Clearly I know nothing about hockey and this and all future hockey writings should be ignored.
(2)Chicago Blackhawks vs (7)Philadelphia Flyers: Flyers win in 6.
A lot can be said about how stacked the Blackhawks are. A lot can be said about the return of Jeff Carter sparking the Flyers after Montreal looked like they were going to extend the series. But there are only two players everyone should look out for: Marian Hossa and Chris Pronger. First, the Hossa curse. Marian Hossa has been to the Stanley Cup finals for the past 3 years, including this year, all on different teams. The past two times, his teams have lost. Hossa was also held goal-less in the series against San Jose, despite his past success in Western Conference finals appearances. This is a really bad time for Hossa to turn cold, and although the Blackhawks have shown they have more than enough personnel to cover the lack of scoring from one of their top point getters, no doubt Hossa has a lot to prove about being able to perform when everything is on the line.
Second, Chris Pronger. Every year Pronger is traded to a team, the first year he leads them to the Stanley Cup finals. With Edmonton, they lost in the Cup finals to the Carolina Hurricanes. In Anaheim, they won the Cup with Pronger anchoring one of the most stacked Stanley Cup teams in history. Now, he comes to Philadelphia, and when everything seemed going wrong for them in the last half of the season (Ray Emery out for the season, Jeff Carter injured, down 0-3 to the Bruins, Brian Boucher injured), Pronger showed why, despite all the bad rep from the media about his locker room presence and his old age, teams are still willing to pay big bucks every off-season to get him on their team. Pronger was robbed of a Conn Smythe trophy in Edmonton largely because they lost in the Cup finals, but despite all the offense from the Flyers forwards Richards, Gagne, Giroux, etc., Pronger is my front runner for Conn Smythe in the East, and just behind Jonathan Toews for the Hawks in the entire NHL.
Basically, despite the clear star power advantage Chicago has over the Flyers, and how the West is the much tougher conference and breeds the better teams, the Flyers has all the hockey mojo going in their favor. And as we've seen in hockey, especially this year's playoffs with all the bad reffing and unlucky bounces, mojo goes a very long way.
The one edge I will give Chicago is the fact that they've been so dominant on the road ever since the Nashville series. Both teams sport two of the greatest crowds in the sport, and it wouldn't surprise me for a lot of people to pick Chicago purely on the fact that they'll have home ice advantage. But look for how Chicago plays the road games in games 3 and 4. Chicago might go up 2-0 after games 1-2, but how they perform in 3-4 might be the ultimate deciding factor in whether or not they end their 40-something year championship drought.
I was debating whether to watch the finals or not, but honestly the NHL's marketing campaign has been nothing short of brilliance the past 2-3 years and if this commercial doesn't get you hype for the series, I don't know what will:
Friday, May 28, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
NHL 2010 Playoffs Conference Finals Predictions
Totally forgot to post my predictions on my blog (maybe that's why SJ lost game 1), but here they are in their original form despite the first day of the Final Four.
The 2 longshot predictions actually turned out to be dead on. Honestly, I don't think anyone thought the Sharks would win in 5 against the Wings, and who would've thought Philly in 7 when they were down 3-0 in the series and 3-0 in game 7? Ridiculous. Anyways, the 1 and 2 seeds in the West face off while the 7 and 8 seeds in the East match up. Is anyone going to pick the Eastern Conference Champs in the Cup finals?
Western Conference:
(1) San Jose Sharks v (2) Chicago Blackhawks: San Jose wins in 6.
I still have no faith in Niemi. When the Canucks actually played their offensive zone control game, they tore him apart. But I do have a bit more faith in the Blackhawks, because after watching them eliminate Vancouver in game 6, I realized how dominating their defensive zone scheme is. It isn't just Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, its all 3 forwards playing perfect positioning as well. Honestly, Niemi isn't there to make brilliant saves; he's just there not to let softies in. The Blackhawks are like a combination of the Avalanche and Red Wings: they'll play solid defense and generate their offense from their own end, but they have the speed and transition like the Wings to quickly take the puck down to the other end of the ice. All of the media pointed at Joe Pavelski as the hero against Colorado and Thornton as the dominating force against Detroit, but what they overlooked is the one consistent Shark: Dan Boyle. He and Murray are a solid pair, but they have been abused from time to time. I think Dan Boyle's play is going to determine the outcome of a couple of important games. He needs to be able to defend against Chicago's 2nd and 3rd lines, and then transition the game through the neutral zone. The Toews line will get their points against Vlasic, just like I'm sure either the Sharks 1st or 2nd line will as well. These two teams are built similarly: 3 offensive lines, great penalty killing, and a solid 2-way game. The difference: Chicago has the better defensive lines, while the Sharks have the superior goaltender. Chicago won the season series 3-1 in pretty dominating form, but they also haven't played each other since January. Both teams fully rested. Both teams playing great hockey. I have a feeling there won't be a lot of 2-1 games. Momentum will make all the difference in the world, and that's why I'm not seeing this series go 7, as close as the match-up is.
Eastern Conference:
(7) Philadelphia Flyers vs (8) Montreal Canadiens: Montreal wins in 6.
I can no longer call the Canadiens underdogs anymore. Halak is a brick wall, and if the trap system can stuff Ovechkin and Crosby back to back, it will shut down anyone. I've been saying all playoffs that Montreal's offense is actually really scary even though their victories come with defense first, and Michael Cammalleri is single-handedly proving that. The reason why I actually give the Canadiens an early victory over the Flyers, however, has more to do with Philadelphia. Their offensive depth, despite the comeback against Boston, is sorely hurting without Jeff Carter who is expected to be out for another 2 weeks at least. Philadelphia abused their speed against Boston but that might just play right into the hands of Montreal. Leighton wasn't tested consistently in any of the 3 games he played in, and the one period where he was pressured he let in 3 goals, including a couple of softies. And honestly, I really don't want to see Chris Pronger against the Sharks in the Cup finals. As much shit as everyone both in the league and outside give him, he's the ideal playoff defenseman. The extra rest should help Montreal steal one on the road early as well.
Everyone I know wants a Habs/Sharks final, and although I'm predicting it, the Sharks/Blackhawks series could go either way. Even though San Jose beat Detroit 4-1, all 4 wins were 1 goal differentials. Detroit could've easily swept, or the series could've easily gone 7. I feel this match-up is going to be the same, and even though San Jose could win in 5 again, it won't be in any way dominating. Chicago also has the Marian Hossa factor, as he's been in the Cup finals the past 2 years. Lost, but been in them. It's funny: Mike Babcock called it. He said it's about time a team comes back from 3-0. I'm sure he wasn't thinking the Flyers, but he did say it was the year.
The 2 longshot predictions actually turned out to be dead on. Honestly, I don't think anyone thought the Sharks would win in 5 against the Wings, and who would've thought Philly in 7 when they were down 3-0 in the series and 3-0 in game 7? Ridiculous. Anyways, the 1 and 2 seeds in the West face off while the 7 and 8 seeds in the East match up. Is anyone going to pick the Eastern Conference Champs in the Cup finals?
