FEATURES

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SONS

THE PYTLIK CHRONICLES // 1

Generation Gap’s following is as diverse as its band members

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For most long-time Cape Anners, 1978 was the year a terrible blizzard hit New England. But for Craig Eliot and Bob Bradford, 1978

was a year that the John Cooney Band – a southern rock group out of Gloucester – was enjoying much success on Cape Ann.

Craig, an acoustic guitar player from Gloucester, and Bradford, a

drummer also from Gloucester, go way back, transitioning from one band to another over the years until they finally parted ways in 1981. Craig, 29 at the time, had started a family a few years earlier, but neither he nor Bradford could gave guessed that the family would be what reunited them musically, 23 years later.

Flash forward to 2003, Craig’s youngest son Cory, who was born and raised in Gloucester, returns from his first semester at college

and asks his father if he can borrow a guitar to play around with at school.

“I was shocked,” said Craig, who turns 54 later this month. “Cory grew up playing the piano, and he was actually quite good at it, but he eventually stopped playing as he got older because he just wasn’t interested in it any more.”

What shocked Craig even more was when Cory returned at the end of his first year at school and could actually play – and play well.

“I was just getting into Dave Mat-thews Band that year,” said Cory, who is now 26, during an interview with the band. “My college buddy had just gotten a guitar and I real-ized that you could get tabs online and teach yourself how to play without having to know how to read music.”

The father-son jam sessions caught the attention of older brother Jason, and soon the duo be-came a family trio. Jason, like Cory, grew up playing an instrument –

I remember when we were looking for that first gig. After asking around, we got a call from [Topside Grill] and they were like ‘hey, want to play tomorrow night?’ I don’t think we were expecting that.

“”

- Jason Eliot, Bassist and oldest son

Generation Gap, is a Gloucester, Mass.-based alterna-tive rock band, whose music is influenced by artists such

as Dave Matthews Band and Tom Petty. The band was founded in 2003 by father, Craig Eliot, center, oldest son Jason Eliot, far right, and youngest son Cory Eliot, second

from left. Other band members are long-time family friend and drummer Bob Bradford, far left, and Dave Koen, who

plays guitar and keyboard. Craig plays guitar and shares vocals with his youngest son Cory, While Jason plays bass and operates

their sound system.

This story finished 3rd in Suburban Newspapers of America’s 2009 arts/entertainment writing contest

2 // THE PYTLIK CHRONICLES

the saxophone – but put it down to pursue sports.

“My sports life was coming to an end,” said Jason, who is a newly-wed 31-year old. “I found myself wishing I hadn’t stopped playing when I was younger.”

The family needed a bass player and Jason, who didn’t know the first thing about the instrument, was up to the task. His appetite for researching things online and learning as much as he can helped him catch up quickly.

The three had a band, but what would they call it? The Eliots? No, that’s too obvious. A lot of input from the family and 25 ideas later, Generation Gap is born; a group who’s music consists of everything from Dave Matthews and Jack Johnson, to Neil Young and Tom Petty and a number of originals as well. The band’s name doesn’t just find meaning in the makeup of its members, but also in the makeup of its fan following, which equally spans the generational gap.

The band’s first gig in 2003 was at

Schooners, now known as Topside Grill, in Gloucester.

“I remember when we were look-ing for that first gig,” said Jason, chuckling as he reminisced. “After asking around, we got a call from them and they were like ‘hey, want to play tomorrow night?’ I don’t think we were expecting that.”

It’s now early 2004 and Genera-tion Gap – commonly shortened to GGap – needs a drummer. Craig’s first thought goes to long-time friend and former band mate, Bradford. But Bradford rejected the family’s offer to join their band.

“It was nothing against them,” said Bradford. “I have known the boys’ father since before they were born and I’ve watched them grow up, but they were still a little green.”

Bradford may have thought Cory and Jason were a little wet behind the ears then, but they’d soon im-press him and in late 2004 Bradford joined Generation Gap.

“The evolution of Jason and Cory over the past three years has just been remarkable,” said Bradford,

who also plays in the Walker Creek Band. “Although we get into ‘fam-ily stuff’ from time to time, because we’re so close knit, we’re a better band because of it.”

Since then, Generation Gap has been playing at venues like the Rhumb Line, Captain Car-los, Elliot’s at the Blackburn and Cameron’s, and in 2007 they added guitarist and keyboard player Dave Koen to the mix. Koen, 50, who is originally from Beverly but now lives in Gloucester, is a versatile musician and, according to Craig, has opened up a whole new di-mension for the band.

What’s next for Generation Gap? Well, since 2008 they have been hard at work recording their first EP, which is now in post-produc-tion and they hope to have it ready to sell at shows and on iTunes soon. Music is a labor of love for this group of Cape Anners, and it has been instrumental in bringing the Eliot family together.

“It started off as a fluky accident,” said Craig reflecting on the experi-

ences of playing along side his sons. “I’m smart enough to know that this isn’t going to last forever, so I make an effort to soak in the feeling every time we’re at a gig – even if it’s only for a few minutes.”

In an area of the state where it’s easy to blend in with the sea of musical groups, Generation Gap stands out, not only because of their unique family ties, but because of their ability to entertain the baby boomer generation, as well as boomers’ kids. It’s refresh-ing, that in an era partly defined by a technological divide between par-ents and children, a band’s music can bring the multiple generation’s together, in one place, and some-times even on the same dance floor.

“Gloucester is like a mecca for music,” said Bradford. “Arts are alive and well on Cape Ann and we’re glad to be a part of it.”

