Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction [Archive]

Darwin

01-12-2005, 06:27 AM

DrunkenThumbmaster

01-12-2005, 07:04 AM

Thanks to RBH, for putting this game at the forefront of our minds. Yeah, I bought the game, along with Res Evil 4. So far, the game is quite impressive.

Mercenaries is made by the same team (Pandemic) that developed Full Spectrum Warrier. You can almost see a little bit of FSW in the Mercenaries game: the way the AI move, the graphics, the little icons that appear above the enemy's heads, the level designs. But, the gameplay is quite different.

The best way to describe the gameplay is like: 1 part Ghost Recon 2, 1 part Freedom Fighters, and 1 part Grand Theft Auto mixed all together. If you've played those games before, you'll get a general idea of what the game is like. I won't bother decribing the deatils of the gameplay, since IGN's review did a good job of that (so go read it).

The game is kind-of a mix of arcade and realistic tactics. The vehicles drive somewhat realistically (as far as acceleration and turning), but the handbrake is not realistic. The targetting reticule does not shrink-grow with movement, thus allowing for run-and-gun gameplay (like in Brute Force). However, there are some differences with each gun's accuracy and power. And, from a distance, the gun's accuracy has an impact on the placement of the bullets, even though the targetting reticule does not indicate this. It's like accuracy is a factor of distance and gun type, but not movement or stance.

Just like in Freedom Fighters, you can recruit various AI members on-the-fly, but only by using a vehicle. AI will act as their faction dictates: they will fire upon enemies to their faction. AI who are near their base tend to stay put. But when you roll up in a vehicle, you can honk the horn and they will mount up and come with you. And if the vehicle has a gun on it, one guy will get on it and fire at enemies, like the Warthog in Halo.

The gameplay is quite open-ended. You can choose to ally with whatever factions you want, in order to obtain info on your primary objectives. In this way, it feels more like the old-school Grand Theft Autos on the Playstation 1. At any given moment, each faction in the game will either like, hate, or be neutral towards you. This is dynamic in that doing various missions will piss-off one faction while making that faction's enemy a friend of you. You can change this by doing various acts or bribing.

Overall, the game seems quite polished. Good graphics and framerate. Good, smooth controls, and the ability to adjust look sensitivity (thank you, Pandemic). Single player only.

So go read the IGN review. This appears to be a really cool game that many of you will enjoy.

I thought the game didn't come out till thursday at least that's what the commercial says. I may get it. I need a new xbox as well since my old one died on me I still have my modded one but I can't play on live with that one. Anyway I may get it down the line right now I'm looking more forward to RE I need to get some use out of my GC I haven't bought a game for it since MGS TS.

Rogue Bounty Hunter

01-12-2005, 07:14 AM

Thanks to RBH, for putting this game at the forefront of our minds. Yeah, I bought the game, along with Res Evil 4. So far, the game is quite impressive.

After reading the above sentence, I'm expecting the following to flash on the screen now:

INFLUENCE GAINED: DARWIN
LIGHT SIDE POINTS GAINED

What you say about Mercenaries is true. Though I haven't done more than one mission and a few sidequests, I'm really enjoying this game. I picked the chick, Jen Mui, but honestly, I don't think there's a lot of difference between the three.

Best part of the game so far is fighting off a couple of mini-camps of enemies and picking up Allies before getting to my first mission. My worst part is trying to jump out of a helicopter and smashing right into the ground. Ouch.

I do like the fact that it's single player, because it gave the devs time to work on one part of the game and make it as good as possible. If they would have tried to add other modes, it could have spread the dev time thin and made the game less polished overall.

Glockstar

01-12-2005, 09:56 AM

Well, the Glockstar just went and did something crazy and joined a bowling league - which starts tonite. So there goes all my hopes for finishing KOTOR II by tomorrow.

So because of that, I might as well wait until Sunday - check the flyers - and see if the game isn't on sale somewhere. I definitely intend to make it my first game of '05 tho'

Thanks indeed to Rogue Mercenary Pimper.

INFLUENCE GAINED: GLOCKSTAR
LIGHT SIDE POINTS GAINED

LOL

ALPHA MALE

01-12-2005, 07:43 PM

After reading the above sentence, I'm expecting the following to flash on the screen now:

INFLUENCE GAINED: DARWIN
LIGHT SIDE POINTS GAINED

What you say about Mercenaries is true. Though I haven't done more than one mission and a few sidequests, I'm really enjoying this game. I picked the chick, Jen Mui, but honestly, I don't think there's a lot of difference between the three.

