This post was written by Vanguard sports writer Allison Whited.
The cold temperature this morning really brought it home that football season begins in just 12 days. On cold, cloudy mornings like this one, it's hard to believe there is another place as beautiful to watch football practice as Stott Field.
The first offense took on the second defense and vice versa in this morning's 11-on-11 drills. The first defense and certain members of the second defense are making progress. They move together and help each other out when it's needed. The offense still appears to be a little patchwork at times, but, in all honesty, there is marked improvement from both spring ball and just two weeks ago when practice began.
Currently, safeties Cody Worthen and Jordan Brown are deemed to be the starters and it looks like a good combination. They seem to have very different styles of play. Brown is on the move quickly after the snap whereas Worthen employs more of a wait-and-see strategy. Brown is a constant presence in the ball's vicinity, but Worthen sticks with whomever he's covering.
Both seem to be holding back a bit at practice, which doesn't seem like a bad thing given the smattering of injured players on the sidelines. I have heard Worthen described as the "future of the defense" and Brown as a "team leader"—these two working together for the first time should be an anchor point for the defense.
Also on the defensive side of things, cornerback Denzel Davis did a good job of staying on his receiver, particularly on a pass to Nevin Lewis. Linebacker Ryan Rau also did a good job impeding receivers and had a strong stop on receiver Justin Monahan.
Punter Thomas Duyndam and his presumed back up Zach Brown had good practices. It's difficult to tell how strong their feet are as they only kick for a few moments and from a specific, constant range, but they both looked to have good control of the ball with decent hang time. Duyndam for the most part averaged about six seconds of hang time over a distance of 30-40 yards. He kicks the ball fairly high and seems to be able to put it where he wants it.
Drew Hubel threw a beautiful pass to Lavonte Kirven. On a long field, Hubel's pass was textbook. He put it out in front of the receiver, where only Kirven could get it. It was perfectly placed between the numbers and it came down soft, but didn't for a moment float dangerously. Perfection.
There are still errors made and there is no mistaking that this is a young team, but there have been some good practices recently that left little that was negative to report.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Football practice, Friday, August 21
This post was written by Vanguard sports writer Allison Whited.
There seemed to be heavy emphasis on the running game Friday morning, both from the offensive side and the defensive side. Early on, the offensive line repeatedly set about creating running lanes after the snap. The offense overall is pass happy and through other practices, the running game hasn't looked threatening.
That is beginning to change a bit though. There are a couple of freshman backs that will compliment returning starter Bobby McClintock very well. Evans Okotcha and Ben Bowen show good field awareness and an ability to make small cuts to gain a few extra yards on each play. They are also fairly adroit when called on to block for the quarterback.
There were two defensive plays that have to be mentioned. Ryan Pedersen is an intelligent linebacker and plays as much with his brain as he does his body. On one snap, the coach handling the ball as the quarterback created some misdirection that looked as if it fooled the entire defense, and, while everyone on his side of the ball went one way, Pedersen went the other and made a beeline to the "quarterback".
Another impressive play was made by linebacker Erik Pedersen. In an 11-on-11 drill where the run was being pushed, Pedersen patiently waited for a hole to open, which the defense created in just a couple of seconds, and drove straight to the running back with the ball. It was a strong defensive play and it showed the entire defense’s ability to follow through.
On the special teams’ side of things, the Vikes look good. There are two competing kickers, Robert Truax and Wade Penner. Both have a pretty good foot and both are usually on target. It seems like they take turns every day looking like the better option. On the whole, they both look good and give depth at a position that can make or break a game. The long snapper is Braedyn Eagle and he is consistently on target with his snaps. He is fairly imposing and should hold up well under pressure.
Friday, August 21, 2009
review: Battlestations: Pacific
Battlestations: Pacific is a bit of a conundrum. On the one hand, the game has an interesting take on both the usual generic limitations of WWII as well as a unique approach to fairly limited offerings of available console strategy games. You can decal the nose of your favorite fighter with swell period pin-up girls for use in online dogfights. Taking command of a massively powerful battleship like the South Dakota class (armed with a full battery of 16” guns) feels undeniably bad ass.
On the other hand, the grainy, real-life film footage shown before each mission begins is, sadly, a little misleading. Pacific’s tactical-yet-arcadey combat may reach the tracer-saturated fever pitch depicted on the back of the box from time to time, but seemingly just as often the chaos of the Pacific theater’s large-scale naval, air and infantry battles (the last of which isn’t playable here) seem strangely muted.