For more information on Genera-tion Gap, visit their MySpace music page at www.myspace.com/ggap, or at their official Web site, www.ggapband.com.

It started off as a fluky accident. I’m smart enough to know that this isn’t going to last forever, so I make an effort to soak in the feeling every time we’re at a gig – even if it’s only for a few minutes.

“” - Craig Eliot, Guitarist, vocals and father

Cory Eliot, left, Jason Eliot, right, sit at Bob Bradford’s drum set in his Gloucester, Mass. house as father Craig Eliot looks on in this 1986 family photo

Craig Eliot plays guitar and sings as a member of the John Cooney Band in 1979.

�

THE PYTLIK CHRONICLES // 3

UNDERAPPRECIATED GAMING JOBS:

ROSTER MEN

Everyone is in the same boat, everyone thinks their players should be better. You never have anybody say ‘dude, you’ve got to get these five guys up, but you got these five guys on my team too high, you’ve got to lower them!’

“”- Donny Moore, Madden Ratings Czar

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Designer, producer, da-tabase editor, associate producer, ratings czar. The men responsible for managing some of the world’s highest grossing sports video games may have varying titles, but

they all have one thing in common – passion. Every year consumers are bombarded by

marketing plans that focus on the next exciting mode or gameplay mechanic, building hype and hopefully translating it into revenue. All the while, the men who manage the databases are diligently researching, studying, and changing every player’s attributes, because they know, that without their efforts, there is no game. These are the men with perhaps the most under appreciated job in the world of sports gaming. These are the roster men.

“There’s a lot of hardwork for my team and there’s little glamor,” said Micheal Mueller-Moehring, the associate producer who heads FIFA’s database team, which is charged with maintaining everything from attributes to char-acter models and team formations. “We’re an in-tegral part of the development though, without our data, the game wouldn’t really work.”

When Mueller-Moehring isn’t watching a match or arguing with his international team of soccer gurus over what a player’s passing rating should be, he’s staring into an excel spreadsheet, updating the data that drives how players perform in the world’s most popular sports video game – something that is quite common, no matter which game you work on or what company you work for.

“The job is all about living in excel spread-sheets and surfing the Internet a lot,” said NCAA Football’s designer Ben Haumiller, who got his start at EA Tiburon like most, as a tester. Among many things, Haumiller oversees one person who is tasked with only updating the rosters, but said it’s still a team effort. Like other EA Sports titles, multiple opinions are necessary to balance

the game and make sure no one player or team is favored more than they should be.

Roster men don’t just throw darts at a board to determine overall player ratings, they read and listen to what all the expert analysts are saying, and they examine what the players have done in the past and compare that to what they are currently doing. They also sometimes rely on outside scouting agencies to provide statistics and metric data that can be used to micro-ana-lyze how well a player is performing.

“We’re taking advantage of any and all data that’s out there via the Internet, via scouting reports, or via our deal with the NFL,” said Madden Ratings Czar Donny Moore (it literally says that on his business card). “We like to call ourselves the 33rd NFL franchise because we get gametape from the NFL literally on a weekly ba-sis, and it’s not a CBS presentation, it’s actually the film the coaches use in the film room.”

But objective data can’t define a subjective quality like awareness, so roster men are forced to use their gut instincts to determine these player qualities.

“Pure stats don’t tell the full story,” said Mueller-Moehring. Unlike most other Triple

A sports games, the FIFA team doesn’t rely on third-party companies that analyze the sport on statistics alone. “Those companies can tell us how many passes, headers or shots on goal a player has, but it doesn’t tell you anything about the quality of a player’s pass, or header or shot on goal. We generate subjective data that can’t be found anywhere else online. Had it been out there, EA Sports would have probably consid-ered just purchasing it.”

“I try to keep it as objective as possible,” said Matt Underwood, a 10-year veteran of Visual Concepts, the developer behind the 2K Sports franchises. “Anything I can do based off stats, I try to do that first, then we’ll tweak it based on common perceptions of players.”

Underwood worked on the rosters for the old 2K Sports NFL franchise and is the lone man in charge of managing the rosters for the Major League Baseball series; he also helps out with their NHL franchise. The rosters for their NBA series, however, relies on an outside service that updates player progression daily based on what happened in the previous night’s games.

When asked how he deals with fans who are angry about their favorite player being under-rated, he just said, “I figure I’m probably the most hated man in the industry.”

Moore said he’s gotten calls from the players themselves. Maurice Jones Drew was unhappy being rated 95 overall, and T.J. Houshmandza-deh publicly complained that his speed rating in Madden 10 was too low, so he boycotted the game.

“Everyone is in the same boat, everyone thinks their players should be better,” said Moore.

“You never have anybody say ‘dude, you’ve got to get these five guys up, but you got these five guys on my team too high, you’ve got to lower them!’”

It’s just another day in the life of these unsung heroes of sports video gaming, the roster men, who’s work you’ll never hear about in the televi-sion commercials, but that you appreciate every time you boot up a game, whether you realize it or not.

I figure I’m probably the most hated man in the industry.

“ ”­-­Matt­Underwood,­Visual­Concepts

�

There’s a lot of hardwork for my team and there’s little glamor. We’re an integral part of the development though, without our data, the game wouldn’t really work.

“”

­-­Micheal­Mueller-Moehring,­associate­producer­in­charge­of­FIFA­database­team

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THE PYTLIK CHRONICLES // 5

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 2K10PREVIEW

S

6 // THE PYTLIK CHRONICLES

There’s perhaps no other phrase that resonates more with baseball fans than “there’s always next year.” With pitchers and

catchers less than three weeks away, one can’t help but get excited at the clean slate their team gets – in real life and on their favorite console.

