The problem with baseball games is that they can be nearly as stoic and serious-minded as the real sport itself. Although games like Sony's MLB: The Show and 2K's MLB 2K series do a good (and sometimes great) job of re-creating America's pastime, they can get so mired in staying true to the sport that some of the fun of being a video game gets leached away in the process. Enter another 2K baseball series: MLB Power Pros. Developed out of the engine of the popular Japanese Jikkyo Powerful Pro Yakyu baseball series from Konami, the game came stateside last year with MLB Power Pros. Last week, we got a chance to see the sequel, MLB Power Pros 2008, which is coming to the PlayStation 2, Wii and, later this year, the Nintendo DS.

If you played last year's game, you'll be right at home on the PS2 and Wii versions of Power Pros 2008. The pitching and batting interfaces are similar to last year's versions. When pitching, you'll choose your pitch type by pressing the analog stick in any direction, aim your pitch with the analog stick, and let your pitch loose with the X button. Batting still uses a cursor; you try to place your bat cursor over the ball cursor and then swing with the X button. You can also set your swing to a "power" swing by pressing the R1 button before your swing. Fielding still uses the face buttons as analogs for the bases themselves and running the bases is as easy as ever.

New additions to the controls in Power Pros 2008 include the bullpen, which is where you can warm up pitchers in the middle of a game, as well as the ability to move your defense players to adjust for a variety of different situations. These include bringing in the corners on a bunt or shifting your outfield to the left or right to accommodate for a player who always hits to one side or the other.

Despite the new additions, Power Pros 2008 is still easy to learn, resulting in a pick-up-and-play style that suits the simplistic nature of the game's visuals well. As with last year's game, that primitive look belies a tremendous amount of depth, both in the sheer obsessive nature of statistics the game tracks and the amount of detail found in other aspects of the game. For example, last year's game had Success mode, a role-playing-game-like story mode that had you create a character and take him through high school as he did his best to make it into the minor leagues. MLB Power Pros 2008 has not one but two RPG modes; the continuation of Success mode that has your created character making his way into the Double A minor leagues and a full separate mode known as MLB Life, where you can follow a created player's career through the big leagues..."

Read full Hands On HERE from Gamespot.

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NASCAR 09 Handling BlogNASCAR 09 Input System and Driving Models

In NASCAR 09 we wanted to make a big improvement in the way the car handled out on the track when steered by the controller.  We were happy with the way that the steering wheel controls worked coming over from 08.  However, the inputs and handling when using the thumb-stick on the controller was an area we saw the need to improve on. 

The community was a big help in letting us know what adjustments needed to be made and we spent a lot of time researching what people were saying about our existing NASCAR 08 driving model.  In going through the feedback from playtests, media reviews and from the community, it became apparent that opinions were split on the matter of car handling.  Some really enjoyed the challenge of the simulation driving experience we delivered in 08 while others found the learning curve a bit too steep.  We were very happy that we had been able to deliver a simulation handling model that a lot of the hardcore fans were able to get behind, so for NASCAR 09 we set our sights on producing a second driving model geared for those looking for a more forgiving experience.  Additionally, we also targeted wholesale changes to the controller input model to give the player a better feel of the steering inputs regardless of if they were hardcore or more entry level fans of the game.

Guillermo J. Garcia-Sampedro is the Software Engineer on our team that we tapped on the shoulder to get the job done.  Game making is a hugely collaborative effort, however, Guillermo is very much to credit for the success of the controller inputs and handling model for NASCAR 09.  With that in mind, I think I’ll hand the reigns of this blog over to Guillermo, so he can tell you first hand the process behind the creation of what ultimately became our new controller input system and our new driving models (known as NORMAL and PRO Driving styles in NASCAR 09)..."

Read more of this blog at EA Sports World HERE .

(Also, be sure to check back with Consolesports.net for my own exclusive NASCAR 09 360 impressions later this week) 

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I’m a big fan of the sweet science so you can imagine my excitement when I first learned of 2K developing “Don King Presents: Prize Fighter”. My excitement grew when I learned that it would be Venom, creators of the ‘Rocky’ games who were behind the making of this new title. 

After getting some considerable time into the game, I’m happy to say that if you’re a fan of boxing, you’ll be a fan of 2K’s Prize Fighter.  

The game revolves around a documentary type storyline. Actors, portraying people of significance in your life as ‘The Kid’, are interviewed regarding various aspects of your career. Even former boxing greats are featured speaking in regards to the legend you’re about to build. What separates Prize Fighter from previous boxing titles is how decisions not only made in the ring, but outside of it, affect how the story ends.

I’ll touch on those aspects of the game later.

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Being totally new to the Top Spin series, I really didn't know what to expect when firing up the XBOX 360 version of Top Spin 3.  After about an hour of play, I have really begun to appreciate the intricacies of this well-made game.  I have to admit that I have no tennis experience whatsoever.  I have watched it on TV in the past, but never played it myself, or played a video game based on it.

(Confession: The "main draw" to me watching tennis in my youth was to stare at tennis Hall of Famer Gabriella Sabatini..the raven-haired Argentinean smokin' hottie who retired in 1996..but I digress...)

Anyway- so let it be said that I'm an extremely casual tennis observer.

The good news is that 2K Sports has a very in-depth training mode that teaches you the fineries of playing the Top Spin 3.  Believe me, that's a good thing, because it also teaches positioning and recovery after a shot, which has trained me not to be the "charge the net" fool I was in my first attempts at exhibition games.  The training mode teaches you how to handle shots (both forehand and backhand), positioning, serves.. you name it.

(Serves are my weakness right now.  I'm very shaky with my placement.  Need more practice.  I also need to work more on post-shot positioning recovery.)

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