The game throws numerous scenarios at you in which you control, say, one or two cruisers or a destroyers, but rarely allows you access to the entire naval armada, instead seeing fit to dole out command of ships one to three at a time (and even then only as replacements for any vessels you may have lost). Carriers, which act as RTS-style bases, can produce fighter planes to help you maintain the offensive or defensive upper hand, but only allot one four-plane squadron each. The result is a campaign of island hopping support that, while enjoyably strategic, isn’t necessarily spread evenly and can feel somewhat sparse at times.
What’s baffling about Pacific is that despite a serious graphical overhaul and boost in available units, in some ways it’s a step backward from its predecessor, Battlestations: Midway. Covering the earlier part of the war in the pacific (including the battles of the Solomon Islands—where there’s some over lap with Pacific—and, clearly, Midway itself) Midway used a full blown narrative and the ability to choose which tactical maneuvers to utilize in order to crush the Japanese resistance.
Aside from offering virtually no story aside from a spotty approximation of historical events (brought to tepid life by a cast of either bored or far too overzealous voice actors) Pacific has a penchant for tactically shoehorning you into using certain air or seacraft to accomplish various tasks (though it should be noted that additional units can be unlocked as you progress). The trade-off is that Pacific has a little over twice as much gameplay as Midway, complete with a full, alternate history Japanese campaign; beating both campaigns and unlocking everything will be more than enough to keep some of you coming back to this one.
Thankfully, despite a bit less tactical wiggle-room, Pacific’s arcade combat is still fun. Though controls and tutorials for the game’s dual sea and air fleets may seem a little daunting at first (the game even uses the two letter call signs actually used during the war to identify different types of air and sea craft), they’re streamlined so that even novice tacticians can enjoy the game. Letting off a volley of AA or dual-purpose guns is as easy as firing a gun in an FPS, and the intuitive targeting and formation systems can make even the most overwhelming battles manageable. Although you technically control units one a time, the game (mostly) lets you simultaneously carry out naval and air-based actions, issuing different commands while you control your preferred unit. This gives Pacific gives the overall feeling of a more hands-on RTS, which is pretty swell indeed.
Pacific also has its fair share of moments that are a tremendous rush. Laying waste to an entire fleet of Japanese warships in minutes with a bombardment of long-range guns (not to mention actually watching the explosion of twisted metal from a damaged hull or magazine) never gets old, and dodging through an intense hail of AA fire to successfully deliver a torpedo or bomb payload is exhilarating. In short, these are the moments that will make you want to keep playing. The sheer number of different units is a great touch too, although in order to really use them effectively you’ll likely have to take some prep time to familiarize yourself with the catalog.
At the end of the day, Pacific earns its wings as a more than competent strategy-action hybrid. There are times when it may feel a little too straightforward and, let’s be honest, the story and presentation generally come off as worse than a History channel re-enactment. Despite some setbacks, if Eidos Hungary can learn from their mistakes I have faith they can really put out the complete package with their next Battlestations effort. Give it a shot if you’re in the mood for a different kind of war game. At the very least, it beats the hell out of yet another tired period shooter.
Battlestations: Pacific
Eidos
Xbox 360
$59.99
3.5 out 5 stars
review: Bit.Trip Core
Let’s face it: outside of clans, forums and fan communities, significant cultural memes sprung from the collective consciousness of gamers generally aren’t things you hear about every day. “Popular” modes of expression are usually limited to pop-culture commercialism, and even original projects (like, say, fan-made sequels to popular games) are often subject to intense cease-and-desist litigation.
On the other hand, I would argue that chiptunes don’t follow general modes of gamer expression. Using hacked Game Boys, Nintendo’s and the like, chiptune artists combine “chip” sounds, utilizing archaic hardware to compose electronic bleep-bloop melodies that hearken back to gaming’s infancy, creating a sound that is uniquely retro and modern at the same time.
Having stated this, I shouldn’t have been surprised when I learned that chiptunes play a central role in Bit.Trip Core. As the second of four Bit.Trip titles to hit WiiWare from Gaijin Games, Core (much like its B.T predecessor, Beat) revels in its hybridization of old and new.