Western Conference:
(1) San Jose Sharks v (2) Chicago Blackhawks: San Jose wins in 6.
I still have no faith in Niemi. When the Canucks actually played their offensive zone control game, they tore him apart. But I do have a bit more faith in the Blackhawks, because after watching them eliminate Vancouver in game 6, I realized how dominating their defensive zone scheme is. It isn't just Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, its all 3 forwards playing perfect positioning as well. Honestly, Niemi isn't there to make brilliant saves; he's just there not to let softies in. The Blackhawks are like a combination of the Avalanche and Red Wings: they'll play solid defense and generate their offense from their own end, but they have the speed and transition like the Wings to quickly take the puck down to the other end of the ice. All of the media pointed at Joe Pavelski as the hero against Colorado and Thornton as the dominating force against Detroit, but what they overlooked is the one consistent Shark: Dan Boyle. He and Murray are a solid pair, but they have been abused from time to time. I think Dan Boyle's play is going to determine the outcome of a couple of important games. He needs to be able to defend against Chicago's 2nd and 3rd lines, and then transition the game through the neutral zone. The Toews line will get their points against Vlasic, just like I'm sure either the Sharks 1st or 2nd line will as well. These two teams are built similarly: 3 offensive lines, great penalty killing, and a solid 2-way game. The difference: Chicago has the better defensive lines, while the Sharks have the superior goaltender. Chicago won the season series 3-1 in pretty dominating form, but they also haven't played each other since January. Both teams fully rested. Both teams playing great hockey. I have a feeling there won't be a lot of 2-1 games. Momentum will make all the difference in the world, and that's why I'm not seeing this series go 7, as close as the match-up is.
Eastern Conference:
(7) Philadelphia Flyers vs (8) Montreal Canadiens: Montreal wins in 6.
I can no longer call the Canadiens underdogs anymore. Halak is a brick wall, and if the trap system can stuff Ovechkin and Crosby back to back, it will shut down anyone. I've been saying all playoffs that Montreal's offense is actually really scary even though their victories come with defense first, and Michael Cammalleri is single-handedly proving that. The reason why I actually give the Canadiens an early victory over the Flyers, however, has more to do with Philadelphia. Their offensive depth, despite the comeback against Boston, is sorely hurting without Jeff Carter who is expected to be out for another 2 weeks at least. Philadelphia abused their speed against Boston but that might just play right into the hands of Montreal. Leighton wasn't tested consistently in any of the 3 games he played in, and the one period where he was pressured he let in 3 goals, including a couple of softies. And honestly, I really don't want to see Chris Pronger against the Sharks in the Cup finals. As much shit as everyone both in the league and outside give him, he's the ideal playoff defenseman. The extra rest should help Montreal steal one on the road early as well.
Everyone I know wants a Habs/Sharks final, and although I'm predicting it, the Sharks/Blackhawks series could go either way. Even though San Jose beat Detroit 4-1, all 4 wins were 1 goal differentials. Detroit could've easily swept, or the series could've easily gone 7. I feel this match-up is going to be the same, and even though San Jose could win in 5 again, it won't be in any way dominating. Chicago also has the Marian Hossa factor, as he's been in the Cup finals the past 2 years. Lost, but been in them. It's funny: Mike Babcock called it. He said it's about time a team comes back from 3-0. I'm sure he wasn't thinking the Flyers, but he did say it was the year.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
NHL 2010 Playoffs Conference Semifinals Predictions
Western Conference:
(1)San Jose Sharks vs (5)Detroit Red Wings: San Jose wins in 5.
Here it is: the match-up that was supposed to happen for the past 4 years but never has. San Jose is historically bad against the Red Wings, both in the playoffs and when playing in Detroit. They're also historically bad in the second round of the playoffs (all you people making fun of the Sharks for early exits of the post-season should realize last year's defeat against Anaheim was the first time in 6 years they lost in the first round). Detroit has made it to the Stanley Cup finals in the past 2 year, and they are the model team that San Jose has actually tried to build their own around under Todd McLellan. The only thing San Jose has working for them is that Detroit's defense is aging noticeably, even with Niklas Lidstrom on the blue line, and their rookie goaltender has looked very shaky at times in the playoffs. But their last game was a 6-1 domination over Phoenix where the Red Wings showed that they can still look like the team that everyone has been fearing over the past decade. I'm assuming the hockey world favors Detroit in this match-up. I agree. San Jose has to dominate early and go up 3-1 and win the game at home in game 5. If it's tied 2-2 and it becomes a best out of 3, the odds are too stacked in favor of Detroit.
(2)Chicago Blackhawks vs (3)Vancouver Canucks: Vancouver wins in 6.
The Blackhawks showed their glaring weaknesses over the Predators, even in the game 6 elimination. Their goaltending is horrible and they only have two good defensemen, who both play on the same line. They are the Washington Capitals of the Western Conference as they simply try to outscore their mistakes. But now they face the Vancouver Canucks, who have equal offensive talent but an all-star goaltender who has a lot to prove in the postseason and a recovering defensive line. Despite the seedings, the rebirth of Jonathan Toews in the past 2 games, and the Marian Hossa factor (2 straight Stanley Cup finals appearances), the Canucks should take this easily, at least on paper. If Luongo continues his postseason struggles, the Canucks should still win, but it will make the series much more exciting.
Eastern Conference:
(4)Pittsburgh Penguins vs (8)Montreal Canadiens: Pittsburgh wins in 5.
A lot can be said about Washington choking: they've never had a good postseason goaltender, and Alexander Semin never got into the series. But you have to give props to Jaroslav Halak and the Canadien offense. They reworked the top 3 lines completely in the off-season, and although they've struggled at times during the regular season, they've shown to play in the playoffs. I mean, Tomas Plekanec is their third line center for crying out loud. Pittsburgh's defense should be put to the test and it's hard to bet against Halak after he shut down Washington's offense in 3 straight elimination games, but I doubt Evgeni Malkin will choke like Semin and although the Senators weren't much of a measuring stick for the Penguins, that may prove to be the X-factor in this series: an easy time for the Pens who should be fresh against the Canadiens coming off the fight of their lives.
(6)Boston Bruins vs (7)Philadelphia Flyers: Philadelphia wins in 7.
This is the hardest series to pick so far in this playoffs, so let's pick apart these teams. First, Boston handled Buffalo in a closer-than-it-seemed series, but they are much more built for the playoffs. The Flyers, as I thought during the offseason, are the epitome of a solid playoff team and might contend for the Stanley Cup this year, exemplified by their 5 game rout of the Devils. Brian Boucher is showing what he's capable of, but the problem is he's never been able to do it consistently, and he was helped a lot by the Devils never being able to find their power play. But the Flyers are built full of nasty tough guys who can score a lot too, and they will be a handful for the Bruins, especially given their rivalry and the Winter Classic they had this January. Boston has the better goaltending and defense, but their offense is slightly worse. This should be a battle to the finish, and odds are whoever comes out of this alive will be too worn out in the conference finals. That is, of course, unless the Flyers manage to blow out their opponent again.
