Madden NFL 21's The Yard Brings an Enjoyable Injection of Arcade-Style Football

I miss arcade-like sports games. Fifteen to twenty years ago, there still used to be a litany of them on the market. Games like NBA Jam, NFL Blitz, and MLB Slugfest were some of my favorites growing up and remained classics that I would return to frequently over the years. Nowadays, the subgenre feels all but extinct, with sim-style titles like MLB The Show and NBA 2K making up for most of the sports games we see being released on an annual basis.

Fortunately, in Madden NFL 21, EA is looking to inject some more arcade-style gameplay with a new game mode it's calling The Yard. Pitched as a 6v6 mode where all players play both sides of the ball, The Yard brings a much-needed addition of pure fun to the larger Madden experience. Based on my early playtime with the new experience, it looks to be one of the more novel new modes that Madden has seen in recent years, but whether or not it will have legs remains to be seen.

The Yard offers a few different takes on the classic backyard football style of play that you likely grew up playing in your own neighborhood. Before you get into any matches though, you have to create your own unique avatar that will by default always be one of the six players on your team. However, what's cool about your own character is that they aren't locked-in to a single position on the field.

For instance, if in one game you want them to play a QB that is as elusive as Lamar Jackson, there is a playstyle you can choose from to gain those types of attributes. Conversely, if the next time around you want your avatar to be burning defenders on routes like Odell Beckham Jr., you can do that too. Your own character doesn't fit into a single mold and each different "prototype" that you choose from can be upgraded the more you utilize it.

The same can be said for the other five members of your team when it comes to playing different positions, too. Again, with every player taking part on both sides of the ball, occasionally, you'll have some star players on your roster that are playing a role that you normally wouldn't find them in. In one match, I had Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers playing both wide receiver and cornerback. Sure, this might not be ideal, but it also is just genuinely a bit more fun to throw bombs to players who shouldn't be making slant routes.

The Yard also has a variety of different scoring modifiers compared to what you'd find in a typical game of football. While touchdowns still net you 6 points, there is no kicking, meaning you always have to choose to go for a PAT of the 1, 2, or 3 point variety. Additionally, you can gain more points for interceptions, touchdowns that score off of double passes or laterals, or TDs that travel over 40 yards. I had a few close matches where some late-game interceptions quite literally sealed the deal for my opponents and they went on to win by 1 point.

Gameplay isn't all that similar to Madden's standard fare, either. The Yard allows you to have unlimited passes behind the line of scrimmage, meaning that as long as you aren't being tackled and have some different players you can dump it off to, it will be allowed. You can also direct-snap the ball to any player on the field, not just the one that you have assigned QB. This makes plays much more creative and allows you to think a bit more outside of the box to get the edge on the team you're facing. Conversely, those on the defensive side of the ball have to wait for certain amounts of time before they can cross the line of scrimmage and rush the quarterback.

Lastly, each level for The Yard has slightly different modifiers and challenges of its own, too. Currently, there are four different fields in which you can play games on in The Yard, with each one giving you different goals. For instance, some stages give both you and the other team three drives each, with the winner being the one that has the most total points after both teams have possessed the ball that many times. Other levels, however, are a bit more difficult and will give you one drive to score or will ask you to score from certain positions on the field with only a fixed number of downs to do it.

While I largely enjoyed what I have played of The Yard, I do have a couple of reservations. For starters, since this game mode is going for something a bit laxer compared to typical Madden game types, I would have preferred for players themselves to feel a bit more arcade-like in how they control. Even though The Yard is offering up something different in the grander Madden NFL 21 package, the gameplay itself still feels obviously similar to all of the other modes. As such, that translation of sim-like gameplay controls to a more arcade-driven experience is a bit awkward, at least at first.

I also think that simply facing the computer in The Yard could get old relatively fast. Fortunately, multiplayer is included in this mode as well, with each team being able to consist of up to 3 different player-controller characters. I only was able to get in a couple of matches in multiplayer, but this is really where I found that The Yard was hitting its stride. Getting a crew together to play against one another in The Yard seems like a ton of fun and I'm looking forward to trying to give it a go with some of my friends.

Lastly, I do have to make mention of some of the uniforms and cosmetics that have been included in this mode seem like a prime way for EA to try and generate more revenue off of microtransactions. The inclusion of these different uniforms from various brands around the globe, yes, does add some nice variety to each player's look, but I'm also cautiously wary of how it'll be implemented. It remains to be seen how The Yard will be monetized, but I'm hoping it's not too egregious by any means.

