Games Inbox: Are you getting a Nintendo Switch 2 next week?
To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk
The big decision
If this is shown on Thursday we'll be exactly a week away from the Nintendo Switch 2 launch and I still haven't decided whether I want it or not. Ignoring the problem of whether you can find one or not I'm still not decided. It's a lot of money and I'm not really interested in anything this year but Mario Kart and Metroid Prime 4.
Admittedly, they probably will be two amazing games but it's always difficult with a new console, knowing when to pull the trigger and trying to be strong enough to resist the fear of missing out. My gut feeling is that I'll cave in within the next couple of days, but I guess I'll see.
I do wish Nintendo would reveal more about Metroid Prime 4 though, as I feel we haven't heard much about it yet. If we had more info/footage I'd feel a bit more confident about spending all that money for a day one purchase.
Spooner
Bad omen
I'm not surprised to see the mostly negative reviews for Elden Ring Nightreign, from the more reliable sources, and I agree that it must've started out as DLC. I can't be too angry, because it's at least not too expensive, but it does harm FromSoftware's reputation and seems to overall be a waste of time.
More than that though, it makes me worry about The Duskbloods. I'm sure that's a bigger budget affair but some of the problems with Nightreign, like needing a super skilled and committed team to play with, are not things that can be fixed with more budget, they're just fundamentally bad ideas brought on by From's dedication to difficult games.
That's fine when you're only wasting your own time, but I don't see how it's ever going to work in multiplayer if you're working in a team. I guess we'll see but I don't have a good feeling about it.
Tacle
Change of plans
It's felt like EA has wanted to back out of making these Marvel games almost as soon as they got the licence. I bet the only reason they're carrying on with the Iron Man one is because it's further along, and the games industry is a big believer in the sunk cost fallacy.
Although, to be fair, the Black Panther plot did sound pretty bad. T'Challa has been kidnapped by Skrulls and you have to play as a bunch of other people, including his son. But… why? Why couldn't they just do a normal story with you playing as him? It's not like the character has been removed from the comics, it's only the MCU where it's a problem.
Or maybe that was a genius set-up and we'll just never know. If I was anyone at EA working on a licensed game though, I'd be polishing up my CV right about now, because the second the third Star Wars Jedi game is done they're going to jettison all those people into space too. So you can forget all your hopes about Battlefield 3.
Hanson
Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Disobeying orders
I have received an email from GAME saying my Switch 2 order has been cancelled as payment 'was not able to complete successfully'. So initially I think, did I enter my details incorrectly? But no, I did enter the details correctly, so all a bit odd.
I checked and it appears this is happening to other GAME pre-orders as well. GAME would not have been my first choice for pre-order, and I am aware of their HQ closing, but they were one of the few retailers with stock when I ordered. Silly me, yes.
GAME's online help is useless, and I can't even get into my account with GAME to review the order, so assume it is now cancelled. Have any other GC readers had their pre-orders cancelled by GAME?
Mawgan
PS: Just an update – GAME have posted on their Facebook and Twitter feeds about the (what looks like) widespread cancellation of Switch 2 pre-orders.
GC: Yep, unfortunately it's a pretty widespread problem.
Second edition
I am interested in getting Fantasy Life i and whilst it seems to be getting a good reception, I haven't seen any reviews from websites I trust. Will you guys be reviewing it? I find your reviews the most informative and always use them when weighing up a new gaming purchase.
I am considering getting Fantast Life i as a Switch 2 launch title but was hoping to read your thoughts before committing.
Separately, I can't believe it's only a week until the Switch 2 launch now. I got my pre-order in early from Amazon and I am very excited to play Mario Kart World, as well as the hopefully many other great Nintendo games to come over the next few years.
Pigfish2 (PSN ID/NN ID)
GC: Thank you. If we get a chance we'll try and look at the Switch 2 Edition, but it's not actually confirmed to be a launch title in the UK yet – even though we suspect it will be.
Double launch
I really think we have to be ultra conservative when it comes to expectations about Nintendo at Sumer Game Fest. In my opinion, the chances of them showing anything at a Geoff Keighley event when they'll probably have their own a week later is minuscule.
The worst thing is that everyone is going to get worked up into imagining all these amazing new reveals and the 'secret Christmas game' and then blame Nintendo for not announcing it, even though they never promised anything.
I agree that the most likely outcome will be nothing but a montage and a bit of on-stage banter. If we're really lucky we'll get a hint at a new game for next year but nothing else.
They're not going to announce a big new game out of nowhere for this year because there's not the time to build up the hype for it and, most importantly, they'll still be pushing Mario Kart World by the time it gets to Christmas.
June is a weird time to launch a console for a reason. Very few people are spending money on consoles at that time of the year so really this autumn is going to be the second launch of the Switch 2 and there's no need to complicate that with another big game, when most non-gamers will barely, if it all, be aware the console exists until they start thinking about presents for the year.
Casper
Physical treasureJust a quick message to say Metro Redux 2033 is free on Xbox until May 30th. It is not currently free on PlayStation Store, unfortunately.
Andrew J.
PS: Just seen recently you can pre-order Another Crab's Treasure physical version on Amazon and iam8bit. I've been waiting to pick this up on physical for PlayStation 5, after GameCentral's good review of the game a while back.
