I've played it since 1996 so I'm an old skool gamer. In those days it was a struggle to see the NBA down here. We didn't have Sky and they'd stopped showing games on free to air. If I was lucky Kirsty's family would tape me the occasional game but that was infrequent and we'd often miss the end of games. I used to get this weekly newsprint mag with all the boxscores and games in it but it was an Aussie mag and half of it was devoted to their league. So NBA Live was how I grew to know and love the NBA.

I bought every version that came out, at first for the pc, then the playstation then the ps2. My favourite players were Kevin Garnett and Tim Hardaway. I went through the puzzling years where the Bulls were champions but they had no Jordan and instead had R. Player (roster player). When they brought out the Dynasty mode I loved it. I've probably spent more time playing NBA Live than I have doing almost anything else in my life.

Even when I was over in Europe last year travelling I still missed my NBA Live. When we had a stopover in Thailand I managed to pick up a bootleg version of it. Not surprisingly it didn't work; still I had the "real" version to look forward to.

And then I played it. The PS2 version sucked. I don't know if it was just my copy but when the best rookie in the league turns out to be Josh McRoberts you know something is broke. The Dynasty mode was awful - things just didn't work. And the gameplay wasn't great. The love affair was broken.

I ended up buying NBA 2K8 and that was okay. I enjoyed it but it didn't capture me like NBA Live did. It had its bugs as well.

But as the release of the 09 versions has drawn near I've almost convinced myself that the problems are because I had an old console. This year I have a 360 and I'm looking forward to the new releases. I'm going to buy NBA Live 09 and I'm going to rekindle that love. My loyalty over the years means I owe it that. It can't get worse? Can it?

El juego menos intuitivo de la historia

Top Spin 1 = :D

Top Spin 2 = :|

Top Spin 3 =

El tercer juego de la serie, desarrollado por los mismos franceses PAM, es un título que pocos van a disfrutar. No es que el juego sea malo. No lo es. Es simplemente inaccesible. Top Spin paso de ser un una serie de juegos increíblemente divertidos, a monumentalmente FRUSTANTES.

Para los que amen el deporte, y/o estén dispuestos a invertir tiempo para dominar los controles de Top Spin 3, continúen leyendo:

Cuando arranques Top Spin 3, lo primero que debes hacer es entrar a la "Top Spin School" en donde aprenderás a utilizar el juego. Si te consideras un maestro en los anteriores, olvídate, trágate tu orgullo, y entra a la escuela. La escuela no esta muy bien realizada, pero mas o menos te va a orientar.

Lo que debes hacer después es entrar a Career, donde vas a crear a tu propio personaje. La herramienta de creación es muy buena, y las posibilidades son casi ilimitadas. El objetivo del Modo Career, es llevar a tu creación de ser un rookie a una leyenda. Conforme vayas ganando juegos, vas a ir obteniendo puntos y dinero. Clásico. La formula definitivamente cambia, si lo comparas con los dos juegos anteriores. Aun no me decido, si el cambio fue para bien. Lo bueno es que definitivamente vas a ir aprendiendo y si le echas ganas, vas a empezar a disfrutar el juego cada vez más, y te iras preparando para lo mejor que este juego tiene que ofrecer: el multi-jugador.

Ya sea online o offline, el multi-jugador de Top Spin 3 es excelente, siempre y cuando participen jugadores del mismo nivel de juego. Ya sea de parejas o 1 vs. 1, tienes muchas opciones para customizar, y muchas canchas que elegir. El juego corre muy bien en línea, y el modo World Tour es el mejor punto del juego y puede llegar a ser sumamente adictivo.

La selección de jugadores profesionales es muy pobre, y me molesto mucho la decisión de 2K Sports de dejar fuera a Nadal de la versión de 360. No tiene sentido, ya que la versión de 360 no ofrece algo a cambio.

Las graficas apenas pasan de panzazo, no se ven mal, pero tampoco son algo para presumir. Las animaciones si están muy bien capturadas.

La música no es buena. Lastima, los dos juegos anteriores tenían muy buena música genérica. Esta ultima versión de la franquicia Top Spin ofrece solo un par de tracks bajo licencia, que dependerán del gusto de cada quien, pero tienen muy mala calidad auditiva.

En conclusión, TS3 es una decepción si lo comparas con la maravilla que fue TS1. Sin embargo, sigue siendo un muy buen juego de tenis, siempre y cuando estés dispuesto a dedicarle esfuerzo y tiempo.