At this point, it looks like it will be a Canucks/Penguins finals. I still have no faith in the Blackhawks, and outside of being a Sharks fan I can't really see Detroit as an underdog. They are always getting older and yet they still manage to maintain their playoff performances. The Flyers are my new dark horse (since LA has been eliminated), but again, I don't expect them to come out of the Boston series healthy or fresh. Pittsburgh will have the easiest road to the Stanley Cup in recent memory, despite the craziness of the top 3 seeds in the East being eliminated. If San Jose manages to eliminate Detroit, the Sharks vs. Canucks series should be a great Western Conference finals, unlike the past 2 years where Detroit pretty much did what they needed to do. If the Blackhawks or the Canadiens make the finals, I'll be stunned, although it is very conceivable. Again, it's more of a lack of faith thing than anything else. They have the talent and players to do so.
(1)San Jose Sharks vs (5)Detroit Red Wings: San Jose wins in 5.
Here it is: the match-up that was supposed to happen for the past 4 years but never has. San Jose is historically bad against the Red Wings, both in the playoffs and when playing in Detroit. They're also historically bad in the second round of the playoffs (all you people making fun of the Sharks for early exits of the post-season should realize last year's defeat against Anaheim was the first time in 6 years they lost in the first round). Detroit has made it to the Stanley Cup finals in the past 2 year, and they are the model team that San Jose has actually tried to build their own around under Todd McLellan. The only thing San Jose has working for them is that Detroit's defense is aging noticeably, even with Niklas Lidstrom on the blue line, and their rookie goaltender has looked very shaky at times in the playoffs. But their last game was a 6-1 domination over Phoenix where the Red Wings showed that they can still look like the team that everyone has been fearing over the past decade. I'm assuming the hockey world favors Detroit in this match-up. I agree. San Jose has to dominate early and go up 3-1 and win the game at home in game 5. If it's tied 2-2 and it becomes a best out of 3, the odds are too stacked in favor of Detroit.
(2)Chicago Blackhawks vs (3)Vancouver Canucks: Vancouver wins in 6.
The Blackhawks showed their glaring weaknesses over the Predators, even in the game 6 elimination. Their goaltending is horrible and they only have two good defensemen, who both play on the same line. They are the Washington Capitals of the Western Conference as they simply try to outscore their mistakes. But now they face the Vancouver Canucks, who have equal offensive talent but an all-star goaltender who has a lot to prove in the postseason and a recovering defensive line. Despite the seedings, the rebirth of Jonathan Toews in the past 2 games, and the Marian Hossa factor (2 straight Stanley Cup finals appearances), the Canucks should take this easily, at least on paper. If Luongo continues his postseason struggles, the Canucks should still win, but it will make the series much more exciting.
Eastern Conference:
(4)Pittsburgh Penguins vs (8)Montreal Canadiens: Pittsburgh wins in 5.
A lot can be said about Washington choking: they've never had a good postseason goaltender, and Alexander Semin never got into the series. But you have to give props to Jaroslav Halak and the Canadien offense. They reworked the top 3 lines completely in the off-season, and although they've struggled at times during the regular season, they've shown to play in the playoffs. I mean, Tomas Plekanec is their third line center for crying out loud. Pittsburgh's defense should be put to the test and it's hard to bet against Halak after he shut down Washington's offense in 3 straight elimination games, but I doubt Evgeni Malkin will choke like Semin and although the Senators weren't much of a measuring stick for the Penguins, that may prove to be the X-factor in this series: an easy time for the Pens who should be fresh against the Canadiens coming off the fight of their lives.
(6)Boston Bruins vs (7)Philadelphia Flyers: Philadelphia wins in 7.
This is the hardest series to pick so far in this playoffs, so let's pick apart these teams. First, Boston handled Buffalo in a closer-than-it-seemed series, but they are much more built for the playoffs. The Flyers, as I thought during the offseason, are the epitome of a solid playoff team and might contend for the Stanley Cup this year, exemplified by their 5 game rout of the Devils. Brian Boucher is showing what he's capable of, but the problem is he's never been able to do it consistently, and he was helped a lot by the Devils never being able to find their power play. But the Flyers are built full of nasty tough guys who can score a lot too, and they will be a handful for the Bruins, especially given their rivalry and the Winter Classic they had this January. Boston has the better goaltending and defense, but their offense is slightly worse. This should be a battle to the finish, and odds are whoever comes out of this alive will be too worn out in the conference finals. That is, of course, unless the Flyers manage to blow out their opponent again.
At this point, it looks like it will be a Canucks/Penguins finals. I still have no faith in the Blackhawks, and outside of being a Sharks fan I can't really see Detroit as an underdog. They are always getting older and yet they still manage to maintain their playoff performances. The Flyers are my new dark horse (since LA has been eliminated), but again, I don't expect them to come out of the Boston series healthy or fresh. Pittsburgh will have the easiest road to the Stanley Cup in recent memory, despite the craziness of the top 3 seeds in the East being eliminated. If San Jose manages to eliminate Detroit, the Sharks vs. Canucks series should be a great Western Conference finals, unlike the past 2 years where Detroit pretty much did what they needed to do. If the Blackhawks or the Canadiens make the finals, I'll be stunned, although it is very conceivable. Again, it's more of a lack of faith thing than anything else. They have the talent and players to do so.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
NHL 2010 Playoff Predictions
Before I start with the match-ups of each conference, let me just say this is the closest I've ever seen a Stanley Cup Playoffs in terms of talent level per team. Looking out at the West, the two "surprise" teams have been on the verge of making the playoffs for the past 2-3 years, and they've finally made it in, with lots of room to spare in terms of points. 7th place has 100 points with 8th at 95. It was just a couple of years ago when 100 points guaranteed you a division championship. Now, it barely makes it into the post-season. In the East, not a lot of powerhouses so you'd think a prediction would be pretty simple, but over half the pool is a wild card team: at first glance you'd think they have glaring weaknesses or just don't have it all together to make a Stanley Cup run, but then you think about winners of the past: Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning, and all of a sudden one good hot streak can mean a championship for any of these teams. I've been pretty confident in my hockey knowledge in the past, but this year is as close to a guessing game as it is anything else. The fun begins Thursday night.
Western Conference:
(1) San Jose Sharks v (8) Colorado Avalanche: Sharks win in 6 games.
The Colorado Avalanche have played pretty well against the San Jose Sharks in the season series. Since the Olympic Break, the teams have played 2 games, both 1 goal differentials and one in overtime. San Jose got the charity point loss, but their win a couple of weeks earlier was more luck than anything as they got 3 goals from random deflections. Craig Anderson will be the difference in this series. He's been lights out for the Avs and if it weren't for Bryzgalov for the Coyotes, he'd be the biggest goal-tending story of the West. Still, outside of Adam Foote, the Avs defense is very young and more offensive minded, and the Sharks feed off the fast paced game. They love giving Nabokov the odd-man rushes and then quickly counter-attacking with their own. The Avs D-men tend to jump in a lot, and one bad bounce along the walls could be the difference in each game. San Jose's X-factor is Logan Couture. The rookie was called up during a 6 game losing streak the Sharks suffered after the Olympic break, and began an almost point-per-game pace to bring the Sharks from 0-5-1 to 8-1-1 to end the season. If he continues that, the third line of him, Jamie McGinn, and Manny Malholtra will dominate the series on the ice if not on the scoreboard.
