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More on the central gameplay improvements coming with Madden NFL 18
Earlier today EA Sports released a trailer teasing various new features related to gameplay for Madden NFL 18. Those features included Target Passing, Play Styles, and new WR/DB mechanics. The publisher quickly followed that up with developer blogs that go into far greater detail than had previously been revealed on each. Read more
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First gameplay trailer for Madden NFL 18
There hasn’t been much promotion for Madden NFL 18 since its appearance at EA Play in mid-June. Then the new story mode took center stage with it being used as the main selling point in an effort to reach more casual consumers.
Today things have finally shifted towards gameplay with new features and improvements put on display in the first gameplay trailer. Though the trailer flashes glimpses at features like the Target Passing it does nothing to explain at all their significance or how they work – almost surely EA Sports will be following up on those with detailed blog posts in the near future.
Please enable Javascript to watch this videoMadden NFL 18 releases on August 22 to those willing to pay the extra $20 for the G.O.A.T. edition and August 25 for the standard edition. Those with EA Access on Xbox One will get to start playing the 10 hour trial on August 17.
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Soundtrack for NBA 2K18
While soundtracks in sports video games have taken on reduced importance in recent years, 2K Sports has continued to put considerable effort into using them to create additional buzz for upcoming NBA 2K games. Today the full soundtrack was detailed for NBA 2K18. After years of headliners that supposedly helped to put together the playlists such as Jay-Z, Pharrell, Imagine Dragons and LeBron James, this year there’s no big name fronting it.
There are 50 songs on the NBA 2K18 soundtrack with a wide range of performers from today and the past including the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Future, Def Leppard, OutKast, Naughty By Nature and even Portland Trailblazers’ star Damian Lillard. Read more
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More on NHL 18’s gameplay improvements
With the online beta for NHL 18 set to begin next Tuesday more details on the various gameplay improvements that were made official late last month and then put on display in a trailer last week have been released. In digging deeper into the new Defensive Skill Stick and Creative Attack Dekes, EA Sports is laying out both the more capable and flashy offensive arsenal with a potential counter weapon on the other side. Read more
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The online beta for PES 2018 has begun
The online beta for Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 is now officially underway on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It’s an open beta so all those who wish to take part can do so simply by downloading it here for PS4 and here for XB1.
The beta runs through July 31 giving ample opportunity to play both the standard 1v1 online games and the new online co-op in 3v3 form. Feedback provided will be considered for a release day patch in September. This is the first beta run for the PES franchise in seven years.
Only two teams are featured in the beta with Brazil and France and matches are played in PES’ created Neu Sonne Arena. Time (day or night) and weather (clear or rain) are selectable options.
Besides the online co-op other new features for PES 2018 include Random Selection Match and numerous visual and gameplay-related improvements.
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Play with an updated roster that includes the rookies in NBA 2K17
While nothing is yet known about NBA 2K18 those who want to play with the incoming rookies and all the player movement of the offseason don’t need to wait two months for that game to arrive to do so. For those unaware, user-created rosters that feature up-to-the-moment transactions and the addition of rookies are available to download and use for new franchises or single games. It’s a subject that was just covered on Sporting News.
In order to download the rosters go to Features/Options from the Main Menu and then select Roster Creator and from there Create Roster. Then Search by Online ID – On PS4 it’s EmbraceThePace and Xbox One go with BryanDfor3. Save the corresponding offseason roster file and then load that roster up when starting a game or new franchise.
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First patch for The Golf Club 2 improves server-related issues and more
When The Golf Club 2 released it faced major problems due to its servers which rendered the game largely unplayable for three days. Thankfully ever since it’s been functional and stable but there remained some ways in which the performance could be improved.
The first patch for the game is already out on PC and just now has gone out on PlayStation 4. The wait due to the certification process with Microsoft could be only a few days away a week or two even if everything goes smoothly.
♦Society and Career stats updating with less delay from the server.
♦In-Game leaderboards updating with less delay from the server.
♦Less time delay between turn based shots with rivals/friends.
♦General optimizations to improve the load on the game servers
♦Addressed the ability to import and save legacy courses from TGC1
♦We have added the ability to donate to a society’s bank from your personal wallet.
♦We have added an active course filter to show all course with active rivals on them.
♦A setting has been added to turn off the ball label for ghosts and rivals.
♦Rebalanced AI for Career Mode.The delay in seeing your own score on the leaderboards especially was bothersome when playing tournaments, and being able to donate coins to a society is a neat way for members to help support them. Also noted for the patch by developer HB Studios is a fix for intermittent lag that has adversely affected backswings.
My initial impressions on PS4: menus load much faster and leaderboards keep up with your score, but the hitching on has actually worsened and affects more shots.Â
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The Line Drive for July 16
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
♦This week’s Press Row Podcast on NCAA Football is now also on Youtube.
♦The return of college sports video games is still unlikely after four years.
♦The latest event in The Golf Club 2 pastapadre society is now underway.
♦Breaking down the Jose Quintana trade through MLB 17 and OOTP 18.
♦Upcoming patch will address intermittent backswing lag in The Golf Club 2.
♦The online beta announced during E3 for PES 2018 will begin on Thursday.
♦Details on bug fixes in the latest patch that went out for Rocket League.
♦There are already over 4,000 workshop uploads for Fire Pro Wrestling World.
♦WWE 2K18 will also be releasing on Nintendo Switch when it’s out this fall.
♦Full details on the first major patch that went out last week for ARMS.
♦Headlining the ARMS update is the addition of a new character named Max Brass.
♦New update for Xbox One has added custom gamerpics and other new features.
♦Blu-ray releases this week are headlined by Kong: Skull Island.
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