Switch 2 Price Speculation, A First Look At The Next Battlefield, And More Of The Week's Top News
Our next official look at the Switch 2 is still a few months off, but that hasn't stopped folks from speculating about its price, or obsessing over the details we may have gleaned about the packaging its games will come in. Elsewhere, EA gave us a (very brief!) first look at the next Battlefield and shared details on how folks can play it early, and the release date for the remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater was prematurely revealed. Read on for these stories and more.
EA has pulled back the curtain on the next mainline entry in its long-running Battlefield franchise, explaining a new development plan involving four different studios, as well as a new way for players to hop in early to provide feedback on what the teams are making. - Zack Zwiezen Read More
When Switch cases arrived back in 2017, they looked comically unnecessary. The SD cards the games were installed on were tiny while the plastic surrounding them was exponentially bigger. Most cases didn't even come with anything else inside. I've enjoyed collecting them but they were a huge waste. According to a new leak, the Switch 2 cases might be even worse. - Ethan Gach Read More
The Switch 2 currently faces three big questions following its January reveal: how powerful is it, what games will it have, and what will it cost? Nintendo was asked about that last one in its latest earnings call, and while the company's president remained cagey, he also said Nintendo will continue to take its reputation for affordability into account when determining the final price, which some experts predict will be $400. - Ethan Gach Read More
This year marks the 20th anniversary of 2K Games. Normally we don't celebrate publisher birthdays, but we'll make an exception this time as 2K Games is honoring the milestone with a big sale on Steam that has one particularly noteworthy offer: a package that includes 20 games for $20. Is this an incredible deal? Maybe. - Zack Zwiezen Read More
Fans have been speculating about PC gaming mouse-like functionality for the Switch 2 ever since optical sensors appeared in leaks last month. Nintendo then teased the feature in the new Switch's reveal trailer shortly after. Now the potential game-changer has been all but officially announced thanks to a new patent breaking down how the Joy-Con mouse functionality will work. - Ethan Gach Read More
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 received multiple 2024 Game Awards nominations and sold over five million copies. But its makers say the visually impressive old-school-feeling sci-fi shooter cost only a quarter of what's needed to make most big-budget AAA blockbusters. Developed by Saber Interactive, the company's CEO, Matt Karch, thinks this model is the future. - Ethan Gach Read More
2K Games has fired 31st Union president Michael Condrey after the studio's long-awaited online multiplayer game Project Ethos was revealed last fall to little fanfare or apparent player interest, according to two sources familiar with the studio. The project's fate is now unclear, although 2K, which is publishing Borderlands 4 and Mafia: The Old Country later this year, says it remains 'very committed' to both Project Ethos and the studio behind it. - Ethan Gach Read More
When information is leaked by nefarious means, companies open a firehose of takedown notices to try to regain control. It's always a bit disappointing that they don't do the same when the leak's coming from inside the house. Such is the case for Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, after Sony seemingly accidentally uploaded a trailer that contains the release date straight to the front page of your PS5. Konami, send angry threats to Sony! - John Walker Read More
Have you ever come across an Early Access game on Steam, decided it looked pretty cool and downloaded it, only to realize it was kind of busted and never getting updated again? It's long been a topic among PC players, and Valve now has a new tool to hopefully reduce such occurrences. A warning on Steam pages for Early Access games will now tell prospective buyers how long it's been since the game was last updated. - Ethan Gach Read More
There's a lot we still don't know about the Switch 2, but one sure bet is that it will sell like bonkers when it first launches. If there are any initial shortages whatsoever, scalpers will be looking to flip the new console on eBay and other sites for hundreds over the asking price. Nintendo says it's making preparations to try to avoid the Switch 2 being the latest casualty of the modern online pre-order hellscape. - Ethan Gach Read More
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Digital Trends
33 minutes ago
- Digital Trends
Games weren't better when you were younger, you've just experienced more