It’s no secret that MLB 2K9 was a disappointment. Its score on metacritic topped out at an under-whelming 64, with most of the major gaming outlets, including GamePro, giving it a below average grade. So you could understand how shocked I was when I first sat down to play MLB 2K10 and realized, wow, this is pretty good.

In talking with Visual Concepts producer Ben Bishop, it was obvious the development team was humbled by last year’s game. But like

any resilient clubhouse, what

has come out of it is a product that aims to reboot the franchise and get back to good fundamental gameplay.

“2K9 was really a challenging year for us,” said Bishop who spoke at length about last year’s consolida-tion of the Kush Games and Visual Concepts studios. The change came during the development of MLB 2K9, setting the team back two to three months and making it difficult for them to accomplish their goals.

“We never want to make excuses no matter what the situation … it was pretty clear going into 2K10 that we had a lot of work to do to improve the game and get the series back on track.”

During my time with the game (which was roughly 85% complete) I noticed how much smoother and natural playing on both sides of the ball felt. Pitches will now be selected prior to moving the right analog stick, which ensures that no matter how badly you mess up the gesture, your guy will still throw the pitch you want.

At the plate, developers have re-envisioned the way players interpret incoming pitches. A batter’s eye rating, combined with how well the pitcher makes the correct gesture, will determine whether the batter can see which pitch is coming. What’s even better is that in addition to con-tact and power swings, players can now press left or right on the right analog stick to swing defensively.

Despite some bugs in the build I

played, it was clear that improving the defensive gameplay has been a priority. My fielders responded appropriately and made all the easy plays. Bishop is confident there will be no need for major patches just weeks after release, like last year’s game.

One advantage players will notice by having Visual Concepts at the helm for the entire development cycle, is the luxury of learning from their successful experiences with NBA 2K10.

“Now that we have NHL, NBA and MLB all in house here at Visual Concepts, we have the ability to share resources a lot more,” said Bishop. “You can see similarities in navigation and presentation and we want you to have a sense of familiar-ity with whatever 2K Sports title you pick up.”

A familiar mode from NBA 2K10 making its Major League debut is the My Player mode. I didn’t have enough time to dig into the mode, but when asked if much of their inspiration was drawn from MLB: The Show’s “Road to the Show,” Bishop answered only that career mode is a growing trend in all sports games.

“When you play MLB 2K10’s My Player mode you’ll see a lot of ele-ments that are in common with NBA 2K10’s My Player mode. We took a lot of what they set the bar with and we tried to add elements that made more sense for baseball.”

Fans of Franchise Mode have much to be excited about as well. Between the addition of a 40-man roster, rehab assignments, compensation draft picks and a revamped trade block, players should experience the most in depth mode the series has ever offered. And like NBA 2K10, players will now have the ability to announce their accolades to the world via their own 2K hosted blog. Write your own posts, upload high-light clips or scores, and broadcast it all over your Facebook or Twitter account.

From the few hours I spent playing MLB 2K10 and talking to Bishop, there’s much for fans of the series (or people without PS3s) to feel opti-mistic about. Realistically, after last year’s showing, it’s not like it could get any worse.

Look for GamePro’s review when the game hits shelves on March 2, and head to 2ksports.com to find out how you can win one million dollars for throwing a perfect game!

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 2K10

THE PYTLIK CHRONICLES // 7

�

We never want to make excuses no matter what the situation ... it was pretty clear going into 2K10 that we had a lot of work to do to improve the game and get the series back on track.

“

”- Ben Bishop, producer, Visual Concepts

THE PYTLIK CHRONICLES // 7THE PYTLIK CHRONICLES // 7

When it comes to the last of anything in a trilogy, whether it be movies or

video games, consumers have to decide if they’re willing to gamble away their hard earned money on a product that may not live up to its predecessors. The third movie in a trilogy typically has the worst plot, but the best chances of making the most money. The third video game in a trilogy is typically the least buggy, but usu-ally the most unoriginal. Skate 3’s Producer Chris Parry and his team of developers hope that they have avoided these common pitfalls and have created something that’s both familiar and fresh.

“The natural progression of a skateboarder is like a trilogy and our series follows that path,” said Parry, who is also an avid skate-boarder.

Parry described the path in detail while showing me what was new about Skate 3 at PAX East. The original Skate was a typical rags to riches story where in the end your

character became a skateboarding legend. In Skate 2 your character fell from grace and landed in jail. When he got out, you helped him work his way back to his legend-ary status. Skate 3 lets you live out the final stage in a legendary skate-boarder’s career, ala what Tony Hawk is doing right now, which is owning his own company, selling skateboards and merchandise and generally being badass.

Skate 3 is essentially a combina-tion of three modes – competitions, Hall of Meat and park building – that allow you to increase your skateboard sales, which is the com-mon goal no matter what mode you play the most.

Free skating and participating in competitions is what’s most familiar to fans of the series and also what makes up the core of the gameplay. What’s new to this year’s game is the ability to create your own graphics, boards and skate parks and then upload them to the Web for other player’s to use – kind of like how the Forza marketplace works. But what’s really cool is that you’re rewarded

with skateboard sales every time someone downloads something you’ve created. This allows you to progress in the singleplayer aspect of the game without actually competing.