Calificación: *** [Bueno a secas] :)

Rival game makers Electronic Arts and Take-Two Interactive Software signed a confidentiality agreement after agreeing to hold private talks about a potential transaction, EA announced Monday in a regulatory filing.

On Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission said it had conducted an investigation of a merger of the companies, but said no further action was required, and closed the investigation.

Read More>>>

2K Games, sello editorial de videojuegos propiedad de Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., ha anunciado que BioShock para PlayStation 3 estará disponible el 21 de octubre en Norte América y el 24 de octubre a nivel internacional. Desarrollado por 2K Marin, 2K Boston, 2K Australia y Digital Extremes, BioShock para PlayStation 3 incluirá nuevos contenidos extendiendo la experiencia de juego de esta premiada franquicia.

A 2K Games, produtora de BioShock, confirmou hoje a data oficial de lançamento do jogo para o PlayStation 3: 21 de Outubro. O jogo, que já foi lançado para PC e Xbox 360 em Agosto de 2007, ganhou vários prêmios, incluindo alguns de "Jogo do Ano".

okay...then after doing some of my dnt work...was bored as had to wait for haffiz to come back from chong pang...he wanted to cut hair...at 2k

so while waiting i had a peek at the hall...
went and sat at the new study area and watched as karthik was waiting for his turn
signalled him good luck and waited there...
and then while waiting mr cheak came to me
asking how come oni karthik's group haven't finish...so i said karthik was talking alot la!(after karthik was lilyan and another indian girl...dunno who the hell she is!)
wahahahaha
lol...

haiz...tmr is mine...lets see how am i gonna excel tmr!

i'll just try to forget whatever he said...cauz i'm not that kinda guy!...just gonna be fresh as always...i swear to never again be moody ever!!

2K Sports, sello deportivo de Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., ha anunciado hoy que el español José Manuel Calderón, Campeón del Mundo en Japón 2006 y jugador de los Toronto Raptors, será portada en el videojuego de baloncesto más esperado, NBA 2K9. “Es un gran honor estar de nuevo en la portada de NBA 2K9 y aún más siendo en solitario. El basket es mi vida y me encanta jugarlo a todas horas, incluso en casa, siempre tengo ganas de disfrutarlo. Los videojuegos son una forma muy divertida de jugar a mi deporte favorito”, dice Calderón, quien ahora se halla jugando para España en los Juegos Olímpicos de Pekín 2008. “NBA 2K es una experiencia de basket muy real, y hasta que 2K Sports no encuentre la forma de darte un codazo en el pecho, es lo más cercano al baloncesto de lo que se puede encontrar”. “José Manuel Calderón es un base carismático que representa todo lo que le pedimos a este deporte” declara Sandra Melero, Brand Manager de 2K Sports. “Con el apoyo de José Manuel a nuestro juego NBA 2K9, los fans de 2K Sports tendrán un aliciente más para disfrutar de un juego que es mejorada año a año para recrear la experiencia más realista en baloncesto.”

1) It's not Irrational[1] at the helm.

Development duties for the Bioshock sequels have been passed from Irrational to 2K Marin. On the face of it, this isn't a cause for too much alarm: franchises bounce around among development teams all the time. Bioshock is something of a unique case, though. Frankly, it wasn't a great shooter. It was a great game, which happened to have some reasonable FPS elements. The things that made Bioshock great would have made it just as great if it had been an adventure game, or a survival horror, or even a platformer.[2]

Bioshock, unlike the vast majority of mainstream games, had actual themes rather than just a plot: it made points and expressed views that could be applied just as well to the real world. Most games draw their influences from existing science fiction and fantasy, which always creates an experience that, no matter how engaging, is ultimately shallow. Really good science fiction and fantasy draws its influences from a wide range of sources, and that is exactly what Irrational did with Bioshock. It's plot and it's world were the result of a range of different philosophical, political and aesthetic schools of thought[3]. Even if you didn't get all the references, its hard to deny the power and vibrancy of the result.

Can a new dev team really capture this spirit? Short of putting them on a crash course of Sartre and Ayn Rand, it's hard to see how. But without that spirit, Bioshock 2 will be a hollow experience: it might look right, but it won't feel right.

2) Rapture is now a known quantity.