I'm in danger
So it sounds like Codemasters is going to shut down by EA, just a few years after they outbid Take-Two for them, for a $1.2 billion. So… what was the point of that? I imagine the Codemasters' driving games are pretty consistent in sales – they're always high quality and the audience is always there – so what was EA expecting?
What it probably means is that Codies has just been sacrificed to ensure EA's graphs keep pointing up (there was already talk about 'growth' in the story) after EA Sports FC 25 and Apex Legends didn't do so well.
You don't need me to tell you how shortsighted and dumb this is but what happens next year when they also need to show growth? They keep doing it and they'll soon have no one left to make any of their games. They already publish far fewer than they used to, so if something big like EA Sports FC even just underperforms the whole company is in trouble, as we see.
Ubisoft are already on the edge of the cliff, EA are going to be half the size they used to be if they keep this up… the truth is the triple-A video games business is dying and it's so far gone I don't think anything can help it now.
Imagine a future where the only independent publisher is Take-Two, because they've got GTA, and everyone else is either owned by someone else or is basically an indie publisher. Maybe that wouldn't be so bad in itself but just look how far we've fallen!
Focus
Inbox also-ransMaybe I've missed something but why is it called Pokémon Legends: Z-A? Seems a pretty bad name to me, if no one knows what it means.
Ansel
GC: We don't think they've ever said exactly but it seems to be to do with tournament ranking (starting at Z and going up to A) and as a reference to the legendary pokémon Zygarde.
Little heads up but Hasbro are releasing a line of figures based on Marvel characters from Marvel Vs. Capcom and they look dead on. No Capcom characters but you should be able to find plenty of them in the same scale.
Gorf More Trending
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Metro
6 hours ago
- Metro
The 20 best Commodore Amiga games to celebrate the 40th anniversary
GameCentral lists the most iconic games ever made for the Amiga home computer, back in its glory days of the 80s and 90s. It may not be much of a household name nowadays, but anyone who grew up gaming in the late 80s knows that, here in the UK, the Commodore Amiga series of home computers was one of the most popular formats of the time. Its success was one of the reasons the belated release of the NES never took off, something which has affected Nintendo's popularity in the UK ever since. However, once the Mega Drive and SNES launched in the early 90s, the Amiga slowly became overshadowed and, eventually, all but forgotten, apart from a mini-console release in 2022. The Amiga celebrates its 40th anniversary on June 23, but because it was only ever really popular in Europe its legacy is a difficult thing to honour, with only the occasional remaster or reboot for any of its games. But nevertheless, here are 20 of its most memorable titles – almost all of which were originally made in the UK. One of the very first games developed by long-running British studio Team17 – who are still going today as an indie publisher – this top-down shooter is heavily inspired by the movie Aliens and remains an all-time favourite amongst Amiga fans. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. Its initial success led to a long line of sequels and spin-offs but while it attempted to segue into being a 3D shooter it was never able to compete with new challengers such as Doom. The attempts at a modern reboot never took off either, which currently leaves the franchise in limbo. When you think of cinematic games, your mind probably goes to big budget PlayStation games like God Of War and Uncharted. But in the 90s, that term was being used to describe 2D platformer Another World and its spiritual successor Flashback. While Another World was all style and little substance Flashback, which also appeared on contemporary home consoles, was way ahead of its time in terms of storytelling in an action games and including a relative amount of non-linear gameplay. A remake and a sequel have both been attempted but the original was very much of its time and even its spiritual sequel, 1995's Fade To Black, wasn't a hit, despite being one of the very earliest third person shooters. The Amiga would have been a far less exciting format without British developer Sensible Software, who have no less than three entries in this list. Cannon Fodder is arguably their greatest creation and something completely unique both then and now. It's essentially a top-down squad based action game, controlled by a mouse (all Amigas came with a mouse – it was the joystick you had to buy separately) where squad-mates would drop like flies, to later be memorialised in an in-game cemetery. The game was heavily criticised by the Daily Star for using images of a poppy but while Sensible were clearly goading tabloids into giving them free press, which they got, the game itself is very clearly anti-war and quietly poignant in terms of the fate of its virtual soldiers. When the Amiga first arrived in 1985, 3D polygonal graphics were all but unknown on home consoles, with even the milestone release of 1993's Starwing (aka Star Fox) on the SNES requiring a more expensive cartridge with extra processing power. And yet the Amiga was filled with hugely ambitious 3D games – all made by British developers and including the likes of Cybercon III, Infestation, Starglider, and Damocles. They all ran with horrendously low frame rates but despite that, Frontier still managed to simulate astronomically accurate solar systems and physics. Like many pioneering games on the Amiga, including 2D titles such as Shadow Of The Beast, Frontier wasn't actually much fun but it was always interesting to explore and play around with. And then when you got bored of that you could play the Amiga version of the original Elite, which was a lot more enjoyable. Speaking of hugely ambitious 3D games with terrible frame rates, that are no fun to play, Hunter was essentially GTA 3 but almost 25 years earlier. The story campaign had you trying to assassinate an enemy general but there's also a sandbox mode where you can take on targets in whatever you like, across an archipelago of islands. This involved driving around in a wide range of vehicles, that you could get in and out of at any time, as well as walking, swimming, and fighting on foot. It was horribly difficult but shared similarities with Midwinter and Carrier Command, in that all three games were