NHL 12 goalies and goals

Goalie V-H Technique what does V-H stand for? Well I’m glad you asked. It stands for vertical-horizontal. It is a technique used by goalies similar to the hug post. Goalie V-H is something you see many NHL goalies do throughout the game but something we’ve been missing in the title. The purpose of this technique is to put goalies in better position for passes behind the goal line and also allows for them to more easily push off the post into butterfly. How does this affect your goalie in NHL 12? From the goalie V-H, you will be able to make saves, poke check, and cover the puck. You will also be able to push off the post from this stance and right into butterfly or into the desperation saves.

Updated goalie saves Goalies are always a work in progress. The thing with goalies is that we have to make them balanced. Any tweaks to shooting or AI, and we have to rebalance goalies. They are what one might call a house of cards. Tune a shot this way, and you have the potential to unleash always goals. Much like every other year, we go in and look at all the saves we have in the game and try to tune goalie behavior to allow for goal scoring, yet still have goalies feel natural. We have also improved the puck tracking for goalies this year. What this means for goalies is that they will be better at fighting through the screens and battles in front of the net, and be more agile when skaters are pulling dekes on breakaways and in close.

And theres Goalie fightss When you run the goalie, you can expect a tough guy to stand up for his goalie. At times, the goalie will stand up for himself by dropping the gloves and there’ll also be times where the opposing goalie will want a piece of the action too. We saw it happen a couple times this year in the real NHL…if it’s in the game, it’s gotta be in the game!

EPISODE VI: I, AM YOUR FATHER

EPISODE VI: I AM YOUR FATHER

I'll be honest, I grew up surrounded by video games and anything Nintendo related. I wasn't like all you other guys growing up with Disney and Spongebob or whatever. Instead, I grew up with Super Mario and The Legend Of Zelda. You guys would watch all these Disney movies, like Lion King, a movie about a cub losing his father and replacing him and becoming a king. However I experienced something similar growing up. Star Fox anyone? You got Mickey Mouse, I got Super Mario. You got the Disney Princesses, I've got Princess Zelda and Peach (lol). You get the idea. However though, I found myself getting tired of Nintendo, as I grew older, and the games and consoles came, my interest in that started to decrease. The N64, I loved it, Gamecube? Loved it, SNES? Yeah that too. But Wii? It didn’t last me a long, a bunch of mini games on that system, I felt that Nintendo is starting to attract the casual gamers and starting to ditch its hardcore crowd (like myself).

But hopefully that’s all about to change, because last week. The newly announced Wii U was revealed. I couldn't breathe. I had a mini heart attack.

Feast your eyes on the successor to the Wii. Goodbye is the outdated graphics, the horsies mini games, and the unsuccessful exercise games. The Wii U is capable of having 1080p high definition visuals. Which is the highest resolution today, and it competes with its other rival consoles like Xbox and PS3. On top of that, the Wii U is backwards compatible, meaning it could play your old Wii games, and your also able to use your old Wii controllers as well.

Speaking of the controller. One of the highlights of the reveal was the new controller. A controller that’s going to change gaming. The controller looks like an iPad, or a tablet, but with buttons. It consists of a 6 inch touch screen, 2 control sticks, the directional pad, the face buttons such as A B X Y. Shoulder buttons like L and R, and a built in microphone and camera on both front and back. Apparently, despite the awkward look of the controller, critics say it feels and handles very nicely. They compared it to the iPad 2 but with buttons and a grip. However, my favorite part is being able to switch the tv screen to the screen on your controller. If another family member wants to watch tv, and your on the Wii U, fear no more! You're able to switch from the tv screen to the controller! I recommend you check the video below, it'll show exactly what I'm talking about.

Enough of the system and controller. What about the games? Like I mentioned earlier, the Wii U can support 1080p resolution. So expect the same visuals as a Blu Ray player or PS3. With that being said, imagine a more beautiful Super Mario or Legend of Zelda game. Nintendo's games are known for having such lovable characters and storyline, but what I really love the most was the world we explored in those games. These worlds are so vibrant and colorful, those were some of my favorite moments in Nintendo games. Exploring these worlds were such a great adventure when I was younger, so imagine them on the Wii U.

