Every Sunday, we will get you caught up on the sports gaming news you might have missed, during the busy week. This includes the latest videos from our content team and featured articles from the staff.
Sports Gaming News
- MotoGP 21 Releases This Week – Here Are Some New Screenshots
- Skate City Releases on May 6
- FIFA 21 Patch #14 Available For Consoles – Patch Notes
- Developers Discuss MLB The Show 21 Road to the Show Upcoming Fixes & Improvements
- Thrustmaster Ferrari SF1000 Wheel Add-On Revealed
- NBA 2K21 Patch #7 Available For PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S – Patch Notes
- Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown Trailer Revealed
- RIDE 4 Patch Adds 2021 BMW M 1000 RR
- Super Soccer Blast: America vs Europe Announced – Releasing June 11
- NBA 2K21 Roster Update Available Today – Full Details Here (4-22)
- Blood Bowl 3 Gameplay Trailer – Black Orcs Spotlight
- Assetto Corsa Competizione British GT Pack Coming to Console on April 28
- Play WRC 9 Through the Weekend with Xbox Live Free Play Days
- Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions DLC 3 & Free Story Update Available
Operation Sports Video
I always like following the stadium accuracy thread on OS where the hardcore fans of various MLB teams pick out what’s been added to their favorite parks, and what SDS needs to do in order to update these MLB stadiums to get to 100% accuracy. With that in mind, we have posted all stadiums in MLB The Show 21 in a single video. This includes all MLB teams, plus all the retro and SDS-generated stadiums as well.
Operation Sports Featured Articles
The last 24 hours in the world of footy have been, well, interesting. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, the news of the day was that 12 of the top clubs in Europe have potentially decided to break away from the traditional European Club competition (UEFA Champions League) to form a new Super League. With three more traditional European powers still on the fence (Bayern Munich, PSG, and Dortmund), the groundwork is in place to upend the traditional European structure and economic climate. Whether you’re a fan of this move or not (I’m personally indifferent as European club soccer is already an elitist oligarchy — and the latest Champions League changes are pushing it closer to looking like the Super League either way), the ramifications are huge, both in a real-world and FIFA-related sense. Since we all will be bombarded with news of how this impacts real life, let’s focus on how the Super League could impact FIFA (and PES to a smaller extent).
Veteran Eric Davis has been added to the 1st Inning Program in MLB The Show 21. For the uninitiated, we generally get a couple player programs in the midst of every inning program. The ways to unlock the player can vary, but generally SDS will mix moments together with missions to snag the newest card. To find the progress chart for Eric Davis, you had to the Player Programs tile and can scope out the path to 50 points and the unlock. Also, unlocking Eric Davis will also net you 35,000 XP in the 1st Inning Program when you add him to the collection.
Headliners Set 2 Prospect C.J. Abrams has replaced Postseason Josh Donaldsonin Headliners packs today. Prospect C.J. Abrams is a 90 overall. Abrams looks like a fun player to try out since he can play the entire outfield, as well as shortstop and second base. He has 96 speed, 95 stealing, 84 fielding, 91 contact vs. RHP, and 87 contact vs. LHP. In other words, he looks like your prototypical top-of-the-order hitter with the added bonus of being able to play the middle infield or a utility role. For now, he can probably start on most teams, but he looks like a very good bench bat in the weeks ahead.
Hey, so we made it. MLB The Show 21 officially launched at midnight EST for the Xbox and PlayStation platforms. The servers decided to take a dump for much of the night, but that was not unexpected considering the influx of people who probably took advantage of Game Pass to download The Show on Xbox consoles. SDS has actually been relatively solid on the servers front during the past couple seasons (SDS used to have a rough go of things here), so hopefully this is just a minor bump in the road. Regardless, we just want to highlight some community concerns that relate to MLB The Show 21 at this early stage, and also use this as a launch day guide of sorts to help veterans and new folks get acclimated by mentioning some tidbits here and there.