Ostensibly, the game looks and feels like a cross between a multi-directional shooter and DDR, with a serious aesthetic fetish for all things Atari. Looking at it in terms of arcade history, it’s a natural progression from Beat, which basically reconstituted Pong, juiced it up and added a really crazy difficulty curve (as well as trippy chiptunes and visuals) for a unique retro-modern arcade feel.
Welcome to your Bit.Trip.
Continuing on the idea of gaming progress, Core then fully embraces the conceptual lineage of arcade shooters, mimicking tube shooters like Tempest, only on a 2D plane. The screen is marked with what amounts to a diamond targeting reticle—from the center of the reticle you can aim bars of light up, down, left and right. Your objective is to shoot the various dots, lines, arrows and boxes that fly across the screen when they intersect the path of your light beams. The more hits you get in row, the higher your combo chain and score.
Aside from its shooter-esque mechanics, Core also functions as a rhythm game—a notion
directly linked to its evolutionary ideology. Each successful shot produces an in-key tone, which accompanies the background beat or baseline of the level. As your combo chain grows higher, the music you create evolves from flat, static chipped sounds to full-bodied notes that compliment each track’s (and level’s) musical growth.
Screw up, though, and you’ll fall back down to “nether” status (the game measures your hit rate on four point-based tiers)—a stark, black and white (and one would assume, tongue-in-cheek) representation of the game featuring only the metronomic skeleton of the level’s track. On the flip side, should you actually reach “super,” (the highest) you can flex your musicality muscles by improving notes in the background to go along with the beat. Each note while in this mode nets you 1000 points, so it’s a good way to rack up high scores.
See where all those lines and vertices intersect with the cross hairs? You have to hit ALL OF THEM.
Not that it’s all that easy to stay in super. Core may start off by throwing relatively slow moving patterns of dots at you, but by the time you’re hurtling through the last level the visuals—and challenge—can be quite ridiculous. Patterned dots, lines and others will split off, multiply, rotate around the center of the targeting reticle, jump off in odd places, shift patterns suddenly, seemingly break the rules by traveling diagonally…you get the idea.
It can be quite a madhouse. (For more proof just click here ). The game does afford you one screen-destroying bomb per game, (I'd save it for the boss patterns, which can obviously be very tricky) but given the extremely limited availability of these, you'll mostly have to rely on your own wits and pattern memorization skills.
Pay no attention to the 3D geometric shapes behind the curtain.
But everything is meticulously calculated, and nothing is impossible. In the long run, it makes for a game you can beat based on repetition and perfection, such as throwbacks like Contra or Gradius. But with the obsession that’ll soon take hold in chasing each level's elusive perfect score, (not to mention the game’s fantastic tunes), this isn’t one for simply playing through once and then walking away. And for six bucks, how can you really go wrong?
Now, that just leaves me with one question for Gaijin: when do we get the soundtrack?
Bit.Trip Core
Aksys Games
WiiWare
$6
4.5 out of 5 stars
On the other hand, I would argue that chiptunes don’t follow general modes of gamer expression. Using hacked Game Boys, Nintendo’s and the like, chiptune artists combine “chip” sounds, utilizing archaic hardware to compose electronic bleep-bloop melodies that hearken back to gaming’s infancy, creating a sound that is uniquely retro and modern at the same time.
Having stated this, I shouldn’t have been surprised when I learned that chiptunes play a central role in Bit.Trip Core. As the second of four Bit.Trip titles to hit WiiWare from Gaijin Games, Core (much like its B.T predecessor, Beat) revels in its hybridization of old and new.
Ostensibly, the game looks and feels like a cross between a multi-directional shooter and DDR, with a serious aesthetic fetish for all things Atari. Looking at it in terms of arcade history, it’s a natural progression from Beat, which basically reconstituted Pong, juiced it up and added a really crazy difficulty curve (as well as trippy chiptunes and visuals) for a unique retro-modern arcade feel.
Welcome to your Bit.Trip.
Continuing on the idea of gaming progress, Core then fully embraces the conceptual lineage of arcade shooters, mimicking tube shooters like Tempest, only on a 2D plane. The screen is marked with what amounts to a diamond targeting reticle—from the center of the reticle you can aim bars of light up, down, left and right. Your objective is to shoot the various dots, lines, arrows and boxes that fly across the screen when they intersect the path of your light beams. The more hits you get in row, the higher your combo chain and score.