decades ahead of their time, in terms of sandbox gameplay, and made by British developers that are now all but forgotten by the wider industry. Although Street Fighter 2 didn't appear until 1991 (there were several versions on the Amiga but none of them were very good), one-on-one fighting games weren't an entirely unknown concept before that, not least because the original Street Fighter came out in 1987. That very same year, the sequel to International Karate, by Jimmy White's 'Whirlwind' Snooker creator Archer Maclean, appeared and it's fascinating how different a concept it is, not least because there's actually three people fighting at a time. It'll forever be most famous for the cheat code that lets you drop the fighters' trousers but that doesn't negate the fact that this is probably the best pre-Street Fighter 2 fighting game on any format. Once one of the biggest gaming franchises of the 90s, Lemming sadly fell out of favour, and drifted into obscurity in the ensuing decades, primarily because it's best played with a mouse, which most consoles never had. It's a puzzle game where you have to stop swarms of lemmings falling to their death, as you block off and dig through the landscape to help them. The series was considered important enough to appear on a Royal Mail stamp, although it's now most famous for being an early work by DMA Design – the studio that went on to become Rockstar North. Without the financial success of Lemmings there would never have been a Grand Theft Auto, which is a sobering thought. Although Sony owns the franchise now, after buying original publisher Psygnosis. Rainbow Islands may be an arcade conversion, of one of the many games claiming to be the sequel to Bubble Bobble, but its true home has always been on the Amiga. It's certainly the only place it's ever enjoyed the degree of fame it deserves, thanks to a near perfect port by legendary developer Andrew Braybrook, creator of Uridium and Paradroid (Commodore 64 games which both had sequels on the Amiga). We know what it looks like, but Rainbow Islands is an incredibly nuanced action platformer, that's filled with secrets and enjoys one of the most flexible weapon systems in any 2D game. The rainbows you shoot out are at once projectiles, traps to catch enemies beneath you, and platforms to be traversed. It's a genius concept that cannot be re-released today in its original form because its soundtrack is technically a knock-off of Somewhere over the Rainbow. Arguably the first ever combat flight simulator, this went unnoticed by many even at the time, although it's a wonderfully imaginative evolution of games like Elite, that focuses solely on combat and arrived a full year before Wing Commander. It features a relatively realistic, physics-based control system and surprisingly involved story missions, obviously inspired by the previous year's Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Developer Glyn Williams went on to make the Independence War games, which acted as spiritual sequels, but sadly they're almost completely forgotten too. In some ways it's a shame that Sensible Soccer was so successful, because it meant Sensible Software never got around to making other more experimental titles, like Cannon Fodder and Wizkid. An evolution of earlier game MicroProse Soccer, this was a direct rival to the otherwise popular Kick Off series and was very much the EA Sports FC of its day, except with a sense of humour and played from a top-down perspective. It has a spiritual sequel today, in Sociable Soccer by original creator John Hare, that's seen some success, but nothing like Sensi in its heyday. Although the Amiga rarely got the same games released on contemporary consoles, it did get lots of arcade conversations and PC ports. The PC didn't really come into its own as a games format until the mid 90s but there were notable titles before that time, including the original Civilization in 1991. A franchise so successful the most recent sequel came out just this year. The Amiga version was a bit slower, because of the limited processing power, but it worked very well and so did seminal real-time strategy game Dune 2 and UFO: Enemy Unknown – what would later become known as X-COM. Its predecessor Laser Squad was also a cracking turn-based game, even if it still looked like a ZX Spectrum game. Unsurprisingly, top-down racing games are not something you see much of nowadays, even from indie developers, but there were lots on the Amiga, including arcade conversion Ivan 'Ironman' Stewart's Super Off Road and the excellent Skidmarks series. Super Cars 2 is most people's favourite though, not because it does anything particularly original but simply because it does it very well. The inclusion of weapons is relatively unusual though and ensures multiplayer matches are always glorious chaos. It was also essentially a sister series to the equally popular Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge games. This list of games isn't in any particular order but the two frontrunners for our favourite Amiga games of all-time are Rainbow Islands and this: the best game the Bitmap Brothers ever made and still the definitive example of a future sports game. It's basically a hyper violent version of handball crossed with hockey, where you aim to get the ball into the goal by any means necessary, including punching your opponents to the floor and creating score multipliers by throwing it at devices at the side of the arena. A follow-up has been attempted multiple times, with a new one currently in early access from Rebellion but nothing has matched the elegant simplicity of the original… or its amazing theme tune. As much as his reputation has been tarnished nowadays, Peter Molyneux was on fire during the Amiga era, doing all his best work while at now defunct developer Bullfrog, with titles such as Flood and Syndicate. Populous was his most famous game at the time and along with SimCity (which was also available on the Amiga) helped create the now largely abandoned god game genre. It's arguable how much real strategy was involved in the gameplay, but at the time Populus' open-ended nature and isometric graphics were a revelation. The sequel never added any real depth to the concept though and the franchise has been mothballed for almost two decades now. We've already discussed many of the Amiga's most innovative 3D games but arguably the most impressive is Starglider 2. Rather than being a straight shooter, like its predecessor, it is a completely open-ended sci-fi adventure where you can travel anywhere in a solar system, nominally in an attempt to blow up an enemy space station