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From Friday’s The Oklahoman 

By Matthew Price
THE NEXT LEVEL

Get back on the college football gridiron with “NCAA Football 09,” from EA Sports.

Always one of the year’s best-selling games, “NCAA Football 09” for the Xbox 360 nonetheless hasn’t rested on its laurels.

The major improvement is the addition of an online Dynasty mode. This allows gamers playing through multiple years on the game to face off against friends playing as other teams. Recruiting, coaching and more now comes into play as gamers face others online. Changes have been made to the offline dynasty mode, as well. Additionally, gamers can convert their online dynasties to offline, and vice versa.

Improvements have been made to the way players juke and spin, allowing for the gamer to attempt more cutbacks and evasive maneuvers. These aren’t without fault — sometimes, the player will spin out of bounds, or backwards. But when executed correctly, these combinations of moves can be very fun, and impressive to watch.

The right analog stick now allows the quarterback to pump fake, buying himself more time in the pocket. Another new feature for quarterbacks is a mini-game played after interceptions. If the gamer can correctly identify the defense that caused an interception, the quarterback’s composure and ratings won’t go down. Choose the wrong defense, and your quarterback remains rattled from his INT.

Just like the real coaches do, gamers can now call time outs to “ice the kicker” in tight situations. Calling a time out before a game-changing kick will cause the kicking meter to show an “iced over” look. Additionally, the controller will rumble, and the camera angle will change. This can make burning a time out to freeze the kicker worth considering.

There are also visual improvements throughout the game, making “NCAA 09” for the Xbox 360 a great-looking affair.

Overall, the upgrades to the game keep “NCAA Football 09” ranked among the top contenders in sports games.

From Friday’s The Oklahoman:

By Matthew Price
Assistant Features Editor

THE NEXT LEVEL

Relive the first three “Indiana Jones” films in LEGO format with “LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures” from Lucas Arts.

After the success of the “LEGO Star Wars” games, it seemed a good idea to bring Indiana Jones to life in the same format, and it works again.

The yellow LEGO figures stand in for Harrison Ford and crew in a LEGO reimaging of the three films. While some story bits have been changed for gameplay purposes, it’s close to the plotlines of the original films. Recasting the stars with LEGO figures makes for some additional tongue-in-cheek humor, and the cut scenes range from snicker-inducing to laugh out loud funny.

The game features more than 60 playable characters, including villains and supporting characters in different costumes, many of which must be unlocked. As a bonus, the LEGO body parts of playable characters can be rearranged, to make a character who’s a mix of Rene Belloq and Marcus Brody, for example.

The sound features the score from the films, and no voice acting per se.

While Indy has the use of his trademark whip, “LEGO Indiana” features much more hand-to-hand combat than the lightsaber-fueled “LEGO Star Wars” games.

“Indiana” also appropriately features more puzzles and problem-solving than the “LEGO Star Wars” games, fitting with the archaeological theme. The game is relatively short but has plenty of treasure to go back and unlock in the “Free Play” mode.

The game has improved the use of vehicles, as they’re more easily controlled than in the “Star Wars” games, but the camera issues that plague the “Star Wars” episodes, particularly in multiplayer, still exist here.

Still, it’s a minor annoyance and doesn’t stand in the way of “LEGO Indiana Jones” being a whip-cracking good time.

The game is rated E10+, for everyone 10 and up. “LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures” is available for PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii and in portable form on Nintendo DS.

In the “War Room” segment, the gamers of Arcade (and a puppet) discuss “Grand Theft Auto IV.”

From Friday’s The Oklahoman: 

By Matthew Price
Assistant Features Editor

THE NEXT LEVEL

It’s spurred record sales and congressional inquiries. The bad boy of video games is back on Tuesday, as “Grand Theft Auto IV” is released. It may “launch a million PTA meetings,” says Game Daily editor in chief Libe Goad. But “Grand Theft Auto IV” brings more realistic physics and mature storytelling to next-generation consoles, she said.

This time around, the mature-rated game allows gamers to take the role of Niko Bellic, an eastern European lured to Liberty City by the promises of his cousin.

“He’s coming over to America to live the American dream,” said Goad, whose Web site is found at www.gamedaily.com.

“(Bellic’s) cousin moved over and was apparently having a very Scarface lifestyle — yachts, hot ladies etc.,” Goad said. “(Bellic) came over and discovered that’s not the case — his cousin was actually in trouble and needed some help.”

Goad, who played the game prior to release, said it will be recognizable to fans who have played previous games, but with improvements.

“There’s a lot that’s new in the game,” she said. “When you play the game it’ll be very familiar … but in a lot of ways it’ll be very advanced. There’s amazing graphics; there’s more realistic physics with driving the car. There’s a totally new main character and a new storyline. There’s a new environment.”

That new environment has a familiar name — Liberty City — but it’s been redesigned for “Grand Theft Auto IV.”