Hall of Meat mode returns this year but with some upgrades, like objective-based missions that keep players focused on specific ways to hurt their skater. The mode also has an all new off-the-board me-chanic that resembles sky diving and allows you to tuck into a ball, do a judo kick or flying squirrel, or just plunge head first towards the ground for maximum damage.

Not having hours of experi-ence with Skate 1 or 2 to fall back on, I asked the folks around me at PAX East what they thought of the game. Two of them, who were skateboarders themselves, thought the version we were play-ing solved all the problems they had with Skate 2 and that they’d be buying it when it releases on May 11. I walked away from my 45 minutes of gameplay with a famil-iar feeling of satisfaction, some-thing I remember from the few

times I played last year’s game. I’m excited to continue trying it out when the demo becomes available on April 15th for XBL and PSN.�

8 // THE PYTLIK CHRONICLES8 // THE PYTLIK CHRONICLES

I t’s early morning in Sanctuary, the birds are chirping and the pitter-patter of locals pumping water from the village well outside sounds like an elephant is stampeding through your head. The rising sun illuminates your quaint village on the

edge of Tristram but all you can think about is how your mouth is dryer then that witch doctor you came home with last night.

You don’t remember the moments that pass between when you got out of bed and when the coffee hit your pal-ate, but you’re thankful it’s black with two sugars. As you sit at your sad excuse for a kitchen table, trying to piece together the blotchy events of the previous night, you’re forced to take notice of a scuffle taking place just outside your crib.

The plywood board that you call your door swings open as each step you take is arduous and methodical. Before you can lift your axe above your head, the action is over. Nearly ten Fallen Imps lay mangled on the ground and all you saw was a cloud of dust and a few bright flashes. Out of that cloud emerges this rather tall, bald dude with a long scraggly beard who says, “just another day in the life of a Monk in Diablo III.”

OK, so maybe that isn’t exactly the story Blizzard told in their cinematic announcement at BlizzCon ‘09, but it has a similar theme: the Monk is bad ass. I had a chance to get my hands on Diablo III while I was out in Anaheim, and now I’ll share the juicy details with you.

More violence, more gore, more funSo far, Diablo III is shaping up to be a classic action

RPG, primarily because the point and click, hack and slash style of the original games is still intact. With 21st century graphics, destructible environments, and an entirely new cast of characters, including the newly an-nounced Monk, Diablo fans – old and new – have a lot to look forward to.

Beyond the Monk, which I’ll get into in a bit, the biggest difference between this year’s build of Diablo III and last year’s is artwork. While the subtle changes may have gone unnoticed by most, the die-hard Diablo fans in atten-dance detected a much more grisly and grotesque feeling to the game – a feeling that, according to Blizzard’s Julian Love, is there by design.

“At the announcement in Paris, we showed early (lighter) parts of the game. At last year’s BlizzCon you saw darker stuff, and this year you’re seeing really dark and gritty stuff,” said Love, the game’s lead technical art-ist. “That’s the whole idea is to have a progression in the game from light to dark so that the whole game doesn’t feel like one monotonous world. It creates a big contrast, it makes those areas different, and it makes the game much more repayable as a result.” >>>>

THE PYTLIK CHRONICLES // 9THE PYTLIK CHRONICLES // 9

A mission from the Gods, all 1001 of them

The Monk, announced at BlizzCon ‘09, is the fourth character class to be revealed and fills the role of the second melee fighter. Contrasting the Barbarian – who’s skills center around taking damage to dish out damage – the Monk is a close combat specialist that needs to hit and run to be suc-cessful. Using his quickness to damage opponents, as well as to stay alive, the Monk is a unique and difficult character to play, and I don’t suggest beginners make him their first choice.

In addition to being deadly but fragile, the Monk intro-duces a refreshingly new gameplay mechanic – the combo – that gives Diablo III much more of a fighting game feel to it. Here’s how it works: The Monk will be able to string three attacks together to form a combo. Each move the Monk can perform has three stages of attack and each stage gets progressively more deadly. The best part is that the player can chain together different stages of different moves to form a unique and effective attack that suites the situation at hand. And all of this is done by simply left or right clicking in succession.

But gameplay isn’t the only thing that makes the Monk so unique; his belief in God – or all 1001 of them to be exact – tends to standout in a world seemingly devoid of religion.

“The Monk brings to the table a mix of Eastern influences and some sort of European influences with an over-arching holy vibe, to kind of create what is a ‘good character,’ or a ‘good feeling’ character,” said Love.

“The Monk, in fact, believes that there’s 1001 Gods,” said Kevin Martens, lead content designer for Diablo III. “In fact, they believe it so strongly, as the holy warriors and pinnacles of the religion, that they will get 1001 tattoos on their back, one for each God, and it’s something that takes their entire life to develop. Very few Monks live long enough, given their lifestyle of holy violence, to actually get the whole thing, so usually anyone who does is very high up in their society.”

Look out below

Last year’s convention introduced us to Diablo III’ de-structible environments, something that just wasn’t possible in the original games of a decade ago. This year, fans and members of the media were given an example of just how important these destructible environments will be in Diablo III.

Hacking stone pillars until they fall over, or slashing up some poor fellow’s front yard is one thing, but how about an entire dungeon’s ceiling coming crashing down, crushing and killing you? Now that’s environmental interaction, and it’s something that Martens hopes to leverage to create more unique scenarios and quests.