Nintendo already announced (not revealed) a new Super Smash Bros and a sequel to the one of the greatest games on the Wii, Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess. But what about the third party developers? Games like Assassins Creed, Battlefield 3, Batman Arkham City, Ghost Recon, Tekken, Darksiders 2, Ninja Gaiden 3, and more are being revealed. Don’t believe me? Check out the video below. The first half of the video is about the developers first impressions on the Wii U, the other half, demos all the upcoming third party games.

Too much too take. Its so beautiful. Like I actually cried. It seems like Nintendo heard its fans from the 90's and are returning to them. They are coming back to its roots. I was loosing faith on Nintendo. I wasn't satisfied with the Wii, it lasted me for about less than a year, and its games were pretty boring for a hardcore gamer. But when Nintendo revealed this system, I knew right away that Nintendo coming back. The 3DS is just the tip of the iceberg, and Nintendo is just getting started.

Untitled Wii U Zelda Project. Looks like a sequel to Twilight Princess.

Battle field 3 vs modern warefare

Battle field 3 vs modern warefare 3

While Call of Duty will undoubtedly remain the top seller this year, Battlefield 3 should take a much more significant market share. What’s more interesting is how these two games will position the respective franchises for the future. If Modern Warfare 3 takes criticisms for again doing “more of the same” and remaining too similar to the first two Modern Warfares and Black Ops, they are going to lose gamers to the Battlefieldfranchise and that word of mouth can be powerful. If they take a dive in critical rating scores vs. Battlefield then they’re in even more trouble.

It’s going to be the gameplay, the story and the multiplayer features that matter in the end. Battlefield 3 supports larger maps, with more players and vehicles in multiplayer. It also features a large single player campaign, a first for the main BF series. It also allows co-op play. With only the world premiere trailer and leaked story details for Modern Warfare 3 to go on, we’ll have to wait until we see the game first-hand at E3 to see what it is doing new for its new gameplay features in comparison.

E3

So E3 has come and past again... another year gone by. Many new exciting games are coming out, Some that I am looking forward to are MW3, Battlefield 3, and Assassins creed revelations. The graphics in these games are wicked, especially Battlefield 3 (it looks so realistic), it makes me think of how far are the games graphics going to go in the future? It’s going to be insane. Those three games are the highlight of E3 for me this year, I believe that all three of them are going to go far past everyone’s expectation of the games, I think all three of them did a god job in getting everyone’s attention at E3, the trailers and gameplay that were played were crazy! I can't wait until they come out!

MW3

Well I actually was planning on talking about how garbage MW3 was going to be but after watching some gameplay video's I realized that MW3 look's petty beast, and I am actually looking forward to it. I, along with tones of others, still love MW2 and MW3 looks allot like MW2 just with better graphics and new weapons. For some reason MW2's online was so fun, I don't know what it was, it was way better than black ops. And now they are coming out with MW3, I believe that it is gunna be really fun online and I really hope they bring back quick scoping -That would be too good-. I am also looking forward to the new maps that they are going to come out with. I am not much of a story mode player though are you?

PS3 DOWN

One word… PlayStation Network is down wtf. I had not even been playing my ps3 for weeks before it went down. But it was when it was down was when I wanted to play it the most. I was pretty angry with the network being down, you could not sign in or more importantly you could not play online. But my anger towards the Psn (PlayStation Network) was nothing compared to some of the other ps3 gamers out there. Fun watching kids rage on youtube. Back to the playstation network, so it has been down for a while now and they have not said anything about what has happened, there is also a possibility that all of "the ps3 gamers" information is at risk, fun. Although the playstation network is talking about giving out free games as a way of apologizing, Probably the crapiest games ever, more fun. All in all psn has screwed us over.

EPISODE III: THIS ISN'T THE BLOG YOUR LOOKING FOR

Episode III: THIS ISN'T THE BLOG YOUR LOOKING FOR

3DS is out, should you care?

I got the chance to pick up Nintendo's latest creation. Their latest device called the Nintendo 3DS. Ok so who cares? Its just alternate version of the Nintendo DS. Nintendo has done this before, making alternate version of the DS such as DS Lite, DSi, DS XL, and now 3DS. There's a catch though, the latest DS could be the best handheld instalment yet, and arguably their best creation up to date.

Feast your eyes on glasses free 3D.

Forget wearing 3D glasses, those were the dark days.