“Basically you’re going back to Liberty City again, but it looks a lot more like the real-life Liberty City aka New York City,” she said. The game offers multiplayer for the first time. And, while it still keeps the “sandbox” style of gameplay, “IV” looks to be even more action-packed than the earlier installments.

“If you look at all the series together, it probably won’t be as open-ended as say, ‘San Andreas,’” Goad said. “That had some parts where you could go roam in the desert and things like that. Those kind of elements where you’re just roaming around in areas where there’s not much to do, that’s kind of been taken out of the game. You can definitely roam, but it will be action-packed wherever you go.”

The game has its mature-rated moments, and Goad urges parents not to buy the game for their younger teens.

“(Something) important for all parents is to definitely be aware of the ratings on the boxes of the video games,” Goad said. “The mature rating is for age 17 and older. Familiarize yourself with these ratings, which you can find at ESRB.org.”

Even limiting sales to gamers 17 and over, “Grand Theft Auto IV” is expected to be a financial home run.

“I think people are expecting the ‘Halo’-killer,” Goad said.

Some analysts attributed a decline at the box office to the release of “Halo 3” in September. Is a similar box office slump likely to result from “Grand Theft Auto IV?”

“I did hear some stories where analysts predicting that it will affect (the movie) ‘Iron Man,’” Goad said. “The funny thing about ‘Iron Man’ is, ‘Grand Theft Auto’ and ‘Iron Man’ appeal to very similar audiences, so maybe they’ll buy ‘Grand Theft Auto,’ play that, take a break to go see ‘Iron Man,’ then go back and play ‘Grand Theft Auto.’”

GameDaily has a report in which EA asks Fox News to correct its recent misleading story about the game “Mass Effect.”

The vastly misinformed FOX report claimed that “Mass Effect” contains full digital nudity (it doesn’t) and graphic sex (it doesn’t) and that it’s for the Xbox (it’s the Xbox 360).   On top of all this, the game is rated M for mature… can you imagine anyone complaining about an R-rated movie containing about 30 seconds of the side of a breast out of a 30-plus hour game?

– Matt Price

Create an all-new theme park empire with “Thrillville: Off the Rails.”

The LucasArts video game sequel is similar to the original “Thrillville,” in which the gamer reinvigorates Uncle Mortimer’s amusement parks by training staff, adding attractions, setting prices, schmoozing guests and building roller coasters.

 “Off the Rails” stands strong on its own, offering all new parks with fresh, entertaining themes. Old rides are back, along with some new ones.

As always, gamers can indulge in the arcade. Ride a stunt bike without tipping over, fight as a chinchilla, operate a tank or try to knock out a giant robot in a variety of minigames. The minigames can be difficult but are not complex.

Also new to “Off the Rails” is a vendor puzzle game that helps you increase sales. The sideshow features “Alley Ball” and “Test Your Strength” awards stuffed animals as prizes that can be later passed on to impress park guests.

The biggest addition to “Off the Rails” is the “Whoa” options in the Coaster Builder menu. The “Whoa” features are wild additions to custom coasters, many of which literally take the cars off the rails. “Big Guns” allows the car to shoot off the track like a cannonball, and land on another portion of the track. “Candy Drop” catapults the car across segments of track. “Nosedive” uses a lever to tilt the track while cars are in motion. “Pendulizer” catches the car in a pendulum swing. Other options place cars on an elevator to reach extreme heights in limited space, or place exhilarating hazards on the track, such as a ring of fire or a breakaway wall. 

“Off the Rails” is mostly more of the same for fans of “Thrillville,” but it does have enough interesting twists and turns and loops and spirals to lure gamers back for another visit. “Off the Rails” is available for personal computer, Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS.

– Matt Price

Yoda and Darth Vader are among the “Star Wars” characters recently announced to  appear in Soulcalibur IV for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Vader will appear as a guest character on the PS3 version; Yoda makes his mark on the 360.  The game is slated for a summer release.

“In the entertainment industry, LucasArts possesses some of the most recognizable characters and franchises in the world. We’re thrilled to integrate their historic characters into one of our most treasured brands.” said Makoto Iwai, executive vice president and COO at NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc, in a release.

From the release:

In Soulcalibur IV, the epic struggle between the spirit sword, Soul Calibur, and the cursed sword, Soul Edge, continues with revelations about this ongoing story as fighters from across the galaxy seek the powerful swords for their own goals and to face the ultimate judgment. Propelling the franchise into the next-generation, Soulcalibur IV flexes its graphical muscles to shows its visual brilliance with a new look for both allies and enemies.

Shown in true high-definition graphics, Soulcalibur IV offers an entirely new battle system that promises to revolutionize the fighting game genre. Featuring an expanded customization mode, Soulcalibur IV allows players to personalize a character to look and perform as they desire. Also, for the first time in the franchise, customized characters or original favorites can be taken online to challenge others for the top spot of this timeless series. Developed by Project Soul, the legendary team behind Soul Blade(R) and Soulcalibur(R) I-III, Soulcalibur IV is set to reinvent the brand and reintroduce the fighting genre to new and existing fans alike.

– Matt Price