FIFA 21 Guide – How to Get Started in Ultimate Team
FIFA 21 is out and about but despite the changes made to the core game, it's Ultimate Team mode where most of the interest will be. What makes this year's FUT different? For that matter, if you're getting into the franchise for the first time, what should you know before jumping in?
FUT is essentially a mode where players can build their dream team of football players to compete in matches and earn prizes. That's the gist of it. Building this team means acquiring different player cards, upgrading them, competing in Squad Battles, working the transfer market for getting better players and much more. The mode is a pretty big money-maker for EA due to the RNG nature of card packs but you can also earn them in-game.
First off, think about the kind of team you want to create. It could be a well-rounded squad or simply an all-star line-up of your favorite players. Naturally, work with what's available and then head into Squad Battles against AI opponents. Keep tuning the difficulty as you play and looking for weak areas on your team. More coins are doled out at higher difficulties so keep that in mind. Once you're comfortable enough, try taking part in Division Rivals and FUT Champions each week.
Working the market also becomes essential as you acquire more duplicate cards. Cards can be sold quickly for easy coins but you might want to keep track of current trends and hold on to a few to fetch a better price later. Check out our guide for tips on the FUT market here. Of course, you can also acquire players in packs with coins. While spending real money on these or coins is an option, both can be earned by simply completing different squad-building challenges, ranking up and so on. And if you have the coin, it's better to look for a specific card in the market and purchase it rather than wasting it on card packs (especially with the drop rate that Gold and Premium Packs provide).
A new feature with FUT this year are the community events. The global pool of players chooses a side, like Chelsea or Liverpool, and then plays the game as per normal. Winning matches and performing well will earn XP towards one's respective team. Earn enough XP to reach a tier and your side will unlock rewards. While not the most efficient way to earn coins and the like, it's still an easy way to earn rewards.
One aspect you'll want to keep an eye on is chemistry, which is measured in points. 100 points is the highest score and means that your team is performing at their peak level. Chemistry can be affected if a player isn't doing well or not being played in their main role. Always keep chemistry in mind – it can often be the difference between winning and losing.
To that end, make sure to use FUT Icons whenever the chance arises despite how expensive they can be. There are 100 Icons overall with newer additions like Eric Cantona, Ashley Cole, Xavi and much more added this year. The biggest benefit to having an Icon in your team, besides their stats, is their easy chemistry. Again, they're difficult to find and even fetch a good price on the market but well worth the waiting.
For even more details and tips on getting started, check out the extensive guide below by MattHDGamer.
Xbox Game Pass Is "Completely Sustainable The Way It Is," Says Spencer
It is interesting to watch to watch the three platform holders in the video industry and see where their respective paths have taken them. Microsoft has pivoted a lot to services and a more open ecosystem, as seen primarily by their Xbox Game Pass service. It sees a rotating list of games coming and going, with the latest batch of titles recently announced. It's the best deal in gaming, in fact some even think it's too good to be true. Questions of sustainability and price swirl around those who wonder just what the long term impact of Game Pass will be. Well, if you believe Phil Spencer, things are hunky dory, at least for now.
On an episode of Dropped Frames, Spencer talked about Game Pass, specifically around the concern some have about price and sustainability. He said that as of now, the service is completely sustainable as it is from a business perspective and that people concerned about a potential price hike need not worry as there's no plans in the pipeline for an increase in price.
Of course, to play the cynic, it's not as if Spencer would be forthcoming about these if it were the opposite, but Xbox revenue was up 30% in the last fiscal quarter with Game Pass being pointed at as one of the reasons why. No one can say for sure what the future holds or what that looks like because of Game Pass, so for now, those in the Xbox ecosystem just have to enjoy the bounty of games
Xbox Series X/S Only Next Gen Consoles To Have Full AMD RDNA 2 Support, Per Microsoft
In less than two weeks, we will see the official launch of next generation consoles. Unboxing videos are already out and about for Microsoft's Xbox Series X and Series S, so you can almost taste the excitement in the air. With new boxes, also come a lot of new technology, and Microsoft has a bit of a brag of what you can only find in their machines this November.