with a special bomb. No one ever bothered with that though and instead spent their time exploring the fascinating 3D worlds that featured no loading screens and flat-shaded (as opposed to wireframe) polygon graphics, as you travelled from outer space, through the atmosphere, and onto a planet's surface. The highlight was undoubtedly listening to the space whales in the atmosphere of the system's gas giant but the whole game was a technical marvel, with many of the team going on to develop Starwing for Nintendo. While the Amiga had plenty of its own exclusives, and many titles shared with rival home computer the Atari ST, much of its portfolio was made up of ports from other formats, whether it be arcades, the PC, or earlier 8-bit computers. Exile is one such game, having first appeared on the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron. That means nobody outside the UK has ever heard of it and yet it's a fantastically ambitious action adventure, with completely open-ended gameplay, a realistic physics engine, and clever artificial intelligence. Perhaps if it had had modern style signposting, and a lower difficulty, it might be better known today but the unfortunate truth is that if a game isn't popular in the US or Japan it's rarely ever seen again. Lucasfilm Games were a loyal supporter of the Amiga and while their later point 'n' click adventures had increasing trouble running on the format the original Monkey Island worked perfectly and thanks to the Amiga's excellent sound chip was arguably the definitive version at the time. Still one of the funniest games ever made – which says just as much about its level of competition as it does the game itself – this is both a charming screwball comedy and a graphic adventure whose puzzles are perfectly pitched as difficult but not impossibly illogical. As a bonus, the series is still going today, thanks to the 2022 soft reboot. If this were a list of most underrated Amiga games, The Sentinel would comfortably sit at the top since, even at the time it came out, very few people had ever heard of it. And that's despite it having been released previously on various 8-bit formats. The Sentinel is a remarkably unique stealth game, where you control an immobile robot and must avoid the glare of the titular Sentinel by teleporting from one spot to the other across an abstract 3D landscape. It was the creation of SIr Geoff Crammond, but as good as Stunt Car Racer and Formula One Grand Prix were, it's The Sentinel which stands as his greatest achievement. This is the main reason we semi-resent the existence of Sensible Soccer, as it's the weirdest and most experimental game Sensible Software ever made. It's nominally a sequel to their earlier 2D shooter Wizball, which was also ported to the Amiga, but has almost nothing in common with that in terms of gameplay. More Trending You play as the disembodied head of Wizkid in what could vaguely be described as a mix of Arkanoid and Rainbow Islands, as you knock tiles and other objects onto enemies below you. It's when you rejoin your body that things get really weird though, in what is one of the most thoroughly British video games ever made. No Amiga list would be complete without Worms, which was initially made as part of a programming competition run by the magazine Amiga Format. At heart, it's a pretty simple riff on Artillery games, where you have to judge the trajectory of shells fired from fixed gun emplacements, but here you can move and there's a much wider range of weapons. More importantly, it's filled with very British humour and a fantastic multiplayer mode. The series continues to the current day, although after the failure of battle royale spin-off Worms Rumble the next mainline entry has been reduced to an Apple Arcade exclusive called Worms Across Worlds. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: The A500 Mini console review – all 25 Amiga games reviewed from Alien Breed to Speedball 2 MORE: A classic 90s Amiga video game has got an unexpected reboot on Steam MORE: Flashback 2 review – from Amiga classic to modern calamity
Daily Mirror
14 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
EA FC 26 new gameplay features confirmed with upgraded dribbling, passing and two dedicated modes
With EA FC 26 on the horizon, EA Sports has confirmed all of the new gameplay features coming to the latest EA Sports FC title. EA Sports has released a deep dive into the new gameplay features coming to EA FC 26, and there's a lot for players to look forward to, on paper at least. The EA FC 26 hype train is well and truly pulling out of the station, with EA Sports confirming the EA FC 26 cover stars, as well as the FC 26 release date, the official trailer, and all of the EA FC 26 Ultimate Edition pre-order details that are getting players incredibly excited. And now, EA has released an in-depth pitch notes article, going into detail about all of the new gameplay features coming to this year's EA Sports FC title, including more responsive dribbling, quicker passing, new roles, two distinct gameplay modes and much, much more. Here's the complete EA FC 26 pitch notes, as per a post on EA's website. EA FC 26 gameplay features confirmed Welcome to the EA SPORTS FC 26 Gameplay Deep Dive Pitch Notes. Our names are Keegan Sabatino, Gigo Navarro, and Thomas Caleffi, designers and producers from the FC Gameplay Team, and together with the whole team we're excited to share the new Gameplay features coming to FC 26. Our focus this year can be summed up in 3 words: make gameplay better. FC 26 is powered by your feedback, and we aim to make it feel more responsive, rewarding, and enjoyable. We concentrated on three main areas: Competitive and Authentic Gameplay separation Gameplay Fundamentals Feedback-Inspired Features And Updates Let's jump right in. Competitive and Authentic Gameplay In FC 26, we've separated gameplay into two presets: Competitive and Authentic. This split is based on where and how you play FC, and with this change, we're able to customize the match experience of each mode to suit what you want out of the game. Competitive Gameplay is tuned for added responsiveness and higher player control, mainly focused on online modes like Ultimate Team and Clubs. Authentic Gameplay is tuned for higher realism and true-to-life match tempo/speed in offline modes, like Career Mode. We'll cover both in more detail later in this article. Gameplay Fundamentals Along with separating Competitive and Authentic gameplay, we had the goal of addressing the most requested changes by the community, and the problems that prevent you from having the best football experience. We've