(2) Chicago Blackhawks v (7) Nashville Predators: Blackhawks win in 5.
I think the Blackhawks are the most overrated team in the West this year. They are built like the Washington Capitals in the sense that they put all their money in offense and have no defense, but the Capitals score way more (49 more to be exact). Outside of the first shutdown D-pair of Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, Chicago can't stop anyone defensively. To give you a sense: Cristobal Huet, the goalie they put their hopes on since they didn't re-sign Khabibulin in the off-season, hasn't started a game in a month, and their new go-to-guy, Antti Niemi, has only 40 career games, all in the regular season. He's been very good for the Hawks in the month of April, but I just don't buy the Hawks going far this year. That said, the Predators are probably the weakest team in the West, with very inconsistent goal-tending and not a lot of firepower to make up for it. They excel in stacking the neutral zone and slowing down the rush, but the Hawks offense is too talented for a simple defensive scheme to stop in a 7 game series.
(3) Vancouver Canucks v (6) Los Angeles Kings: Vancouver wins in 7.
This should be the best series of the conference quarterfinals in the West. Los Angeles has been a team I've been looking at to make the playoffs for about 4 years now. The Canucks are pretty much the same team they've been all year, but Henrik Sedin decided to win the Art Ross (most regular season points). The Canucks won the season series 3-1, but their loss was the last match-up in which the Kings thrashed them 8-3 (it was never close, the Kings led 5-0 at one point). On the flip side of things, the Canucks finished the season hot while the Kings' goaltender has struggled in the past 5 games. It's the highest scoring team in the West backed up by the best goaltender in the West, against a very talented, younger, and more more defensively skilled group. I expect every game to be close and this series to go all the way to the final game, where the Canucks will get the extra edge from home ice advantage.
(4) Phoenix Coyotes v (5) Detroit Red Wings: Detroit wins in 5.
The real question is how can you NOT pick the Red Wings? Phoenix has a great goaltender in Bryzgalov, and if they make a run like they did this year in the regular season he'll be the reason why. Dave Tippet is coach of the year and his system has brought out the best in a group of good, but not great hockey players. Outside of their goaltender, the Coyotes are like the Predators, but the coach and player relationship made the difference for the Yotes. But the Red Wings have gone to the Stanley Cup finals in the past 2 years, Jimmy Howard is probably Rookie of the Year (although if it goes to anyone else it wouldn't be a surprise), and they pretty much have the same offensive and defensive line-up. The Coyotes are a nice story and I hope for the sake of the franchise they sell out their home games, something they haven't been able to do probably for the past 5 seasons. Detroit is the second scariest team in the West under Vancouver, however, and they come in the hottest of them all: 8-1-1 in their last 10.
Eastern Conference:
(1) Washington Capitals v (8) Montreal Canadiens: Washington wins in 4.
Washington is the highest scoring team in the NHL by over half a goal per game in comparison to the second place team. Jose Theodore has been good enough, which is not to say brilliant. The Canadiens have the offense to bring out the flaws in Washington defense, as they were the busiest team in the off-season and pretty much built their top 2 scoring lines from scratch. But despite securing the conference before anyone else even made it to the playoffs in the East, the Capitals went all out down the stretch and obliterated everybody. Unless the Capitals suddenly get tired or pull off one of the biggest choke jobs in NHL history, there's no reason why Montreal should win a single game. The Capitals simply have to do what they've done since they've acquired Ovechkin: outscore their mistakes.
(2) New Jersey Devils v (7) Philadelphia Flyers: Devils win in 5.
It's really fortunate that the New York Rangers were the ones eliminated in the final game of the regular season. They had a much better team all around. Coming into the season, I thought the Flyers were the epitome of a playoff team. 2 good scoring lines, the nastiest set of checkers in the NHL, one of the best shutdown defensive pairs in the league, and a motivated superstar goalie in Ray Emery. Well, Chris Pronger has taken a lot of heat, the Flyers just got out of a losing streak to beat the Rangers twice in a row , they haven't been scoring a lot, and Ray Emery was lost for the season a while ago. A slumping offense and a rotation of back-up goalies down the stretch means the Flyers have a lot of coin-flipping to do in the next 3 days. I say Brian Boucher gets the nod as the starter and he's been solid when called upon in the past. However, Kovalchuk, after a lot of criticism, has finally found his game in New Jersey, and they've been scoring a whole lot since. The Flyers take too many penalties with their style of play, and the moment the Devils get out of their power play drought, they will run all over the Flyers.
(3) Buffalo Sabres v (6) Boston Bruins: Boston wins in 7.
Tough game to call, since both teams are built the same way. Solid offensive teams but no standouts, and they are built for the defensive grinding game the Eastern Conference playoffs are known to have. It will be interesting to see who gets the nod in goal for Boston, as Tuuka Rask has been the best goaltender in the last half of the season but Tim Thomas is Tim Thomas. Ryan Miller will be the one to carry the Sabres out of the first round if they make it that far, but something tells me Boston has the slight edge. It's hard not to choose a team who can score 3 short-handed goals in the same penalty kill 46 seconds apart. If Buffalo is going to run up the score, it will be with Tim Connolly. He's been mired with injuries the past few seasons but he's the only standout offensive talent the team has. Boston's offense is pretty obvious: Marc Savard will lead the way or fail trying.
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins v (5) Ottawa Senators: Pittsburgh wins in 5.
Not a whole lot of drama in the first round of the East. Ottawa has been the feel good story of the East, with huge trades in the off-season landing them in the 5 seed. Brian Elliot did what Steve Mason of the Columbus Blue Jackets couldn't: prove his rookie season wasn't a fluke. Milan Michalek and Alex Kovalev were the big stories offensively, after they traded away Dany Heatley to the Sharks. Michalek is a solid 2 way player with great speed that can be exploited, but he's not a solid first line guy and is wasted on a second line: he's in some random void in between. Alex Kovalev has been ice cold since the Olympic break during which the Senators went into a major slump, but Senators fans will look at the bright side: he's injured and out for the rest of the season anyways. Their checking line that helped them into the Stanley Cup finals 3 years ago has pretty much stayed the same, and that could be a big difference. But Pittsburgh has the same Stanley Cup winning roster, they play within their system, and Evgeni Malkin is probably the most underrated player in the game today. Marc-Andre Fleury has been great at times and horrible at others, but he's been like that his entire career and somehow manages to string together brilliant games when the post-season comes around, and there's no reason not to expect the same this year.
