EA Sports Season Opener Overview

Coming out of the EA Sports Season Opener event I wanted to drop a few thoughts on some of the games that were on display. I won’t have full extensive write-ups on them but from my interaction with them will now have additional insight leading up to their releases. I also had the opportunity to interview Peter Moore which I’ll be discussing in the near future. Check out the screenshot gallery for the latest images from these games.

Tiger Woods 10
Outside of Fight Night I’d say this was the game getting the most buzz. Not as much for the 360/PS3 version but more for the Wii. The Wii MotionPlus was in hand and that may end up changing the way sports gamers view the console’s offerings. The Wii version of Tiger actually outsold the other versions last year and the gap could widen now as this may very well be the version that gamers, even the hardcore, gravitate towards. Of course that all depends on how long a wait consumers will have for the controller add-on which doesn’t appear as though it will be out before these games release.

Grand Slam Tennis
It’s difficult to briefly describe how much impact the MotionPlus has but it is dramatic. Grand Slam could end up surprising people with its depth and realism while still retaining the fun factor Wii titles aim for. The visual style of the game is great. You have the ability to use just the Wii remote or you can add the nunchuck for additional control over movement. John McEnroe appears for the first time ever in a video game which helps to represent the emotion of the sport and tournament feel the game is presenting.

EA Sports Complex
Got to look around at what the Complex has to offer for Playstation Home. It is going to open up probably within the next two months with a racing mini-game and poker. Unfortunately as is the case with Home there may be wait time to actually get to play them. What EA did though to try and combat that is have several different options so as to spread everyone in the Home space out. Next up will be a golf mini-game in the mold of closest to the cup. EA is definitely putting some effort into Home.

Fight Night Round 4
I’m not going to be able to speak to the gameplay however visually FNR4 looks incredible. For anyone who is skeptical that the screenshots or trailer are representative of the game I can assure you they are. The flow is what impressed me the most. Past fighting games have seemed a little mechanical to me however I didn’t get that sense at all seeing Tyson and Ali going at it and utilizing their own unique strengths. The 60fps probably plays a part in that. I recognized FNR3 as a very good game but I was never really able to get into it. I’m still at that stage with FNR4 but it is hard not to be encouraged by where the game is headed.