Best part of the game so far is fighting off a couple of mini-camps of enemies and picking up Allies before getting to my first mission. My worst part is trying to jump out of a helicopter and smashing right into the ground. Ouch.

I do like the fact that it's single player, because it gave the devs time to work on one part of the game and make it as good as possible. If they would have tried to add other modes, it could have spread the dev time thin and made the game less polished overall.

Thanks for the reviews guys.I'm definately buying it! I've played the demo about 10 times already. I love what I've seen so far.ITs time to fork over $50 bucks and buy this thing for my Xbox.

Rogue Bounty Hunter

01-12-2005, 08:19 PM

Thanks for the reviews guys.I'm definately buying it! I've played the demo about 10 times already. I love what I've seen so far.ITs time to fork over $50 bucks and buy this thing for my Xbox.

Whenever you get the full version, let us know what you think.

Well, the Glockstar just went and did something crazy and joined a bowling league - which starts tonite. So there goes all my hopes for finishing KOTOR II by tomorrow.

So because of that, I might as well wait until Sunday - check the flyers - and see if the game isn't on sale somewhere. I definitely intend to make it my first game of '05 tho'

Thanks indeed to Rogue Mercenary Pimper.

INFLUENCE GAINED: GLOCKSTAR
LIGHT SIDE POINTS GAINED

LOL

What's your average in bowling? Last time I bowled (ten years ago), I believe I scored close to 100, and that was w/o the bumpers in the gutters. I rule.

Anytime I pimp a bad game, that should warrant some dark side points.

Darwin

01-12-2005, 08:53 PM

I opted to play Mercenaries tonight instead of Res Evil 4.

It just keeps getting better and better. At first, I thought the game was gonna be too easy. Nope. I ran into some missions where I had to retry and emplor better strategy. And there was one target capture where a surprise was waiting for me when I attempted to extract the target. Freakin brilliant!

Dude, I love sneaking close to their armored vehicles, poping out of hiding with my RPG, and firing off a pair of rockets, blowing the vehicle to hell. I remember the terror I experienced in Rainbow Six when the enemy comes out with an RPG: someone on my team usually yells "RPG"!! and we all run for cover. And the RPG acts like a real RPG: it's not tremendously accurate, so you have to get fairly close. And the Rocket itself wobbles a bit in it's flight path, just like a real RPG. Likewise, enemy helicopters will sometimes be able to strafe out of the way of an RPG. However, the game designers did a good job of ballancing the gameplay by limiting you to only carrying 4 rockets max.

Oh, there are so many different ways to approach a given mission. And, I love the fact that you can recruit various faction soldiers on the fly, to help you out with any mission you want. They will automatically align with you and fire on your enemy. ALSO, they do a good job of not killing the members of the 52 card deck, allowing you to subdue them if you desire. Instead, your ally AI provide support fire and go after the enemy minions, leaving you the choice with how to deal with the main target.

In these regards, the AI does demonstrate some pretty good behavior. They will use entrenched weapons when available, use gun turrets on vehicles, etc. However, they don't seem to take cover very well. (In fact, they act a lot like the ally AI in Ghost Recon 2). So, they are somewhat limited. However, bringing them with you in a fight helps provide cover fire as well as a distraction ... the enemy won't be concentrating all their fire on you.

The Helicopters: oh man, they control very well. The copters in this game control MUCH better than in San Andreas. The controls are intuitive and easy, yet flying them still requires some skill as they act rather realistically. The copters also come equipped with weapons. AND, if an enemy copter gets close to the ground, you can jack it.

MMMMM .... pure nonlinear goodness.

Rogue Bounty Hunter

01-13-2005, 08:25 PM

Is there a penalty for AI soldiers getting killed while they travel with you? I mainly do things Solo, especially since I take the scenic routes and stumble upon enemy camps.

I thought the game would feel easy, too, until I died 4 straight times at the same place. The devs did a good job making sure that the helicopters wouldn't be the strongest vehicles in the game. All it takes is two SAMs, and it's usually toast.