Stanley Cup Finals: San Jose Sharks v New Jersey Devils: Sharks in 7
If I weren't a Sharks fan, it would be the Nucks in the Cup finals. The top 3 teams, despite the seedings, are pretty clear, with Vancouver, Detroit, and San Jose leading the way. San Jose is much like Chicago in the sense that they outscore their flaws but they have much better goal-tending in Nabokov, despite all the heat he's taken the past 2 years. If San Jose maintains their defensive composure like they've had the past 10 games, they should go far. Still, I would be very surprised if a Stanley Cup run by the Sharks didn't have to go through Detroit, then Vancouver. I would consider it a blessing if they had to face any other team past the first round. As for the East, I'm not sure who my Cup favorite is. A casual fan will jump immediately on the Capitals bandwagon, and considering they probably would have won the Cup if it weren't for the Penguins last year, it's probably a safe bet to do so. I still like the Devils in the sense that they systematically a better playoff team, and honestly if Philadelphia, Ottawa, Montreal, or Boston get hot at the right moment, they will be upsetting a lot of teams. Buffalo and Ottawa are my weak links in the East, which may surprise some of you American fans with Ryan Miller netminding the #3 seed. If Alexander Semin steps up his playoff game, all this speculation will be pointless, however. He's the overshadowed pure scorer on the Capitals behind Ovechkin, and like Malkin, he isn't on the first line. He hasn't lacked scoring in the playoffs, but his defensive game has been horrible and his critics often point out he's too soft. Either he mans up this year or the Capitals may have another early exit when they face Pittsburgh in the second round.
Western Conference:
(1) San Jose Sharks v (8) Colorado Avalanche: Sharks win in 6 games.
The Colorado Avalanche have played pretty well against the San Jose Sharks in the season series. Since the Olympic Break, the teams have played 2 games, both 1 goal differentials and one in overtime. San Jose got the charity point loss, but their win a couple of weeks earlier was more luck than anything as they got 3 goals from random deflections. Craig Anderson will be the difference in this series. He's been lights out for the Avs and if it weren't for Bryzgalov for the Coyotes, he'd be the biggest goal-tending story of the West. Still, outside of Adam Foote, the Avs defense is very young and more offensive minded, and the Sharks feed off the fast paced game. They love giving Nabokov the odd-man rushes and then quickly counter-attacking with their own. The Avs D-men tend to jump in a lot, and one bad bounce along the walls could be the difference in each game. San Jose's X-factor is Logan Couture. The rookie was called up during a 6 game losing streak the Sharks suffered after the Olympic break, and began an almost point-per-game pace to bring the Sharks from 0-5-1 to 8-1-1 to end the season. If he continues that, the third line of him, Jamie McGinn, and Manny Malholtra will dominate the series on the ice if not on the scoreboard.
(2) Chicago Blackhawks v (7) Nashville Predators: Blackhawks win in 5.
I think the Blackhawks are the most overrated team in the West this year. They are built like the Washington Capitals in the sense that they put all their money in offense and have no defense, but the Capitals score way more (49 more to be exact). Outside of the first shutdown D-pair of Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, Chicago can't stop anyone defensively. To give you a sense: Cristobal Huet, the goalie they put their hopes on since they didn't re-sign Khabibulin in the off-season, hasn't started a game in a month, and their new go-to-guy, Antti Niemi, has only 40 career games, all in the regular season. He's been very good for the Hawks in the month of April, but I just don't buy the Hawks going far this year. That said, the Predators are probably the weakest team in the West, with very inconsistent goal-tending and not a lot of firepower to make up for it. They excel in stacking the neutral zone and slowing down the rush, but the Hawks offense is too talented for a simple defensive scheme to stop in a 7 game series.
(3) Vancouver Canucks v (6) Los Angeles Kings: Vancouver wins in 7.
This should be the best series of the conference quarterfinals in the West. Los Angeles has been a team I've been looking at to make the playoffs for about 4 years now. The Canucks are pretty much the same team they've been all year, but Henrik Sedin decided to win the Art Ross (most regular season points). The Canucks won the season series 3-1, but their loss was the last match-up in which the Kings thrashed them 8-3 (it was never close, the Kings led 5-0 at one point). On the flip side of things, the Canucks finished the season hot while the Kings' goaltender has struggled in the past 5 games. It's the highest scoring team in the West backed up by the best goaltender in the West, against a very talented, younger, and more more defensively skilled group. I expect every game to be close and this series to go all the way to the final game, where the Canucks will get the extra edge from home ice advantage.
(4) Phoenix Coyotes v (5) Detroit Red Wings: Detroit wins in 5.
The real question is how can you NOT pick the Red Wings? Phoenix has a great goaltender in Bryzgalov, and if they make a run like they did this year in the regular season he'll be the reason why. Dave Tippet is coach of the year and his system has brought out the best in a group of good, but not great hockey players. Outside of their goaltender, the Coyotes are like the Predators, but the coach and player relationship made the difference for the Yotes. But the Red Wings have gone to the Stanley Cup finals in the past 2 years, Jimmy Howard is probably Rookie of the Year (although if it goes to anyone else it wouldn't be a surprise), and they pretty much have the same offensive and defensive line-up. The Coyotes are a nice story and I hope for the sake of the franchise they sell out their home games, something they haven't been able to do probably for the past 5 seasons. Detroit is the second scariest team in the West under Vancouver, however, and they come in the hottest of them all: 8-1-1 in their last 10.
Eastern Conference:
(1) Washington Capitals v (8) Montreal Canadiens: Washington wins in 4.
Washington is the highest scoring team in the NHL by over half a goal per game in comparison to the second place team. Jose Theodore has been good enough, which is not to say brilliant. The Canadiens have the offense to bring out the flaws in Washington defense, as they were the busiest team in the off-season and pretty much built their top 2 scoring lines from scratch. But despite securing the conference before anyone else even made it to the playoffs in the East, the Capitals went all out down the stretch and obliterated everybody. Unless the Capitals suddenly get tired or pull off one of the biggest choke jobs in NHL history, there's no reason why Montreal should win a single game. The Capitals simply have to do what they've done since they've acquired Ovechkin: outscore their mistakes.
(2) New Jersey Devils v (7) Philadelphia Flyers: Devils win in 5.
It's really fortunate that the New York Rangers were the ones eliminated in the final game of the regular season. They had a much better team all around. Coming into the season, I thought the Flyers were the epitome of a playoff team. 2 good scoring lines, the nastiest set of checkers in the NHL, one of the best shutdown defensive pairs in the league, and a motivated superstar goalie in Ray Emery. Well, Chris Pronger has taken a lot of heat, the Flyers just got out of a losing streak to beat the Rangers twice in a row , they haven't been scoring a lot, and Ray Emery was lost for the season a while ago. A slumping offense and a rotation of back-up goalies down the stretch means the Flyers have a lot of coin-flipping to do in the next 3 days. I say Brian Boucher gets the nod as the starter and he's been solid when called upon in the past. However, Kovalchuk, after a lot of criticism, has finally found his game in New Jersey, and they've been scoring a whole lot since. The Flyers take too many penalties with their style of play, and the moment the Devils get out of their power play drought, they will run all over the Flyers.
