Think sports video games and you think EA Sports. Sony is out to change that for the PlayStation. Here’s how:
– “NFL GameDay” has bulked up its players over last year’s squads. Huge players move fluidly as they do battle in stadiums modeled after those in the NFL. “GameDay” goes for realism with the new uniforms of Denver and Tampa Bay, and it has the Tennessee Oilers ready for play. There are tiny annoyances though. The scale of each stadium is a bit off (in “Madden,” Soldier Field “feels” like Soldier Field), and the colors are a tad funky (the 49ers seem to be wearing red and brown, as opposed to red and gold). But none of that will matter once you get into the game. A meaty, 500-play playbook and artificial intelligence that learns your play-calling tendencies so it can shut you down and the Total Control Passing option take “GameDay” to the Super Bowl. Last year’s “Madden,” like others, had one or two plays that fooled the computer every time in one-player mode. “GameDay” will be looking for your highly successful screen pass to the fullback on third and long. And you can adjust the IQ of the AI to challenge you as hard as you want. (A September release is planned.)
– “NCAA GameBreaker 98” is like “GameDay” for the collegiate set. All 111 Division 1-A schools are included, along with a few all-time greats. (November)
– “NHL FaceOff 98” is silky smooth and ultra-realistic. Hip checks, drop passes, backward skating, butterfly saves and, for the purists, fighting. You can even send opponents sailing over the boards. (October)
– “NBA ShootOut 98” is still in production. “ShootOut 97” had absolutely no peer, but Sony promises that “ShootOut 98” will blow last year’s model away. A Sony rep told me that when she walked in on developers as they tweaked “ShootOut 98,” what she saw on the screen made her think she was watching an actual televised game. (December)
– “MLB 98” looks, feels and plays like EA Sports’ “Triple Play 98,” which has been out a while. Both games have diving, wall-climbing, backhand-catching fielders, though “MLB” adds home-plate collisions and infielders who throw from their knees. But one detail makes “Triple Play” look like the real thing: EA Sports’ players wear their pants’ hems around their ankles, just like the big-leaguers. In “MLB,” players’ pants stop at mid-calf, as they did in the ’70s. If that doesn’t matter to you, then this one’s a tossup. (Due out this month.)