So far, it seems like they don't give exact locations to anyone in the "deck", which gives the game a "being the hunter" type of mood.

The only bad things I have seen in the game have been a few trees not connected to the ground near one cliff, and the water. The water is usually the best part of an Xbox game, but Mercs' water looks more like a thicker fog than actual water. I guess that's one of the downfalls of it being a multiplatform game.

Darwin

01-13-2005, 08:45 PM

Is there a penalty for AI soldiers getting killed while they travel with you? I mainly do things Solo, especially since I take the scenic routes and stumble upon enemy camps.

The devs did a good job making sure that the helicopters wouldn't be the strongest vehicles in the game. All it takes is two SAMs, and it's usually toast.

Yeah, I was totally caught off guard when I first flew an allied gun-chopper. I was thinking I was such a badass, going after my target with a gunship full-up with allied crew members. Then all the sudden, I was like, "What the heck is that sound" .... boom. Heat-seaking SAMs that are hard to dodge. You've got to be freakin kidding me?!! This is great. Just another example of how well-ballanced the gameplay is.

I don't think you incur a penalty if your buddies get killed on their own accord, even if they tag along with you on mission. The only penalties result from when your direct actions cause loss of friendly life: friendly fire from gun or explosion, collateral damage from your explosive or rocket, if you are piloting the gunship and get the crew killed because of SAMs.

I am seeing more evidence of intelligent AI. Some enemies are taking cover behind trees, and will move from cover to cover. They offer moderate support of each other. Friendly AI will abandon your vehicle if it is in imminent danger of being destoyed, or if they become overun. Also, the AI gunners do a pretty good job of taking down enemies. It feels a bit like Halo where you encircle the enemy with the vehicle while your AI gunner does the gunwork.

Did you figure out about the crouching (clicking left analogue stick)? Click the left stick in while standing-still to kneel down and get better accuracy. Also, your view will zoom a bit to give you a better aim. AND, you can walk slowly and slightly crouched: first stand still, then click the left analogue stick to kneel down, then push only a little on the analogue stick and you character will remain in crouched mode while he/she moves. They will move more stealthily and aim better. Pushing all the way on the stick causes them to go back to full running mode.

Rogue Bounty Hunter

01-14-2005, 08:42 PM

Yeah, I was totally caught off guard when I first flew an allied gun-chopper. I was thinking I was such a badass, going after my target with a gunship full-up with allied crew members. Then all the sudden, I was like, "What the heck is that sound" .... boom. Heat-seaking SAMs that are hard to dodge. You've got to be freakin kidding me?!! This is great. Just another example of how well-ballanced the gameplay is.

I don't think you incur a penalty if your buddies get killed on their own accord, even if they tag along with you on mission. The only penalties result from when your direct actions cause loss of friendly life: friendly fire from gun or explosion, collateral damage from your explosive or rocket, if you are piloting the gunship and get the crew killed because of SAMs.

I am seeing more evidence of intelligent AI. Some enemies are taking cover behind trees, and will move from cover to cover. They offer moderate support of each other. Friendly AI will abandon your vehicle if it is in imminent danger of being destoyed, or if they become overun. Also, the AI gunners do a pretty good job of taking down enemies. It feels a bit like Halo where you encircle the enemy with the vehicle while your AI gunner does the gunwork.

Did you figure out about the crouching (clicking left analogue stick)? Click the left stick in while standing-still to kneel down and get better accuracy. Also, your view will zoom a bit to give you a better aim. AND, you can walk slowly and slightly crouched: first stand still, then click the left analogue stick to kneel down, then push only a little on the analogue stick and you character will remain in crouched mode while he/she moves. They will move more stealthily and aim better. Pushing all the way on the stick causes them to go back to full running mode.

I finally hijacked my 2nd chopper. Thought I was going to do some "Airwolf" type of stuff until I got shot down, again. I read in one of the reviews (possibly EGM) that this game was orignally going to be a new Strike game (like the old Soviet and Nuclear Strike games on PS1). I guess that's why the choppers control as well as they do.

I need to start taking some AI buddies with me. I usually help them when they are in firefights, but will now have one to be the gunner.

I haven't used the crouch much for shooting, but definitely for ducking behind walls and things.