(3) Buffalo Sabres v (6) Boston Bruins: Boston wins in 7.
Tough game to call, since both teams are built the same way. Solid offensive teams but no standouts, and they are built for the defensive grinding game the Eastern Conference playoffs are known to have. It will be interesting to see who gets the nod in goal for Boston, as Tuuka Rask has been the best goaltender in the last half of the season but Tim Thomas is Tim Thomas. Ryan Miller will be the one to carry the Sabres out of the first round if they make it that far, but something tells me Boston has the slight edge. It's hard not to choose a team who can score 3 short-handed goals in the same penalty kill 46 seconds apart. If Buffalo is going to run up the score, it will be with Tim Connolly. He's been mired with injuries the past few seasons but he's the only standout offensive talent the team has. Boston's offense is pretty obvious: Marc Savard will lead the way or fail trying.
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins v (5) Ottawa Senators: Pittsburgh wins in 5.
Not a whole lot of drama in the first round of the East. Ottawa has been the feel good story of the East, with huge trades in the off-season landing them in the 5 seed. Brian Elliot did what Steve Mason of the Columbus Blue Jackets couldn't: prove his rookie season wasn't a fluke. Milan Michalek and Alex Kovalev were the big stories offensively, after they traded away Dany Heatley to the Sharks. Michalek is a solid 2 way player with great speed that can be exploited, but he's not a solid first line guy and is wasted on a second line: he's in some random void in between. Alex Kovalev has been ice cold since the Olympic break during which the Senators went into a major slump, but Senators fans will look at the bright side: he's injured and out for the rest of the season anyways. Their checking line that helped them into the Stanley Cup finals 3 years ago has pretty much stayed the same, and that could be a big difference. But Pittsburgh has the same Stanley Cup winning roster, they play within their system, and Evgeni Malkin is probably the most underrated player in the game today. Marc-Andre Fleury has been great at times and horrible at others, but he's been like that his entire career and somehow manages to string together brilliant games when the post-season comes around, and there's no reason not to expect the same this year.
Stanley Cup Finals: San Jose Sharks v New Jersey Devils: Sharks in 7
If I weren't a Sharks fan, it would be the Nucks in the Cup finals. The top 3 teams, despite the seedings, are pretty clear, with Vancouver, Detroit, and San Jose leading the way. San Jose is much like Chicago in the sense that they outscore their flaws but they have much better goal-tending in Nabokov, despite all the heat he's taken the past 2 years. If San Jose maintains their defensive composure like they've had the past 10 games, they should go far. Still, I would be very surprised if a Stanley Cup run by the Sharks didn't have to go through Detroit, then Vancouver. I would consider it a blessing if they had to face any other team past the first round. As for the East, I'm not sure who my Cup favorite is. A casual fan will jump immediately on the Capitals bandwagon, and considering they probably would have won the Cup if it weren't for the Penguins last year, it's probably a safe bet to do so. I still like the Devils in the sense that they systematically a better playoff team, and honestly if Philadelphia, Ottawa, Montreal, or Boston get hot at the right moment, they will be upsetting a lot of teams. Buffalo and Ottawa are my weak links in the East, which may surprise some of you American fans with Ryan Miller netminding the #3 seed. If Alexander Semin steps up his playoff game, all this speculation will be pointless, however. He's the overshadowed pure scorer on the Capitals behind Ovechkin, and like Malkin, he isn't on the first line. He hasn't lacked scoring in the playoffs, but his defensive game has been horrible and his critics often point out he's too soft. Either he mans up this year or the Capitals may have another early exit when they face Pittsburgh in the second round.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Overdue Update
Alright, so I haven't posted in what seems like a century. So here's a random compilation of what I have been observing since I last posted.
First and foremost, Final Fantasy XIII's storyline has been beaten, although after 80+ hours of game playtime I am still trying to get all the trophies. Needless to say, the ending was horrible. I won't spoil it for anyone, but I will admit the gameplay got a bit more complex and interesting, although it is still mindless. The only difference is that you have to take the time to buff/debuff things, which in turn means more time spent healing.
Secondly, hockey. Colorado Avalanche playoff tickets went on sale over the weekend. They are 2 points ahead of Calgary with 1 game in hand for 8th place, 4 points ahead of St. Louis with 1 game in hand, and 6 points ahead of Anaheim with equal games played. The Avs have 4 games left in the season. They are 2-8-1 in their last 11, with Anaheim being 7-2-1, Calgary being 6-4-0, and St. Louis being 7-3-0. A bit premature?
Third, the San Jose Sharks. Too many people were worrying about the Red Wings being the 8 seed resulting in another early exit for the Sharks. Obviously these worries are not huge anymore because at the rate the season is going, Chicago will win the West and Detroit will be the 5 or 6 seed. Regardless, I don't understand what the big deal is. Every hockey critic and fan agrees that Detroit is the scariest team in the Western Conference playoffs right now, regardless of positioning. If 100% of the hockey world is right, that means for the Sharks to reach the Stanley Cup finals, they will have to eventually go through Detroit. Whether they play in the first round or the third is irrelevant. Also, the West is such a tight conference that seeding doesn't matter outside of home ice advantage. Calgary, LA, Colorado, and Nashville have all given the Sharks troubles this year, and they are all potential first round opponents for San Jose. If San Jose maintains the 1 seed and St. Louis steals the 8th spot, I might feel a bit relieved. But even so, there's still Vancouver, Chicago, Detroit, and Phoenix.
Speaking of the Coyotes, I don't think they are a playoff ready team, although Cinderella stories go a long way in sports. Statistically, they actually have one of the lowest regulation win totals out of the pool of playoff teams in the West, with 14 of their wins coming in the shootout alone. The shootout is a horrible measuring stick for a team's skill, especially when talking about the playoffs where it is obsolete. Let's just say, hypothetically, that their 14 shootout wins become losses (a bit extreme, obviously). Suddenly, the Coyotes being the 4th seed with 100 points (and actually having more points than the 3 seed Canucks), drop down to 72 points, and are already mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. I don't have the numbers of shootout wins for every other playoff team, but 14 is a huge number of shootout wins, and I wouldn't be surprised that if we do the same thing to every other team, the Coyotes would still be out of a playoff spot. The only thing 14 shootout wins proves is that they can turtle for 5 minutes in overtime. If you're looking for a dark horse in the West, it's going to be LA.
Speaking of playoffs, I have been watching 0 basketball this year. Here's to an underdog winning.
First and foremost, Final Fantasy XIII's storyline has been beaten, although after 80+ hours of game playtime I am still trying to get all the trophies. Needless to say, the ending was horrible. I won't spoil it for anyone, but I will admit the gameplay got a bit more complex and interesting, although it is still mindless. The only difference is that you have to take the time to buff/debuff things, which in turn means more time spent healing.
