary from past games. Doris Burke does the court side report and fits really well with the on-court action. There are even specific that are really good. The commentary does repeat itself. The game also features a pretty good soundtrack. It does a good job of putting in NBA action.

NBA 2K11 is simply the best NBA simulation. It has stunning graphics. The audio is great. It has solid gameplay. It features a really good association mode. Throw in the Jordan Challenge and you have yourself a great package.

 Ed