One thing I do want to point out: The fact that they don't give any time limits for loading an alive enemy in the chopper after you have taken him alive. I drove around for at least 5 minutes with the 3 of Clubs looking for a safe place to call for extraction. Finally took him to the Allies Mash and got rid of him.

theWacoKid

01-15-2005, 10:56 AM

Darwin

01-15-2005, 02:02 PM

FS and BestBuy have it on sale this weekend for $49.99. Pretty good game so far, but I've only played a couple of hours. Those artillery guys shoot for sh&*! I lay down an artillery strike, and they're all over the place. What's up with that?

I suppose it's a realistic portrayal of an artilary strike. That artillary technology is quite old. But if you are not interested in exact damage verses collateral damage, they do the trick. Don't worry, money is in plentiful supply in the game, so use your air strikes or long-distance attacks if you think they will help. IMO, these air strikes are one of the best parts of the game. And they just keep getter better and better as you play more.

Rogue Bounty Hunter

01-18-2005, 06:57 AM

Money is definitely plentiful in the game. I'm already up to 2 million in cash.

The Prince of Darkness

01-28-2005, 08:19 AM

Thanks to RBH, for putting this game at the forefront of our minds. Yeah, I bought the game, along with Res Evil 4. So far, the game is quite impressive.

Mercenaries is made by the same team (Pandemic) that developed Full Spectrum Warrier. You can almost see a little bit of FSW in the Mercenaries game: the way the AI move, the graphics, the little icons that appear above the enemy's heads, the level designs. But, the gameplay is quite different.

The best way to describe the gameplay is like: 1 part Ghost Recon 2, 1 part Freedom Fighters, and 1 part Grand Theft Auto mixed all together. If you've played those games before, you'll get a general idea of what the game is like. I won't bother decribing the deatils of the gameplay, since IGN's review did a good job of that (so go read it).

The game is kind-of a mix of arcade and realistic tactics. The vehicles drive somewhat realistically (as far as acceleration and turning), but the handbrake is not realistic. The targetting reticule does not shrink-grow with movement, thus allowing for run-and-gun gameplay (like in Brute Force). However, there are some differences with each gun's accuracy and power. And, from a distance, the gun's accuracy has an impact on the placement of the bullets, even though the targetting reticule does not indicate this. It's like accuracy is a factor of distance and gun type, but not movement or stance.

Just like in Freedom Fighters, you can recruit various AI members on-the-fly, but only by using a vehicle. AI will act as their faction dictates: they will fire upon enemies to their faction. AI who are near their base tend to stay put. But when you roll up in a vehicle, you can honk the horn and they will mount up and come with you. And if the vehicle has a gun on it, one guy will get on it and fire at enemies, like the Warthog in Halo.

The gameplay is quite open-ended. You can choose to ally with whatever factions you want, in order to obtain info on your primary objectives. In this way, it feels more like the old-school Grand Theft Autos on the Playstation 1. At any given moment, each faction in the game will either like, hate, or be neutral towards you. This is dynamic in that doing various missions will piss-off one faction while making that faction's enemy a friend of you. You can change this by doing various acts or bribing.

Overall, the game seems quite polished. Good graphics and framerate. Good, smooth controls, and the ability to adjust look sensitivity (thank you, Pandemic). Single player only.

So go read the IGN review. This appears to be a really cool game that many of you will enjoy.

Actually I got it like a week ago and I had been meaning to post about it but forgot until now. Man does this game rock or what? I love the control, the freedom, the weapons, and the explosions. There have been so many comparisons made to GTA, and I think that they are warranted. The thing is that I think that I like this game better in several ways. First, the graphics and control are better---the game does not seem to be as squirrley as the GTA games. Second, when I get about 10-15 hours into the GTA games it always seems like I lose "focus" with the story mode of the games. I really thought that SA was going to be different, but it has ended up going the same route as the others. I would rather just plug in some codes and wreak havoc. I really think that it is because the GTA games are too overbearing in terms of the many things that you can do...there is just too much freedom. This game seems to solve that problem quite nicely...you get some freedom, but it really seems like the story mode is more intriguing and rewarding to me. Anyway, I am enjoying this game immensely and I probably only have about 7 hours logged in so far. Oh and one more thing---I just love those faction meters---what an awesome twist. I mean I have the Chinese so pissed at me right now, and it was just from playing in the normal course of the game. I have not even set out to go hog wild on them.

