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End of Year Community Awards: Best Sports Game of 2017
With 2017 having come to a close we look back on the developments that have taken place and acknowledge the various efforts in sports gaming. The final category is now open and it’s the big one! You can check out the winners from previous years here.
Best Gameplay, Best Career/Story Mode, Best Franchise Mode, Best Team-Building Mode, Best Presentation, Best Online Play, Best Post-Release Support, Best Racing Game, Best Mobile Game, Best New/Non-Yearly Game, and Best New Feature can also be voted on now. All winners will be announced next week.
The Best Sports Game category has been won by either MLB The Show or NBA 2K since 2012. Certainly MLB The Show 17 and NBA 2K18 enter the voting having a chance to win once again. 2017 however was a year in sports gaming that didn’t have a dominant effort that shined above all others. Pretty much every game had either a crippling issue, long-running deficiency, or poorly-received design decision. The field then would seem wide open with a chance also for Madden NFL 18, FIFA 18, and Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 to break through.
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Madden NFL 18 roster update details following Wild Card Weekend
The roster update reflecting performances through Wild Card Weekend is now available to download in Madden NFL 18. Typically once into the playoffs the ratings changes implemented will primarily affect those participating in the postseason games with a few random lingering adjustments being made to players who have finished their season.
Strangely this update is made up mostly of changes to the ratings of punters, many of which have seen fairly dramatic adjustments to their Awareness and Accuracy ratings.
Outside of punters the notable players on the move in the update include Tre’Davious White (+1 to 89), Cam Newton (+2 to 87), Kareem Hunt (+1 to 87), Marcus Peters (+1 to 87), Mark Ingram (-1 to 87), Tyreek Hill (-1 to 86), Andrew Whitworth (-2 to 84), and Derrick Henry (+1 to 83). Check out full details on current ratings and any changes in this week’s update through the form on the official Madden NFL 18 website.
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End of Year Community Awards: Best New Feature of 2017
With 2017 having come to a close we look back on the developments that have taken place and acknowledge the various efforts in sports gaming. The next category in the annual Community Awards is open for voting. You can check out the winners from previous years here.
Best Gameplay, Best Career/Story Mode, Best Franchise Mode, Best Team-Building Mode, Best Presentation, Best Online Play, Best Post-Release Support, Best Racing Game, Best Mobile Game and Best New/Non-Yearly Game can already be voted on! Only Sports Game of the Year remains. All winners announced later in the month.
It’s always great to get innovative features from sports games and this category goes to recognizing such efforts. Among the features that have won this award in the past are the weekly commentary updates that debuted in Madden 17, Year-to-Year Saves from MLB The Show 15, and The Jordan Challenge in NBA 2K11.
Madden NFL 18 earned two of the nominations in the category this year with the introduction of the three different play styles (Simulation, Competitive, Arcade) and the return of online team play now creatively integrated within Ultimate Team and called MUT Squads. NHL 18 gets the other nod by packing in what could have even worked as a standalone game on its own with the very fun arcade mode NHL Threes.
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Details on the first patch of the new year for Madden NFL 18
EA Sports today released yet another patch for Madden NFL 18. There’s only a few changes but they could be significant as they directly impact gameplay. Besides one fix to random instances where CPU ball-carriers would run super slowly it appears they are primarily directed at balancing with the competitive eSports and online head-to-head crowd particularly in mind.
♦Addressed an issue that was causing some AI controlled ball carriers to move slowly and/or not perform special moves
♦Tuned to decrease range of width on kickoffs to address the kickoff exploit that could force returners out of bounds inside their own five-yard linePlayers have given us feedback that they’d like more control when clicked-on to a defender in pursuit. We wanted to provide more opportunities for both user-controlled and AI-controlled defenders to make tackles vs. jukes and spins.
