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FIFA 18 will be available on September 29 with Cristiano Ronaldo on the cover
EA Sports has announced that FIFA 18 will be released across the globe on September 29. The publisher also confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo, the award-winning forward for Real Madrid and Portugal’s National Team, will serve as the game’s global cover athlete.
Ronaldo also lent his “footballing” expertise to FIFA 18’s development team with a motion capture session that will inform “important gameplay elements” in the game:
To deliver innovation in FIFA 18, Cristiano Ronaldo’s data was recently recorded during a training session at a mobile EA Capture studio in Madrid. Data capture of Ronaldo’s acceleration, run cadence, skills, and shooting technique were all recorded to bring veracity to his likeness and personality in FIFA 18. His data also informed important gameplay elements including fluidity, player responsiveness, and explosiveness.
The first trailer for FIFA 18 has been embedded above, and EA Sports has promised to reveal more details about Ronaldo’s contributions to the game during their E3 Press Conference, which is scheduled to take place this Saturday, June 10 at 3:00 PM (Eastern Time). A livestream of the presentation will be available to watch on EA.com.
FIFA fans will also be able to purchase a special Ronaldo Edition of FIFA 18 for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The Ronaldo Edition will grant access to FIFA 18 three days early, and come bundled with bonus content for FIFA Ultimate Team including 20 Jumbo Premium Gold Packs, eight Special Edition Kits, and a Cristiano Ronaldo Loan Player for five matches.
FIFA 18 is in development at EA Vancouver and EA Romania, and will be available on September 29 for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
New Retail Releases: ESO Morrowind, Wipeout Omega Collection, Dirt 4, More
Gamers don’t have a “Summer Gaming Season” the way moviegoers do, but the first full week of June does include several interesting new releases…
Elder Scrolls fans will be able to return to Vvardenfell this week, as Bethesda will release The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Players of the popular MMO will be joined in battle by a fearsome War Bear as they attempt to stop a meteor from hitting Vivec City.
Also this week, Sony will bring back the Wipeout franchise’s brand of futuristic racing with the Wipeout: Omega Collection. Set to be released for the PS4 on Tuesday, the Omega Collection includes a trio of enhanced remakes (Wipeout HD, Wipeout HD: Fury, and Wipeout 2048) and full PS4 Pro support. Sony is extremely proud of the remade graphics featured in the Omega Collection, and they’re boasting that players will be able to “read some of the small text on the ships for the first time.”
Finally this week, Codemasters will launch Dirt 4 on the PS4 and Xbox One. The off-road racing series returns with more than 50 vehicles and five locations that contain “millions” of routes.
The full list of this week’s new retail releases can be found after the break. And we’ll be back in a few days to look at the new additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS4, Vita, Xbox One
Tagged Dirt 4, The Elder Scrolls Online, WipEout Omega Collection
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s Director says it takes place “long after” the rest of the games in the series
With its mixture of high technology and decaying Hylian ruins, it’s obvious that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild takes place in some kind of post-apocalyptic future, and many fans believe it should replace Zelda II: The Adventure of Link as the chronologically last game in the official timeline. But while Nintendo has previously been mum about where the game sits on the timeline, this theory gained some considerable support earlier this week when Game Rant spoke with Breath of the Wild’s Director, Hidemaro Fujibayashi.
In a short interview, Fujibayashi confirmed that Breath of the Wild does indeed take place “long after” the other games in the franchise:
It takes place in an age long, long after any of the titles released to date. It is the most recent age. And because of this we believe players will be able to easily immerse themselves in the game. Of course, regardless of the time period, the story does unfold in Hyrule so for those who’ve played other titles in the series there will be a lot of recognizable places to enjoy.
Fujibayashi’s comments confirm what many fans already believe, but it’s also important to remember that the franchise’s chronology splits into three distinct branches after the events of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. So while we now know that Breath of the Wild is set “long after” the rest of the games in the series, we still have no idea which branch it sits on.
So we got an answer… but we also got more questions. At this point, I expect nothing less from Nintendo.
Posted in News, Switch, Wii U
Tagged The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Nintendo Download: Farming Simulator 18, Last Resort, more
It’s Thursday, and that means Nintendo has updated the Nintendo eShop with this week’s new releases…
First up, Hamster Corporation has brought another NeoGeo re-release to the Switch. Last Resort is a side-scrolling shooter that was originally released in 1992. The game includes multiple weapon types, several very big bosses, and local multiplayer.
And coming up this Tuesday, June 6, Focus Home Interactive and Giants Software will release Farming Simulator 18 for the 3DS. Players will be able to simulate all aspects of the farming life on Nintendo’s handheld with the option to raise livestock or plant crops, as well as operate more than 50 farming vehicles.