Rogue Bounty Hunter

01-28-2005, 12:28 PM

Actually I got it like a week ago and I had been meaning to post about it but forgot until now. Man does this game rock or what? I love the control, the freedom, the weapons, and the explosions. There have been so many comparisons made to GTA, and I think that they are warranted. The thing is that I think that I like this game better in several ways. First, the graphics and control are better---the game does not seem to be as squirrley as the GTA games. Second, when I get about 10-15 hours into the GTA games it always seems like I lose "focus" with the story mode of the games. I really thought that SA was going to be different, but it has ended up going the same route as the others. I would rather just plug in some codes and wreak havoc. I really think that it is because the GTA games are too overbearing in terms of the many things that you can do...there is just too much freedom. This game seems to solve that problem quite nicely...you get some freedom, but it really seems like the story mode is more intriguing and rewarding to me. Anyway, I am enjoying this game immensely and I probably only have about 7 hours logged in so far. Oh and one more thing---I just love those faction meters---what an awesome twist. I mean I have the Chinese so pissed at me right now, and it was just from playing in the normal course of the game. I have not even set out to go hog wild on them.

I have had problems getting back into GTA :SA, but I think it may be due to a burnout of the game.

As far as the Chinese, I pissed them off too. It was kind of surprising, since I had them on very friendly terms. One mission, and the honeymoon was over. It's easy to get back into their good terms, depending on how deep YOUR pockets are.

One thing I found out: If you subdue a card but die before calling for extraction, go back to where he was (before you turn the game off due to being POed). He'll still be hog-tied and waiting to be hauled off.

The Prince of Darkness

01-28-2005, 12:50 PM

I have had problems getting back into GTA :SA, but I think it may be due to a burnout of the game.

As far as the Chinese, I pissed them off too. It was kind of surprising, since I had them on very friendly terms. One mission, and the honeymoon was over. It's easy to get back into their good terms, depending on how deep YOUR pockets are.

One thing I found out: If you subdue a card but die before calling for extraction, go back to where he was (before you turn the game off due to being POed). He'll still be hog-tied and waiting to be hauled off.

Hopefully I will get to try that one day, but unfortunately of the seven guys that I have gotten I have only been able to take two alive. I keep killing them by accident. So far I have played the game with very little stealth instead opting for the brute force approach. I have a feeling, though, that very soon I will have to change that approach in order to have success. Hey btw---here is a question for you. How in the hell do you pick something up with the helicopter winch? I can't seem to figure that one out and a couple of times it would have made life so easy for me.

Rogue Bounty Hunter

01-28-2005, 02:03 PM

Hopefully I will get to try that one day, but unfortunately of the seven guys that I have gotten I have only been able to take two alive. I keep killing them by accident. So far I have played the game with very little stealth instead opting for the brute force approach. I have a feeling, though, that very soon I will have to change that approach in order to have success. Hey btw---here is a question for you. How in the hell do you pick something up with the helicopter winch? I can't seem to figure that one out and a couple of times it would have made life so easy for me.

I usually go Rambo-stle until a card is identified, them I usually try my best not to kill him. I've killed only two in the clubs and diamond suits so far. The only thing that affects a dead or live card is the money, there's shouldn't be a change in the amount of intel you get.

As far as the winch, all I know is that you use the directional pad to lower/raise the winch. How to actually activate the magnetism......well I have no idea. I have tried lowering the chopper down as far as it will go w/o landing, and just try it as long as my patience lasts. That's about all I can tell you.

PoD, are you getting a baseball title this year? I'm leaning towards ESPN MLB 2k5 if it's $20. If not, I will pass on baseball, since the moods of the MVPBaseball players kind of annoyed me. Plus, I want some Sportscenter with my baseball.

Glockstar

01-28-2005, 03:50 PM

PoD, are you getting a baseball title this year? I'm leaning towards ESPN MLB 2k5 if it's $20. If not, I will pass on baseball, since the moods of the MVPBaseball players kind of annoyed me. Plus, I want some Sportscenter with my baseball.

I don't mean to butt in, but if you want some MLB (meaning: teams, players, stadiums, etc) with your baseball then there's really only one way for you to go... you heard the news (that's news plural), right?