“We’re calling it a ‘time dungeon,’ so it’s sort of a challenge dungeon in that there’s monsters to kill and there’s a lot of chests in that area, but the challenge that we’ve added of the timer counting down and the roof collapsing and killing you makes it quite a variation of gameplay. The monsters aren’t the main thing you want to do, in fact they are getting in your way of getting more treasure chests or finding the exit, so, you find yourself playing differently.

“As a Barbarian you’re just trying to avoid the monsters. Or maybe you’re doing a ground stomp to stop them so you can run behind them and get the chests, so you can move on before they can catch up. I thought that was really fun and I’m really happy with that one, so I’d like to do more stuff like that.”

Despite all these tantalizing tidbits of information, unfortu-nately Diablo III is scheduled to release sometime between next year and the end of time. Blizzard has promised to release StarCraft II next, but that game was recently pushed back to the first half of 2010, so it’s likely that Diablo III won’t ship until at least 2011. Stay tuned for our video interview with Julian Love and Kevin Martens from BlizzCon ‘09.�10 // THE PYTLIK CHRONICLES10 // THE PYTLIK CHRONICLES

Nearly a month ago, StarCraft fans were struck by a

blow more disappointing then Brett Favre signing with the Vikings, and more devastating then Wall Street as of late. The only thing worse is a StarCraft fan from Green Bay trying to make a living as a stock broker.

OK, so maybe nothing in the video game world is comparable to the perplexing problems of America’s economy – or to Favre’s third un-retirement – but the delay of StarCraft II into the early part of 2010 was a huge deal for fans of the acclaimed RTS series. Blizzard Entertainment told its fans that the slow developmental progress of Battle.net 2.0 was holding up the release of its next big game. Well, at BlizzCon 09, I got a chance to see just what’s so special about this Web application and why Blizzard is banking the future of its franchises on it.

Blizzard’s goal for Battle.net 2.0 is to create an “always connected experience,” and in order to achieve that they are basically rebuilding the application from the ground up. Borrow-ing ideas from various social networking platforms, this new version of Battle.net will take everything PC gamers are familiar with in Steam, combine them with profile pages similar to those in Facebook, and throw in AOL Instant Messenger-style chatting. They even plan to add status updates to allow you

to broadcast your mood, location, or gaming intentions to your entire list of friends – virtual or real life.

But, as I sat in Hall D next to a rowdy Bliz-zard fan known to some as Dustin Browder, none of the social networking aspects im-pressed me nearly as much as the micro transaction model that will allow map makers and modders to sell their creations on Battle.net. (See omgstarcraft.com’s video interview for more on this) >>>>

What we’re doing for the mod community is awesome. They have had such an unexpected impact in the past that we want to make sure that they can thrive in the future. I’m excited to see what they do with the map editor.

“

”-­Dustin­Browder,­StarCraft­2­lead­game­designer

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“What we’re doing for the mod community is awesome,” said lead game designer Browder immediately following the Battle.net discussion panel. “They have had such an unexpected impact in the past that we want to make sure that they can thrive in the future. I’m excited to see what they do with the map editor.”

The image above is an example of your Battle.net dashboard and will serve as an entry point into anything you’d like to do in the world of Blizzard. From here you can read the latest Blizzard-related headlines, check out what’s going on in the community, view your profile page, watch replays, check your achievements, or jump into a single or multiplayer game. It’s also likely that this is where you can check the status of your Blizzard titles to make sure they have the most recent patches and are up-to-date. Battle.net, like Steam, will auto download (if you so choose) updates as soon as they are available, but it was unclear if there will be a system tray icon allowing you to remain con-nected 24/7.

Will you be my friend?In the left image below, you can see how in

game chatting will work in the new Battle.net. Again, anyone who is familiar with Steam or Xfire should feel right at home. Have you ever forgotten who someone is online? Well,

Blizzard is allowing you to rename people’s gamer tags and give them an alias you’ll never forget again. It is important to note that, unlike Steam, Battle.net will not allow you to commu-nicate with friends outside of Blizzard titles, only those playing the WarCraft, Diablo and StarCraft franchises.

“I can accumulate a lot of friends and I may not remember all of them,” said Browder in

reference to his favorite feature of the new Battle.net; being able to give someone an alias. “I don’t have to look at someone’s achievement list to determine which games I may remember them from.”

In the second screen below, you can see how chatting works outside of the game. In this example, Browder has changed his status and is letting everyone on his friends list know that he wants to play WoW later and is looking for others to join him. Much like Left 4 Dead, StarCraft II relies on lobbies in order to launch

games. The built-in chat client will make orga-nizing all-friends matches much easier then it was 11-years ago.

A match made in cyberspaceIn addition to all of the benefits players will

reap from the built-in chat client, forming “parties” will be a way for StarCraft II play-

ers to stay together across multiple matches during one sitting. In the past, once a game was finished, players were dumped back into a public lobby and had to re-unite for another match. Now, they will be dumped back into their party screen where they can then play each other again, or team up for a 2v2 against others without ever seeing a public lobby or list of matches.

Recording games in StarCraft II will be as easy as a Zerg rush. Later you and friends can go back and re-watch them on Battle.net

I can accumulate a lot of friends and I may not remember all of them. I don’t have to look at someone’s achievement list to determine which games I may remember them from.

“”-­Dustin­Browder,­StarCraft­2­lead­game­designer

12 // THE PYTLIK CHRONICLES

as shown above. Unfortunately shoutcast-ing (commentating during games) will not be supported at launch, but Blizzard has plans to include it in later releases in support of the e-Sports community.