refined the foundational gameplay mechanics, including Dribbling, Pace, Passing, Tackling, Shooting, Goalkeepers, and Physicality. These refinements apply to both Competitive and Authentic Gameplay. Feedback-Inspired Features/Updates We also wanted to bring some new and updated features that you've been requesting, and that are important for us. These range from our new High-Contrast mode, to more Corner Kick Assignments, tweaked Player Roles, and new PlayStyles. Let's start with the fundamentals. Gameplay Fundamentals Refining Fundamentals Driven By Community Feedback While the split of Competitive and Authentic gameplay will allow us to tweak each individually, there was a great deal of common feedback from the community around the general gameplay of FC. With FC 26 we wanted to address this by focusing on what matters most: the fundamentals. All of the improvements to fundamentals mentioned below apply across both Competitive and Authentic gameplay. Dribbling and Movement - make players more agile and responsive on and off the ball. Goalkeepers - make them more consistent and intelligent. Defending - reduce the quantity of balls that bounce back to the opponent. Passing and Shooting - make it more responsive and improve available options. Attacking and Defensive Positioning - make better runs and provide more support. Physicality - make it more reliable to protect and shield the ball. First Touches and Controlling the Ball - improve the control of trapping the ball. Online and General Gameplay Responsiveness - make the game more consistently responsive for both Online and Offline. Dribbling and Movement One core fundamental is how players move both with and without the ball. Our goal has always been to make players on the pitch feel agile and responsive, so for FC 26 we narrowed in on the community's feedback to provide a more fluid dribbling experience, overall better control with and without the ball, and responsive movement. Dribbling In FC 26, Dynamic Dribbling is a new way to give you better control with increased responsiveness and more consistent outcomes. In order to achieve this, we made the changes below to our dribbling system. Dynamic Dribbling [NG] In FC 26, dribbling has received a significant amount of changes to improve responsiveness and fluidity. Dribble Touch Intervals - re-tuned how close the player keeps the ball to themselves when dribbling. The interval between dribble touches varies between Competitive and Authentic. Player Height - adjusted animation consistency and speed for players based on height to balance the performance between tall and short players. Foot Preference - adjusted dribbling foot preference logic and animation branching logic to allow for more responsive ball control. Dribbling Animation - re-evaluated and re-tuned our dribbling animation library to ensure the consistency, speed, and responsiveness for dribbling were standard across the board. Animation transitions and branching have been improved for increased responsiveness and to diminish the feeling of being 'locked in' to animations. Jog Dribble - increased speed of jog dribbling alongside improved logic for ball direction when dribbling to achieve more consistency in their desired speed. Effort Dribble Touches - Effort Touch animations now trigger during drastic dribble turns to ensure faster and authentic turns. We have removed the Agile Dribbling mechanic due to its low usage and to make the Shielding controls more consistent. Removed Agile Dribbling - L2 + R2 || LT + RT Removed contextual Agile Dribbling and its setting from the menu. Movement We heard feedback that players felt sluggish and heavy, especially when changing directions or when chasing down the ball. Our goal with FC 26 is to make all players more agile and able to accelerate more explosively in any direction, so we tuned the relative pace of players to ensure that the fastest players feel like the quickest ones on the pitch. Here's what we have changed to achieve this: More Agility [NG] Explosive Sprint - increased player agility and explosiveness in every direction. Run Styles - adjusted runs to be more natural and explosive to reflect the pace of an authentic football match. Attacker Vs Defender Speed - improved the speed differentiation between Attackers versus Defenders to achieve an improved balance between the two. Acceleration Types [NG] For FC 26, we're going back to 3 Acceleration Types to allow for a more predictable pace of play. We felt that three types were easier to understand and created a better acceleration balance. We also separated the formula that determines the Acceleration Types between male and female players in order to provide a better distribution among players. Acceleration Type Changes Explosive Agility minimum 65 (Agility - Strength) >= 10 Acceleration minimum 80 Height has been separated between male and female players Male height maximum 182cm (~6'0') Female height maximum 162cm (~5'4') Lengthy Strength minimum 65 (Strength - Agility) >= 4 Acceleration minimum 40 Height has been separated between male and female players Male height minimum 183 cm (~6'1') Female height minimum 164cm (~5'5') Controlled - any player that does not meet the other two requirements above. Adjusted the early stages of all three types to be more responsive. Adjusted deceleration of all players to be faster and snappier. Other Changes Jockey - improved Jockey movement to be more agile and responsive. New Jockey animations to improve maneuverability and feel more grounded. Turns - improved animations for all types of turns (drastic turns, swivel turns, etc.) to be faster and more responsive. Low Urgency - improved low urgency and relaxed animations for players not directly involved in the play to be less frantic and have them ready to accelerate when needed. Goalkeeper We received a lot of feedback on goalkeepers, especially regarding their positioning, the place where they deflect the ball, and how they look when doing so. Our goal with Goalkeepers is to make them more consistent and reliable, reducing the frustration they can cause, and improving the balance of skill vs authenticity. Goalkeeper Fundamentals In FC 26, goalkeepers received several improvements, such as how they handle deflections, how they position themselves, and even their decision making, all with the goal of reducing frustration while staying authentic to football. Deflection Control - added a new level of control for save deflections to significantly reduce the amount of deflections going back to opponents. Most deflections will now go out of bounds, toward teammates, or to open space away from