♦Substantial reduction to fake-outs for user defenders against ball carrier special moves
♦Slight reduction to fake-outs for AI controlled defenders against ball carrier special moves -
First look at the GOAT Career Mode in EA Sports UFC 3
Despite the early promotion for EA Sports UFC 3 and having held a beta that showcased its gameplay and changes to Ultimate Team very little has been mentioned regarding the “G.O.A.T. Career Mode” since its official reveal back in early November. That’s been a bit perplexing given that the promotional and rivalry aspect of the Career Mode is potentially the game’s biggest and most marketable selling point in terms of its feature set.
Now with just two weeks until the game goes out through EA Access and under three weeks until release the publisher is finally showcasing the mode. A new trailer out today puts the spotlight on the new elements outside of the Octagon which, along with performance inside of it, will determine your path to becoming the greatest of all time. Read more
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End of Year Community Awards: Best New or Non-Yearly Sports Game of 2017
With 2017 having come to a close we look back on the developments that have taken place and acknowledge the various efforts in sports gaming. The next category in the annual Community Awards is open for voting. You can check out the winners from previous years here.
Best Gameplay, Best Career/Story Mode, Best Franchise Mode, Best Team-Building Mode, Best Presentation, Best Online Play, Best Post-Release Support, Best Racing Game, and Best Mobile Game can already be voted on! Categories still to come are Sports Game of the Year and Best New Feature. All winners announced later in the month.
The Best New or Non-Yearly category involves games that made their debut in 2017 or are not among those that release annually. Because of that this has been a category with a diverse set of winners including the likes of Rocket League, The Golf Club, and three different UFC games.
Nominated this year is The Golf Club 2, which expanded its feature set and became somewhat more accessible while retaining its very sim-realistic nature. NBA Playgrounds gets a nod for bringing back arcade-style basketball with the league license and a deep roster of players added to considerably over time. Finally there’s Golf Story, a surprise RPG release on the Switch that has charmed seemingly everyone that has played it.
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The Line Drive for January 7
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
♦Keep voting in the various awards categories for the best of 2017!
♦NBA Playgrounds has finally been updated on Switch matching other versions.
♦Tim Kitzrow noted in a tweet that a new NBA Jam may be in the works.
♦Details on the new Playoffs Program in Madden NFL 18 Ultimate Team.
♦Details on the new Ice Cold Program in NBA 2K18 MyTeam.
♦MLB The Show 18 posted a shot of cover athlete Aaron Judge in the game.
♦Big Ant has listed some of the features to be found in AO Tennis.
♦Rocket League has now crossed 40 million players across the world.
♦Fire Pro Wrestling World will be coming to PS4 this summer with NJPW.
♦Need for Speed Payback will be getting online free roam early this year.
♦Following multiple controversies EA updated its code of conduct for eSports competitors.
♦Nintendo Switch is now the fastest selling console ever in the US.
♦Naturally big publishers sticking w/Switch but FIFA, NBA 2K likely only sports games.
♦Releases on Blu-ray headlined by It and on digital Jigsaw. -
Madden NFL 18 roster update details following end of regular season
The roster update reflecting performances through the end of the regular season is now available to download in Madden NFL 18. More players than usual were left untouched by the update but instead this one seems to have focused on players that were reevaluated as over or underrated when taking their season-long performance into consideration.
Among that group of players would be DeMarcus Lawrence (+2 to 94), Todd Gurley (+2 to 91 and now 4th highest rated running back), Dez Bryant (-2 to 88), and Jimmy Garoppolo (+3 to 83).
Other notables on the move this week include Harrison Smith (+1 to 96), Joey Bosa (+1 to 91), Devonta Freeman (-1 to 90), Greg Olsen (-1 to 90), Alvin Kamara (+1 to 88), Adam Thielen (+1 to 88), Patrick Peterson (-2 to 87), Demario Davis (+3 to 86), Jimmy Graham (-2 to 86), Marcus Williams (+3 to 85), Dion Lewis (+2 to 85), and Doug Martin (-4 to 77).
Check out full details on current ratings and any changes in this week’s update through the form on the official Madden NFL 18 website.
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