Every Sunday, we will get you caught up on the sports gaming news you might have missed, during the busy week. This includes featured articles from the staff and new trailers.
Sports Gaming News
- Diamond Dynasty – Parallel Paradise Event Features Honus Wagner and Steve Cishek
- Headliners Set 4 All-Star Mariano Rivera Added to Diamond Dynasty
- FIFA 22 Patch 9 Coming Soon For All Platforms – Patch Notes (Available For PC Now)
- MLB The Show 22 Patch #3 Available Now – Patch Notes
- eFootball 2022 Patch 1.0.0 Available Today
- NHL 22 Patch 1.61 and Roster Update Available – Patch Notes
- MotoGP 22 Video – Deep Dive Into New Features
- Diamond Dynasty – Topps Now April Program Begins
Operation Sports Featured Articles
One of the more controversial changes from previous PES‘ was the change in defensive mechanics. Following in FIFA‘s footsteps, the removal of second-man pressure (apart from offline Legacy defending) was a step towards making the gameplay more competitive and skill based. As was/is the case with FIFA, the success or failure of this approach all comes down to the intelligence of your AI players, and right now both games offer little in the way of help from your AI teammates.
After hearing from the community, Konami has reverted back to legacy defensive mechanics for the upcoming patch. I’m on the fence with this change. On one hand, I welcome the challenge of learning a new defensive style, but that requires intelligent teammates that are positionally sound with targeted aggression. On the other hand, I do like playing passing lanes while I can dictate my AI defenders closing down, but this requires balance since it relates to stamina and fatigue to avoid abuse.
While the season play stays the same, there is a new option implemented during the actual season, which is referred to as “player wire.” The all-new player wire will pop up for the first half of the season after each week is played, and it will inform you of how certain players are feeling. This is impacted by their play, and whether or not they are happy with their contract.
You will have options to meet players’ demands, or you also have to option to cut them, but the chances are limited and so you need to understand how that player fits into your salary cap and your team’s future. If they don’t, let them play out their initial contract or cut them.
One of the nice, under-the-radar features of MyLeague/MyNBA is the fact that players retire and become coaches in NBA 2K22. It’s not a back of the box listing but can add longevity to any save before both the rosters and coaching staffs fill up with fictional people. It’s a great thing that PS2-era Madden games had (I can’t be the only one who hired Ray Lewis and Brett Favre as my coordinators every time). NBA 2K’s version suffers from two of the same things that Madden’s feature suffered from: there’s no indicator saying which players will become coaches when they retire, and those who do are always star players. However, through some trial and error, I’ve managed to find a way to get any player to retire and become a head coach in NBA 2K22.
Whether you’re someone who likes to experience every single pitch throughout the entire season, would rather dip in for pivotal moments here and there, or want to play your league games against other real people online rather than the CPU, the good news is that MLB The Show 22 has something for you. Between franchise mode, March To October, and Custom Leagues, MLB The Show 22 gives you variations on how you can set up and approach a season of baseball by allowing you to choose how much time and effort you would like to devote to it.
While all of these modes do deliver on their intentions and each serves a valuable purpose, there are also some limitations within them that still need to addressed if they are ever going to reach new heights. In fact, there’s the unmistakable stench of familiarity lingering in all three of the aforementioned modes, making it difficult at times to distinguish this year’s edition of the game from the last. To be fair, this isn’t entirely a blatant copy and paste job and there are a handful of worthwhile additions and important fixes in certain areas that needed to be addressed from a year ago. However, these still aren’t enough to shake the feeling that those of us who prefer to play these modes aren’t being given the same kind of attention as those who enjoy playing Diamond Dynasty and are being deprived of certain aspects they desire from a baseball video game.
I’m revisiting Session because a massive new update just dropped. This update fixes many of the issues folks have experienced over the years with the game, but the most significant improvement is clearly in the game’s physics. This has been completely revamped since the last time I picked up the sticks, and a large part of that is due to crea-ture’s use of “Full Body Inverse Kinematics” that makes skaters feel more lifelike.
Skaters feel more realistic now. Tricks aren’t necessarily harder to land or pull off, but the difference is there. They almost feel heavier and more lifelike. Session: Skate Sim is also unique in that it allows gamers to tweak nearly every aspect of the game. From the length of your board and wheel grip to the speed you’re going and the terrain you’re skating, these minor tweaks can leave a lasting impression.
Awards David Price being the headliner for the pack is an interesting choice because he’s generally been unpopular in DD. Having a sinker and cutter should help in some respects, but this might be one of those cards where it has to earn some respect. I don’t know if that respect will be coming with the 87 H/9 and a lack of top-flight stats in any one category. The velocity is there, and the speed differentials look solid, but I have my doubts about this card based on the past.
Breakout Christian Yelich might be the safe choice here, albeit it comes with some concerns as well. He has great stats from both sides of the plate and has 76 speed, but his bronze defense and 67 vision are just middling. Still, Yelich cards are generally popular, and he has a sweet lefty swing to draw people to him.
EA Sports College Football is still a twinkle in everyone’s eye more than anything right now, but it does not mean we have not been thinking about what’s on the horizon. How will recruiting be handled? What kind of sandbox-like options will we have? What newly introduced MyTeam-style mode will eat up resources and be the focus of career mode users’ frustrations? All of these are real questions I have, but my biggest question comes back to TeamBuilder and how it will evolve (assuming it even exists!) in the newest college football game from EA Sports.
To make TeamBuilder the best it can be, I took a look at the current creation suites we have in some of the biggest sports games around and picked one thing TeamBuilder can borrow from each of them.
