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EA Sports Screen shot from NHL 12

There’s nothing so sad as watching an aging athlete trying to stave off the sunset of his career.

I felt the same melancholy when playing NHL 12 from EA Sports for the Xbox 360. The game goes on sale from Sept. 13. I grew up playing this hockey game on my PC and PlayStation and relished the annual ritual of switching from the old version to the new on the day it was released. It was...

2K Sports Image from the videogame Mlb 2K11.

It’s probably politically incorrect to write this, but what Mlb 2K11 really needs is a good dose of steroids.

The baseball game’s developers added some muscle in the off-season, tweaking and improving key problems and annoyances from last year’s version, but there’s just not enough there to recommend paying another $50 or so for the update to this console game for all but the most-hardcore fans of the franchise or first-time buyers.

September is here again and you know what that means, right? Hockey fans get their yearly video gaming fix from Electronic Arts with the latest installment in the venerable series, "NHL '11." With each new entry that comes out, the question inevitably gets asked: is this just a roster update or did EA somehow figure out a way to put more meat on these already hefty bones? It's easy to answer this year: without question, more meat. Read on for the breakdown.

The Basics

There's not much to say here, really. EA's "NHL" series has long been and continues to be the premiere hockey simulation on the video game market. All of your favorite modes are back, including the RPG-like Be A Pro and last year's similar, front office-focused newcomer Be A Gm modes. You basic "sit down and play" and franchise options are back as well, naturally. In addition to a handful of new,...

Chicago – Last year’s baseball game courtesy of 2K Sports, “Mlb 2K9,” was so glitch-heavy and poorly constructed that I assumed all of the wrinkles would be ironed out in the newest edition, “Mlb 2K10”. To the credit of 2K Games and Visual Concepts, a lot of the problems have been streamlined but the game is still unacceptably glitch-heavy, resulting in an experience that is only intermittently rewarding. It’s kind of like being a Cubs fan.

Video Game Rating: 3.0/5.0

Like all good Cubs fans, let’s start with the positives. The new pitching and batting mechanics are much improved. They both rely on the control sticks and the precision of both is easily the strongest element of the new title. The pitching mechanics allow for an experience that doesn’t feel automated as you place a fastball in just the right corner or expertly time a knuckleball. The batting...

Chicago – Perhaps the biggest praise I can pay EA Sports’ excellent “NHL 10” is this - despite being a sports nut in general, I’m not much of a hockey fan and yet I found this trip to the ice completely entertaining, challenging, and in-depth. The best sports games not only preach to the choir by satisfying people who are already fans of the actual game but also can bring in people who don’t own a hockey jersey. “NHL 10” could actually increase the popularity of the sport.

Video Game Rating: 4.5/5.0

“NHL 09” won twelve sports game of the year awards. Where does a franchise go from there? How can you possibly improve on that? It’s impossible to say that “NHL 10” is an improvement, but it certainly doesn’t tarnish the legacy of the franchise. Is it as much of a leap forward as “09”? No, but how could it be?

NHL...

Every year, the August release of “Madden” tends to overshadow one of EA Sports’ other most long-standing and highly cherished franchise: the “NHL” series. Following a few stumbles in the middle of the decade, EA reclaimed the top spot with a series of stellar annual hockey games. “NHL 10” is no different.

The Basics

“NHL 10” is the premiere hockey video game out there, with so much content that everyone from “Blades of Steel”-loving arcade junkies to crazy, face-painting team supporters can find something to like. The basic on-ice gameplay is mostly unchanged; a few tweaks offer more options to your virtual skaters, but the controls and feel are familiar and comfortable. On the simulation side, Be A Pro and Gm modes offer a ridiculous – nearly unmanageable, at times – amount of depth; hockey noobs had best start following the business moves if they hope to keep up with “NHL 10”’s off-ice play.

Video Game Rating: 3.0/5.0 Chicago – Playing 2K Sports’ “Major League Baseball 2K9” reminds me of spending an average season as a diehard fan of the Chicago Cubs. It starts with so much promise and there’s a lot to love through the bulk of the year. There are a few wins here and there and some really good times, but, at the end of the season, you’re usually left crying in your beer, wondering what the hell just happened.

Like every Cubs fan who embraces the spring with the annual mantra “this will be the year,” let’s start with the positive. And there’s a lot of positive with “2K9.”

Major League Baseball 2K9

Photo credit: 2K Sports

First and foremost, Visual Concepts and 2K Sports’ game looks amazing. The player-specific animations are gorgeous, and it’s easily the best-looking baseball game I’ve ever played. The crowd detail...

A&E Television Networks and ReelzChannel have become the latest in a slew of media companies to hand out pinkslips this month.

Aetn, which includes A&E Network, History and Biography Channel, has laid off 20 staffers, including full-time employees in the digital-media division and a number of freelancers. Aetn's total work force includes about 650 employees across its cable networks.

ReelzChannel, meanwhile, has laid off 40-plus employees, mostly because network execs have decided to reformat the weekday movie-news show "Dailies" into roughly three-minute segments, tentatively titled "ReelzChannel Movie News," that will air at least once an hour seven days a week, starting in January. ReelzChannel programs 20 hours a day.

"Dailies" will continue running in half-hour installments Monday-Thursday and hourlong episodes Friday probably through the first week of January, ReelzChannel president/COO Gary Thorne said. "Dailies" exec producer Clif H. Dunn will exec produce the new segments.

"This was more consumer-driven than anything else,...