The city of Rapture itself was very much a character in Bioshock. There were new horrors and wonders around every corner, the constant juxtaposition of the familiar and the fantastic. A big part of the appeal of the game was exploring this underwater world, taking in its strange and terrible sights, and discovering its secrets.

You can't recapture that in a sequel. It's not that we can't be shown parts of Rapture that we've never seen before, indeed, I'm sure that's exactly what we will see. But we know what to expect from them now. That feeling of discovery, and of creeping horror as another laudable aspect of human endeavour is shown taken beyond the point of obsession, will be gone, and it's hard to see what can be put in its place.

3) The story seems likely to be cheapened by a sequel.

It's one of the unfortunate habits of games publishers to view any big budget release that doesn't set up a franchise that can be milked for at least three more titles as a waste of time. It's like the studio turning to Orson Welles after he'd just finished Citizen Kane and saying “That's great, Orson, how long 'till Citizen Kane II? Actually, subtitles are big these days. Let's call it Citizen Kane: Rosebud This! Awesome. Have it on my desk in six months.”

So much of Bioshock seems designed to stand alone. The whole first half of the game, for example, plays on the fact that you, as a player, unthinkingly follow the objectives set for you by the game, just as the character is unable to resist the commands given to him by Atlas. That trick, so central to the experience, can't be pulled again. Neither of the 'villains' can be bought back without cheapening the story. Ryan, in particular, dies proving a point about his conception of free will: he dies victorious, you, his killer, live on as his slave. If he pops up again in a puff of dues ex machina, that scene, perhaps the most powerful I've ever witnessed in a game, is rendered utterly hollow.

Even beyond that, both endings to Bioshock pretty much finish Rapture as a setting for future games. There's always the option for a prequel, of course, but again, a large part of the appeal of the first game is never quite knowing the whole story of what went on before your arrival.

It would be nice if we could get into the habit of celebrating developers, rather than particular franchises: that way we could applaud them for a great game, then look forward to seeing those talents applied to a new and unique project (although the upside of all this, of course, is that Irrational will be doing just that).

In other sequel news, the new Prince of Persia game is causing quite a stir at the moment. An open world sequel to the Prince of Persia franchise? Didn't Ubisoft already release that last year? Yes, I'm sure they did. It was called Assassin's Creed[4].

So, to keep with the theme of my blog, I present my final thoughts on Bioshock for PC. Overall, a great game...so great, in fact, I may have to change my gaming mantra, which is to always play a game on its hardest difficulty because more than likely, I won't play it again. I think I will now play games on their easiest difficulty to save time and frustration. If I find I need more of a challenge, the game SHOULD allow me to change at any point (Are you listening 2K?). This said, I probably won't play Bioshock again, regardless if I had played it on easy, simply because it freaked me out. I can't take the anxiety and overall constant state of heightened tension these types of games put me through. Kudos for being able to do it, but...yeah, not for me. This does put a damper on my excitement for Resident Evil 5, however. :(

I can't say enough about the storyline...or maybe I could, but I won't. Play this game if you haven't already! The way things are handled with controlling the story while allowing players the illusion of freedom is amazing. And the few times you do lose control of your character, it gives you enough time to sit back, watch a quick interaction (NOT A CUTSCENE in the original sense) and force your heart to slow its BPM.

As for the ending, it was solid. Not long enough for my taste, but solid.

If you're looking for more info about me, try www.MadeInMcGee.com

I personally thought that the PS3's trophies for BioShock would be straight ports of the 360's achivements. Not so says Tyann Wales. Wales revealed two of the games exclusive gold trophies for the PS3 version. The trophies which could apparently be unlocked simulateously. Said trophies are 'A Man Chooses' which will be unlocked for beating the game on 'Survivor' mode and 'I Choose The Impossible' which is the same with vita chambers turned off.

It actually looked like 2K are actually interested in making this game more than just a port. I have never played the game so it'll be great for me.

O genial, e polêmico, Game Designer Ken Levine, criador dos brilhantes System Shock 2 e Bioshock, confirmou hoje durante uma palestra que seu novo game entrou em fase de produção.

"Não estamos mais na fase de folha em branco", disse ele. "Na verdade estamos construindo elementos de design construindo a base... Mas, sabe, será uma coisa enlouquecedoramente ambiciosa!"

Levine se recusou a confirmar a identidade do novo título, mas forneceu alguns detalhes.

