The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
♦EA Sports has started listing the top players in FIFA 14 World Cup Ultimate Team.
♦An update is also coming to the mobile version of FIFA 14 with World Cup content.
♦Operation Sports takes a look at a number of pressing issues with MLB 14: The Show.
♦New video from the guys who made NBA 2K issues in real life mocking 2K management.
♦Check out the latest fighter screenshots for EA Sports UFC in the FB album.
♦EA Sports UFC looks fairly awful in this poor quality off-screen gameplay clip.
♦The cover vote for Madden NFL 15 has now reached the final four.
♦The vote for who will be on the cover of NHL 15 is in the last day of the semi-finals.
♦New mobile game PES Manager is out for free on iOS and Android.
♦Powerstar Golf is now considered to be free-to-play on Xbox One.
♦Latest update fixes some issues and updates rosters for Out of the Park Baseball 15.
♦New update has added 2014 Copa Libertadores mode to PES 2014.
♦Though Take Two had suggested it would be out late WWE 2K15 is slated for October 28.
♦The landmark Ed O’Bannon trial against the NCAA is set to begin on June 9.
♦Real names and external storage are coming with a June update to Xbox One.
News and content that may have been missed from the last week around the site.
♦Drawing Winner Gets Part in Star Wars: Episode VII. Among other tiered rewards.
♦Second Trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy. The Marvel film is due out August 1.
♦Teaser Trailer for Big Hero 6. Disney’s animated Marvel comic adaptation.
♦Man of Steel Sequel Gets Official Title. Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.
♦Trailer for The Equalizer. Denzel Washington reunites with Antoine Fuqua.
This past week EA Sports released the first look at UFC gameplay. With release under four weeks away, and the demo likely less than two, it was about time for people to get a look at it. Response to the footage has been mostly positive but concerns over how sim it is – granted based on just a single round likely played by two people rather than CPU – has also been raised. In this segment from the most recent Press Row Hangout the gameplay video and outlook for EA Sports UFC is discussed.
Since being officially announced early this year The Golf Club has been pegged by HB Studios as a spring release. While the game went out through Steam Early Access on PC a month ago, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions continued to be worked on and remain unfinished even now. A few weeks back the company stated a release in May on the new consoles was unlikely which meant there was only a three week window remaining where it would still fall within the original spring expectation.
Now we know the Xbox One and PS4 release of The Golf Club is being delayed until sometime in the summer. That period stretches from June 21 to September 22. It’s a good bet the game will land near the front end of it given the initial attempt to get it out sooner and the desire to avoid competition. UFC, Madden, NHL, FIFA, and NBA all arrive in the coming months – not to mention other hugely anticipated games like Destiny – and besides UFC those are concentrated in late August to early October. It’s important for The Golf Club to beat them to the market and with as much padding as possible if there is hope to get any mainstream attention.
When 2014 FIFA World Cup was announced for only the Xbox 360 and PS3, EA Sports also noted that World Cup content would be coming Ultimate Team mode in FIFA 14 on Xbox One, PS4, PS3, 360, and PC. Today the company laid out the plans for the free update to the mode which will be out on May 29.
FIFA 14 Ultimate Team: World Cup will be a separate mode within FUT. The content will come from the 32 teams involved in the tournament with all the official licensing that would be expected. The World Cup store will have packs to buy that include the players, kits, and more but there are no ways to trade players or acquire them through an Auction House. Each World Cup pack will also include a Gold pack for the regular Ultimate Team mode. Online and single player tournaments are the featured ways to play all the way from group to the knockout stages.
Earlier this week the first gameplay footage of EA Sports UFC arrived and the company followed up on that with additional information including the entire roster. There are 99 fighters split between 9 divisions. That’s more fighters than THQ’s first attempt at UFC in 2009 but less than they included in the 2010 sequel and Undisputed 3. Keep in mind that those games also had fewer divisions meaning greater depth in those present and other creations like separate Pride versions in the final edition of the franchise before THQ went under.
Though most are a given considering the licensing there are some notable individuals not included. Topping the list are Josh Barnett, Stipe Miocic, Anthony Johnson, Tim Kennedy, Tyron Woodley, Raphael Assuncao, T.J. Dillashaw, and Ali Bagautinov – all of which are ranked in the top half of their respective divisions. Expect many of them, and others, to be offered as DLC later.
Continue on for the full list of fighters – who are listed in order of their current ranking in the divisions with those unranked or inactive placed at the bottom of each – and leave any thoughts on the inclusions and omissions in the comments! Read more
The transition from physical discs to digital downloads isn’t advancing quite as fast as publishers, Microsoft, and Sony had hoped but that doesn’t mean the ultimate goal has changed. In the recent financial call regarding last quarter, Electronic Arts CFO Blake Jorgensen discussed digital growth for the company and the desire to reach an all-digital future. Read more
2K Sports yesterday released a new patch for NBA 2K14 on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It marks the fourth update to the game since its release with earlier ones having to address numerous serious issues. The Xbox 360 and PS3 versions did not get a single patch as the company moved its focus almost entirely to the new systems once they had shipped.
This patch primarily works to improve The Park mode, but also fixes a particular freeze bug in MyCareer, and prevents duplicate players from being used in a MyTeam lineup.
The post-release support related to The Park is probably not surprising considering the mode may rise to even greater prominence in NBA 2K15. The update does not appear to have addressed in any manner server outages, the rate of which seem to have risen as of late. Continue on for the full list of fixes and improvements delivered in the latest patch. Read more
EA Sports today launched a worldwide open beta for the free-to-play PC game FIFA World. A deep feature set includes multiple control options, 31 league licenses, Ultimate Team, Online Seasons, and in-game social feed. Sign up for the beta and download the game from the official site for FIFA World. Continue on for a trailer and more details on the features! Read more