Darwin

01-29-2005, 08:19 AM

I am rather surprised at this point because the missions themselves are not getting monotanous (sp?) or repetative. The game seems to throw in surprise after surprise.

I've also noticed that there are numerous different ways to approach each mission. In that respect, it kinda feels like Deus Ex.

In many ways, the game is better than Grand Theft Auto. Mercenaries has more ballance than GTA. I remember several GTA missions where you could figure out some easy way to exploit the game and finish a mission with little effort. In fact, with GTA missions, it almost seems like there was one very easy way to complete the mission and then a bunch of really hard ways to complete the mission. In Mercenaries, there seems to be ballances to prevent any real exploitation. For example:

- Using a helicopter to wreack havok below sometimes is helpful, but on some missions the enemy has anti-air missles. So, you cannot always use a helicopter to do the mission the easy way.

- Tanks are devastating, Yet, if you can manage to get close, you can jack them. Same with enemy choppers.

- You cannot always drive up to your target in an enemy vehicle without any resistance, because the game usually puts enemy officers near your target to reveal your disguise.

Every vehicle or weapon has strengths and weaknesses. There is no uber-item in the game. Lots of ballance. And this is what GTA games are missing.

Rogue Bounty Hunter

01-29-2005, 12:45 PM

I don't mean to butt in, but if you want some MLB (meaning: teams, players, stadiums, etc) with your baseball then there's really only one way for you to go... you heard the news (that's news plural), right?

Yeah, I heard the news. I thought the deal started next year, since there will be a MVP 2005 from EA (and more than likely, the rosters are done in the game already).

I believe I know how the winch works in Mercs. From messing around, I believe you can tap up on the directional pad to let go of what you have on the winch, and I believe that tapping down in the d-pad will grab hold of things. I've only tried it on a S. Korean Hummer (?) and a WMD box.

I finally came across a frustrating mission in Mercs. Took me 5-10 tries to finish it.

The Prince of Darkness

01-31-2005, 10:35 AM

Yeah, I heard the news. I thought the deal started next year, since there will be a MVP 2005 from EA (and more than likely, the rosters are done in the game already).

I believe I know how the winch works in Mercs. From messing around, I believe you can tap up on the directional pad to let go of what you have on the winch, and I believe that tapping down in the d-pad will grab hold of things. I've only tried it on a S. Korean Hummer (?) and a WMD box.

I finally came across a frustrating mission in Mercs. Took me 5-10 tries to finish it.

I did figure out the winch this weekend. You just have to line it up better than I was attempting initially. Man what a great game. Darwin was exactly right about his assesment of the balance and variance of these missions. This game is keeping my interest way more than GTA. In fact, my gaming time had been way down lately, and this game has restored my faith again. I really think that my favorite thing to do is blowing up the statues. There is nothing more rewarding than clearing an area of enemies, planting your plastic explosives, stepping back for the best possible view, and letting her rip. Awesome.

As far as getting a baseball game goes---RBH I really think that I am going to pass on it. I am finding it difficult to find games that I end up getting my money's worth out of anymore. I just know that a new baseball game will not be one of them. Really, other than hoops and golf games, I am moving away from the sports games in general. I just find that I play like a half a season usually and then they collect dust.

Rogue Bounty Hunter

01-31-2005, 08:10 PM

As far as getting a baseball game goes---RBH I really think that I am going to pass on it. I am finding it difficult to find games that I end up getting my money's worth out of anymore. I just know that a new baseball game will not be one of them. Really, other than hoops and golf games, I am moving away from the sports games in general. I just find that I play like a half a season usually and then they collect dust.

I usually play half a season in baseball games, but this year, I'm going to get one game and stick with it. I do expect the ESPN MLB 2k5 (or 2k6) to be $20 since EA will still have a MLB game this year, so I will go with that one as long as they do a better job with the graphics and the player's faces. They looked awful last year, like they pasted GIF images onto some bodies and thought that would pass.

If Sammy Sosa can stay healthy, the trade (if official) will be a steal for Baltimore.

I was just thinking of how great Mercenaries is....until I had to go after the Ace of Diamonds. They really tread the Ace cards like bosses, which is good. Strategy is definitely necessary for them.

The Prince of Darkness

02-01-2005, 10:51 AM

If Sammy Sosa can stay healthy, the trade (if official) will be a steal for Baltimore.