Profile and you shall achieveYour profile, pictured above in the image on

the left, is where you can view your win/loss record and other important statistics which will determine which league you are put in. Leagues (platinum, gold, silver, bronze, etc.) are established in order to ensure fairer match-making. You will be ranked from 1 to 100 with-in your league and that rank will determine who you can play within your league. Thus, the elite players will play other elite players and n00bs will play n00bs, guaranteeing even, more fun matches that are less intimidating. The better you do, the higher you climb in your league, eventually climbing up and out into the next league.

Also viewable from your profile page is some-thing new to all Blizzard titles with the launch of Battle.net 2.0 – achievements, seen in the top, right image. Similar to how they work on Xbox Live, achievements are accumulated during both singleplayer and multiplayer matches and can also be viewed in game. While StarCraft II players need not be worried about this, WoW

players should be excited to know that your achievements are profile specific and not character specific – meaning you won’t need to re-earn them over and over again.

What will you get for your achievements? Well, one thing we def-initely know about in StarCraft II is the abil-ity to cash in achieve-ment points to unlock various avatars -- like the ones in the bottom, left image -- which can then be applied to your profile. I can’t ultimately see how that’s rewarding since avatars are meant to be original, but I’m sure Blizzard has other rewards up their sleeves.

SC2’s got wingsI did get a chance to play the

first few missions in StarCraft II at BlizzCon 09 and I have to say that the gameplay is fluid and the cinematics are stunning. Ultimately, StarCraft II fans should be grateful that Battle.net caused

Wings of Liberty to be delayed because according to Browder, it gave the development team more time to go back and fix things they didn’t like about the single player campaign.

“The solo play still needs a lot of work and we’ve been using this extra time to really invest in the solo play experience and I think it’s really paying off for us. I’m really grate-ful for this delay in that respect, I think we

would have gone with a much less polished experience on the campaign side without

the delay.”For more details on the StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty singleplayer campaign, see omgstarcraft.com’s preview.

The artwork, images and screenshots used in the previews section are courtesy of 2K Sports, EA and

Blizzard Entertainment.

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REVIEWS

MLB 10: The Show vs. MLB 2K10

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MLB 10: The Show vs. MLB 2K10

Longer days, warmer weather and weeks of endless rain can only mean one thing – that spring is here. And with opening day upon us, baseball fans around the country not only tune into their favorite team, but turn on their favorite console as they vicariously live out their Major League dreams in one way or another.

But for the many fans who have yet to commit to a next-gen baseball game, how do you go about deciding which one to purchase? Last year’s answer would have been a “can of corn,” but this year there’s more than one game in the pennant race. So I set out on a one month mission to find out which baseball game – Major League Baseball 2K10 or MLB10: The Show – you should spend your hard earned money on.

I’ve broken down and compared the two games based on four categories that I think are vital for any modern sports title: Gameplay, which includes controls, animations and interface; Presentation, which includes graphics, commentary and attention to detail; career mode and franchise mode. I was pleasantly surprised at how difficult it was to ultimately choose a winner and I’ll tell you why. Before I get into the comparison however, I want to make it clear that both of these games were critiqued based on the retail ver-sion without any of the patches that were released for them after launch.

Gameplay2K Sports has officially exterminated the bugs that have plagued the

fielding portion of the MLB 2K series since 2008, and it has gone a long way to making the game feel fun again. With wider camera angles and better computer assistance when making running catches and fielding ground balls, I never felt like I had to pitch a perfect game or dread playing defense. But everything that MLB 2K10 is able to accomplish on defense, MLB10: The

Show had already accomplished last year and continued to refine and improve upon this year. A big appeal for me is The Show’s simpler, pick up and play controls. In the field, they improved the one button throwing controls by creating a pressure sensitive mechanic that al-lows you to adjust how hard and accurate your player throws the ball.

It’s tough to decide which game is better at the plate based on controls because you can always change 2K10’s to classic if using the right stick to hit just doesn’t feel right to you. The Show offers the tried and true guess a pitch and location mechanic, while 2K10 has something entirely new called the batter’s eye. The mechanic is part of 2K Sports’ focus on the duel between the pitcher and batter, and it’s much more effective and enjoyable than just guessing which pitch will be thrown. Depending on how effectively a pitcher hurls the ball and how high your batter’s eye rating is, determines whether you’ll get a visual cue of what pitch is being thrown and where it will be located.

Controls and interface aside, the animations are really where the two games differentiate the most. To this day, I have never played a baseball game with as smooth and lifelike animations as MLB10: The Show. Where there are occasional discrepancies between when you press a button and when your player reacts on screen in 2K10, The Show is seemingly one fluid and well oiled game that plays as good, or better than what you’d see watch-ing a game on TV.Winner: MLB10: The Show (narrowly) >>>>

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PresentationGraphically, The Show is supe-

rior. While 2K10 is an improvement over 2K9, The Show is visually the best sports game I’ve seen to date. And while that’s not nearly the most important thing to me when playing a video game, it does have its obvious advantages.

Commentary however, is another story. While playing The Show I felt like I was transported back to the days of Triple Play when one liners ruled, and making the player laugh at some crazy quip was more im-portant than actually talking about what was relevant to the game being played. The Show’s commentary is by no means bad – it’s quite fluid ac-tually – but 2K10’s is just better. The addition of John Kruk to the team of Steve Phillips and Gary Thorne makes their new dynamic commen-tary that much more realistic. The

crew’s attention to detail is remark-able, changing what they talk about based on previous game’s outcomes (if you’re playing in association mode or MLB Today) or what hap-pened just last inning.

