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The top rated players in MLB The Show 16
Two players will open up MLB The Show 16 rated 99 Overall: Clayton Kershaw and Mike Trout. It’ll be their third year staking claim to the highest rating in the game. Bryce Harper is now ranked as the third best player at 97 Overall, passing by Miguel Cabrera who has slipped down to 96.
In total there are 35 players rated 90+ made up of 17 position players, 14 starting pitchers, and 4 relievers. That’s up slightly from the 33 players that started MLB 15 above 90 and the 29 that were there with MLB 14. It is, however, miles apart from MLB 13 which had 17 players rated 99 Overall alone, and MLB 12 which featured an astounding 44 players rated 99.
Continue on to check out the highest rated players at each position in the initial roster for MLB The Show 16. Read more
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NBA 2K16 may be getting a Steph Curry patch
Earlier this week on the Press Row Podcast two NBA 2K gameplay developers joined the show to discuss the development challenge that Stephen Curry has become for prestigious video game series. Curry hasn’t relented since and on Wednesday night made another absurd shot from beyond half-court. He’s now shooting 68% on shots from 28-50 feet out. The subject of getting his virtual self right isn’t going away, and 2K Sports is working towards giving Curry the abilities that he has in real life in the video game.
Some big news came out of that discussion. 2K16 could be getting a patch – if it happens it would be around May – to give Curry additional capabilities in the game. The form that is likely to come in would be one or more exclusive badges that would allow him to make contested shots at a higher percentage and make shots from ridiculous distances at a more appropriate rate.
Not only would it be unprecedented – a video game requiring an update to properly represent one specific player who can do things no one else can – but it would be arriving about eight months after release of 2K16. Annualized sports games generally don’t provide support that late into the cycle, outside of roster updates, as development focus has long before then shifted to the upcoming edition in the series instead.
For those who missed it here’s the Press Row Podcast episode or check out the specific segment as uploaded to Youtube below.
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Rocket League adding a basketball mode next
Psyonix has teased a new mode coming to Rocket League on social media and it’s an exciting one. The game will be getting a basketball mode! No further details were provided with release only being framed as “later this year.”
Last December Rocket League delivered the first change to its soccer-based format with a hockey mode. It was more than just a new visual skin on the game as the puck has completely different physics that dramatically changes the way those matches have to be played. The importance placed on the air-game in traditional matches is replaced with the necessity of utilizing the walls to a greater degree.
Basketball on the other hand will probably make the air-game more important than ever. Cars can soar through the air by using the turbo boost and lifting the front end, but also can climb the walls and drop off them, and those skills are going to be more critical to success with a ball that will be bouncing much higher than what players have become accustomed to and in protecting the goal.
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EA Sports UFC 2 Knockout Montage
With EA Sports UFC 2 out now with the trial through EA Access, areas of the game that were unreachable in last month’s beta can now be played. One of those is the new KO Mode, which offers up the appeal of staying on the feet and brawling for a finish. What it also provides is an opportunity to see a wide variety of knockouts with the new physics in place.
KO Mode is simply a blast to play around with, and I’ve put together a video showcasing some of the most vicious knockouts seen so far. Look for more videos to be posted over the coming days and a full review of the game Monday morning!
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Review of Casey Powell Lacrosse 16
After four years passing without a new lacrosse video game the first on the latest generation of consoles made its debut with Casey Powell Lacrosse 16 yesterday. It’s available for $50 as a digital download on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.
The game is a pleasant surprise, with accessible and fun gameplay, Career Mode playable as both “Coach” and “Player”, and a well-designed sharing system with community created files that can deliver real teams (67 colleges and all 9 from Major League Lacrosse). The price may prevent those with only curiosity from diving in but it’s worth a look whether a big lacrosse fan or new to the sport. Check out the full review of Casey Powell Lacrosse 16 on Sporting News and three gameplay videos are available to watch from the Hit The Pass Youtube page.
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10 hour trial for EA Sports UFC 2 now available through EA Access on Xbox One
EA Sports UFC 2 is out now to download as a timed trial with EA Access on Xbox One. Subscribers to the service will get 10 hours of playtime after which it will expire. The timer is ticking down whenever the game is loaded regardless of whether it is being played, menus are being navigated through, or if there is any activity taking place at all. So make sure to exit out and close the application from the Xbox One home screen when not in use.
The 10 hours are there to play whether or not all are used by Tuesday. Saves are stored on the hard drive so progress in any of the modes and online records carry over if a full copy is bought. The complete game is available during the trial period.
EA Access launched July 2014 and has remained exclusive to the Xbox One. This is the case because Sony has declined to offer the service through PlayStation 4 saying it doesn’t offer enough value, despite being arguably the best value in all of gaming. EA Access includes the “Vault” which offers unlimited play with nearly every game from the company’s catalog this generation, 10% off all digital purchases, and the ability to play games up to five days before they release with a limited timed trial. EA Access is $30 for a full year or $5 month-to-month.
New features with EA Sports UFC 2 include Ultimate Team, Knockout Mode, Custom Event Creator, Knockout Physics System, Skill Challenges, and Practice. The game is still available to Amazon Prime members to order for $48 standard edition or $56 Deluxe Edition.
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More on the two new ways to play in MLB The Show 16 Diamond Dynasty
While the basic descriptions were leaked through retail channels earlier, SCEA has now gone further into detail on the two new ways to play that will be found in MLB The Show 16’s Diamond Dynasty Mode: Battle Royale and Conquest.
Battle Royale adapts the concept found with Draft Champions in Madden NFL 16 and FUT Draft in FIFA 16. The online head-to-head games are played with teams that have been drafted. There is a cost of entry with “Stubs” for each tournament and card packs given as rewards. The most intriguing part of the mode is that people will get to use players they may not get a chance to with their normal Diamond Dynasty team but it’s disappointing that the games are limited to just three innings. Not only does that mean the exposure to those players will be extremely limited, but the games themselves may not be all that satisfying in how they play out.
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Out of the Park Baseball 17 conducting a Tournament of Champions
One of the big new features to Out of the Park Baseball 17 is the new Historical Exhibition Mode. Beginning this week, leading up to and through release, OOTP will be conducting “Baseball’s Tournament of Champions” to determine the best team of all-time.
16 teams will be included, with the first 12 having been determined by a panel of nine baseball experts that include ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian, MLB Network’s Brian Kenny, and former player/current analyst C.J. Nitkowski. The first 12 teams in the tournament will be announced during a live stream on Wednesday, March 9.
The remaining four teams will be voted in by the community. That process will begin on Thursday, March 10 with the final selections being revealed during a stream on the 16th.
The “16 in ‘16” tournament will feature a seven game series for every tournament matchup. The competition will run from March 24th through April 14th, with select matchups broadcast live on Out of the Park’s Twitch channel, including the final series in its entirety.
The Historical Exhibition Mode makes all this possible as it allows for two teams, from any point in time, to play against each other in a single game or full series.
Over the course of a series, player fatigue, pitching matchups, and game-specific strategies will ensure an unprecedented level of accuracy and elimination games will be managed different from others. Additionally the feature allows the teams to play in a fashion that represents a selected year/era. This calculates the player ratings (normalized against each team’s specific year and then adjusted to the era) and sets up the league totals as well as the strategy settings, including rotation size and strategic tendencies.
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