It seems like that is the case, but being a huge O's fan from way way back in the day I think that it will somehow blow up in our face. Remember Glenn Davis...Albert Belle...etc etc. I guess the good news is that we did not have to mortgage the farm this time, but mark my words on one thing. Sammy will end his career in B 'more, but it will not be the good way. Anyway, for this year I like our lineup, but we still have bad pitching woes(at least when it comes to competing with NY and Boston). I wish they would reallign us.

Rogue Bounty Hunter

02-02-2005, 06:21 AM

It seems like that is the case, but being a huge O's fan from way way back in the day I think that it will somehow blow up in our face. Remember Glenn Davis...Albert Belle...etc etc. I guess the good news is that we did not have to mortgage the farm this time, but mark my words on one thing. Sammy will end his career in B 'more, but it will not be the good way. Anyway, for this year I like our lineup, but we still have bad pitching woes(at least when it comes to competing with NY and Boston). I wish they would reallign us.

I think Chicago also has to fork over $12 million to help pay Sosa's contract, so that should soften the blow if he doesn't have a good season with the O's. I'm surprised the Cubs didn't want (or get) much for him.

I remember Albert Belle, and how shell he was by not retiring and collecting the rest of his contract instead. That was wrong of him, though. Glenn Davis? Did he used to play for Houston before Baltimore? I remember seeing a G.Davis for Houston on the very first RBI Baseball for NES.

Hopefully, some young pitchers will step for the O's this year, but it will definitely be tough to do anything in the AL East with NY and Boston buying championship caliber teams every year. Maybe Baltimore should be in the NL East?

The Prince of Darkness

02-02-2005, 08:22 AM

I think Chicago also has to fork over $12 million to help pay Sosa's contract, so that should soften the blow if he doesn't have a good season with the O's. I'm surprised the Cubs didn't want (or get) much for him.

I remember Albert Belle, and how shell he was by not retiring and collecting the rest of his contract instead. That was wrong of him, though. Glenn Davis? Did he used to play for Houston before Baltimore? I remember seeing a G.Davis for Houston on the very first RBI Baseball for NES.

Hopefully, some young pitchers will step for the O's this year, but it will definitely be tough to do anything in the AL East with NY and Boston buying championship caliber teams every year. Maybe Baltimore should be in the NL East?

Yeah we got that chump Glen Davis from Houston for the likes of Curt Schilling and Pete Harnish. I think we may have thrown in Steve Finley too. Then he got here and played for a few months, got his ass kicked in a bartime brawl, and his career sucked from that moment on. I'm still bitter about that one. We have so many players that we gave up that were lame for us, but ended up as allstars that you could field an allstar team with them. Seriously, I would go into detail, but I lost count of all the bad moves we have made. At least it seems like maybe we are learning because the price for Sosa does seem like a bargain on the surface.

Hey you really must know your baseball because you are exactly right about our pitching staff. They are young, up and down, and very promising. We will have to see how they do. The only thing that scares me is that Sidney Ponson is like our veteran ace of the bunch, and he is sketchy as hell. I really think that, had we gotten one of the true aces on the market, we would have been a force to reckon with. As it stands we could still be a spoiler this year.

As far as reallignment goes---I think that they should because let's face it---that division is just not fair at all to decent teams like us and Toronto. We are teams that could contend for the postseason every year if not for our division. I mean it is not like my other favorite team(the Md. Terps). They are in a rough conference, but at least they get to go to the dance and prove themselves. The O's don't have a chance.

Rogue Bounty Hunter

02-02-2005, 08:14 PM

Yeah we got that chump Glen Davis from Houston for the likes of Curt Schilling and Pete Harnish. I think we may have thrown in Steve Finley too. Then he got here and played for a few months, got his ass kicked in a bartime brawl, and his career sucked from that moment on. I'm still bitter about that one. We have so many players that we gave up that were lame for us, but ended up as allstars that you could field an allstar team with them. Seriously, I would go into detail, but I lost count of all the bad moves we have made. At least it seems like maybe we are learning because the price for Sosa does seem like a bargain on the surface.

Hey you really must know your baseball because you are exactly right about our pitching staff. They are young, up and down, and very promising. We will have to see how they do. The only thing that scares me is that Sidney Ponson is like our veteran ace of the bunch, and he is sketchy as hell. I really think that, had we gotten one of the true aces on the market, we would have been a force to reckon with. As it stands we could still be a spoiler this year.