The story of Mark Prior’s career is filled with incredible highs, devastating lows, comparisons to Tom Seaver, USC folklore, what-if scenarios, and on it goes. It’s weird to think back on Prior’s career now because it technically only lasted for five MLB seasons, but it just felt like so much happened, and there were so many different ways it could have gone. Did a lot people really say he had “perfect” mechanics, or did that just get accepted as part of the lexicon after the fact? Does he still have the same number of injury issues if anyone but Dusty Baker becomes the manager of the Cubs in ’03? Questions like these are hard to answer, and you’re probably also wondering how this relates to an MLB The Show 21 review. Well, a lot like Prior’s career at certain moments, The Show this year does feel like it’s at a crossroads.
The gameplay in MotoGP 21, specifically on the track, has really stood out for me. It’s somewhat difficult to and explain the intricacies and the finesse that is required to be successful now, but I’m going to attempt it. The MotoGP series has always been a technical series, but not to the level that ’21 requires, and I welcome that change. The minute I hit the track, I could feel the difference in the new physics and bike handling that the developers had talked about previously. Whether it was me sweeping through a curve, attacking an S-curve, or navigating around multiple opponents, my focus and bike control always had to be on point if my goal was to reach the podium.
As of late, the racing genre has been packed with titles that have delivered deep experiences, and licensed IPs that have taken fans straight from the TV to the world of video games. Often, it seems like I am reviewing one AAA racing title and the next one is in the queue already. This is not the worst problem to have as a reviewer, and I welcome it because it means the racing genre is as strong as it has been in a long time. However, with so many titles in a certain genre some slip through unknowingly, and if not for a few friends of mine in the real world of NASCAR, Circuit Superstars Early Access from Original Fire Games would have done just that.
If you’re like me and you’ve been enjoying NBA Ball Stars, then chances are sneaking a game in here and there while you’re supposed to be “working” has become a regular thing since it was released back on April 6. If you’re also like me, then you’ve been crushing it in Season Mode, getting your confidence up only to catch a lot of losses in both Versus and Showdown mode. Playing versus another human is always going to be tougher, and while this applies to all games, there are some tips and tricks I’ve picked up lately that have me back in the win column. So here is an NBA Ball Stars guide that includes six tips that have raised my game to a higher level.
The 1st Inning Program is ready to go here at launch for MLB The Show 21. Programs are mostly unchanged this year from a structural standpoint, but it does appear the influx of stuff to do will vary slightly now with no Showdown at launch. In addition, you’re not chasing 300 stars anymore but rather XP totals. To get to the 1st Inning bosses, you need 350,000 XP. On top of that, the rewards are more robust here since there are no more long-term XP programs to chase. Lastly, programs now have finite end dates on them. This 1st Inning Program ends 21 days from now, which would place the end date right on May 7.
Carlos Rodon’s no hitter is the centerpiece of this week’s Topps Now April Week 3 moments in MLB The Show 21. Topps Now Carlos Rodon is one of two new diamonds in the choice pack, along with Topps Now Adam Duvall. They are joined by gold Ty France and gold Tyler Stephenson. You can select one diamond and one gold in the choice pack if you complete all of the Topps Now moments.
The Space 2 packs have a fresh face hiding inside, Mike Hampton. Hampton joins prospects and MLB players in the continuation of the Space series. In total, there are eight new players and three new uniforms to try and obtain. Like with the Space 1 packs, there is a two-tier system where you can either get a 90+ overall player (if you’re lucky) or an 87 overall player.
Headliners Set 3 Awards Tim Salmon has replaced Prospect C.J. Abrams in Headliners packs today. Awards Tim Salmon is a 91 overall. Let me just say that I destroyed the baseball with Tim Salmon last year in ’20. I’m not sure if he had a lot of buzz by the end of the cycle, but I feel like he was not talked about much when he was included in the Team Affinity Stage 3 last year. The buzz instead went to guys like Thome, Killebrew, Dawson. And, to be fair, those players all ruled, but I always gravitated back to Salmon. I have no idea if I’ll have the same luck this year, but I’m just throwing it out there.