It’s that same attention to detail in the rest of The Show, however, that once again puts it over the edge to eek out the victory in the presentation category. I couldn’t help but geek out somewhere between when my pitcher wiped his forehead, put his hat back on and readjusted it, and when the batter leaned over the plate and fol-lowed the high and outside fastball all the way into the catcher’s mit. The PA announcer even told me which green line train to get on at the Kenmore T stop after my game ended at Fenway Park. Those are the kind of little things that can make a good game great.Winner: MLB10: The Show

Career ModeI didn’t get much time to try out

My Player mode for MLB 2K10 when I previewed it a few months back, so I was eager to take a hack at it in the comfort of my own living room, and I was surprised at how much fun I had playing it. I don’t typically enjoy career modes that follow one player on their journey to the hall of fame, but because of how quickly this mode gets your character into the thick of Major League action, I found myself anxiously awaiting the next moment I could play it. I didn’t have the same feeling with Sony’s equivalent mode, Road to the Show.

The first noticeable difference between the two modes is that 2K10’s splits your training points into three categories instead of The Show’s one. If you perform

well at the plate, you earn points to spend on batting attributes. The same goes for playing defense and running the bases well. This emphasizes the need to be good in all aspects of the mode.

Another thing I enjoy about 2K10 is not being penalized for fail-ure. Baseball is a game of failure, everyone fails more than they suc-ceed; those who fail less progress. The Show cripples your player’s progression by subtracting training points when you fail instead of just not awarding you any. This signifi-cantly drags out how long it takes to make it to the Major Leagues. Career modes are all about liv-ing the MLB dream vicariously through a video game, if I wanted to painstakingly grind my way into the Majors Leagues, I wouldn’t have quit baseball in college.

2K10 has its bugs (like mangers making poor or no substitutions),

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but in the end one career mode had me coming back for more and the other didn’t.Winner: MLB 2K10

Franchise ModeBoth of these baseball games

have an in-depth and compelling franchise mode and so deciding a winner here is difficult. While 2K10’s amateur draft was very useful and a lot of fun, and the new trade finder function is helpful in expediting player transactions, The Show basically does everything 2K10 can and more.

Both games offer 40-man rosters and tons of advanced contract options, but only The Show offers the ability to manage your teams marketing, promotion, stadium upgrades and loans. While there are options in both titles for the

average gamer to automate manag-ing those aspects of their team, The Show gives die-hard fans those extra choices that really make you feel like you’re running the entire baseball organization.

Once again, 2K10 does get bonus points for having commentary that greatly enhances the association mode, but it’s not enough to win the category.Winner: MLB10: The Show

Given that MLB10: The Show won three out of four categories, it may look like a lopsided victory for the Sony title, but I can’t stress enough how good each of these games really are. Each have their own distinctive feel to them and I felt that I had to really nit pick at times just to find flaws worth men-tioning in this comparison.

Xbox 360 owners should rejoice that they have a baseball game

worth buying this year, and one that allows you to compete for one million dollars in the very cool MLB Today mode. PS3 people, you have a choice to make: Are you more interested in career mode? Or are you a stat junkie who craves a good franchise mode? Either way, the fans are the real winner this year, as both titles are worthy of your hard earned money.

But, since Major League Baseball games can’t end in a tie, neither can my comparison.

Winner: MLB10: The Show

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Images courtesy of Sony Playstation and 2K Sports.

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The Summer months are mostly defined by three things: heat, vacations and blockbuster films.

The gaming industry however, always manages to slip in a few “blockbuster films” of its own, and every August fans wait with great anticipation for what is typically the last big game of the Summer, EA Sports’ Madden. But just like X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Transformers 2, or G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra, the Madden series quite often falls victim to its own hype and winds up disap-pointing its loyal fans. Well, not this year. Think of Madden NFL 10 as a long-lost friend that you’ve finally found and embrace it with open arms – or at least an open wallet.

No. That is the answer to your burning question of whether Mad-den 10 is just another glorified roster update; actually, it’s far from that. EA Sports introduces enough new fea-tures and mechanics to give the game a very fresh feel without completely alienating the hardcore fans.

Back to the basicsThe first thing die-hard fans will

notice is that the gameplay is far slower (it of course can be turned up in the options menu). The reason behind this is EA Sports felt it more accurately portrayed the speed at which players run and move in real life. It also gives gamers a better chance to read the action on the field and make more deliberate decisions, something I welcomed with great enthusiasm.

The new Procedural Tackling, or

PRO-TAK, physics engine is the foundation for Madden 10 and is responsible for all of the incredibly fluid player animations. No two tackles are exactly the same anymore because the PRO-TAK engine takes into account a number of variables – a player’s height, weight, strength, speed, and direction at which they are running – and pits them against their opponent’s attributes. Those variables are then applied to one of over 1,000 new motion captured animations, manipulating it to more realistically reflect what it would

look like on a real field.The combination of the game’s

slower tempo with the true-to-life pocket that now forms around the quarterback, lets you really feel the insanity surrounding you while still remaining poised knowing that if you’re in danger your controller will start shaking to let you know. This year, most of your attention can be spent checking down your receivers until your QB-sense starts tingling and you’re forced to glance back or risk getting sacked.

Flashy like OchocincoAs stunning as a TD celebration by

the man formerly known as Chad

Johnson, Madden NFL 10 looks better then it ever has before. The players are polished, the lighting effects glisten (and changed based on the camera’s current angle), the weather is believable, heck, even the crowd looks good for once.

