The College football season is near and once again EA has brought out their NCAA Football series. It seems each year the release is earlier and earlier but for fans of college football it’s a welcomed sports title. Last year, while solid, the game had some issues but was an enjoyable game and solid. I have been reading comments about this year’s version and it only proves you can’t make everyone happy. Read on to see why NCAA Football 09 may be the best one yet and why EA is taking the series in the right direction. The coin toss is over so let’s kick off the full review.

I am off to LA for a look at Mercenaries 2: World in Flames Electronic Arts & Pandemic Studios invited me and a few others from the community to attend the 2 day event. Before the big event I have teamed up with DeaconBlade and Unscripted 360 for a 1 hour live call in podcast. We will be talking about the game the original and whatever else comes up. This is not the first time I have been on DeaconBlade’s show but tonight we hope you will listen or even call in for the pre show to the main event. We are hoping to have some surprise callers so if you can check out the show. Head over to the show by clicking here at 5 PM PST / 8:00 PM EST and if you want to call in the number is (646)-478-5879. We are expecting the other people invited to call in and hopefully Jon Long from EA our host for the event so listen in or call in with any comments.

Battlefield: Bad Company really surprised me and I thought it was a well done game. I know that some gamers were disappointed that the conquest mode was not included when the game shipped. This Thursday the Conquest mode will be available for free. Also look for new weather changes when you launch the Conquest mode.

With eleven days until the 20th anniversary edition of Madden NFL Football hits stores the demo has already hit the XBL Marketplace. I think this is the first time any version of Madden has released a demo this early. If that wasn’t enough for sports fans EA also released the demo for their upcoming over-the-top boxing game FaceBreaker. Both demos are available now so check them out.

Okay, I know a lot of you would love a chance at 100,000 Microsoft points. Well your chance starts this Wednesday when Geometry Wars 2 is released for the XBL Arcade. You could win by buying the game or just by trying the trail version. The only catch is you need to read the rules and check your personal information by clicking here.

The contest runs until August 27th and each week prize packages are up for grabs. After the contest is over the grand prize is 100,000 Microsoft points an Xbox Elite and a 12 month Gold membership card. Weekly prizes are 4000 Microsoft points. Remember you must register each week by downloading the trail game or by buying the full version of the game. Please read all the rules and details when you check your account information at the link above and good luck!

We have teamed up once again with Charlie McCracken over at Joystickwidow.com to bring you another conference call. This time around 2K Sports brought in Rob Nelson, producer of MLB Power Pros 2008, to give us the run down about the game. It’s coming out for the Nintendo Wii, DS and the PS2. The game is a huge hit in Japan. The team effort of Konami (the developers) and 2K Sports publishing has brought this game to the US market.

MLB Power Pros series relies heavily on a “Sim” or “RPG” style that is very popular in Japanese titles and mixes in the arcade action. While it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, the game sounds interesting. It uses all the MLB teams and is an official licensed MLB game. Due to the time restrictions, questions from each site were limited but should give you an idea of what to expect.

Q: When beginning development of the player characters, is it safe to say that the Nintendo Mii’s were an influence?
A: Mii’s fit the theme and feeling of the game perfectly. While the Mii’s are used, they did not greatly influence the developing team.

Q: When developing for the Nintendo DS, was there anything in particular that you needed to change or dumb down in order to get the game to work well with the handheld?
A: Controls were made simple for enjoyment of the game. The game will feel exactly like the other versions and the team worked hard to make the DS version just as fun as the other two versions.

Q: Why is there not a release for any of the current generation consoles?
A: No plans at the present time to bring the game to the Xbox 360 or the PS3.

Rob did mention that this did not mean a version would not be possible or ruled out. I took from this answer they are taking a wait and see approach based on how the game does in sales for the PS2, DS and Wii this year. New this year to the game for the US market is two modes. The first mode is called MLB Live. In this mode you will pick your favorite player and live, train and play as that player over a ten year period. You will have training to worry about as well as each game and then make choices during the week both professional and personal. For example, you can choose to get engaged or married. This is certainly more of a Japanese trend but Rob stated that the mode will not be deep but was created to have fun.

The other mode is the Success mode where you try and make it from the minors to the major league. This will involve trying to impress scouts, making the big plays and signing the right contracts. Last year they had a similar mode making the leap from college to the minor league. I was surprised that none of the versions offer an online mode, although each will have a multi-player mode. For those owning a Wii console, this version sounds the best of the three since you can load your player in the Wii remote and play at a friend’s house. Of course with the Wii version, it has the mechanics of the Wii remote. Overall I think Konami and 2K Sports are trying to bring something different to the US market which is encouraging. I have always looked forward to gaming companies to do this.

Thanks goes out to Charlie for asking me to cover the conference call and to Chase at AccessPR for hosting and arranging the call today.

Links

MLB Power Pros 2008 Website

Thursday kicks off Comic-Con and for those going this year there are some special events planned. For fans of the upcoming Gears of War 2 they can meet Cliff Bleszinski and get his autograph you may also walk away with a limited Gears of War 2 limited edition Xbox 360. Cliff will be at the Xbox 360 both #5225 and DC comic booth #1915. The 3 day event will feature the best of comics, trading cards and video games. Video Games Live will also be performing during the opening night events.

This Wednesday 1942: Joint Strike hits the Xbox Live Arcade. The game will feature updated graphics, a new Co-Op that should make the game more interesting. 1942: Joint Strike will cost 800 Microsoft points.

FaceBreaker is shaping up great from what I have seen from E3 this year. I like the mix of humor and Arcade style this boxing title will bring when it is released. I got word that the FaceBreaker Forums is now active and the Producers will be posting answers directly so I wanted to pass this information on. You can take a look around by clicking here and then feel free to post any questions or comments you may have.

I just wanted to remind everyone there are a ton of new trailers and demos from E3 08 on XBL Marketplace. I overheard someone talking last night and they said it was great that they have updates on Inside Xbox but complained that there were no demos or trailers to download. Just look for the E3 08 banner or go right to the marketplace and check new arrivals. Expect more content to hit today and this weekend.