Rating Johnny Manziel: Madden NFL 2015

Nicknamed "Johnny Football"Johnny Manziel is one of the top draft choices in the upcoming 2014 NFL Draft. Standing 6'0ft tall, he is not the prototypical quarterback. NFL scouts have many concerns when it comes to  Since he's not tall , he won't have the easiest time seeing over the offensive line, with guys usually 6'2 and taller. With his style of play , Manziel gets sacked alot and makes inaccurate throws because he likes to scramble. In addition, Manziel has is known to be somewhat of a kid that likes the spotlight alittle too much.

With that being said, Manziel has the competitive spirit that matches up with the greats. When it comes to his competitive nature, he is similar to former UF quarterback Tim Tebow. He will do anything and everything to win to try to win a game. With his exceptional play making ability, any team would like to have Manziel on their team. Manziel is the type of player to rise to the occasion in huge games. He torched an amazing Alabama defense each year he played them. The kid is a pure winner. He is athletic as heck , and has potential to be one heck of a quarterback. The two questions that people have about him is his work ethic and his attitude. Manziel is fiery and will talk trash to anybody that talks to him. In the NFL, they will back up their talk and let him know that he's in the NFL. We will have to see how  that part of Manziel will pan out in the pros. As a rookie , I give him a Madden Rating of: 71.

(Video via YouTube)

Miniclip Basketball- Urban Basketball

Upon researching video basketball games, I stumbled upon a game created by Miniclip Games called "Urban Basketball". At first I had my skepticism, but as I began to play, it was surprisingly very good.

The first thing that I loved about the game was the theme. In order to win the game, you have to beat every team that developers have placed on their US map. As a gamer, it gives you feeling of truly being the best team in the country once you win. As a designer, I appreciate the theme in the fact that there is a pivotal balance between fun and challenging, which every developer aims for.

The gameplay was less like a NBA 2K or NBA Live game that consist of 5-on-5 play, and more like an NBA Jam. Each game consist of a 2-on-2. Alot of people are a fan of NBA Jam because of some of the crazy high-flying things that you could do in it. Possessing some similarities, I could relate to some of the boost given in the game. There is a point and time in the game that one of the players can get "hot". With that being said, it is fair since that "heat" does not last for a long time.

The animation quality was excellent. Playing the game on PC, I was impressed with the background and the characters themselves. They were to move up and down the floor smoothly. The ball went through the hoop clearly and the ball was dribbling very precisely.

All in all, this is a very solid production by MiniClip. While it's not perfect, it's definitely one of the better free basketball games on the market.I look forward to playing and writing about more games made by MiniClip in the future.

To play the game, check out: http://www.miniclip.com/games/urban-basketball/en/

NBA 2K 14 Mobile

After great reviews that  NBA 2K14 received, they released an ios version of the game in order to satisfy all of the public. I was able to see it on the Apple Store ,and I downloaded  it. For $4.99 ($7.99 for Android), I must say that it was a really good mobile game.

Mobile developers at visual concepts did a stupendous job at making the game very similar to the game. The introduction, music, and flow of the game is the same as on game consoles. The gameplay is very smooth for being a mobile game. The graphics on a mobile device is just as good as a 90's basketball game on game consoles. That is a huge step as mobile games continue to grow. With that being said , there are a few suggestions that I think could  be improved.

The first thing that could be improved is the controls. When playing, the left side is used to move the players. One the right side, their are 3 buttons on the right to do different things. The problem with that is that the buttons are small, therefore it is quite easy to press the wrong buttons. That can become very irritable, especially in crucial situations. 

While it is not the same as playing the game on a regular console (Playstation or XBox) , the mobile game will suffice as a game to play anywhere. NBA2K 14 is available for ios and Android. 

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NBA Live 14 New Update

This coming Monday, NBA Live will release an update available to all people that own Live 14.After the game was released , alot of gamers were complaining that was no kind of Practice mode or Shoot-Around. That is one of the things that gamers almost assume would be in a sports game. EA Sports listened to  the large amount of complaints, and the new update will contain that. This will allow gamers to have a feel for every player that they want to use. They can use this to get the timing of any player's shot. This can come in handy when you're playing against friends with your favorite team.

In addition to adding the Practice Mode, the new update will contain some of the visual improvement on player's face. The past few weeks, EA Sports has been meeting with different NBA teams in which they are doing something called player scans. Player scans are basically pictures and face scans that really focus on someone's facial features (marks, size, etc.). Once they scan every player, they  hand these scans to the Computer Animator in order for them to duplicate that face as best as they can. This method has so far proved to be successful. EA Sports ' NBA Live staff truly believes that this will give the players within their games very realistic faces. They plan to use in this year's game, and in the future to really enhance the game.

Last but definitely not least, the gameplay has been modified. With gameplay, EA Sports has improved "responsiveness and control for first steps". This means that will quicker players in the league will have quicker steps when they have the ball. In real life , a quick first step allows you to be a step ahead of your defender as you drive. This part of the new update is supposed to give the gamer that realistic motion. :Look for these imporved aspects to be a major upgrade for NBA Live.

Rookie Selection: Michael Carter-Williams

Being drafted 11th in the overall draft, Michael Carter-Williams has proved to be nothing short of a boom and a very good pick. Coming from Syracuse, Carter-Williams averaged 12 ppg. , 5 rebounds, and 7 assist. So far as a rookie, MCW is averaging 17.5 ppg, 6 rebounds, and 6.7 assist per game. As of right now, he has surpassed everyone's expectations. When NBA 2K 14 first came out, Micahel Carter-Williams was rated as a '61', the lowest in the NBA draft. Since multiple roster updates have been released, Carter-Williams now has a whopping '82' rating. Expect this number to be in the ballpark of his NBA 2K 15 rating.