Secondly, hockey. Colorado Avalanche playoff tickets went on sale over the weekend. They are 2 points ahead of Calgary with 1 game in hand for 8th place, 4 points ahead of St. Louis with 1 game in hand, and 6 points ahead of Anaheim with equal games played. The Avs have 4 games left in the season. They are 2-8-1 in their last 11, with Anaheim being 7-2-1, Calgary being 6-4-0, and St. Louis being 7-3-0. A bit premature?
Third, the San Jose Sharks. Too many people were worrying about the Red Wings being the 8 seed resulting in another early exit for the Sharks. Obviously these worries are not huge anymore because at the rate the season is going, Chicago will win the West and Detroit will be the 5 or 6 seed. Regardless, I don't understand what the big deal is. Every hockey critic and fan agrees that Detroit is the scariest team in the Western Conference playoffs right now, regardless of positioning. If 100% of the hockey world is right, that means for the Sharks to reach the Stanley Cup finals, they will have to eventually go through Detroit. Whether they play in the first round or the third is irrelevant. Also, the West is such a tight conference that seeding doesn't matter outside of home ice advantage. Calgary, LA, Colorado, and Nashville have all given the Sharks troubles this year, and they are all potential first round opponents for San Jose. If San Jose maintains the 1 seed and St. Louis steals the 8th spot, I might feel a bit relieved. But even so, there's still Vancouver, Chicago, Detroit, and Phoenix.
Speaking of the Coyotes, I don't think they are a playoff ready team, although Cinderella stories go a long way in sports. Statistically, they actually have one of the lowest regulation win totals out of the pool of playoff teams in the West, with 14 of their wins coming in the shootout alone. The shootout is a horrible measuring stick for a team's skill, especially when talking about the playoffs where it is obsolete. Let's just say, hypothetically, that their 14 shootout wins become losses (a bit extreme, obviously). Suddenly, the Coyotes being the 4th seed with 100 points (and actually having more points than the 3 seed Canucks), drop down to 72 points, and are already mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. I don't have the numbers of shootout wins for every other playoff team, but 14 is a huge number of shootout wins, and I wouldn't be surprised that if we do the same thing to every other team, the Coyotes would still be out of a playoff spot. The only thing 14 shootout wins proves is that they can turtle for 5 minutes in overtime. If you're looking for a dark horse in the West, it's going to be LA.
Speaking of playoffs, I have been watching 0 basketball this year. Here's to an underdog winning.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Final Fantasy XIII Initial Review
*disclaimer* Two things to know before you read this: I have not beaten the game yet and I might spoil some strategy and story. The first is important because over the course of the remainder of the game the story or gameplay may end up getting a huge upgrade or downgrade which will of course, affect my view of the game. Secondly, I will be talking about certain specifications of the game that can only be explained by telling you information you may deem as spoilers, although I don't know how much I can spoil with an incomplete experience of the game itself.
So I've owned Final Fantasy XIII for a little under 23 hours now, and have logged a little over 9 and a half hours of gameplay time, including cutscenes. There are a lot of things to cover so I'll just list them as they pop up to my mind.
First, graphics. This is easily the best part of the game, since it is the first HD game in the Final Fantasy series, and they didn't skimp on it, fully rendering every part of it in 720p (yes, even the normal gameplay). With that said, when I buy an RPG, graphics are probably the last thing I take into consideration. There are plenty of great PS3 titles that aren't in 3D or are cell-shaded instead of being full HD, and they're better than a lot of the really beautiful games out there.
Second, storyline. It's pretty cool since there is pretty much no romance amongst the characters you control. The "main" two characters, Snow and Lightning, are the husband and sister of a chick, Serah, who turns into crystal in the beginning of the game, and that's the motivating factor of their journey. But then it gets pretty stereotypical in terms of character development. Lightning is Cloud Strife in female form, Snow is the wannabe hero who runs around and beats evil up with a very simplistic view on justice. Hope is the little emo boy. Sazh is the personality guy... a bit of comic relief but he's pretty much my favorite character. Vanille is this happy-go-lucky girl (she's supposedly young but she looks at least in her late teens) who is secretly emo (the ones that could snap at any moment). Fang is this military chick, much like Lightning. Haven't been able to control her yet.
Third, voice-acting. English dub will always fail, no matter what. With that said, this is one of the better dubbed games that I've played. But it's not that every voice actor does a decent job. It's a mix of outstanding voice acting covering the flaws of horrible voice acting. Lightning's voice actress should be fired. I understand she's supposed to be some soldier chick, but honestly I haven't heard such stale reading since the popcorn game in elementary school, where we took turns reading out of our books and trying to pronounce difficult words. Snow is decent, Hope is decent. Sazh is the best voice actor, and of course is the black guy. Vanille and Fang are really weird and hard to judge in terms of this. Vanille has some crazy British/Eastern European accent, and Fang is Australian for some whack reason.
Fourth, gameplay. Now you have to understand, I grew up on the old school Final Fantasys. The ones that took 50-70 hours of gameplay to complete and had open world exploration, and you actually had to use your brain to figure out where the hell to go next. That's why I'm partial to FF 4-9 and 12, and didn't particularly care for 10. 10 was the worst because of how linear it was. 8 is second worst because the story sucked. Anyways, XII is a mix of X and XII. There are 13 chapters in FFXIII (dunno if that was on purpose or not), and I've just completed chapter 5. There has been NO open world exploration yet. Every chapter automatically takes you to a new world via cutscene, and each world is a straight path to the next cutscene, outside of a couple of detours to item boxes. The battle system is just as simplistic. You have a bar that charges up, and as you level up, you get more bars, meaning you can do more stuff to create a "chain". You can have a super smart AI choose your moves for you, or you can manually do it. Most of the time, the AI will choose it faster and better than you, making encounters simply spamming a single button, especially since battles are graded in terms of how fast you compete them. In terms of leveling, it was clear one of Square-Enix's major goal was to get rid of any sort of grinding whatsoever. So, they destroyed levels completely. Your character's base stats increase as chapters change, and leveling has been replaced by a Crystarium system and weapon upgrading. Weapon upgrades make use of monster drops, and rare drops give more exp to your weapon. Crystarium is like the sphere-grid/license point system in X/XII. Instead of getting exp after battles, you get CP. You use CP to progress through a very linear sphere/crystal system, upgrading stats, getting new abilities, etc. Instead of sharing a universal sphere/license with every character, however, each character has multiple Crystariums based on their class. For example, Lightning can be a Commando (pure attack), or a Ravager (black mage) as her first two Crystariums. Based on which you level up, she gets physical/magical abilities. You can then change her class ala X-2 in the midst of battle, although no skimpy costume changes occur. As the game progresses through chapters, new classes are unlocked and eventually every character can be every type of class, although their base stats make them better for specific classes (ie: making Snow a buffer/support character is a huge waste of his abilities which is more geared towards physical attack/tanking). Every chapter is designed so that your main characters' PRIMARY Crystariums are fully leveled at the end of each chapter. There are specific respawning monsters you can abuse for CP grinding, but it is definitely not necessary to have an easy time progressing, unless you want to spam class changes during battle.