Graphics aren’t the only scintillat-ing part of the game’s presentation though. Realistic FOX-like camera angles are just one of many new de-tail oriented additions to this year’s title. The camera lowers and shakes as it pursues you on a breakaway run after an interception, catch, or

rushing play, just like the zip-line angle in real life.

But one of the more hyped and anticipated features in this year’s game is perhaps the worst. The Extra Point show is shown both at halftime and after your game (in franchise mode) as a weekly wrap up – it’s hosted by Fran Charles and Alex Flanagan and is a total flop. What seemed to be an attempt to silence NFL 2K5 fan’s, yearning for something like the Sportscen-ter weekly wrap up from year’s ago, just doesn’t quite cut it. Alex Flanagan’s voice is like nails on a chalkboard and when it’s combined with the robot-like splicing of words together it’s unbearable.

Tom Hammond and Chris Col-

linsworth aren’t much better calling the action on the field. Miscalls are frequent, robot talking is evident and like The Extra Point, you will be force fed a healthy dose of awkward silence. To put it frankly, the commentary in Madden 10 is embarrassing, so you’re better off turning on some music while you play.

Give it to me babyCrap commentary aside, there’s

a lot of things that make Madden 10 the best iteration of the fran-chise since its jump to the next-gen consoles. A new injury mechanic lets you decide whether to bring your hurt player back on the field right away, showing you if the risk for further injury is low, medium, or high. A wider statistical curve now separates the Tom Bradys from the Kevin O’Connells and gives you a real reason to invest in mid-60’s rated backup players.

There’s also a new fumble me-chanic (which can be turned off) that prompts you to mash buttons to scratch, gouge, and prod players in places that we won’t speak of, in an attempt to fight for the recovery. Online play certainly hasn’t been neglected either and EA Sports has finally added the option of Co-op play in addition to the ground breaking new feature, Online Franchise, which I will get into in a separate review.

Take it from a Madden player who doesn’t buy the game every year, this is the year you want to spend the sixty dollars.

Pros: PRO-TAK, Slower tempo, stunning graphics, online co-op, fumble and injury mechanics, wider statistical curve, online and offline franchisesCons: Horrible on field commentary, laughable

excuse for a halftime show and weekly round up

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THE PYTLIK CHRONICLES // 19

The Bigs 2 brings the boys of summer back to life in an entertaining and captivating way that grabs your attention and doesn’t let go. My preview of The Bigs 2 described

the game as “flat out fun at worst and out right addicting at best.” After playing the full version I can say that, with the signature fast-paced gameplay returning and the addition of new modes like Become a Legend and Season, Bigs 2 stands alone as the sultan of arcade-style swat.

Go BIG or go homeThe Bigs 2, like its predecessor, is bringing

fans an action-packed experience with the same over-the-top gameplay that made the first so en-joyable – and it’s doing it with far less glitches. Though that’s not to say the game isn’t without some minor problems.

Gone are the days where outfielders took wacky routes to try and make the catch, now they take what seems like an eternity to throw the ball in considering how fast the rest of the gameplay is.

Sure, one time my starter got credited with a shutout even though I brought in my closer in the 5th. And yes, Big Papi was once the player of the game but his head was completely black with no eyes and his neck was wearing his hat

instead of his head. But none of that mattered much because the core of the game was there and I had just crushed a pitch right in Papi’s wheelhouse for a walk off home run. Even with these minor bugs, the game doesn’t lose any of its entertainment value.

Little things make a BIG differenceFor an arcade-style game, the developers

have really paid close attention to detail. For example, if you foul a pitch straight back, it will hit the catcher in the face, shaking the camera and causing the catcher to grunt in pain.

The commentator, Damon Bruce, does a great job at reprising his role. His one liners, albeit cheesy most of the time, make me laugh almost all of the time. And so far, he hasn’t run out of things to say as I’ve only heard a few lines repeated in over 15 hours of playing the game. One thing that also surprised me is the miscalls, or lack there of. Only twice has he made the wrong call.

The graphics are also top notch. With an increased polygon count from the original Bigs, The Bigs 2 boasts some of the most impressive looking baseball players I’ve ever seen in a video game. Unfortunately, because the game moves so quickly, it’s difficult to appreciate the player’s animations.

The house the BIGS builtIn response to the community’s requests,

developers created the new Become a Legend mode as well as an all inclusive Season Mode.

Become a Legend puts you in the shoes of a “star” who has fallen to injury and is beginning his rehab start in the minor leagues of Mexico. 2K Sports’ attention to detail is noticeable here as well as the field, the players and the fire-works all make it feel unique.

The new contact, power and glove mini-games are addicting and fun in their own right and really make you feel as though you’re develop-ing your player. All-in-all this new mode is a welcomed one and gives the game a focus much the same way as career modes in UFC 2009 or Fight Night 4 do.

Season Mode is another major component fans felt were missing from the original game and 2K Sports was listening. Everything from stat track-ing and roster changes to player of the game and end of the season awards are included in this new mode. Trades are perhaps the most interesting aspect as you will be greeted with entirely new, and often frustrating mini-games, such as a carnival-like card game or even a virtual version of Plinko. Try and trade for top notch players and the game gets pretty hard, but go for lesser players and it’s fairly easy to win.

Pros: Become a Legend/Season modes add depth to already entertaining gameplay, new Wheelhouse mechanic forces better strategy when pitching, mini-games are addicting and original, graphics are gorgeous, commentary greatly adds to the atmosphere of the stadiumCons: Outfielders throws are too slow, player

animations sometimes seem jerky because they are so fastTHE 2BIGS

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