opponents. Goalkeeper Senses - refined goalkeeper's ability to read shot trajectories to better reflect real-world save efforts and shot detection. Technical Improvements - improved base systems for goalkeeper handling, more consistent shot-stopping, and more reasonable decision making in one-on-one situations. RL GK Positioning [NG] One of the most significant updates in FC 26 is the introduction of Reinforcement-Learning (RL) Goalkeeper Positioning. This new system uses machine learning to help AI-controlled goalkeepers make more realistic decisions about where to position themselves in the box. By analyzing countless scenarios, the AI can now better cut down angles and react to different types of attacks while adjusting their position more intelligently. It's important to note that RL Positioning is only active in certain situations, and is only used to position the Goalkeeper. The system is not active when making a save or performing a catch. New Volumetric Animations Animations play a crucial role in how goalkeepers look and feel on the pitch. In FC 26, we're introducing new volumetric animations for goalkeepers. These animations are based on real-world volumetric motion capture data, resulting in more fluid and realistic movements. This not only enhances the visual authenticity of the game but also ensures that goalkeepers respond more accurately to different types of shots and situations. Be-A-Goalkeeper We could not improve the fundamentals of GKs without touching the Be-A-Goalkeeper (BAG) experience. BAG has received many updates, including new controls and assistance levels, PlayStyles, revamped UI components, and an updated presentation, along with unique camera and audio treatments. Revamped Be-A-Goalkeeper Experience For players who enjoy controlling the goalkeeper directly, the Be-A-Goalkeeper (BAG) mode has received a comprehensive update. Players can also play as keepers in Clubs RUSH. You can also use Goalkeeper PlayStyles when in BAG Mode. New Control Scheme - new controls to give you as much control over your actions from dive direction, claiming crosses with a punch or catch, smothering the ball, or reaction saves. Dive Direction - flicking the Right Stick will prepare your goalkeeper to dive in that direction for a short period. Right Stick Flick Cross Claiming - when there is a cross coming in, you have the ability to request either a catch or punch attempt, timing will matter. Punch (When ball is crossed): Circle/B Catch (When ball is crossed): Square/X One-on-One Situations - rushing the attacking dribbler, you have the ability to attempt to smother the ball or attempt to make yourself big to block the incoming shot. The direction of this action is based on your movement direction. Rush: Triangle/Y Ball pickup / smother: Square/X Reaction Save / Make Yourself Big: Circle/B Reaction Saves - when the shooter is close or you wish to take the dive timing into your own hands, you can modify your dive direction to play an instant save attempt. Reaction Dive On Demand: R1 + Right Stick Flick || RB + Right Stick Flick Visuals New Dive Direction UI - a new Dive Direction UI that appears when there is potential for a shot. Updated Positioning UI - updated the auto-positioning AR visual. Camera - new 11v11 camera that brings you closer to the action with the ability to manually pan the camera. Camera Pan: L1 + Left Stick direction || LB + Left Stick direction Defending We know how it can feel to time a tackle perfectly only for the ball to go right back to the opponent. So, when working on fundamentals, we spent a lot of time focusing on improving these issues during tackles, interceptions, and blocks. Our goal is to reward you for well-timed challenges or anticipating a pass, and now you'll be more likely to win the ball cleanly and retain possession in those moments. Tacklebacks, Bouncebacks, and Reboundbacks Tackle Outcomes - improved logic when Stand or Slide tackling the ball to a teammate. Shot Blocks - added a new deflection control system to make blocked shots put the ball away from danger. Interceptions - added a new deflection control system to try to keep possession or move the ball to a teammate when making an interception. Tackled Opponents - opponents will feel the effect of a tackle more severely when dispossessed of the ball by playing a realistic reaction after the tackle, thereby reducing the likelihood of them recovering the ball back right after getting successfully tackled. Defending Tackle Spam - improved logic for spamming tackle, to make the delay after a missed tackle more consistent. Tackle vs Block - when pressing Stand Tackle near the dribbler about to take a shot, the defender will be more likely to try to tackle rather than block. Tackles From Behind - reduced the effectiveness of tackling from behind the dribbler. Tackle Personality - added more player personality for stand tackles Players with a low stand tackle attribute (below 71) can only perform basic stand tackle animations. Players with a medium stand tackle attribute (71-84) can perform most stand tackle animations. Players with a high stand tackle attribute (85+) can perform all stand tackle animations. Passing and Shooting Some of the strongest feedback we got on Passing and Shooting is that they can often feel sluggish, as well as that some shots or pass types are unbalanced. Our goal in FC 26 is to improve the options available to players and ensure that the shot or pass is as responsive as possible. Passing Pass Responsiveness With our focus on core mechanics, we dedicated significant effort to ensuring passes, particularly first-time passes, are as responsive as possible. Passing Angles - rebalanced animation restrictions to allow passing to cover a broader range of angles. Faster Animations - enabled first-touch animations for passes when contextually appropriate, such as short distance passes. Passes Behind - Increased animation coverage for 135° and 180° passes, also allowing backheel passes to play contextually in these scenarios. First-time 135° and 180° through passes are now significantly less accurate to avoid Directed Run-related exploits. Quick Passes - Optimized short-distance, low-power passes to prefer faster, more responsive animations with minimal wind-up. Note that in Competitive Gameplay, first-time pass accuracy is reduced, despite being more responsive. Improved Through Pass Targets We've introduced the concept of Passing Lanes for semi-assisted through passes. Aiming at a specific passing lane (the gap between two opponents) ensures the best target selection for the intended receiver within that lane, respecting your aim and intention. Through