Now, despite being an old school RPG player, I can understand why Square-Enix would make all these changes. At first, I thought it was them dumbing down the game. But I remember, there were even people who hated FF7 (the greatest game of all time). That type of RPG was too complex, long, and open for a casual gamer. A lot of people loved FFX even though I hated it. For the same reason, FFXIII is designed to gear towards those types of players, who want to simply enjoy a game and watch the story unfold. Boss battles do require a bit of thought in terms of changing classes with your characters mid battle, but most of the time it's simply full-offensive, then change to healers when your hp is low.
With that said, I'm giving this game a 7/10, but don't forget why I am very critical towards the gameplay of FFXIII. A lot of you will probably think this is the greatest Final Fantasy of all time, and I can see that for the reasons just previously stated. And again, maybe if the story turns out to be Sephiroth-epic, I may end up bumping this up to a 9/10. But so far, the story is the only thing I can see saving this horrifically simplistic gameplay.
So I've owned Final Fantasy XIII for a little under 23 hours now, and have logged a little over 9 and a half hours of gameplay time, including cutscenes. There are a lot of things to cover so I'll just list them as they pop up to my mind.
First, graphics. This is easily the best part of the game, since it is the first HD game in the Final Fantasy series, and they didn't skimp on it, fully rendering every part of it in 720p (yes, even the normal gameplay). With that said, when I buy an RPG, graphics are probably the last thing I take into consideration. There are plenty of great PS3 titles that aren't in 3D or are cell-shaded instead of being full HD, and they're better than a lot of the really beautiful games out there.
Second, storyline. It's pretty cool since there is pretty much no romance amongst the characters you control. The "main" two characters, Snow and Lightning, are the husband and sister of a chick, Serah, who turns into crystal in the beginning of the game, and that's the motivating factor of their journey. But then it gets pretty stereotypical in terms of character development. Lightning is Cloud Strife in female form, Snow is the wannabe hero who runs around and beats evil up with a very simplistic view on justice. Hope is the little emo boy. Sazh is the personality guy... a bit of comic relief but he's pretty much my favorite character. Vanille is this happy-go-lucky girl (she's supposedly young but she looks at least in her late teens) who is secretly emo (the ones that could snap at any moment). Fang is this military chick, much like Lightning. Haven't been able to control her yet.
Third, voice-acting. English dub will always fail, no matter what. With that said, this is one of the better dubbed games that I've played. But it's not that every voice actor does a decent job. It's a mix of outstanding voice acting covering the flaws of horrible voice acting. Lightning's voice actress should be fired. I understand she's supposed to be some soldier chick, but honestly I haven't heard such stale reading since the popcorn game in elementary school, where we took turns reading out of our books and trying to pronounce difficult words. Snow is decent, Hope is decent. Sazh is the best voice actor, and of course is the black guy. Vanille and Fang are really weird and hard to judge in terms of this. Vanille has some crazy British/Eastern European accent, and Fang is Australian for some whack reason.
Fourth, gameplay. Now you have to understand, I grew up on the old school Final Fantasys. The ones that took 50-70 hours of gameplay to complete and had open world exploration, and you actually had to use your brain to figure out where the hell to go next. That's why I'm partial to FF 4-9 and 12, and didn't particularly care for 10. 10 was the worst because of how linear it was. 8 is second worst because the story sucked. Anyways, XII is a mix of X and XII. There are 13 chapters in FFXIII (dunno if that was on purpose or not), and I've just completed chapter 5. There has been NO open world exploration yet. Every chapter automatically takes you to a new world via cutscene, and each world is a straight path to the next cutscene, outside of a couple of detours to item boxes. The battle system is just as simplistic. You have a bar that charges up, and as you level up, you get more bars, meaning you can do more stuff to create a "chain". You can have a super smart AI choose your moves for you, or you can manually do it. Most of the time, the AI will choose it faster and better than you, making encounters simply spamming a single button, especially since battles are graded in terms of how fast you compete them. In terms of leveling, it was clear one of Square-Enix's major goal was to get rid of any sort of grinding whatsoever. So, they destroyed levels completely. Your character's base stats increase as chapters change, and leveling has been replaced by a Crystarium system and weapon upgrading. Weapon upgrades make use of monster drops, and rare drops give more exp to your weapon. Crystarium is like the sphere-grid/license point system in X/XII. Instead of getting exp after battles, you get CP. You use CP to progress through a very linear sphere/crystal system, upgrading stats, getting new abilities, etc. Instead of sharing a universal sphere/license with every character, however, each character has multiple Crystariums based on their class. For example, Lightning can be a Commando (pure attack), or a Ravager (black mage) as her first two Crystariums. Based on which you level up, she gets physical/magical abilities. You can then change her class ala X-2 in the midst of battle, although no skimpy costume changes occur. As the game progresses through chapters, new classes are unlocked and eventually every character can be every type of class, although their base stats make them better for specific classes (ie: making Snow a buffer/support character is a huge waste of his abilities which is more geared towards physical attack/tanking). Every chapter is designed so that your main characters' PRIMARY Crystariums are fully leveled at the end of each chapter. There are specific respawning monsters you can abuse for CP grinding, but it is definitely not necessary to have an easy time progressing, unless you want to spam class changes during battle.
Now, despite being an old school RPG player, I can understand why Square-Enix would make all these changes. At first, I thought it was them dumbing down the game. But I remember, there were even people who hated FF7 (the greatest game of all time). That type of RPG was too complex, long, and open for a casual gamer. A lot of people loved FFX even though I hated it. For the same reason, FFXIII is designed to gear towards those types of players, who want to simply enjoy a game and watch the story unfold. Boss battles do require a bit of thought in terms of changing classes with your characters mid battle, but most of the time it's simply full-offensive, then change to healers when your hp is low.
With that said, I'm giving this game a 7/10, but don't forget why I am very critical towards the gameplay of FFXIII. A lot of you will probably think this is the greatest Final Fantasy of all time, and I can see that for the reasons just previously stated. And again, maybe if the story turns out to be Sephiroth-epic, I may end up bumping this up to a 9/10. But so far, the story is the only thing I can see saving this horrifically simplistic gameplay.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Goal of the Year?
I say so.
No need to watch the rest of the season folks. We have your winner:
For those who don't understand the greatness of this goal, look up Peter Forsberg shootout. This is his signature move used in the shootout and has also been emulated very successfully by a couple of other skaters, most notably Mike Ribeiro of the Dallas Stars. Fans say it is extremely difficult and takes only the most talented puck handlers to do this in the shootout. Setoguchi did it from a bad angle, muscling his way through 2 defenders with one of them draped on his back through the entire process.
No need to watch the rest of the season folks. We have your winner:
For those who don't understand the greatness of this goal, look up Peter Forsberg shootout. This is his signature move used in the shootout and has also been emulated very successfully by a couple of other skaters, most notably Mike Ribeiro of the Dallas Stars. Fans say it is extremely difficult and takes only the most talented puck handlers to do this in the shootout. Setoguchi did it from a bad angle, muscling his way through 2 defenders with one of them draped on his back through the entire process.
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