The Yard likely isn't going to be the main selling point of Madden NFL 21 by any means, but it's a nice addition to what the game offers. If you've been looking for something new that will scratch that NFL Blitz or NFL Street itch from the past, The Yard does a great job of doing exactly that. Hopefully, it only continues to improve over time once the game releases.

Madden NFL 21 is set to release later this month on August 25 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. It will also be coming to next-gen platforms in PS5 and Xbox Series X when each arrives later this year.

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Kena: Bridge of Spirits is Getting Free PS5 Upgrade For PS4 Players

Kena Bridge of Spirits screenshots RotCarry

Kena: Bridge of Spirits was one of many games announced at Sony's, June PS5 reveal event. Revealed alongside Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Horizon: Forbidden West and Resident Evil Village, Kena: Bridge of Spirits is described as a "story-driven adventure" and is coming to both PS4 and PS5 this holiday. The game is a timed console exclusive and will also arrive on PC at a later date.

One of the biggest questions leading into the next console generation is surrounding cross-generational upgrades (or Smart Delivery on Xbox). Some games, such as Marvel's Avengers, are confirmed to be offering upgrades free of charge, meaning if you buy the game on PS4, you can get the PS5 version for free. Now, confirming on Twitter, Ember Lab's Kena: Bridge of Spirits has just followed suit.

When asked by a fan if "there's a PS4 to PS5 free upgrade of Kena Bridge of Spirits?" Ember Labs replied "Yes! We don't have the time limit details yet, but the upgrade is slated to be free!"

Players rejoice!

Unfortunately, others aren't being so kind as Square Enix or Ember Lab. Early last month, NBA 2k21 was the first to announce that while players could get a free upgrade of the game, they would have to purchase a more expensive edition, citing the reason that they are "building the PS5 and Xbox One X version from the ground up." Remedy's Control followed suit yesterday, in a slightly more egregious manner.

Once again, players can indeed get a free next-gen upgrade of the game, just as long as they buy the newly announced Ultimate Edition. This means that any player who has already forked out for the game, plus potentially the expansions, will be completely out of pocket.

It's nice to see Ember Lab get on board with the free upgrades for Kena: Bridge of Spirits, however, the mixed messaging from different studios is starting to make things difficult for consumers.

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The Last of Us Part II Fan Art Captures the Evolution of Ellie

For all of you hardcore fans out there – or just those who enjoy torturing yourself – you may have seen you can now play both Grounded difficulty and a permadeath mode in a brand new update to The Last of Us Part 2. However, you'll need to be extra careful on permadeath mode because if you aren't and you're not paying attention, you'll end up like this guy right here and you don't want that. What we do want though, is some gorgeous fan art and thankfully, that's what we have right here today courtesy of Twitter user, @IconicNephilim.

David, who is a designer, artistic wizard and a huge The Last of Us fan, has created an incredible piece of fan art illustrating the evolution of Ellie throughout The Last of Us Part 2. As we can see from the image, and going from left to right, David starts off with the young Ellie we all know and love from the original The Last of Us and moves onto the slightly older Ellie we got a glimpse off in Part 2 when she and Joel go on a surprise trip for Ellie's birthday. Further on is another scene from Part 2 where Ellie and Joel are out looking for guitar strings and stumble on more than they bargained for at a hotel. Right in the middle of the artwork is where we see 19-year-old Ellie and then next to it, hardened and revengeful Ellie, poised with her bow. Without spoiling it too much for those who haven't played it yet, the next image is of Ellie who is riddled in grief, pain, and obsession which then ends with Ellie walking off the side of the piece and leaving her guitar.

What I love most about this fan art is that it tells a story. You could easily sit down with someone who hasn't played The Last of Us Part 2 and almost tell the entire story of Ellie's journey in Part 2; who she was, how she came to be and how she ended up. David has done an incredible job here and I hope he plans on selling this as a poster of some kind, I'd love to have it. This isn't David's first rodeo when it comes to creating The Last of Us Part 2 art pieces. Previously we reported on David's The Last of Us Part 2 poster that is packed full of all the characters you will meet throughout the game and it's pretty flipping epic!

Make sure to check out David over on Twitter and follow him as he adventures into more of his design work and most likely a lot more wonderful The Last of Us Part 2 fan art pieces.