passes will also now lead receivers more effectively. Other Changes Pass Receiver - improved pass receiver selection, especially for Ground and Through passes. Crosses - adjusted Crosses to lead more in front of the target, along with increased accuracy when in easy contexts. Ground Passes - regular Ground passes will now have a straighter trajectory with less contextual curve. Teammates will now maintain their position to receive ground passes. Lob Passes - Lob passes will have more driven trajectories when the path is unobstructed. Goalkeeper Throws - improved throw targets from the goalkeeper. Clearances - adjusted Clearance logic to make them more responsive. Shooting Shooting Responsiveness To make shooting more fair and rewarding, we've enhanced responsiveness. Our goal for this is that when you ask your player to shoot, it happens quickly and as expected. Close-range Shots - shots near the net will use more reactive animations with minimal wind-up. Shooting Angles - rebalanced animation restrictions to enable shooting to cover a broader range of angles. Low Driven Additions and Timed Finishing Removal In FC 26, Low Driven shots will be performed by double-tapping the shot button. Low Driven is now a global* shot modifier instead of being contextual based on your shot power. With the new button mapping, we had the opportunity to extend the Low-Driven mechanic across all shot types* by pressing the Shot button again after powering up your shot. Trivela Shots and Gamechanger PlayStyle Trivela shots will now be connected to the new Gamechanger PlayStyle. A player without this PlayStyle will not be able to perform trivelas. While visually impressive and powerful, Trivela Shots became overused by players across all positions, often leading to unrealistic and exploitable scoring patterns. Our goal with this change is to balance the shooting mechanics of the game, especially in Competitive Gameplay. GameChanger PlayStyle - Trivela Shots can only be performed by players with this PlayStyle or PlayStyle+ If a player doesn't have the Gamechanger Playstyle or PlayStyle+, attempting a Trivela Shot will default to a lace shot instead. See the PlayStyle Section for more details on the new Gamechanger PlayStyle. Attacking and Defensive Positioning You've been asking us to increase fluid attacking movement, while also having a logical defensive structure, for a more fun and dynamic match. Our goal in FC 26 is to make your teammates's positioning more flexible, regardless of Role, allowing them to make more runs and provide you with more supporting options as you progress up the pitch. Attacking Positioning Player Support - reevaluated the positioning logic to provide better supporting options for the ball carrier, trying to always have someone available as a passing option. Attacking Runs - made several changes to the attacking runs logic: Increased the number of attacking runs by players, to lower reliance on triggered runs. Attacking runs more consistently run into open space. All players will be more likely to make the best attacking run options instead of strictly following what their player Role dictates. Ex. a Winger can cut into the box if the opportunity arises, where before they would wait out wide. Ex: a Wingback can move forward if there is open space in front of them. Balanced Build Up - teams will have a more balanced approach, giving you run options as well as close-support options. Offside Runs - improved attacker's ability to stay onside, and the speed in which they come back when offside. Player marking - adjusted positioning of defenders to now man mark opponents when close and inside the box. Defensive Line Height - the defensive line will not automatically push up as far when trying to keep players offside. Physicality Protecting the ball and keeping it is an essential part of football, and we agree that this is an area with lots of room for improvement. Our goal is to give you added consistency with the shield button, allowing you to protect the ball, be it when receiving a pass, when the opponent presses against you when controlling the ball, or when bumping a marker with your shoulder as you dribble to make a bit of space. Shielding Improvements In FC 26, Shielding has been fully reworked to provide you with more consistent options and extra authentic physicality across the pitch. Shield Trapping - our objective was to give players a new tool when trapping the ball and wanting to stand their ground instead of immediately moving. Improved positioning when receiving the ball and Shielding Hold L2 || Hold LT. Increased Strength-based differentiation when Shield trapping. Prioritized getting in the way of incoming opponents instead of getting the perfect touch on the ball. Rebalanced and improved outcomes of several scenarios and timings when starting to Shield before and after receiving the ball. New Shielding trap animations, to increase shielding coverage and effectiveness Shield Dribbling - Dribble shielding has been fully reworked to make it more consistent and better at respecting your input. Improved consistency of player positioning relative to the ball when Shielding. Improved transition from Shielding to Sprint. Re-tuned how long you can Shield depending on how much short-term fatigue you have. New Shielding movement animations. Shield Entries We added multiple new ways to perform one-off Shield actions while moving. These actions can be used to quickly and physically get in front of the opponent before going into a rapid burst of speed, or they can be a way to start shielding when out of position. Dribbling Shoulder Challenges - new type of Shielding action that allows you to better protect the ball while dribbling. Physics - improved physics effects for both the shielder and the shieldee, to accentuate the physicality of the action. New Animations - multiple new animations added for Step-ins, Seal Outs, and Shield Turns. Enforcer PlayStyle - new animations added for players with the new Enforcer PlayStyle and PlayStyle+. Contested Box Outs On top of all the improvements to physicality in FC 26, we are adding a new mechanic called Contested Box Outs. Stronger players are able to keep opponents away when fighting for an incoming air ball. This allows players to use Shield when in front of their opponent, triggering a strong physical action that provides more space to either trap the ball or set up for a header. The effectiveness of the Box Out is based on the Strength difference between the two players. It can only be triggered if your player is in a good position when waiting for the ball. Following a Box Out, you can transition