Despite what you might believe, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time isn't the greatest game of all time. People often say games were better when we were younger, but that isn't the case. Ocarina of Time might be your favorite game of all time, and that's fine; it's mine, too. But it isn't inherently better because it's older or more original compared to the games of today. You've just seen a lot more. Recommended Videos When you're young, you have less experience — not just in gaming, but in everything. You aren't as familiar with storyline structure. You haven't seen a wide range of mechanics. The jump from 2D games to 3D games was huge, but graphics have improved in smaller and smaller increments since then. Your 100th ray-traced scene is a lot less impressive than exploring the castle in Super Mario 64 in three dimensions for the first time. In short, those games from back in the day that you view as perfect experiences? You're looking at them through rose-colored glasses. Bear with me, though. Just because your memory of a game is tinted with nostalgia doesn't make it any less valid or important. I have a clear, distinct memory of when I was roughly eleven years old. I'm walking down the street with a close friend on a crisp autumn morning. The sun is shining, and we're brimming with excitement over The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask's Goron Racetrack sequence and how much fun it was. It was a single-player game, experienced together. Watching videos of the course, it doesn't look anywhere near as good as I remember. The mechanics are clunky, and the N64 controller was better suited to being a home defense tool than a game controller. But to an eleven-year-old who had stayed up all night playing the game with his best friend? That experience is unforgettable and unbeatable. Ask yourself, is it the games that stand out so much to you, or the memories forged around those games? Final Fantasy VII is another example. It was the first JRPG I played that had an overworld map I could explore. Unlocking the Highwind and flying around the world absolutely blew my mind, and finding the secrets hidden around the map felt as rewarding as finding real-world treasure. Every day at recess, my friends and I would talk about what we found (and then we started trading notes on Chocobo breeding). I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my first playthrough of Pokémon Blue. No other gaming experience has quite enthralled me like the ten-hour binge I undertook with my first Charmander, pausing only long enough to replace the batteries in my Game Boy. It was a formative experience in my formative years — but there's no way I can argue that Pokémon Blue is a better game than later Pokémon titles. I wouldn't have the patience for its slow battle system today. And therein lies another key reason why older games seem better: Nostalgia tends to filter out the negative. Things annoyed you about your favorite games as a kid; you just don't remember them as clearly as you remember the positive memories. Social media also loves to talk about nostalgia without acknowledging the downsides. Again, to use Ocarina of Time as an example, I can name two parts of the game you likely despised: the Water Temple and anytime Kaepora Gaebora showed up to chat. Let's not even talk about how freakin' buggy some games could be back then (although, let's be honest: most Bethesda titles can still give them a run for their money today.) I don't write all of this to disparage Ocarina of Time. Like I said before, it's my favorite game, and the most influential thing I've ever played. It made me want to tell stories that left an impact on someone like Link's adventure did on me. Without that experience, I probably wouldn't be here writing this article. A young gamer today might get the same experience from Breath of the Wild that I did from Ocarina of Time, or from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 that I did from Final Fantasy VII. My feelings on those games are the result of timing and circumstance, not some inherent magical quality that video games have since lost. Yes, there's a discussion to be had about a perceived lack of risk in games today versus yesteryear and the factors that surround the industry today, but there have been plenty of games launched in recent years that show the magic is alive and well. Clair Obscur is the most recent example that comes to mind (Sorry, Gio, I can't be normal about it). I began playing it to find out what all the hype was about, and I'll be honest: I expected a run-of-the-mill RPG. Not much surprises or impresses me these days, especially working in games journalism. So when its story, characters, and gameplay essentially reached through my TV screen and grabbed me by the throat, I was caught off guard. Clair Obscur has that special element in spades. A sort of je ne sais quoi, you might say. Every theory I had about the story? Wrong. At no point did I know what was coming next. The graphics and cinematic elements made me think of Final Fantasy VII in the best ways (the fixed-camera shots especially), and the music? Chef's kiss. Now that I've finished the game, optional sections and all, I still want more — and that doesn't happen often. But what also made it special was the interest my wife took in the game. She sat beside me and became just as invested in the story as I was, and we would discuss what we thought was going to happen long after I'd turned off the console. The experience is a precious memory. A single-player game, experienced together. It made me realize that every key memory I have about my favorite games involved other people, whether that was playing Majora's Mask with a childhood friend, battling for the top spot in Halo 2 clan tournaments, or spending too many tokens trying to beat each other's Dance Dance Revolution score at the arcade. Games haven't lost their magic, nor have they gotten worse over time. It's still there. You just have to look for it.
