MEMBER PROFILE FOR rhowrish
Average Overall Score Given: 6.00000 / 10
Total Forum Posts: 2
Reviews
NHL 2004
Overall: Overall good game. Skating animations are by far the best of any game. Teammate and computer AI needs to be tightened. There are still too many offsides and the teammate AI seems very weak compared to the computer. The graphics are good. The fighting is the best of any hockey game. One annoyance is that the settings for line changing (manual, automatic, none) has to be set every single game. Another annoyance is not being able to find out how long a player is injured for in the franchise mode. This was standard on every past EA hockey game that I can think of and now they just forgot about it???Gameplay: Gameplay is very similar to past EA hockey games. The hitting is a Jekyl and Hyde show. It has flashes of brilliance but for the most part is way too hard. The new board pinning is a nice addition. The passing game is good but the AI needs to be improved so that players will attempt to stay on-side but still catch the pass. For some reason the defencemen seem to be the fist men in on every rush -- WHY? Also the breakouts are poorly done. Computer controlled players always skate backwards to catch a pass in their own zone instead of breaking out which is wrong. The players also seem to crash into the boards as soon as they catch a pass a lot. The shooting is the best of any game. It makes you feel like you really did pick the top corner on the breakaway. The manual dekes work quite well. Line changing and strategy changing is easy to execute. EA is still missing a skills competition or a backyard rink mode but the other modes work well. Overall very good gameplay.
Graphics: Great visuals. Much better than ESPN Hockey. I don't know how anyone can give ESPN a better rating. Skating, shooting, and hitting animations in ESPN hockey aren't even close to EA's. The dark jerseys at home is a new idea brought in by the NHL for the 2003-2004 season. Perhaps the retard who wrote the previous review should do some investagting before blasting EA. Best visuals of any game.
Audio: The sounds in the game are very well done. Hitting the post, dumping the puck off the glass, and many other effects are done superbly. The announcing is okay. It's as good as ESPN but could be better. At least they don't make retarded comments like "He really hit him with that great shoulder check" like ESPN a hundred times a game. What announcer says that in real life?
Suggestions: Tighten up the AI to reduce the number of offsides. Improve the breakout. Make the forwards be the first men in on forechecks not the defencemen. Make the hitting easier. The bruise control is a good idea but was not implemented well. Add a skills mode or something to that effect. Make it so you can create players while already in the franchise mode and also so you can see how long a player is going to be injured for so you know if you should make a roster change or not.
Overall Score: 8.0 / 10
All-Star Baseball 2003
Overall: I found this game extremely boring to play. The first game was all right but it was tied 0-0 going into the 16th inning. The batting is impossible and the pitching seems too easy. I think I had 18 strikeouts the first game.Gameplay: The gameplay was below average. Batting in this game is frustratingly hard. Fielding is another chore in itself. The players in the field look like they were taken from a Sega Genesis game and this makes the fielding even harder. The throwing is the only highlight in gameplay.
Graphics: These graphics are very disappointing considering this is an X-Box game, not a gameboy advance game. It is nice to see the additional protective equipment on each player but the player models are horribly done. I can't believe that people are giving this game a 5 in the visual department seeing other games available for the x-box.
Audio: The sound of the game is extremely boring. The commmentary is slow and repetative and never adds any excitement to the game. Not having the umpire shout ball or strike also takes away from the game. Overall very disappointing.
Suggestions: Try and make the game look like it was developed for a next generation console not a 16 bit console. Make the commentary more exciting, not so boring and monotone. Everyone is rating Triple Play Baseball horribly but I can't wait to play the game because at least it should be exciting.
Overall Score: 4.0 / 10