In a news post from Xbox Wire, Andrew Goossen, Technical Fellow, and Jason Ronald, Director of Program Management announced that the Xbox Series X and S are the only next gen consoles "with full hardware support for all the RDNA 2 capabilities." This comes shortly after AMD showcased their latest Radeon RX 6000 Series of RDNA 2 GPUs. While there aren't a lot of specific details, they talk about this opening up a lot of thing such as "hardware accelerated DirectX Raytracing, Mesh Shaders, Sampler Feedback and Variable Rate Shading", all which have their own methods in improving how games look and run. You can read more details at the full post through here.
Both the Xbox Series X and Series S will launch on November 10th, and you can read details and walkthroughs on both through here.
Resident Evil 3 – Cloud Version For Switch Reference Found Via Datamining – Rumor
Today Nintendo decided to drop a Direct Mini with no announcement or fanfare, something that's become increasingly common it seems, which had a lot of surprising announcements. Maybe the biggest surprise was having streaming cloud version of two major titles, with Control being available today and Hitman 3 coming at some point in the future. Well, it seems people have been doing some digging and more could be coming.
As found by the resourceful folks at the ResetERA gaming forum, when datamining the website for the cloud version of Control, you can find links and references to a cloud version for Resident Evil 3, the remake of the classic title that was released earlier this year, you can even see the cover that was discovered below. If you aren't aware, Nintendo tried the cloud streaming thing in Japan with a few titles, including Resident Evil 7, as what seems to have been an experiment for this. While only RE3 was discovered, most likely it would also mean that 7 and the remake of Resident Evil 2 would also be good candidates to see cloud releases.
Like all things datamining, you have to take it with a grain of salt, but as of now there's no reason to expect this is a fake and it definitely seems to be more than just a case of leftover code or something of that nature. Only time will tell, but don't be too surprised to see the classic survival horror series get some cloud versions for Nintendo's portable soon.
The Ascent Has Been Delayed To 2021, Will Target Full 4K/60 FPS On Xbox Series X
There are no shortage of dark sci-fi games nowadays, but The Ascent managed to stand out for itself for being at one of the recent Xbox Series showcase videos and with strong footage of its action, which you can see through here and a little more high level stuff here. The game was originally announced to come this year, but as you can imagine with the time ticking away, it will be pushed back a tad.
As announced via Xbox, the game will see a delay into the next year. It is bummer news, but we also got the announcement that the game would also be coming to Game Pass at launch. It will target full 4K and 60 FPS for those gaming on the Series X. No targets were listed for the current gen version or the Series S.
The Ascent will now launch sometime in 2021 for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One and PC with availability on Xbox Game Pass day 1.
Cyberpunk 2077 Developers Didn't Know About Delay Until It Was Announced
It was something of a shock yesterday when it was announced that Cyberpunk 2077 had once again been pushed back from its official release. It had reported to have gone gold not long before (which generally means primary development of a title is finished), but it seems as if the performance on current generation hardware has been something of a problem. What may surprise you even more is that those working on the title didn't know about it either.
As reported by Game Informer, the developers on the title, who are reportedly working some grueling hours, didn't actually know about the delay until everyone else did and it was officially announced with one source saying over 90% of the studio was unaware a delay was coming. That probably seems incredible, but apparently due to Polish labor laws, upper management would have had to make all of the 1,000+ employees sign a NDA if they would have informed them, and the swift nature of the decision made that an impossibility. You can read the full details of that at the article through here.
The bet is now whether Cyberpunk 2077 will make that December 10th date or not. Only time will tell, but it feels like a 2021 release is looking to be quite likely, or at least not a surprise.
Sony Plans to "Bolster" its First Party With "Selective" Acquisitions in the Future
Sony's first party consistently produces some of the best games in the industry every year, and the group of studios has been improving with age. We've never seen Sony's first party developers in as fine form as they have been during the PS4 era, and so far, they look set to continue in that direction with the PS5.