Halley Gross, the narrative lead for The Last of Us Part 2, said in an interview with Game Informer that the ending to the game was initially meant to be much darker and instead of Abby surviving and heading off in the boat with Lev, Ellie was going to kill her. Gross explained that during the game's production "we changed that and had Ellie let go at the last second," in order to highlight that "some part of the old Ellie, the Ellie with humanity, the Ellie that is impacted by Joel, still exists within this character who has been so overtaken by her quest for revenge."

If you are a Dina fan, you'll be pleased to hear that her voice actor Shannon Woodward has taken to Twitch to stream some games. Shannon has posted a schedule of the times that you can catch her on the gaming platform over on her Twitter page so why not head over to her Twitch channel now and give her a follow? You can follow Shannon over on her Twitter and Instagram where she will talk more about her up and coming games so stay tuned! You can also see what Blink-182's Mark Hoppus has been up to in his playthrough of the game as he picks up Ellie's guitar to bash the chords to his 1997 song 'Dammit'.

What fan wouldn't be excited about the upcoming The Last of Us HBO series? Recently, we learned that it will include a "Jaw Drop" moment that was originally cut from the game. Chernobyl creator and HBO's The Last of Us writer Craig Mazin said that "We're creating new [things] and re-imagining what is already there to present it for a different format," Mazin told the BBC's Must Watch. "Our goal is not to keep you in love with The Last of Us, but to make you fall in love with it again in a different way. It's a passive way of taking it in, instead of playing it, but you'll be experiencing more, with more characters in more ways." Mazin says of his reaction to hearing about a moment that Druckmann had initially left out of The Last of Us "Jaw drop – that's going in. For sure, we have to do that. You couldn't stop me doing that. You will have to shoot me [to stop me] from doing that."

The Last of Us Part 2 is available now exclusively on PS4 (and soon to be PS5). The game was one of DualShockers' favorites of 2020; make sure to check out the official DualShockers (generally spoiler-free) review. Also, feel free to grab the game physically on Amazon to help support the site.

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Xbox Game Pass to Receive "Some Really Great Announcements," Says Spencer

Xbox Game Pass

With Microsoft pushing back Halo Infinite's launch to 2021, it might probably leave the company a bit empty-handed when launching Xbox Series X this Holiday, but Phil Spencer has recently revealed that they will have no changes in plans. He also teased some exciting upcoming news about Xbox Game Pass.

Speaking to Gary Whitta in the latest episode of Animal Talking, Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox, reassured fans that Halo Infinite's delay isn't going to affect the launch of Xbox Series X in November. He indicated that the company's investment on Game Pass will be continued in the future with "some really great, strong, announcements to come about things coming to Game Pass."

Project xCloud is one of the new features that will be available as of September 15th through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, allowing subscribers to play all Game Pass titles plus their own purchased games on Xbox consoles, PCs, and Android devices. However, it's yet to be seen what are the other surprising coming to the service.

As you may know, all the Xbox Game Studios productions will be available on the Xbox Game Pass library at launch. Microsoft has also signed a deal with some third-party studios to release their upcoming next-gen projects on Game Pass, including STALKER 2, The Ascent, The Gunk, and The Medium.

With the July's Xbox Games Showcase, we get to know more about the next projects of nine Xbox Game Studios teams. Compulsion Games, InXile Entertainment, The Coalition, The Initiative, and Mojang Studios are yet to reveal their upcoming titles. That said, I don't think any of them could bring a launch title for Xbox Series X, except for Compulsion Games that hasn't been around since 2016.

The next Xbox showcase is rumored to get live later this month, though some new reports suggest that the event might be delayed to September.

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Fall Guys Rewards Players Patience Over Servers With Outfit and Kudos

Fall Guys

Since Fall Guys launched last week, the game from Mediatonic and Devolver Digital has become a huge success. So much of a success that the servers have been taking a severe beating, with PS4 and PC users both experiencing disconnections as the servers struggled to handle over 2 million players (That figure is just Steam alone).

The server issues prompted the developer to promise that players could expect to see an in-game reward as a way of apologizing for the maintenance and the experience many users have been experiencing. Today, those in-game rewards have officially been added to the game.

Upon logging in, players can expect to find their profiles being rewarded 5,000 Kudos, the in-game currency that unlocks more cosmetics and emotes. Additionally, a complete Legendary Prickles costume will be added to the account and basically turns you into a waddling cactus.

The official tweet, as above, details the information, however, a message posted to the Discord server mentions that "Any player that has ever opened the game before midnight tonight, will be gifted this compensation automatically!" It's also noted that the costume design is one that was designed by someone that took part in the "Make a Fall Guy" competition.