You can learn more about both of these games (and a few other new releases) after the break. (more…)
Kyrie Irving will be the cover athlete of NBA 2K18’s Standard Edition
e very interesting. To add a little more spice to the proceedings, 2K Games announced today that Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving will be the cover athlete for the Standard Edition of NBA 2K18. Shaquille O’Neal was previously announced as the cover athlete for the game’s Legend Edition.
“It is well known that I’m an avid player of this series and I am honored to be the cover athlete of NBA 2K18,” said Irving. “It’s surreal to be featured on the cover and I can’t wait to dominate on the virtual court with all of my fans this Fall.”
“It’s obvious that Kyrie isn’t disappearing from the spotlight anytime soon, so we’re thrilled to have him as our cover athlete, alongside Shaq for the NBA 2K18 Legend Edition,” said Alfie Brody, the Vice President of Marketing for NBA 2K. “He’s a more-than-worthy recipient of this honor, and joins so many other greats who were cover athletes before him.”
The NBA 2K18 Standard Edition will come packed with a variety of in-game content including 5,000 Virtual Currency, 10 Weekly MyTeam Packs, a Kyrie Outfit Pack, and more. Players who pre-order the game will also receive the game four days early thanks to 2K’s “Early Tip-Off Access” program.
NBA 2K18 will be released for the PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on September 19.
PS Store This Week: Tekken 7, Danger Zone, Star Trek Bridge Crew, more
This week’s PlayStation Store update is like a reunion with old friends…
Things will really start to heat up this Friday, when Tekken 7 brings the story of the Mishima clan to an end on the PS4. The fighting game series that dabbled in storylines involving corporate-funded armies and sentient bears will finally resolve the mystery behind the Devil Gene and answer the question of who truly owns the Mishima Zaibatsu company.
But if you’re looking for something to download today, a trio of new games offer even more familiar faces. Three Fields launched Danger Zone for the PS4, a spiritual successor to the ridiculous crashes found in the Burnout series of racing games. Also available to download is Star Trek: Bridge Crew, a PlayStation VR-exclusive simulation of captaining your own Federation starship. Finally, Nihon Falcom will bring Ys Origin, a prequel to the popular RPG series, to the Vita.
Finally, Telltale’s The Walking Dead: A New Frontier comes to an end this week in Episode 5: From the Gallows.
You can learn more about these titles (and the rest of this week’s new releases) after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Vita
Tagged Danger Zone, Tekken 7, The Walking Dead: A New Frontier
The Video Game Canon: Street Fighter II
Dig deeper into the Video Game Canon with a look at Hollywood’s influence on Street Fighter II (and it’s influence on Hollywood). Here’s a teaser…
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior wasn’t the first fighting game ever released, but it single-handedly helped shape the genre for decades to come.
Capcom’s masterpiece rose to prominence by replacing the small and stiff characters of previous fighting games (including its predecessor, 1987’s Street Fighter) with highly detailed characters that seemed to fly around the screen. Instead of generic fighters clad in traditional karategi uniforms, Street Fighter II starred a diverse group of characters with fantastical “special moves.” And young fans lined up around the block to do battle with “World Warriors” like E. Honda, a sumo wrestler with a lightning-quick Hundred Hand Slap; Zangief, a Russian giant who fought bears; Blanka, a green-skinned prince who controlled electricity; and Dhalsim, a yoga master who breathed fire.
Rather than rest on their laurels, Capcom refined Street Fighter II’s controls and added more characters to the select screen through the release of four subsequent revisions. This parade of improvements (and Street Fighter II’s eventual release on home consoles) helped ensure the game’s status as the biggest fighting game of the early 90s arcade renaissance. By the late 90s, a loosely-connected group of enthusiasts for Street Fighter II began building a “Fighting Game Community” online, which eventually grew to include organized tournaments (like the annual Evo gathering) and a dedicated fandom that could rival any professional sport.
Visit VideoGameCanon.com to continue reading this article and to explore the complete Top 1000.
Posted in Features, PS3, Retro, Switch, Top Story, Video Game Canon, Xbox 360
Tagged Street Fighter II
Nintendo Download: Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers, Disgaea 5 Complete, more
The Switch is about to become a more exciting place this weekend as Nintendo has added a number of new games to the Nintendo eShop as part of this week’s Nintendo Download…
First up is Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers, a brand new re-release of 1991’s most popular fighting game. Featuring enhanced graphics courtesy of Udon Entertainment, Capcom will also add two characters (Evil Ryu and Violent Ken) to the game, as well as a first-person “Way of the Hado” minigame, and other new features. Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers will be available to download for the Switch beginning tomorrow, May 26.
But if you’re looking to pick something up today, Disgaea 5 Complete is available to download through the Nintendo eShop now. NIS America’s tactical RPG is the newest entry in the Disgaea franchise, and the Complete edition brings it to the Switch for the first time, along with eight bonus scenarios, four extra characters, and three character classes that were originally only available as downloadable content.
You can learn more about both of these games, and the rest of the new additions to the Nintendo eShop, after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Switch, Wii U
Tagged Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance, Street Fighter II