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The Line Drive for April 9
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
♦The Review Roundtable episode of the Press Row Podcast is now also on Youtube.
♦Check out the full review of MLB The Show 17 written for Sporting News.
♦Annual OSFM Rosters were just completed – download from PSN Ridindwnkingsley.
♦The first official roster update for MLB The Show 17 will go out Friday, April 14.
♦Limited in both time and quantity new card packs are available now in MLB The Show 17.
♦An update to shooting that was needed after recent patch went out today for NBA 2K17.
♦Details on the latest Ultimate Team program to roll out in Madden NFL 17.
♦Some highlight GIFs featuring Westbrook, Lebron, Griffin from NBA Playgrounds.
♦Multiple patches have gone out over the last week to improve Old Time Hockey.
♦Digital Foundry examined technical details behind the upcoming XB1 (Scorpio) system. -
Press Row Podcast: MLB The Show 17 Review Roundtable
Coming off a win by MLB The Show 16 of the Press Row Podcast Sports Game of the Year Award, MLB The Show 17 reaches the marketplace with naturally high expectations.
The series went big with Ken Griffey Jr. on the cover and found within various modes of play in the game, story-like elements for Road to the Show, new simulation features for Franchise Mode, and more content in Diamond Dynasty which looks to remain the consumer-favorite team-building mode. Server issues however have plagued the game since release marring what otherwise would have been widely-favorable impressions.
This supersized episode of the Press Row Podcast features a full panel of the best evaluators of sports video games in the business examining all major aspects of MLB The Show 17.
Check out the podcast through iTunes for iOS, on Android with the Stitcher app, or with Pocket Casts on iOS, Android, and Windows. The show can also now be found on the recently launched Google Play Music for podcasts. Subscribe and review to help support the show! You can also listen with the streaming player below.
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NBA 2K17 gets a gameplay patch just in time for the Playoffs
It’s late in the season to be getting patches but another has just landed for NBA 2K17. As the 10th patch of substance for the game this one is primarily focused on improving gameplay. 2K17 has suffered from some gameplay issues including serious problems with defensive AI that were never really addressed through the post-release support until now. Other areas worked on relate to dribble moves, problematic animations, and off-ball contact.
♦Improvements to double team logic for more appropriate rotations and to prevent help defenders from leaving their assignments.
♦Enhanced several dribble size-up combos to make more responsive chaining moves together.
♦Improved off-ball collision logic to prevent excessive bumping for smoother offensive flow.
♦Removed dribbler collision reactions that slowed down ball handler with contact from behind.
♦Offensive AI enhancements for better decision making when countering double teams.
♦Fixed issue allowing travels if rapidly chaining together certain rhythm dribble animations.
♦Fixed issue preventing some players from signing 10-day contract in MyGM/MyLeague. -
FIFA 17 coming to EA Access Vault this month
EA Sports has announced the official date for FIFA 17’s addition to the Vault through the EA Access and Origin Access subscription services. The company states that the game will make it in on April 21. With that date in mind new Vault titles have consistently gone in a day prior to their official declarations so look for it on the afternoon of Thursday the 20th.
This will be right in line with the point at which FIFA 16 was added last year. FIFA 17 will be the final game out of EA Sports’ 2016 lineup to be included in the Vault, as EA Sports UFC 2, Madden NFL 17, and NHL 17 are already available with the service.
EA Access is $5 month-to-month or $30 for a year’s subscription. In addition to the Vault which offers up past games from EA’s catalogue, subscribers get early limited-time access to games before they release and 10% off all digital purchases of the games and DLC related to them. EA Access is available on Xbox One while Origin Access is found on PC.
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New arcade-style basketball game with NBA licensing will release next month
After a decade absent of arcade-style street basketball on consoles 2017 will offer at least two games that fit that mold. The unlicensed free-to-play 3on3 Freestyle released earlier this year and now there’s also one to look forward to that features NBA licensing and both current and legendary players with NBA Playgrounds. The game will release as a $20 digital download in May on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
NBA Playgrounds will be the first sports game from developer Saber Interactive. The studio’s portfolio is heavy on action games for PC and the last generation of consoles. They also have their own proprietary engine called Saber 3D.
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Review of MLB The Show 17
The MLB The Show series is nothing if not consistent and predictable, and that encompasses both the numerous ways in which it excels and any struggles or deficiencies it tends to carry over from one edition to the next.
With MLB The Show 17 noteworthy effort has been put into sprucing up some areas of weakness such as incorporating story-like elements in Road to the Show and two new commentators in the booth, but otherwise there isn’t a whole lot new to be spoken of feature wise. Diamond Dynasty has actually taken a step back unfortunately due to a poor design decision despite the addition quite a bit of content. Gameplay reigns supreme as usual with the series, and while that can compensate for a lot something it can’t overcome are rampant server issues. In the end the game will likely be thought of highly but it’s struggling for the time being.
Check out the full review over at Sporting News which goes into detail on everything in the game including gameplay, presentation, Franchise, Road to the Show, Diamond Dynasty, and the impact of problematic servers.
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The first Diamond Dynasty Event has now opened a day late in MLB The Show 17
Events are a new feature in MLB The Show 17’s Diamond Dynasty, providing an additional purpose for lower-rated cards which will be useful depending on the various themes that will be applied to them. The first one has gone live today involving rosters filled with only Common and Bronze players and will remain open into next Tuesday. Read more
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MLB The Show 17 roundtable discussion
There’s still a lot to cover with MLB The Show 17 including a full review and full panel podcast episode later this week, but first up is a piece put together by Kat Bailey at USgamer in which I contributed, as the two of us discuss initial feelings towards the latest entry in the series.
We hit on first impressions related to Franchise Mode and the decision to improve it primarily through features intended to sim large portions of games/seasons, how well the story-elements added to Road to the Show work for the mode, the problematic servers, enhancements provided by the PS4 Pro, and the impact of Ken Griffey Jr. being included in the game.
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