Fall Guys is currently available on PC and PS4 and is to be available for free through August for those subscribed to PS+. Mediatonic has expressed interest in bringing the title to other platforms, but for the time being, it looks as if the focus is on bringing new content to the existing game.

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Dead by Daylight Hints at Possible Cross-Play Arrival in Future

Dead by Daylight

It's the game with a bunch of horrible, famous killers that are thirsty for blood and sacrificing terrified human characters. And thanks to a new tweet from the official Dead by Daylight account, it looks as if the cross-play could be on the way.

Tweeted yesterday, the Dead by Daylight account posted a simple two-emoji tweet that had a crossed-fingers emoji and a play button. Pair the two and you've potentially got cross-play. Either that or the developers, Behaviour Interactive, is crossing its fingers in hopes the play button works on their remote. Who knows. I think it's the former.

The title is has been available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One for a while, and in 2017 it had sold over 3 million copies. Last year it launched on the Nintendo Switch. If cross-play is coming, then you can more or less expect to see those platforms coming together, however, players do have concerns regarding PC users against console users. I'm sure there's probably going to be some features in place to make it fair, such as how Apex Legends plans to only match PC and consoles if there is a PC player on your team.

At this moment in time, if this is for sure a cross-play announcement, it's not clear when the update bringing the feature could land. For me personally, seeing as a good deal of gaming stuff appears to be happening in the Fall, I imagine it'll be around then.

The game continues to receive frequent updates that introduce new characters from famous horror settings, such as Silent Hill, Oni killers, and the killer from Scream (1996).

Dead by Daylight is currently available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

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Marvel's Avengers PC System Requirements Revealed

Marvel's Avengers

The system requirements for Crystal Dynamics' Marvel's Avengers reveals plenty of interesting options for PC players of the game to play it in the best way possible.

Marvel's Avengers is just less than a month away and fans are excited to finally jump into one of the biggest Avengers adaptations in the current generation of consoles. Crystal Dynamics, the developer behind the game, has recently revealed the minimum and recommended PC specs for the game, which doesn't seem to be low-spec-friendly, but at least it can be run on older systems.

In order to play the game with on the lowest preset, you need to have at least an Intel Core i3-4160 or an equivalent processor from AMD brand along with an Nvidia GTX 950 or and AMD R9 270 and 8 GB of RAM. The required space for playing at the minimum quality is 75 GB. Not to mention that the game will only run on Windows 10 as it only supports Direct X 12.

On the other hand, if you want to make the most of the game, you will need to clear up 110 GB in order to install the high-resolution texture pack as well. Hardware-wise, an Intel Core i7-4770K or an AMD Ryzen 5 1600 accompanied with an Nvidia GTX 1060 or an AMD Radeon RX 480 with 8 GB of memory will be enough for running the game on High preset. Also, you will need to have 16 GB of RAM.

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows 10 64-bit
  • Processor: i3-4160 or AMD equivalent
  • RAM: 8GB
  • Graphics Card: NVIDIA GTX 950 / AMD 270 (min 2GB video ram)
  • DirectX Version: 12
  • Storage: 75GB HDD

Recommended:     

  • OS: Windows 10 64-bit
  • Processor: Intel Core i7 4770K, 3.4 Ghz or AMD Ryzen 51600, 3.2 Ghz
  • RAM: 16GB
  • Graphics Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 6GB or AMD Radeon RX 480, 8GB.
  • DirectX Version: 12
  • Storage: 110GB SSD

Marvel's Avengers will feature unlimited frame-rate and support multi-monitor systems and ultra-wide resolutions. You will have full control over your gamepad or mouse & keyboard configurations.

If you've already pre-ordered the game on PC, you can participate in the Beta version running as of August 14. That said, there will be an open beta session for all PC players from August 21st until August 23rd.

Marvel's Avengers will be available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on September 4th. The PS4 version of the game will feature some exclusive post-launch content.

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Apex Legends to Get Limited-Time Steam-Exclusive Charms This Fall

Apex Legends Steam collaboration charms

We're due to see a new legend enter the arena in Respawn Entertainment's Apex Legends, and while we saw a cinematic trailer showing off the new legend, Rampart, we didn't know much about their backstory until the new character trailer launched. But there's also news on some exclusive charms coming to those who may be looking at jumping on the game later this year when it arrives on Steam.

Earlier this year during EA Play 2020, it was revealed that Apex Legends would be heading to Nintendo Switch this Fall, but also during that announcement it was said that it'll be heading to Steam as well as a bunch of other EA titles. At the moment there is a store page for the game, but the release date is still to be announced.