However, I do have mixed feelings with this device. So I'll start with the Pros first. At first I was definitely wowed, I couldn't believe the 3D effect, it was very breathtaking, viewing the 3D effect for the first time is very exciting. 3DS is definitely the greatest piece of tech I've tried since the Playstation 3. You really have to see the effect in person to believe it. There's also a sweet spot, if you want to see the 3D, it must be right in front of you, a slight tilt will ruin it. So friends watching you play right beside you won't be able to see the effect. Fortunately, Nintendo added a sensitivity switch for the 3D effect, switch the effect to on or off, how convient. (See picture below, sensitivity slider is located at the right side of the top screen.)

Enough of the pros, now the cons. Unfortunately after a couple of hours of play, the 3D effect is really irritating to the eyes. Not only does it make you dizzy, but I could feel my eyes getting blind. Nintendo even advises that you take 10 – 15 minutes breaks after every hour before you start a game. And speaking of games….

Thats you.

It only gets better. Nintendo fans rejoice. Fans familiar with Nintendo games will be pleased to know that a lot of Nintendo's first party games will be joining 3DS' library. Super Mario in 3D? Zelda in 3D? Star Fox in 3D? Heck yeah. Those are just a couple to mention, but how about all the third party developers? Imagine Sonic the Hedgehog in 3D? or Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid or Assassins Creed? Yeah I'm sold. (See pictures below for screenshot comparisons of The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 3DS Remake.)

Its ****ing beautiful! :D

However, my only concern with the games are the launch titles. The 3DS launched March 27, 2011. The launch games are awful. So awful that I didn’t even bother purchasing a game day one. Games go from Nintendogs to some random pilot game. I don’t care. Petting a dog in 3D? No thanks.

So how about the hardware? The 3DS has probably the best visuals up to date when it comes to handhelds. Its upgraded, and believe it or not, the 3DS' visuals are more stronger than Nintendo's previous console, the Wii. Even today, I'm still wowed by this, just the fact that it’s a handheld. The face buttons like A B X Y and shoulder buttons like L and R return, the D-Pad also returns but what's new this time around is the analog stick. It controls nicely. Also, camera's return, front and back, allowing you to take photos and save them on your device.

The 3DS also comes packed with 3 built in games and a Mii Maker (Just like the Wii's Mii maker, but better) The three games are Augmented Reality Games, or AR Games, Face Raiders and Mii Plaza. Out of the 3 I'd have to say Face Raider's is my favourite, its just hilarious. On top of the built in games, are Nintendo's new wireless feature called Street Pass. When your 3DS is on sleep mode, and you walk by someone who is also on sleep mode, you will trade Mii's and they will go to your Mii Plaza. What I really like about this is that you can see what other's have created. You can also create your own greeting for when you trade Mii's. I thought it was neat. At the moment, I've walked by 12 different people and collected 12 Mii's. Speaking of Mii's, the 3DS' version of Mii creator is very innovative. Allowing to take pictures of your face and generating it to make a Mii that looks like you. Its hilarious, me in Mii form is very scary, the resemblance is too much.

Unfortunately, the online friend messaging component sucks. Like a lot. Pictochat is gone and is replaced with a scaled down messaging systems that don't really work well. Also, the very awkward Friend Code system is back. What I also don't like is that fact that the Internet Browser isn't up and running, the option is there, but its not live yet. But thee BIGEST disappoint is the battery life. The battery is even worse than an iPod. Depending on your settings, 3DS can last up to 3 – 5 hours. Complete garbage. I personally think Nintendo did this on purpose to let kids rest and have breaks. 

My verdict? Its mixed, I have mixed feelings about the 3DS. Its without a doubt really impressive. Its possibilities with upcoming games, and an impressive hardware, its hard for hardcore Nintendo fans like myself to pass this offer. But there's a catch, there's always a catch. Disappointing online functionality and battery life. On top of that, having the 3D effect on constantly will strain your eyes. Personally, I think the pros outweigh the cons. On the bright side, the 3DS will have a great future. Things are looking really great so far, a promising line-up of games, and a lot more online services like DSi Ware. But I'm sorry, I can't pass down The Legend of Zelda in 3D, I'm sold.

So thats my review. Enjoy this Youtube video. The video showcases all the upcoming games for 3DS.

Nintendo 3DS Software Lineup