"Vou dizer o seguinte para vocês. É importante para nós que, o que quer que façamos tenha o mesmo impacto no jogador que Bioshock teve. Então acho que a posição da empresa em relação a nós é que estamos quebrando barreiras e derrubando portas.

Conseguindo ou não sucesso, este é nosso objetivo. Em termos de cronograma e recursos e em pessoas que temos trabalhando no jogo, eu tenho muita sorte de ter Bill Gardner [Designer chefe de Bioshock] e Nate Wells [Diretor de Arte da 2K Boston] que criou o Big Daddy... este time de Bioshock e sentar com estes caras que fizeram Bioshock e concebermos esta coisa que estamos trabalhando agora."

Levine confirmou que não está envolvido diretamente com a produção de Bioshock 2.

"Eu estou com minhas coisas, fazendo meu game e ele não é Bioshock 2."

Nos inclua no grupo de interessados em ver este novo projeto de Levine.

PS: Review de Soul Calibur IV sai daqui a algumas horas. O atraso ocorreu porque estou com alguns problemas pessoais e meu tempo tem sido curto.

Parece que a 2K não vai cumprir a promessa de gráficos melhores na versão do PlayStation 3 do premiado shooter BioShock, lançado no ano passado para Xbox 360 e PC. Segundo Melissa Miller, da 2K, a equipe está se esforçando para igualar o jogo à versão do Xbox 360.

“Nós estamos querendo igualar à qualidade da versão original,” disse ao VideoGamer.com. “Nós queremos assegurar que a água seja tão bem feita quanto, e eu acho que você pode ver isso na demonstração, já que é igual à versão do Xbox 360"

Sobre o conteúdo adicional que será lançado nessa versão, a 2K planeja lançar o mesmo conteúdo futuramente para o Xbox 360 e o PC.

Wie Markus Wilding, PR-Manager bei 2KGames, in einem Interview mit Videogamer.com bekannt gab, wird es bis Herbst diesen Jahres keinerlei News über den zweiten Teil von "Bioshock" geben, da die Fokus der Entwickler momentan auf der PS3-Version von "Bioshock" liegt und deshalb "Bioshock 2" noch nicht voll in den Entwicklungsprozess gehoben wurde.

Hier das original Statement von Markus Wilding:

"There's not. There will be, obviously, but it will take a while. We're not talking about it just yet because right now it's BioShock PS3 - that's what everybody is concentrating on. Once we're in full effect on BioShock 2 we'll talk about it."

Auf die Frage, wann es neue Infos gebe, antwortete Wilding mit:

"The only thing I can say for sure is not before BioShock PS3 ships."

Neue News wird es also nach der Auslieferung der PS3-Version von "Bioshock" geben, was in etwa November/Dezember diesen Jahres entsprechen dürfte.

Row 2K

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[caption id="attachment_294" align="aligncenter" width="470" caption="Ian getting "filthy""][/caption]

Markus Wilding, da 2K, quando perguntando sobre informações de BiosShock 2, disse que não existem. E que não terá até o final do desenvolvimento de BioShock PS3, já que a equipe está concentrando esforços somente nessa versão.

"Não temos e não vamos ter até o final do desenvolvimento de BioShock PS3, já que estamos focando somente nessa versão por enquanto," disse.

LO QUE VENDEN
Esto es como todo, sacan un producto a la venta y como necesitan “er dinerito” te lo venden como la panacea universal de los juegos y que te correrás siete veces jugando. Nada más lejos de la realidad, no porque no sea guapo el juego, sino porque para llegar a eso hace falta mucho más xD.
Bien, según la demo nos dice que tenemos unos controles nuevos supernovedosos y fáciles de usar, que tenemos un realismo nunca visto en las caras, que se parecen al de verdad como dos gotas de agua, que los jugadores sudan, se ensucian, etc, etc, etc... y.. ya veremos que aunque en la presentación exageran un poco, no van tan desencaminados ya que el juego tiene mucho que ofrecernos.

