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Press Row Hangout: Responding to Viewer Submitted Questions and Topics
The latest Press Row Hangout takes on viewer questions and suggested topics that were submitted prior to and during the show. For those who prefer to listen to podcasts over the video hangouts, the show will be offered in audio form within the next few days and a new posting will go up at that time. With the Press Row Podcast taking a holiday break more live hangouts are planned to fill the gap. As always feel free to leave any thoughts on the subjects or show feedback in the comments!
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End of Year Community Awards: Best Franchise Mode of 2013
The year-in-review process continues with another category to vote for in the Community Awards. Best Franchise Mode has been won by the Madden series for the past two years. It’ll face a challenge from NCAA Football 14 and NHL 14. Continue on for the summaries of each, to vote in the poll, and leave any thoughts in the comments! Read more
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NCAA Football 14 Deal on Xbox 360
PlayStation 3 owners got the benefit of special deals in recent weeks with MLB 13: The Show for $10 and NHL 14 for $15. Buying them digitally even made sense for those who already had them on disc and could re-sell them for more than that. Now those with Xbox 360s can take advantage of a similar offer.
NCAA Football 14 is available as a digital download through Xbox Live for just $15. There are no real discounts on the game elsewhere – even Amazon has new copies sitting at $60 with used copies going for $48 and up. The Microsoft deal runs through December 30th. Others worth noting are SSX and Fight Night Champion for $5.
Considering this is the last NCAA Football for the foreseeable future it’s especially worthy of consideration. Anyone who already owns it could also look to grab the digital license for the $15 and sell the used copy of the game for over $40. Those who don’t want the trouble of selling could just trade it in to Amazon and get $22 in credit. Either way it’s a net gain. Since the situation is unique the value of NCAA 14 has not dropped in the way sports games typically do.
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The Press Row Podcast Top Three Sports Games of 2013
Last week the year-end Press Row Podcast was released with a discussion on the best sports games of 2013. The results shaping a top three were as expected at the top and maybe somewhat surprising at the bottom.
The finally tally had next-gen FIFA 14 taking the crown of Best Sports Game of 2013. In second place was NCAA Football 14 and third was next-gen Madden NFL 25. MLB 13: The Show just missed out on making the top three. My submission which factored in had The Show as the top game, followed by NCAA Football 14 and FIFA 14.
For those who haven’t listened to the episode arguments are made for and against each game, the ranking process explained, and the personal lists of each panelist revealed. Check out the podcast for iOS through iTunes, on Android with the Stitcher app, or in the streaming player below. What do you think of how the rankings shook out?
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End of Year Community Awards: Best Career Mode of 2013
The year-in-review process continues with another category to vote for in the Community Awards. Best Career Mode features NHL 14, NBA 2K14, and MLB 13: The Show to determine which offered the best experience for controlling a single player through a personal journey. It’s a category that has previously been won by The Show and NBA 2K. Read more
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Online Troubles Escalate Following Latest NBA 2K14 Patch
It seemed things couldn’t get much worse for the next-gen version of NBA 2K14. The practically always-online nature, its damaging VC implementation, and crashes affecting many were already well publicized. Last week’s patch did little to improve the situation as many are still unable to play MyCareer or MyGM due to crashes. It also introduced a new bug in MyGM that prevents proposed contract details from being altered essentially wrecking free agency.
There are other areas of the game though such as online play that has also been adversely affected. Lag has worsened – so much so that scattered complaints before (fairly typical relating to online performance for any game) have amplified greatly with extensive discussion taking place on forums, through social media, and those directly contacting me about how online has become unplayable. Besides the lag, consumers have been unable to play friends on the Xbox One, something that was not rectified in the patch and continues to this day. The useless Online Leagues also were not helped in any fashion by the update.
2K Sports has remained quiet regarding all the various issues and have failed to even acknowledge the frustration they have caused consumers leading some to file complaints with the Better Business Bureau or contemplate class action lawsuits such as the one that EA now faces for the botched launch of Battlefield 4. It’s especially unfortunate that people have to resort to those means to try and reach a satisfying conclusion but that is where things stand right now.
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The Line Drive for December 22
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
♦Make sure to vote for year-end awards: Best Gameplay, Best Mobile, Best New Feature.
♦A killer MyGM bug introduced in the NBA 2K14 patch prevents contract offer alterations.
♦Latest NBA 2K14 roster update returned Andre Iguodala and injured Kobe Bryant.
♦Screenshots of Alexander Gustafsson and GSP added to the EA Sports UFC album.
♦EA Sports released a new teaser trailer about the vision for the UFC franchise.
♦Update to New Star Soccer brings more improvements to the fantastic mobile game.
♦EA Sports has posted a video with gameplay tips for NBA Live 14.
♦EA Sports has started doing head scans of players for NBA Live 14 and beyond.
♦The latest NHL 14 roster update includes over 500 new players from nine different leagues.
♦The latest patch for Need for Speed Rivals has added the new Ford Mustang for free.
♦The latest patch for Forza 5 added two new game modes and adjusted the economy.
♦Check out Ray Allen’s “nickname jersey” that’ll be worn later this season.
♦Check out the new logos that’ll debut next season with the return of the Charlotte Hornets.News and content that may have been missed from the last week around the site.
♦Trailer for 22 Jump Street. The sequel to the hilarious 21 Jump Street coming in June.
♦Trailer for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Jason Clarke and Keri Russell star.
♦Paul Rudd Cast as Ant-Man. The Marvel film is due out July 31, 2015.
♦Trailer for How To Train Your Dragon 2. The sequel is headed for release in June.
♦Netflix to Offer 4K Content. House of Cards is first show to take advantage of ultra-HD.
♦The Bond 50 Collection on Blu-ray on Sale. Just $120 which is 60% off for the 23 films.
♦Insidious: Chapter 2 Releases on Blu-ray/DVD. The only major release of the week. -
Press Row Podcast: Sports Game of the Year
The latest addition of the Press Row Podcast is one of the most highly anticipated ever as Sports Game of the Year selection show! Listen to hear arguments made for the games in question, the final tally of the top three sports games, and how all the panelists ranked them. This will be sure to incite some debate. The game I rated number one did not finish in the top three, but the winner did turn out to be a consensus choice panel-wide.
Check out the podcast through iTunes, on Android with the Stitcher app, or in the streaming player below. As always leave any feedback on the show or topics to discuss for future podcasts and hangouts in the comments!
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