Respawn Entertainment has revealed that players jumping into the game via Steam will be awarded some Steam-exclusive charms that have been created in collaboration with Valve. Player's will be granted 3 charms with a Half-Life and Portal theme.

Specifically, there's a charm of the Apex Legends character, Octane with a Headcrab on his head. There's Wattson with a Companion Cube from Portal, and there's GLaDOS decorated with the PotatOS exterior. These charms are going to be given to players for free for a limited time and simply requires the players to log in when the game becomes available on Steam to unlock them.

At current, there's no specific release date for when Apex Legends is due to arrive on Steam expect the vague "Fall 2020" window. It is however currently available on PC, Xbox One, and a PS4 for free, and will also be heading to the Nintendo Switch sometime during the Pumpkin Spice Latte season.

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The Last of Us Part II Player Dies on Permadeath Run in Hilariously Sad Way

Naughty Dog, PlayStation, PlayStation 4, PS4, Sony, the last of us, the last of us: part 2, The Last of Us: Part II, tlou, tlou part 2, tlou2, tlou: part ii

In case you didn't hear, The Last of Us Part II is soon set to receive a new update that will bring both Grounded difficulty and a permadeath mode to the game among a litany of other additions. While the update isn't rolling out to the general public until tomorrow, one player who has early access to the patch has been giving the permadeath mode a try and some great (and heartbreaking) content has come about as a result.

YouTuber Tajae, who is notably a major fan of The Last of Us Part II, has had access to the game's new update for a couple of days now and has been streaming some trial runs over on his YouTube channel recently. In one of Tajae's runs, as seen in the video he posted to Twitter down below, he reached the synagogue section of the game, which players typically can get to about three or four hours into the experience. However, rather than dying from one of the many enemies that Ellie comes across in The Last of Us Part II, his own run came to a halt purely by accident.

While dangling from a rope in the synagogue, Tajae entered the game's options menu to change something in the settings. Unfortunately, he then backed out a bit too fast and must have spammed the circle button a few times too many. Upon entering back into the game itself, Ellie found herself letting go of the rope and splatting on the ground, ending Tajae's run. Simply because of one mere accident, the entire game was then over.

Even though this was surely crushing for Tajae, it's hard not to have a laugh at the video itself. Simultaneously, Tajae's own experience here is a perfect example of why I will not be giving permadeath a shot in The Last of Us Part II for myself. That said, I'm very much looking forward to seeing who the first person will be who completes the game in this manner without dying. I also have a feeling that someone will have accomplished this feat before the week is over, too.

The Last of Us Part II is available right now on PS4. Naughty Dog hasn't said when the permadeath update will begin rolling out tomorrow, but it will be entirely free for those who might be looking to give it a run.

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Gamescom Opening Night Live Song Is Written By Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda

Gamescom Mike Shinoda

Linkin Park fans everywhere rejoiced after the official Game Awards (@thegameawards) Instagram account posted a photo announcing that Mike Shinoda would be composing the theme for this year's Gamescom: Opening Night Live. Shinoda worked on the song earlier today, August 12, live on Twitch.

The career of Mike Shinoda, performing with musical acts such as Linkin Park and Fort Minor, as well as his separate solo career, suggests that the Gamescom song will take inspiration from hip hop, nu-metal, and synth-pop music.

According to its website, Gamescom will be taking place "exclusively digitally" this year as a result of COVID-19. The show is set to go up on Thursday, August 26, and will be presented by the host and producer of The Game Awards, Geoff Keighley.

Gamescom isn't the only convention to be reworked for an online format due to COVID-19. San Diego Comic-Con was canceled and streamed last month. A few hours ago, New York Comic-Con officially announced its cancellation. The event will now be streamed on Youtube.

Even the largest canceled conventions haven't had the same success they might have had if they were in person. Hopefully, Gamescom will be able to make the transition smoothly. Being able to compensate for the lack of energy and hype that comes hand in hand with a room full of excited gamers isn't easy. Only time will tell if its online attendance will rival its in-person attendance, but because many Americans aren't able to make the trip to Cologne, Germany, to attend in person, it seems likely that the convention will still be a success.

Now that Gamescom is free to attend, the only ticket required is a laptop and an internet connection good enough to watch the stream.

We've been covering Gamescom over the years at DualShockers. You can most notably check out our impressions on Cyberpunk 2077 from the 2019 edition.

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