CNET
5 hours ago
- CNET
Best Handheld Gaming Consoles Right Now
Phones and tablets already do a fine job of playing tons of great games and streaming games from consoles or the cloud. Dedicated devices can provide unique features, exclusive games or extra power to do things your phone can't. The difference between types of game handhelds at the moment can feel vast, but let's break it down into some clear categories. Handhelds can be full TV-connectable consoles, tinier versions of full PCs, or smaller, purpose-built ways to play retro games, indies, or even novelty experiences. Some are, like PCs and phones, built on more standard OS forms. Others are locked down. The Nintendo Switch 2. Scott Stein/CNET The Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 Nintendo's consoles are a platform all unto their own. Nintendo locks down its hardware to only work with games bought in physical game card format or on Nintendo's eShop, and the Switch and Switch 2 also require subscriptions for online play. The Switch 2 can play nearly all the games that work on the Switch, with the exception of ones that either needed the original Switch dimensions (Nintendo Labo, if you can find it) or the original Joy-Con's IR camera (Ring Fit Adventure, which works with Switch 2 if you pair original Joy-Cons to it wirelessly). It does have its own accessories and added functions: GameChat for talking to other Switch 2 owners, USB-connected camera support for games and chat, and the new Joy-Cons can work as optical mice with supported games. It works the same way the Switch does, but has better graphics and a larger screen, and worse battery life. To expand Switch 2 storage, you need to buy microSD Express cards, which are different from standard microSD. Lori Grunin/CNET PC game handhelds A growing number of beefy handheld systems can run either full Windows OS onboard, or specific Linux-based SteamOS software. The Steam Deck, Asus Rog Ally and Lenovo Legion Go are the best current options and come in several forms and flavors. Most of these handhelds run similar-performing types of AMD-based processors with integrated graphics which deliver surprising functional gaming on the go provided the games you're playing are properly optimized. Valve makes this super easy on Steam Deck and on the new Lenovo Legion Go S with Steam OS, making it very clear on its Steam store which games are optimized to play well. On Windows handhelds, you gain the freedom of full Windows OS, and its complications. You could run any game from any source (and on SteamOS handhelds, with some tinkering, you could do this too), but your mileage will definitely vary. I've often had some games not run at all, or run so badly they were unplayable. Indie and smaller games are often great choices on handhelds for this reason. Still, games like Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, Spider-Man 2 and No Man's Sky are a few of the games that are great to play on the go with these handhelds. Expect battery life to vary based on the type of game, and many of these handhelds are pretty heavy, too (up to 1.5 pounds). They can connect with monitors and accessories, too, but don't come packaged with docks. The ModRetro Chromatic. Numi Prasarn/CNET Retro handhelds The Analogue Pocket and ModRetro Chromatic are remastered Game Boys for playing classic cartridges you might still have or buy. The Pocket can also play other game cartridges, and even emulations of games that can be sideloaded. The Evercade series of handhelds, alternatively, plays rereleased compilations of games on custom cartridges. While the Pocket and Chromatic and Evercade models are geared towards physical cartridges, there are also tons of small handhelds that can play ROMs and emulated games. CNET doesn't review those at the moment, but know that there's a big space there to explore. There's also the weird stuff: the Panic Playdate is its own beast, a custom mini-handheld that plays its own library of games. There's nothing else quite like it, but Nintendo's limited edition Game & Watch re-releases come to mind. The PlayStation Portal. Scott Stein/CNET Streaming handhelds While Windows handhelds can stream games from sources like Xbox Cloud Gaming and Nvidia GeForce Now, so can your phone or tablet. Another streaming option to consider is the PlayStation Portal, which only plays either PlayStation Plus streaming cloud games or streaming games via your PlayStation 5, but also adds haptics and force-feedback triggers. The future of gaming might be increasingly streaming, but for now, it's a tool that lots of devices are throwing in the mix. The Backbone Pro controller on an iPhone. Lori Grunin/CNET Your phone, or tablet Tablets and phones are extremely valid game consoles: The iPad has tons of games on the App Store, and hundreds more on Apple's subscription-based Apple Arcade. The iPad can pair with Bluetooth game controllers, too. iPhones and Android phones have tons of games as well, obviously, and a number of great game controller cases are available, including the Backbone and the Razer Kishi. Phones and tablets also offer other advantages, including an ability to cloud-stream games on a growing number of services including Microsoft Game Pass Ultimate and PlayStation Plus.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