Aside from its shooter-esque mechanics, Core also functions as a rhythm game—a notion
directly linked to its evolutionary ideology. Each successful shot produces an in-key tone, which accompanies the background beat or baseline of the level. As your combo chain grows higher, the music you create evolves from flat, static chipped sounds to full-bodied notes that compliment each track’s (and level’s) musical growth.
Screw up, though, and you’ll fall back down to “nether” status (the game measures your hit rate on four point-based tiers)—a stark, black and white (and one would assume, tongue-in-cheek) representation of the game featuring only the metronomic skeleton of the level’s track. On the flip side, should you actually reach “super,” (the highest) you can flex your musicality muscles by improving notes in the background to go along with the beat. Each note while in this mode nets you 1000 points, so it’s a good way to rack up high scores.
See where all those lines and vertices intersect with the cross hairs? You have to hit ALL OF THEM.
Not that it’s all that easy to stay in super. Core may start off by throwing relatively slow moving patterns of dots at you, but by the time you’re hurtling through the last level the visuals—and challenge—can be quite ridiculous. Patterned dots, lines and others will split off, multiply, rotate around the center of the targeting reticle, jump off in odd places, shift patterns suddenly, seemingly break the rules by traveling diagonally…you get the idea.
It can be quite a madhouse. (For more proof just click here ). The game does afford you one screen-destroying bomb per game, (I'd save it for the boss patterns, which can obviously be very tricky) but given the extremely limited availability of these, you'll mostly have to rely on your own wits and pattern memorization skills.
But everything is meticulously calculated, and nothing is impossible. In the long run, it makes for a game you can beat based on repetition and perfection, such as throwbacks like Contra or Gradius. But with the obsession that’ll soon take hold in chasing each level's elusive perfect score, (not to mention the game’s fantastic tunes), this isn’t one for simply playing through once and then walking away. And for six bucks, how can you really go wrong?
Now, that just leaves me with one question for Gaijin: when do we get the soundtrack?
Bit.Trip Core
Aksys Games
WiiWare
$6
4.5 out of 5 stars
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Football practice, Wednesday, August 19
This post was written by Vanguard sports writer Allison Whited.
This morning, the team was divided into offense and defense at opposite ends of the field. On the offensive side, it looked pretty good. The offensive line, without the formidable rush from the defense on every snap, was able to work together to keep the quarterback safe and create lanes for the running backs. Ben Bowen and Bobby McClintock benefited from this and as a result were able to get some good runs in. On one particular play center Adam Kleffner got a great block in on his man and gave McClintock miles to run.
Watching the offensive line practice can be challenging at times. There always seem to be numerous occasions when, if they could just stay with their man or get that block in, the whole offense would have the opportunity to run more smoothly. It's just little things here and there that would make a world of difference. Kleffner's block is an example of just what good can come about when there is complete follow through after the snap.
One of the new quarterbacks, Hank Taylor, had a relatively good morning. As I have previously written, he has a problem seeing the field. This morning he was able to find receiver Daniel Wolverton twice in a row on different routes. He did, however, botch a hand off to full back Nick Kalpin.
Punter Thomas Duyndam had company this morning. Coach Glanville had receiver Zach Brown punting with him. Currently, Duyndam is the only punter on the roster, and he is also currently the only international player. Brown was last year's back up punter and will obviously continue in that role this year. Brown did a fine job, but he can certainly benefit from watching Duyndam.
Offense met defense towards the end of practice where third down situations were played out. Quarterback Drew Hubel had a couple of beautiful bombs to receivers Zach Brown and Daniel Wolverton. He retained presence of mind in the pocket and patiently waited for them to get down field and he was rewarded with about 100 passing yards on the two completions. He certainly looked every bit the starting quarterback. Presumed third string quarterback Nick Green had a nice pass under pressure to receiver Ricky Cookman.
The pass rush was successful and relentless. Outside linebackers Ryan Pedersen and Ryan Reardon and defensive lineman Siasau Matagiese all had notable rushes that ended the offense's progress. Rearson and Matagiese are both freshman, proving that Glanville did a remarkable job of recruiting his freshmen defensive class.
The ball wasn't safe when it was out of the pocket either. Kavanaugh was picked by cornerback Tracy Ford and during Ford's return, he lateraled it to fellow cornerback DeShawn Shead and then threw a block for Shead so that he might continue to advance the ball. Teamwork at some of its finest.
