Game Room: July Roundup

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Jul 23, 2010

Game Room: July Roundup

NCAA Football 11

EA's college football game catches up to its pro counterpart with a ton of upgrades. The new online Dynasty mode will take over your life now that you can check-in on your team and recruit top prospects online, even from your smart phone. A new gameplay engine called the Locomotion System creates more realistic sequences, like players who make tip-toe sideline catches and squeeze through holes in the blocking scheme. The new right joystick controls improve the running game and help diversify your play-calling, while the game's ESPN license offers up authentic gameplay presentation to take it all in. The only drawback is a lack of upgrades to offline gameplay modes, but you'll be so consumed with monitoring the growth of your online dynasty, you won't even notice. Score: 9/10 Video Review: NCAA Football 11

The Heat is On

Here's a sneak peek from the upcoming NBA 2K11 game showing off LeBron James in a Heat uniform. We happily applaud ourselves for avoiding a one-hour primetime special to bring you this image.

Thinking Outside the Box

The folks at EA are working on the next addition to the popular Fight Night series. EA says Fight Night Champion will improve on the entire boxing experience, and will feature improved physics and animations. Given how great Fight Night 4 looked and played, that's saying a lot. It should be interesting to see if the game will work with Xbox Kinect and Sony Move. Our guess is that it will. But you'll have to a wait a bit to lace up your gloves as the game is scheduled for 2011. It is expected to release on the Xbox 360 and PS3.

Outwit, Outplay, Outlast, Outcoach?

Several sources are reporting that former NFL and college football coach, Jimmy Johnson, will be on the next season of CBS's popular reality game show, Survivor: Nicaragua. Johnson is currently part of the Fox NFL Sunday crew, and is known for his strong opinions. We'd expect Johnson, 67, to have a tough time lasting due to his celebrity status, but we're sure as hell not going to bet against anyone who won two Super Bowls and an NCAA Championship. Survivor: Nicaragua will air this fall.

EA Sports Active: NFL Training Camp

Want to workout like an NFL pro? EA has announced a new title for EA Active series, NFL Training Camp. The game, developed in conjunction with NFL strength and conditioning coaches, will feature over 70 drills and challenges. One mode will include an NFL Combine 60-day Challenge with multiplayer capabilities. For folks not inclined to exercise, we recommend you start planning your holdout now. The game is scheduled for an August 10 release on the Wii.

Hands On: Sony Move, 3-D

Sony is planning to make a big splash this fall with the introduction of its motion-controller, Move, and a slew of 3-D games. We got to spend some time with a few of the Move games: Sports Champions (September 19), The Fight: Lights Out (October 31) and EyePet (September 1). We liked Sports Champions the most. It's very reminiscent of Wii Sports, but with much better graphics. Move requires Sony's eye camera ($40), a Move controller ($50), and navigation controller ($30). We're told a standard PS3 controller will work the same as the navigation controller, but it's clear that some games are better suited for two Move controllers. So, plan on spending some dough. The 3-D games we played included Gran Turismo 5 (November 2), MotorStorm Apocalypse (December 31) and Killzone 3 (February 28).The 3-D effects stood out the most in Killzone and MotorStorm. It's important to know that all 3-D games will require a 3-D capable TV and 3-D glasses.

Xbox Summer of Arcade

Xbox has kicked off the Summer of Aracade with the Independent Games Festival award-winning title, Limbo. Limbo is a challenging platform and puzzle game with decidedly unique, noir-style graphics. Ther rest of the Summer lineup: Hydro Thunder Hurricane (July 28), Castlevania Harmony of Despair (August 4), Monday Night Combat (August 11), Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (August 18). Each game costs $15. Score: 9/10

Crackdown 2

Crackdown 2 feels less like a sequel than it does a mildly-modified remake of the first game. All of the familiar elements that made the first Crackdown a surprise hit are present: big jumps, explosive firepower, tons of bad guys and hundreds of addictive orbs to capture. The bad news is that you're basically playing the same game in the same city with largely the same graphics and, if it's possible, even less of a story than the first game. Four-player online multiplayer lets you roam the city at will with friends or allow strangers to seamlessly hop into your game, which adds some novelty. The core gameplay remains fun, but it's hard to shake the feeling that you've seen and done it all before. As an expansion to the original game, the thin, repetitive new campaign might have been acceptable; as a fully-priced sequel, it's not up to par. Score: 6/10