New College Football 26 Details on Dynasty Mode Revealed
The post New College Football 26 Details on Dynasty Mode Revealed appeared first on ClutchPoints. A new College Football 26 Dynasty Deep Dive has arrived, sharing tons of new information about the returning mode. For newcomers, Dynasty acts as the game's Franchise Mode. You control a coach on a College Football Football Team with the purpose of helping them win it all. This year, College Football 26 adds real coaches, but there's a lot more under the hood when it comes to Dynasty. College Football 26 Dynasty Deep Dive – Everything You Need To Know Overall, here's all the biggest details from the latest College Football 26 Deep Dive. Advertisement Real Coaches & Coach Progression Over 300 authentic coaches will be available to choose from in College Football 26. Replace Kirby Smart and become the next Georgia HC, or control Kirby Smart as you try to win his third National Championship. Each coach comes with their own playbook, scheme, play-calling tendencies, career stats, archetypes, and abilities. However, you can still create a coach, and CFB 26 offers more customization settings. From coach demeanor to stances, you can edit the look and emotions your coach conveys. In terms of gameplay, College Football increases the maximum coach level cap to 100 (previously 50). This will make the experience of upgrading your coach last longer as you try to upgrade everything. Additionally, EA Sports created a new level progression curve to help you level up early on. Advertisement Furthermore, the developer rebalanced all archetypes — Recruiter, Motivator, and Tactician. And the amount of XP needed from each perk scales by the tier of your archetype. Archetype cost also scales with each purchase. Additionally, abilities (and their costs) within archetypes have been rebalanced. Therefore, you'll need to think a bit more about which archetype would suit your playstyle and team best. Fortunately, staff members have their own active archetypes, contributing to your gains as well. But to really help with the rebalance, EA updated several archetype perks to help you earn XP. Choose the right coordinators to maximize your gains and build an incredible team. But keep in mind that you'll now need to unlock your archetype. You must reach a minimum level in order to unlock these archetypes, which in turn help your team. You won't be able to switch between archetypes so quickly now either, forcing you to really think about what you should choose. Advertisement Of course, some archetypes allow you to bend the rules a little bit, so keep on the lookout for our guide when the game comes out. When it comes to the carousel, EA Sports made a few updates. You now receive notifications when coordinators accept or decline offers. Furthermore, the same applies when current coordinators plan to leave you. To help with this, the game added new abilities to help you attract and keep the coordinators you want. Along with these changes comes rebalanced offer logic, as well as the option to see your coaching staff's previous jobs. Want to know if they were fired or just let go? The world is your oyster! The Trophy Room College Football 26 adds a Trophy Room where you can your accolades across a variety of modes. From every National Championship to every Heisman, all your records will be stored here for your viewing pleasure. Each Dynasty comes with their own Room to help keep info organized. Advertisement Overall, the game features 160 trophies to earn across four different categories. Recruitment, The Transfer Portal, & My School In College Football 26, players can expect to see roughly 2,000 players enter the transfer portal annually. To help compensate, they changed how they assigned star ratings to prospects. Now, their rating is more influenced by a player's position & class year. But as a coach, this means you need to keep your players satisfied. Whether it's through reps, success, brand exposure, and more, your players need to be convinced that your school is the best place for them. Advertisement Dealbreakers return, with the developers refining the system. It now factors in snaps played, regardless of where they sit on the depth chart. Not everyone's Dealbreaker will be playing time, but it still plays a role in their decision. This is especially the case for high-rated players. CFB 26 also introduces Dynamic Dealbreakers. Overall, this system takes into account that a player changes their demands over time. A five-star player want to focus on his brand, causing him to play elsewhere. But you can also alleviate these demands with certain abilities. But