Madden 07! NBA 2K7! Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07! Lookee, games with the semblance of a year in the title! On Game|Life! What in the Wide, Wide World of Sports is a-goin’ on here?
Well, that’s where I – Erik, the Wired sports-gaming lunatic – step in. Since some blogfathers around these parts (ahem, Ko**hler, cough) are incapable of covering a sports game without the word “Mario” in the title, I’ll gladly pick up the slack. Good news is, with the insane near-simultaneous releases of the PS3 and Wii, there’s a slew of fantastical games coming up through the pipeline. (And hey, when Halo 3 comes 'round with a secret curling stage with Master Chief decked out in Canadian-red Olympic wear, you know we’ll be there.)
The fact is, sports games push the envelope further than most genres when exploiting what a console can do. (Anyone who grew up on Baseball Stars knows what I'm saying.) And as the console wars brew up another all-out skirmish, Game|Life will be standing on the top step of the dugout, bringing you the on-field view.
So, as we move forward, a little advice for all you fellow sports addicts from a fictional cinematic sage wise beyond even my years:
