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Thursday, February 12, 2015
03:07 PM - February 12, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
2K has released the first of its “Showcase” DLC offerings for WWE 2K15, and it is modelled after the previous two entries that shipped on the disc. In this showcase, you play through the rivalry between Randy Orton and Christian, where they battle for the World Heavyweight Championship. This showcase is available for $9.99 (ha!), or it can be bought as part of the showcase season pass, which is available for $24.99. The season pass includes all showcases and some extra DLC.
Read More - WWE 2K15 Showcase Review: "One More Match"
Monday, February 9, 2015
12:13 PM - February 9, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
IDARB isn’t a traditional sports game, but who cares, as it’s incredibly fun. Even in a one-on-one situation, IDARB shines as a wacky and wonderful e-sport that provides glorious triumph, agonizing heartbreak and all sorts of laughs. With a plethora of crazy customization options and extensive social media integration, IDARB really seems to be something one of a kind.
Read More - IDARB First Impressions: Retro Sports Insanity
Thursday, January 29, 2015
12:19 PM - January 29, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
EA has released yet another content update / patch for EA Sports UFC, and this time they’ve added four new fighters to the mix as well as made a few tweaks to the gameplay balance. This will be the last major update for EA Sports UFC, as the developer is now looking to move their focus to “the future” (their words). I suspect development on the next UFC product has hit full stride, and maybe we’ll hear more about it at E3. We might still get small tuning updates to this product, but fighters being added is probably a thing of the past.
Read More - EA Sports UFC Content Update #7 Impressions
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
08:12 PM - January 20, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
With 2015 looking to start a bit slow in terms of games, especially with big AAA titles, there is a window for some indie developers to steal the spotlight. This is especially true in the sports space, as some industrious indie folks could come along and make a big impact in either an established sport or a fringe one. As both the Xbox One and PS4 start to gain market share — and with the WiiU, mobile and Steam providing other opportunities — there are lots of potential users for almost any sport. The proverbial brass ring is there if a developer wants to grab it.
What sort of games could we see? Frankly, I think almost every sport is up for consideration.
Read More - Will 2015 Be the Year of the Indie?
Monday, January 12, 2015
12:07 PM - January 12, 2015. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
We’ve seen a bit of everything when it comes to post-release DLC for sports games in the last year or so. There have been games that have maintained the status quo — boosts, Ultimate Team, etc. There have also been games that have doubled down on unpopular free-to-play concepts, such as NBA 2K’s VC system. And further still, there have been games that have tried to innovate in the DLC space by building a dialogue with the community and by releasing free content updates, such as The Golf Club and EA Sports UFC.
What’s aggravating about some of the more blatant free-to-play (F2P) strategies that some companies are using, as well as some of the status quo stuff like Ultimate Team, is that it has a knock-on effect to other products. Games that don’t ordinarily feature DLC hooks and F2P-style microtransactions suddenly become very predatory places for those companies willing to exploit every available dollar that could fill their coffers.
Read More - The Future of DLC in Sports Games
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
10:30 AM - December 31, 2014. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
Did you just pick up FIFA 15 over the holidays? Looking to get into the beautiful game? Well, there certainly is a lot to see and do in the annual FIFA titles from EA, but it’s always good to start with the basics. By focusing on a few core concepts, you’ll be able to compete against the AI, thrive in your career mode or contribute to your team in pro clubs online. The developers have actually done a fairly good job over the years of making the franchise accessible, and the range of options, sliders and modes will allow you to play the game your way.
Read More - FIFA 15: Basic Skills to Master the Game
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
05:39 PM - December 24, 2014. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
The Legends in EA Sports UFC have been padded out a bit, as Royce Gracie, Chuck Liddell and Bruce Lee (well, he’s just a legend altogether) have been joined by Mark Coleman, Matt Hughes, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Brock Lesnar. These four follow the trend of previous DLC in that they are a free add-on for owners of the game. All four of these guys are heavy-handed grapplers/strikers who usually had a habit of making their opponents go to sleep or quit, and it’s fun to see how they stack up, in the virtual sense, against today’s crop of UFC fighters.
Read More - EA Sports UFC's Four Newest Fighters (A Breakdown)
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
06:05 PM - December 10, 2014. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
EA has released a survey to inform its decision-making for the future of the EASHL, which may or may not appear in NHL 16. There were quite a few questions to answer (31, to be exact), and they ranged from very general to very specific. Some of them certainly indicate directions that EA may go with the mode, but it's hard to be sure. It's likely that they have some ideas and they want to see how much these ideas really resonate with the core audience before actually implementing them.
The general thrust of the survey was to see what had previously worked about EASHL and what hadn't. There was an emphasis on choice for what people wanted to see, and there were even some rankings for what users felt were the "most important" aspects of the mode.
Read More - NHL 16 Survey Reveals More On Potential New Features
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
08:11 PM - December 2, 2014. Posted by Steve_OS. Written by Glenn Wigmore
It's an interesting arrangement that came about today, as the UFC and Reebok announced a massive partnership that looks to homogenize the sponsorship aspects of MMA into one unified front. By establishing a uniform, so to speak, for all of the fighters, the UFC is effectively standardizing the way fighters will look for weigh-ins, press conferences and actual fights. This brings all of the fighters under one banner, as they will all be paid money based on their rankings but also for how well their individual uniform sells. They will be allowed some level of coloring and customization, which explains the varying royalties for unique fighters.
Read More - The UFC and Reebok: What This Deal Means
Friday, November 28, 2014
12:27 PM - November 28, 2014. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
With only two fighting games to consider, there is a limited body of evidence to see how sports fighting games have transitioned into the next generation. It's still a bit of a sore spot that there has not been (and won't be for some time) a boxing product, but we have EA Sports UFC and WWE 2K15 to fill some of the gap.
What's notable about EA Sports UFC is that it started out from a relatively solid base, and it's been iterated and improved a half dozen time now (via patches). Entirely new animations and concepts have been added to the core gameplay loop, and things like stamina, punch speed and groundwork have been tuned to counteract some of the problematic spam and exploits that have been an issue for offline and online play.
Read More - How Well Do Current Fighting Games Represent Their Sport?
Saturday, November 22, 2014
02:05 PM - November 22, 2014. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
Everyone has their go-to characters in a fighting game, and EA Sports UFC is no different. Particularly before the most recent patch, there were a predictable number of fighters you might see for the various weight classes. Names like Werdum, Aldo, Barão, Jones, GSP and Rousey are familiar if you’ve played any of online for EA Sports UFC, but here are six names that might not be as common. Some of them are a staple of certain players online, but I still see them so rarely that I think most people haven’t realized what they bring to the table.
Check it out…
Read More - Six Deceptively Good Fighters in EA Sports UFC
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
10:40 AM - November 18, 2014. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
With WWE 2K15 having kind of a strange release schedule, a lot of users have been waiting to see whether the new consoles make this year's entry worthy of the upgrade. After spending some time with the Xbox One version, it's safe to say that 2K's influence on this year's product is obvious. From some of the subtle animations changes and presentational flair, everything has received a boost in some way.
Then again, from what I've seen, there are clearly areas where corners have been cut to ship a product on time, such as missing modes, a smaller roster and a diminished creation suite. We're not talking NHL 15 levels of feature and mode omission here, but there are some items missing, so make sure you go in with your eyes open. Some users are quite upset at only 25 create-a-wrestler spots, for instance, compared to 100 on previous generation hardware.
Here are some of my quick impressions... (Make sure you share yours)
Read More - WWE 2K15 Day One Impressions
Thursday, October 23, 2014
02:07 PM - October 23, 2014. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
While it would be ideal to have an online franchise/booker option with multiple friends, one of the coolest additions to WWE 2K15 could be the use of friends’ created characters in the MyCareer mode. The “invasion” concept only supports five characters per career, but this is something that I think will really add some personality and randomness to the story-based offering. Reality is already bent by having your own created character in the world, so why not add some additional wackiness with your friends in the mix?
Read More - In WWE 2K15, One Sleeper Feature Which Could Revitalize MyCareer Mode
Monday, October 20, 2014
03:14 PM - October 20, 2014. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
When I play Pro Clubs in FIFA 15, I’m reminded of how frustrating, short-sighted and unacceptable the omission of EA Sports Hockey League is in NHL 15. While the narrative of NHL 15’s launch became about what modes weren’t in, I think the more understated point was a loss of a way to play. It was an affront to how users have started to build teams and community around sports brands. Online franchise modes and team play helps players invest in long-term commitments to a game, and they participate in these ecosystems even despite some microtransactions, server outages and player exploits. The ability to share an experience — triumph or defeat — becomes something powerful when each team member is investing in learning a position and contributing in their own way.
Read More - How FIFA 15's Pro Clubs Get Online Team Play Right
Sunday, October 5, 2014
05:23 PM - October 5, 2014. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
EA Sports UFC has its third patch out, and EA is once again showing that they’re at least committed to making meaningful changes to the gameplay months after the initial release. There are quite a few changes in this update, and there are two new fighters as well. Here are the details.
Read More - EA Sports UFC's Third Patch Impressions and Thoughts
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