When it comes to NBA Live 14, Michael Carter-Williams was originally rated him a '77' , which turned out to be more of an accurate estimation. As new roster updates, look for him to be rated slightly higher, comparable to the now NBA 2K rating. By the end of the regular season, Carter-Williams may climax to around 84-85. If Carter-Williams continues to keep up his level of play, expect him to win the Rookie of The Year award. MCW will be a very good point guard within the next few years.

NCAA Addition

Imagine you are the coach of a football team. If you highly anticipated player, and he's not playing up to your standards, what would you do? Well, more times than not , you would bench them.  In NCAA Football, the road to glory mode allows you to play no matter what. However , I thought of this idea based on seeing players and having players not play well for short periods of time. In this stance, I  believe that players would normally at least be benched. Even if they start to play in the 2nd quarter, they would at least be handled some type of warning that they need to play better.

In order for this to be successful, each position should be held to a certain standard depending on the level the gamer is playing on. For example, a rookie level running back should have at least 50 yards in 20 carries. The standard shouldn't be too difficult for anyone to achieve on each because if they get too hard, that would deflate the fun , excitement, and freedom from the game.

If this feature were added to the game, this would improve the game that is already great.  Both new and expert players would love this and  both benefit. Expert players would not be bored and would be challenged while still have some fun.  The new players would have something to strive for and brag about. This would make the game even more realistic and would raise the game up to another level!

NCAA Football 14: First Gameplay

   It's finally here: NCAA Football 14. For sports gamers, it's been the most anticipated game this year thus far for the '14 games. Offering new features for Dynasty mode, recruiting, atmosphere, and more, I must say that the game did not disappoint.
 
   The gameplay was very smooth. It was very easy to control the player in whichever way I wanted him to go. The cuts that the gamer now has the ability to is amazingly realistic.

 In NCAA Football 14,players can now cut from one direction to another on the dime.  After playing one time, I can see a MAJOR  upgrade in the way tackling was made. In NCAA Football 13, tackling would either be in two ways: you either tackle the opponent in a regular way, or they just get close-lined. In football, that's not always the case. There are high tackles, lower body tackles, and 'whatever it takes to get the player down' tackles. Throughout my game, I was able to hit my opponents up high, hard, and even twirl them down from the ankles. I was also able to hit them from the waist. That part of the game was great to see.
 
Another part of the game that I found interesting were the players' movements. From time to time, you would see players stumble or slip. This was a great feature to add into the game because like in real college football, players slip all of the time. I loved the way it was added because even though it's there,  it's not prevalent to the point where it disrupts the game. It won't be a feature that would make or break a game.

   Acceleration has become very important in the game. What I mean by that, is saying that if one player is faster than another, it will show. In the open field, the person with the ball will either separate from the defender or get tackled , depending on their speed.

From what I've seen thus far, this game seems to be very promising. As I enter the glory mode and the dynasty mode, I can only hope that the game will continue to impress.

NBA 2K Ratings: Signature Skills-Kyrie Irving

   With the league  evolving into more of a transition game, almost the 1-5 have to be mobile. Nowadays the point guard through small forward has to basically be interchangeable, the 4 has to be able to have at least a mid range shot, and the 5 needs to have the ability to keep up with the pace. In the transition game, it all starts with the point guard controlling the floor. To be a championship contender in the NBA, you must have a great point guard (with the exception of the Pacers and Heat). In this article, we will focus on a particular rising star: Kyrie Irving.

   The 21 year old is the star player for the Cleveland Cavaliers. In 2K, players are assessed each year. In NBA 2K 12, Kyrie is rated an 81. After his rookie of the year season, he was rated in 89. But this leaves a few questions: What was improved in his game on the 'game' for him to raise to an 89? Well looking at individual ratings, you don't see much change.  The only ratings that improve are his handles (A to A+) and his IQ (B to A-). What does change is his general ratings. In 2K 12, his offense is an "84" , while his defense is a "73". The very next year, his offensive rating is a "90", and his defense is a "81". In 2K 13, signature skills make the difference. Signature skills allow the player to have have a special edge because of their greatness in different areas of their games. For Kyrie, he has four: Finisher (defender's ability to affect the shot decreases by 30%), Shot Creator (higher percentage of making shots when he creates them), Closer(raises game for most of 4th quarter and overtime), and Anti-Freeze (rarely goes cold). 
Like Kyrie, many others have signature skills that defines what strength a player has; and if 2K decides to continue using the signature skills, watch out! Kyrie's only 21.

Character Devlopment

During every NBA off-season, each player on the 2K game gets re-evaluated before they are officially given a new rating for the upcoming year. These ratings are  generally based on a number of questions: Has the player improved from the previous year? If so, how much?  How will age affect the player this upcoming year? With this in mind, developers separate into three major categories: Offense, defense, and rebounding.
 In this example, we will use current power forward  for the New Orleans Pelicans, Ryan Anderson.

  From the 10-11 to the 11-12 season, Ryan's point per game average skyrocketed from 10.6 to 16.1. Ryan's improvement was able to earn him the NBA most improved player award for the 2011-2012 season.
 Improvements such as these are just one of the many aspects that game developers must look at each year for every player. What type of improvements did the player have? Is the player getting worse due to old age? Does the player still have the abilities to perform the same way that they do within this past season. Only going from 67 and 69, Anderson was only improved in rebounding and in athleticism. The highly underrated Anderson is a sure fire to at least reach the mid-70's in 2K 14 and NBA Live.

Don't know who Ryan is? Check out this small series of Ryan Anderson highlights.