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It's the last day of 2006, and I figured I'd put together a wish-list for sports video gaming in 2007. Of course, this list is 100% opinion, but...that said... here it is. Quietcool72's ConsoleSports Wishlist for 2007. 1. EA needs to seriously impress the multitudes that it dissappointed with Madden NFL 07. First of all, they can start with having all the current gen features on next gen... such as smart routes, hot blitzes, hot zones, hot man-to-man adjustments... you know...all the stuff that was missing from Madden Next Gen 07. Of course, giving us back that stuff.. and stopping there..would also be a letdown. Madden needs to innovate. It needs more realism. It needs broadcast quality presentation. It needs commentary. It needs halftime highlights from the game you are playing and from games around the league. It needs personality. Lastly, EA needs to come off of its long-time overuse of lengthy animation chains and make Madden more of a fluid, user-controlled game. I'm sick of my DB's going into some lengthy interception attempt animation (That I can't control) as the AI WR catches the ball and blows by them. "Getting caught in an animation chain" is the most lame way to give up big plays and give up points, first downs, you name it. In short, EA needs to "wow" us. Its been a long time since the Madden product delivered on that. 2. 2K Sports needs to realize that the minors are an important part of MLB baseball. EA had them when MVP was allowed to be made (at least the pro version), and MLB The Show got it right too. However, 2K seems too fixated on dazzle such as the reflections on Derek Jeter's helmet and the way polyester uniforms look in the sun. MLB 2K7 needs to be a much "meatier" product than the arcade drivel they have been tossing our way each spring. I realize the EA MVP employee they have should help..but how many years does it take to get the minors in the game. Call people up, send them down...and be able to play the games. Yeah, I know..with all the problems 2K baseball has had, I should happy if the game is just playable this year. But you know what? Screw that. No free passes for EA, 2K, or anybody. Hell, their EXCLUSIVE games should both play MUCH better than what they did in 2006. 3. I keep hoping that this will be the year that the two 2K basketball games finally give the players some "defensive width". As it stands, online/head to head, one fale step by the defender and the mere press of a "dunk/drive" button equals 2 points damn near each time. 2K basketball veterans often will tell you that successful defense against a human player is more a matter of trying hard not to control the defender on the ball, because the AI controlled defenders aren't held to the same momentum rules against a driving dribbler that human controlled defenders are. Straight up 2K, it shouldn't suck to play defense against a human controlled dribbler. That's kind of a big thing. When entire leagues have a "limit the dunks/drives" rule, I think it's easy to see that there's a big problem. Fix it. 4. Here's hoping that 2K makes the games that are "hinted" at by Anthony Chau and others. So far, it seems like there could be an unlicensed football game, a boxing game, and a golf game that may surprise us out of 2K in 2007. That's a good thing. More is always better, especially if done right. 5. I'm hoping that MLB 07 The Show is all that this year. They made the best sports game of 2006 in my opinion, and lets hope they keep it up. Hopefully it will be good on PS1, and Sony DEFINITELY needs SOMETHING on PS3 other than XBOX 360 ports if they want to pull their sales numbers out of the toilet. 6. In the strangest twist of 06, we saw EA dazzle with their NHL product, while 2K did that "Very EA" move that equated to what seemed like a mere roster update. So, lets hope that 2K's NHL team can catch up with the surprise greatness of NHL 07. (And let's hope EA Canada delivers even better goods in 2007 than they gave us in 2006 too, and continue to build on the solid NHL 07 foundation.) 7. I hope that in 2007, someone at EA wakes the hell up about online leagues... but I guess that would require EA to have something resembling STABLE in-house XBOX Live servers that actually let gamers COMPLETE an online game.... but here's hoping they can find the time and energy to get BOTH issues addressed. 8. I hope that NBA Live 08 on Next Gen isn't the disk-shaped turd that NBA Live 06 and 07 were. {quotes}It's become a bad joke just how bad EA's basketball games have become.{/quotes} March Madness 07 might go a long way in ending some of those jokes, but knowing EA.... 9. In 2007, I hope that Nintendo finds a way to flesh-out some of the very cool concepts in sports games that were demonstrated in "Wii Sports". A fleshed-out Wii golf sim would be incredible. I'm already wishing there were more courses on "Wii Sports" golf. And a career mode in a Wii Sports boxing game would be kick-ass to the extreme... heck, get the Stallone license, or some classic fighters and you'd have yourself a sweet boxing sim. (A "Rocky" or "Boxing Legends" game could do very well- few people can name any current heavyweights anyway. The sport is a no-name wreck right now anyway.) And...online is important, Nintendo. Lets see it. 10. I hope we see start to see sports games with online spectator mode in 2007. There you have it. Have a happy New Year. Quietcool72
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