In the counter teamwork file, there was some grumbling on the sidelines by the receivers about defensive end Travis Beckley's tendency to get a hand on the face mask. On one play where Beckley slapped a face mask, someone even yelled out, “That's 15 yards number 92!”
On a final note, there are a lot of players on crutches and with boots on. Receiver Ray Fry and offensive lineman Moses Punzal are the latest to walk the sidelines.
This morning, the team was divided into offense and defense at opposite ends of the field. On the offensive side, it looked pretty good. The offensive line, without the formidable rush from the defense on every snap, was able to work together to keep the quarterback safe and create lanes for the running backs. Ben Bowen and Bobby McClintock benefited from this and as a result were able to get some good runs in. On one particular play center Adam Kleffner got a great block in on his man and gave McClintock miles to run.
Watching the offensive line practice can be challenging at times. There always seem to be numerous occasions when, if they could just stay with their man or get that block in, the whole offense would have the opportunity to run more smoothly. It's just little things here and there that would make a world of difference. Kleffner's block is an example of just what good can come about when there is complete follow through after the snap.
One of the new quarterbacks, Hank Taylor, had a relatively good morning. As I have previously written, he has a problem seeing the field. This morning he was able to find receiver Daniel Wolverton twice in a row on different routes. He did, however, botch a hand off to full back Nick Kalpin.
Punter Thomas Duyndam had company this morning. Coach Glanville had receiver Zach Brown punting with him. Currently, Duyndam is the only punter on the roster, and he is also currently the only international player. Brown was last year's back up punter and will obviously continue in that role this year. Brown did a fine job, but he can certainly benefit from watching Duyndam.
Offense met defense towards the end of practice where third down situations were played out. Quarterback Drew Hubel had a couple of beautiful bombs to receivers Zach Brown and Daniel Wolverton. He retained presence of mind in the pocket and patiently waited for them to get down field and he was rewarded with about 100 passing yards on the two completions. He certainly looked every bit the starting quarterback. Presumed third string quarterback Nick Green had a nice pass under pressure to receiver Ricky Cookman.
The pass rush was successful and relentless. Outside linebackers Ryan Pedersen and Ryan Reardon and defensive lineman Siasau Matagiese all had notable rushes that ended the offense's progress. Rearson and Matagiese are both freshman, proving that Glanville did a remarkable job of recruiting his freshmen defensive class.
The ball wasn't safe when it was out of the pocket either. Kavanaugh was picked by cornerback Tracy Ford and during Ford's return, he lateraled it to fellow cornerback DeShawn Shead and then threw a block for Shead so that he might continue to advance the ball. Teamwork at some of its finest.
In the counter teamwork file, there was some grumbling on the sidelines by the receivers about defensive end Travis Beckley's tendency to get a hand on the face mask. On one play where Beckley slapped a face mask, someone even yelled out, “That's 15 yards number 92!”
On a final note, there are a lot of players on crutches and with boots on. Receiver Ray Fry and offensive lineman Moses Punzal are the latest to walk the sidelines.
PSU NEWS: PSU hosts US Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki, Senator Ron Wyden and Governor Kulongoski
A round table discussion regarding Veterans Affairs took place today, involving US Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki, Senator Ron Wyden, Governor Ted Kulongoski, ASPSU President Jonathan Sanford and numerous student veterans and retired veterans.
Sanford and other panel members discussed the current GI Bill, PSU's role in better serving student veterans, what veterans need and the other ways in which veterans can receive assistance.
Photos and more details to follow in the Vanguard's Orientation Guide, out Sept. 14.
Sanford and other panel members discussed the current GI Bill, PSU's role in better serving student veterans, what veterans need and the other ways in which veterans can receive assistance.
Photos and more details to follow in the Vanguard's Orientation Guide, out Sept. 14.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Football practice, Tuesday, August 18
This post was written by Vanguard sports writer Allison Whited.
The offensive and defensive lineman practiced single man coverage this morning and it was intense to watch. Going against each other one-on-one, the defensive lineman would attempt to push his way past the offensive lineman to get to where the quarterback would hypothetically be.
The offensive and defensive lineman practiced single man coverage this morning and it was intense to watch. Going against each other one-on-one, the defensive lineman would attempt to push his way past the offensive lineman to get to where the quarterback would hypothetically be.
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