if you don't like how the current Transfer Portal System works, EA Sports added the following new settings for you to customize it with: Max Transfers Per Team – Anywhere from 0-30 (0 disables Transfer Portal) Adjust how many players can transfer from a single team (0–30). Setting this to 0 disables the portal entirely for a more traditional experience. Transfer Probability (User Teams): How likely a user team's player is to transfer Transfer Probability (CPU Teams): How likely the computer team's player is to transfer My School Grades return, with 14 categories for players to consider. These all affect your Team Prestige Grade, which represents how attractive you are as a program. This year, the developers lowered the amount of teams in the A and B grade range. They also added Pro Potential which represents how likely the program is to produce NFL talent. Advertisement The developers, also re-adjusted, and re-evaluated all the different Grades for every team to help reflect how they are for the upcoming season. Recruiting has also seen a big change. With Location Based Recruiting, it's cheaper to bring closer recruits to your facility. Conversely, it also costs more to bring in recruits from farther away. Now you will either be more flexible or restricted with your budget, depending on where your located. And if you coach in Hawaii, then we feel sorry for you. But like everything else, you can unlock certain abilities to maximize your scheduling efficiency and more. Additionally, the game made two major improvements to the scouting system: Re-ordered how attributes are displayed Expanded Mind Reader Ability and reveal Dev Trait directly through scouting But keep in mind that you'll battle with other teams to recruit the players you want. Recruiting battles now trigger if a school gets a commit but with another school right behind them. This creates a higher commitment threshold, giving both teams a small window to impress them one last time. Therefore, pull out all the punches when this phase strikes. Advertisement Speaking of recruits, there'll now over 4,000 recruits per season (4,100, specifically). To compensate for this, the developers rebalanced their physicals, mentals, attributes, and much more. However, there will be fewer top tier recruits for you to choose from, making the battles for them all the more exciting. Along with these rebalances comes with adjusted dealbreakers, player weight, and so much more to change up the experience. To help snag recruits from other teams, EA Sports improved the Sway mechanic. Overall, if a recruit really wants to play closer to home, you can sway them by showing them what your program has accomplished. Playing close to home is nice, but how about playing for a team that's produced a lot of NFL talent. This year, you now see the chances of your Sway success before beginning. This gives you a bit more confidence in each decision. When Sways are successful, you'll see so on the recruiting board. Advertisement Lastly, EA Sports made several quality of life improvements to the recruiting process: Team Needs now pinned on top of Prospects List Arrows to indicate whether you moved up or down a prospect's list. A Red Dot will notify you when new recruiting actions are available Favorite Recruits by double tapping triangle/Y New filter that lets you quickly look at your favorite recruits Advanced search filters: Player Progression, Abilities, & Training – College Football 26 Dynasty Details College Football 26 rebalances the way your favorite players progress on the field. Development traits play a bigger role in offseason progression. And speaking of the offseason, you'll see physical changes to player bodies after offseason workouts. Players with Impact, Star, and Elite Traits now progress faster, making them better to use in the long run. And if your school boasts a nice athletic facility, it'll help further development even more. Advertisement Players are only as good as their abilities, and this year, CFB 26 adds new abilities. In addition to new abilities comes new modified requirements to unlock them. You may need two attributes to have a certain rating before unlocking a higher-tier ability. Additionally, archetypes saw a huge overhaul. CFB 26 adds new player types, ergo, more physical combinations to increase the diversity of play styles. Players who perform extremely well can upgrade their Development trait in the offseason. While not guaranteed, it gives you extra incentive to reach that milestone with your player. It becomes more difficult with each tier your try to increase. Speaking of development, training results now provide more clear information on your player's growth. This gives you a good idea of where they've improved with each practice. Advertisement When it comes to manual progression, you have the option to enable that in the league settings. This feature lets you earn Skill Points which you can use to upgrade their attributes. In the Player Card, you