But that doesn't mean there's no room for growth and improvement (especially with Microsoft suddenly becoming such a formidable presence as far as their first party portfolio is concerned). Sony have previously said on a few occasions that they're going to keep looking into acquiring more studios in the coming future. Recently, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan suggested the same once more.
Speaking to Reuters, Ryan said that Sony will look to improve its first party output even further with more mergers and acquisitions in the future (their last acquisition was Insomniac Games last year). However, he also adds that Sony will be "selective" with its acquisitions based on how viable they are.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the console market, Microsoft seem to be showing no signs of stopping the spending spree they've been on over the last couple of years, with Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently saying that they will continue to acquire more developers in order to be able to keep producing more content for Game Pass. Read more on that through here.
Temtem Launches into Early Access on PS5 on December 8
Temtem has been playable on PC for almost a year now, allowing millions of people to test its early access build and see how the idea of a Pokemon inspired MMO shapes up (it shapes up pretty well). Soon, it'll also be getting a console early access release.
As announced on the PlayStation blog, Temtem is going to make its console debut exclusively on PS5, when it launches on the system with its early access build on December 8. The game is also scheduled to launch for Xbox and Switch, but it doesn't seem like they will be getting an early access release before the full launch.
Temtem's full launch will come some time in 2021. When it does, it will be available for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. Though it was initially confirmed to launch on Xbox One and PS4 as well, those versions have been cancelled.
Halo Infinite Lead Chris Lee Has Left the Project
Halo Infinite's apparent development troubles are continued. Chris Lee, Studio Head of FPS Development, producer, and director at 343 Industries, who's been the lead for the Halo Infinite project over the course of this development, is no longer working on the game. Speaking to Bloomberg, Lee confirmed the same, staying that he has "stepped back" from the project.
"I have stepped back from Infinite and I am looking at future opportunities," he said. "I believe in the team and am confident they will deliver a great game and now is a good time for me to step away."
Microsoft have also confirmed that Lee is no longer working on Halo, but still remains at Microsoft. "Chris Lee remains a Microsoft employee and while he has stepped back from Halo Infinite right now, we appreciate all he has done for the project to date," they said in a statement.
This isn't the first time an important member of Halo Infinite's development team has left the project over the last year or so. In August 2019, creative director Tim Longo stepped away, while in October of the same year, lead producer Mary Olson departed 343 Industries as well.
In August of this year, 343 Industries brought in Joseph Staten, who was deeply involved with the Halo franchise during the Bungie days, to serve as the project lead on Halo Infinite's campaign and help get it across the finish line for launch. Read more on that through here.
Halo Infinite is in development for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC. It currently has no set release date. Though some rumours have suggested that Microsoft could end up delaying the game into 2021 and even drop the Xbox One version, 343 Industries have denied those rumours.
Recently, Xbox boss Phil Spencer suggested that 343 Industries could consider releasing the game's campaign and multiplayer separately- read more on that through here.
Haven is Out on December 3, PS4 and Switch Versions Coming Next Year
The Game Bakers' RPG adventure title Haven has looked like one of the more unique upcoming games for a while now, and each of its showings have left people quite impressed. There's plenty of anticipation surrounding its release, then, and players won't have too wait too long to get their hands on the game.
The Game Bakers have confirmed with a newly released trailer that Haven will launch for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC on December 3. Meanwhile, PS4 and Nintendo Switch versions will be releasing in "early" 2021.
In Haven, players play as both, Yu and Kay, two lovers who have escaped to a forgotten, isolated planet where they are alone with each other, and must now find a way to settle in a new world and build a life for themselves.
The Game Bakers have previously confirmed that Haven will support the PS5 controller's haptic feedback features, while 120 FPS gameplay is also confirmed for next-gen consoles.
You can check out gameplay footage for Haven through here and here.