DESARROLLO - JUGABILIDAD
Tras hechar toda la mañana jugando al TOP SPIN 3, éste me ha dejado un muy buen sabor de boca.
Lo primero que quiero decir es que recomiendo fervientemente hacer el tutorial de iniciación ya que este juego es un simulador como la copa de un pino y la verdad es que cuesta un poco manejarlo al principio y se le puede sacar mucho jugo si sabemos controlar todas las opciones que nos ofrece. De hecho aún sabiendo los golpes básicos, si no estamos bien colocados, entre otros factores no haremos más que perder pelotas y por lo tanto partidos enteros.
En la demo se pueden observar 3 modos, y uno que aparte que anuncia pero que no está disponible.
Los tres modos son top spin school, exhibición y sala de exposición. El primero no es más que el tutorial interactivo para iniciarse en esto del top spin y aprender los movimientos básicos, si no os sale, sed pacientes, es bastante difícil y al menos yo no he conseguido completar uno de los modos.
El modo exhibición es poder jugar un partido, federer contra roddick, en el que tu serás federer.
Para terminar está el modo de sala de exposición que es una especie de exposición de videos donde podremos ver diferentes técnicas para desbancar a nuestros rivales, la verdad es que es muy muy útil.
En cuanto al realismo del juego decir que es brutal, la forma de moverse los jugadores, superreal, sus expresiones, su nerviosismo cuando ven que pueden perder, los gemidos esos que dan cuando golpean la pelota... Si por ejemplo no conseguís darle a la pelota y os dá en un brazo, vuestro personaje podrá tocarse la zona como si estuviese dolorido por el golpe (daos cuenta que esas pelotas llegan a alcanzar cientos de kilómetros por hora).
Al principio de cada saque se ve como una especie de encefalograma que interpreto que muestra el nivel de nerviosismo que tiene el jugador a la hora de sacar o recibir, y la verdad aunque está chulo, no se que sentido tiene.
El público aplaude, grita, se emociona, silba y aunque gráficamente tampoco es una maravilla (aunque no está nada mal), en cuanto a ambientación es sublime y se agradece muchísimo.
Si jugamos en pista de arena, veremos nuestras propias huellas marcadas en el suelo al andar o cuando hace derrapes con los pies para darle a la bola, increíble de guapo.
Un dato en el que me he fijado y que no me gusta es que los recogepelotas están de adorno ya que están totalmente quietos (tanto que parecen simples maniquís expuestos) y nunca los verás recoger ni una mísera pelota y otro es que al principio de los partidos al verse la pista sufre ralentizaciones y da una impresión muy mala, pero por lo demás el juego no tarda nada en cargar.
Más cositas... bueno en cuanto a la física, no tengo queja ninguna, la pelota se comporta como una auténtica pelota de verdad, los jugadores se mueven como lo harían en la realidad e incluso el efecto del pelo al moverse es sencillamente impresionante.
En general, un simulador como este que desborda realismo por los cuatro costados cumple su función a la perfección.

GRAFICOS
El parecido físico no es tanto como anuncian, para mi un parecido físico nunca visto antes sería que si pusiéramos dos fotos una del federer por ejemplo y otra de su reproducción digital, me costara diferenciarlos, pero como no es así, no es nada sorprendente, bonito y bueno, sí, pero no revolucionario ni mucho menos.
Las pistas, los personajes, y poco más que se pueda observar en una pista de tenis, están bastante cuidados, con buenas texturas, con personajes que no están hinchados y poseen una complexión similar a la de los de verdad, no he visto ni un solo píxel gordo en todo el decorado, el sistema de sombras buenísimo... Toda una maravilla gráficamente.

SONIDO
Buen sonido ambiente, sonido del público de lujo, sonido al darle a la pelota... y aunque no posee música durante el juego que quizás lo hiciera más ameno, está bastante bien

ONLINE
La demo no posee online

BUGS
Quizás uno y es que hoy jugando he descubierto la forma de que al sacar yo, el contrario no sepa darle a la pelota y me lleve el punto directamente. Se hace con el saque de media luna en el stick en contra de las agujas del reloj.

REFLEXIÓN
Es un juego que como simulador es bestial, lo recomiendo, pero como siempre, ya sabéis, antes alquiladlo o bajaroslo del emule y probadlo a ver que os parece, para gustos colores, y yo no soy nadie para deciros que os puede gustar o no :D

RECOMENDADO: SI
PRECIO: CARILLO, PERO MERECE LA PENA

This week Sony has lost a BIG exclusive with FFXIII but has gained a pretty cool one. 2K will apparently be releasing something called "Challenge Rooms" as not to mess with the story of BioShock whilst still providing players with some new content. These "rooms" will be self contained areas apparently designed for you to use your plasmids to do some puzzle solving. Hopefully this'll work quite well but at least us PS3 owners get something good.