can see a player's full stats, and which ones you want to improve. But keep in mind that using this feature nerfs your progression by 25% (However, this is fully customizable). Depth Chart Positions, Player Health, & Sub Formations – College Football 26 Dynasty Details Players can change their positions in CFB 26, but there's things to keep in mind. They must develop into the role, and will only maintain abilities that both positions share. However, you can adjust their skill group caps baed on how close the new position is to the old one. Fortunately, the game lets you know in advance what will be affected before each move. Advertisement Wear & Tear returns to College Football 26, with some big expansive changes. Firstly, the game now has Season & Career Health pools for you to watch over. They determine how much a player recovers over the season and their career. When a player recovers, it draws from these health pools. Once that pool depletes, they can no longer recover for the rest of the season. Health changes Season to Season. If you have a nearly empty health pool one year, you'll start the next season with a small health pool. Therefore, you really need to manage player health in order to keep them safe for their whole career. These details are available almost anywhere in Dynasty. Subs saw some nice changes in CFB 26. Firstly, the game features four new sub strategies to choose from: Advertisement Keep Fresh – Rotate players often to limit damage Normal – Balanced rotation Grind It Out: Players stay on field no matter what Custom: Use a variety of sliders and settings to completely customize the Wear & Tear System Additionally, College Football 26 adds new positions to the game. Like Madden 26, you'll have access to the SAM, WILL, and MIKE Linebackers. Additionally, you'll have Nose Tackles and Long Snappers, increasing your versatility. Players also can use Formation Subs to make their roster alignment more convenient. New Teams, Old History – College Football 26 Dynasty Details Two new Schools are coming to College Football 26 – Missouri State and Delaware. This expands the list of teams to 136. Furthermore, the game is adding a new feature called College Football History. This hub allows you to view all sorts of stats going as far back as 1869. See all the National Champions, Conference Champions, Player award winners,, and much more. From Heisman winners to champions of every division, you'll see almost everything you need to know. Advertisement This information updates too with every season. So continue to make history with your school! You can also see a player's individual awards on their player card. Additionally, the game added 14 new awards, including the Maxwell Award & Walter Camp Award. Additionally, the developers adjusted how defensive stats are evaluated. Plus, stat tracking has been expanded giving you access to more information with much more convenience. Quality of Life Improvements – College Football 26 Dynasty Details The Following Quality of Life Improvements also make their way to Dynasty: Updated Tiebreaker logic, which considers: Added columns to show team's point differential and average margin of victory Deeper stat tracking Across all positions and sides of the ball Expanded Archetypes (59 now) Quick Access to player info & schedules Easier Access to player stats and attributes Members Tab to see every user and coach character in a Dynasty. Custom Conferences, Schedules, & More – College Football 26 Dynasty Details In College Football 26 Dynasty, you can now set and lock protected opponents. This allows you to lock-in annual matchups and ensure certain games always happen. Advertisement The developers also added all known schedules and kickoffs through 2040, ensuring a higher level of authenticity. Furthermore, they event accounted for annual updates. Florida vs. Georgia will no longer be played in Jacksonville in 2026 and 2027, and the game will reflect that change. Additionally, they updated conference rotations for the MAC and Conference USA conferences. And speaking of authenticity, the newest playoff format arrives to CFB 26. Play in the new CFP format before it happens in real life this July! Crossplay For Dynasty Mode in College Football 26 Perhaps the best detail of all, Online Dynasty is now cross-play enabled. This means you can play with friends on another system and fight both for a natty and a console war. Advertisement Overall, that includes all the major updates in College Football 26's Dynasty Mode. We're pretty impressed with what we've seen. EA Sports has clearly put a lot of work in upgrading the authenticity of the game. But we'll see if it all comes together in the final product. Lastly, for more gaming and NCAAF news, visit ClutchPoints. Furthermore, subscribe to our gaming newsletter for more weekly info. Related: F1 25 Update Fixes Bugs In Career, Braking Point, & Other Modes Related: College Football 26 presentation, uniform, & more details revealed