As far as reallignment goes---I think that they should because let's face it---that division is just not fair at all to decent teams like us and Toronto. We are teams that could contend for the postseason every year if not for our division. I mean it is not like my other favorite team(the Md. Terps). They are in a rough conference, but at least they get to go to the dance and prove themselves. The O's don't have a chance.

Were Steve Finley and Curt Shilling in the O's farm system at the time? I knew they were both old players, but they have been around forever. At least they are still productive.....but since your team got the short end of that deal, you probably don't want to hear about that. Is Sidney Ponson still as big as a Philly D-lineman?

I've been following Baseball since '91, when my team (Minnesota Twins) and Atlanta Braves both went from worst to first and met in the World Series.

I would have thought this new luxury tax thing would slow down NY and Boston from paying out huge contracts to players, but I guess the Big Stein doesn't mind. (I do have to give it to Steinbrenner. He will not sit on his money like some other owners. He will re-invest it back in his team.)

You're right. It doesn't seem any team besides NY and Boston has a chance in the AL East. For some reason (the RBH official prediction) I think Boston will stumble this season, and possibly miss the playoffs.

The Prince of Darkness

02-03-2005, 05:46 AM

Were Steve Finley and Curt Shilling in the O's farm system at the time? I knew they were both old players, but they have been around forever. At least they are still productive.....but since your team got the short end of that deal, you probably don't want to hear about that. Is Sidney Ponson still as big as a Philly D-lineman?

I've been following Baseball since '91, when my team (Minnesota Twins) and Atlanta Braves both went from worst to first and met in the World Series.

I would have thought this new luxury tax thing would slow down NY and Boston from paying out huge contracts to players, but I guess the Big Stein doesn't mind. (I do have to give it to Steinbrenner. He will not sit on his money like some other owners. He will re-invest it back in his team.)

You're right. It doesn't seem any team besides NY and Boston has a chance in the AL East. For some reason (the RBH official prediction) I think Boston will stumble this season, and possibly miss the playoffs.

Yeah I think that you could be right about Boston. Something tells me that they my have lost some of that magic from last year. I don't think that the Yankess will do it either, though. Think about it---those great teams that won those world series were all together for a good while. These teams that they are putting together now look awesome on paper, but they are having chemistry problems lately(not to even mention all the bad kharma from blowing away the competition in the payroll dept.). You may see your boys from Minnesota in the Series this year. Hell, they know how to play the Yanks---probably could have beaten them last year.

As far as Schilling and Finley go---they were not even in the farm system at the time. It is even worse. They were just young major league players, and the O's let them go. In fact, Schilling and Harnish were like the four and five starters that year. The kind that, if they gave you five good innings, it was a blessing. Man I am really dating myself here.

Rogue Bounty Hunter

02-03-2005, 11:06 AM

Yeah I think that you could be right about Boston. Something tells me that they my have lost some of that magic from last year. I don't think that the Yankess will do it either, though. Think about it---those great teams that won those world series were all together for a good while. These teams that they are putting together now look awesome on paper, but they are having chemistry problems lately(not to even mention all the bad kharma from blowing away the competition in the payroll dept.). You may see your boys from Minnesota in the Series this year. Hell, they know how to play the Yanks---probably could have beaten them last year.

As far as Schilling and Finley go---they were not even in the farm system at the time. It is even worse. They were just young major league players, and the O's let them go. In fact, Schilling and Harnish were like the four and five starters that year. The kind that, if they gave you five good innings, it was a blessing. Man I am really dating myself here.

Though I'm no big fan, I think the Yankees still have another year in them to actually do something. Chemistry will count (especially how they feel towards Giambi) but the Randy Johnson trade was huge for this season. After this season, I don't see those hitters being as productive, and Randy may start to show his age, finally. Once those Yankees start retiring, who can they call up to replace them? No one, because they have traded their good farm players.

I see Boston slipping to #3 in the AL East, but who will be #2? Just tell those Orioles to make sure Tampa doesn't end up #2.

Like last year, the Twins chances fall on Radke and Santana, who they need to sign a long term deal with. They also need another power hitter, but the owner pay be a tight wad with his cash.