into any action to allow a fluid continuation of play. Other Physics Changes We've spent a lot of time ensuring that we've reduced physics-based frustrating scenarios that could sometimes occur. Jumping over fallen players will now be much more reliable and effective.. Players getting stuck together when stumbling will be moved to the side to allow them to detach and continue play. When trying to avoid other players, we have made them more slippery. This is so that player avoidance doesn't cause players to get stuck on each other. Controlling the Ball and First Touches Similar to physicality and defending, first touches could have been frustrating in the past when they felt sluggish, non-urgent, or when they fell back to the opponent. Our goal with these improvements is to make players feel more agile and in control of the ball, especially when trapping it. Controlling the Ball - Responsiveness First Touch Responsiveness - significantly improved responsiveness of first touch ball control to seamlessly transition into dribbling right after contact with the ball. Ball Control - refined players' ability to control the ball after a pass or interception to maintain possession. Factors influencing the difficulty of a first touch include ball speed relative to the player's speed, ball height, requested exit angle, opponent pressure, the part of the body used for the touch, the extent of stretching, and player attributes such as Ball Control, Interceptions, and Composure. First Touch Precision - when receiving or intercepting a pass, holding L2 || LT will greatly improve the players ability to control the ball at the trade-off of player's move speed. Earlier timing of this input will result in increased control. Flick Ups - improved flicking actions when receiving an aerial ball in all directions to be more consistent and predictable. Consecutive Flick Ups will progressively become less effective to prevent exploits. Loose and Contested Balls Player Urgency - new ability to increase players' urgency when attempting to reach a loose ball or contested ball by pressing Sprint R2 || RT. Holding Sprint prompts immediate acceleration toward the contact point. Without the Sprint input, the response might be less immediate, highlighting the importance of your reaction time in critical moments. Gameplay Animation Improvements Animation transitions and branching have been re-evaluated and retuned across most areas of Gameplay to improve consistency and responsiveness. Adjusted the following areas across all animations to make them more internally consistent: time to contact ball, ball trajectories better aligned with animation, pose fidelity, and animation exit speed. Improved selection of animations to better match the player's current speed and animation speed. Relaxed the coverage required for animations, allowing them to start faster in many situations. Fatigue Redesigned When investigating responsiveness, one common piece of feedback was that players would sometimes not feel the same across the course of a match. For Competitive Gameplay purposes, we decided to redesign some elements of the Fatigue system. Our goal with this change is responsiveness; a player should always feel and play well when you are controlling them. Note: the changes below only apply to Competitive tuning, though Clubs has a slightly different design. Short-term and long-term fatigue only affects AI-controlled players User-controlled players are NOT AFFECTED while being controlled. CPU-controlled players in Competitive tuning are also not affected by fatigue. An example is when playing Squad Battles. When controlling a player, the effect of fatigue on the Sprint Speed and Acceleration attributes is not in effect. Meaning a user-controlled player acts as if they have full stamina when controlled. For AI players, they will have a reduction in Sprint Speed and Acceleration when fatigued (proportional to the fatigue level). Relentless and Relentless+ PlayStyles have been changed to increase how quickly your short-term fatigue recovers (more details in the PlayStyles section). For Authentic Gameplay, fatigue works as before. For Clubs, short-term fatigue works as before, however, long-term fatigue doesn't accumulate for any player. For example, when short-term stamina depletes, the player is slower when running until the fatigue bar recovers. Note: this design is subject to change. Inputs, Indicators, and Overlays Improved the Input Processing System. More info in the Responsiveness Deep Dive: Fixed Skill Move detection issues. We made the Player Indicator more responsive during gameplay. Created a new overlay to better display connection status (visuals subject to change): Competitive and Authentic Gameplay Let's dive into one of the most significant changes we've ever done to gameplay - splitting it into two separate experiences based on how and where you play the game. Online modes like Football Ultimate Team and Clubs will have their own gameplay type called Competitive Gameplay, while offline modes like Manager Career and Player Career will use Authentic Gameplay as default. This change is a direct result of your feedback, from the comments, posts, and threads, to the hours of conversations we've had with the community about how our game could improve. And yes, this means that we can tweak, tune, and change the gameplay for each type without affecting the other. If we add a more realistic feature like slower skill moves, we can make sure they only happen in Authentic, while something like removing the fatigue from user-controlled players can be tailored to Football Ultimate Team. We know that Online and Offline players have different priorities, and we want to showcase that by creating two enjoyable, separate ways to play FC 26. Competitive Gameplay Made for FUT and Clubs Competitive Gameplay is mandatory/locked in FUT, Clubs, Online Seasons, and Online Friendlies. It is optional in Kick-Off and Career Mode. Our goal with Competitive Gameplay is to create a more skill-driven competitive experience by reducing the impact of randomness and assistance. This is an experience tailored for those who enjoy fast-paced, responsive gameplay. The changes to Competitive Gameplay aim to deliver on the three 'competitive community' priorities: Responsiveness, Consistency, and Control. Here are the main differences in Competitive Gameplay: All GK deflections try to get away from danger, reducing rebound goals Reduced tackles/blocks/interceptions bouncing back to your opponent Less AI defending, resulting in looser defensive lines Fewer auto tackles and auto blocks Redesigned Fatigue feature More responsive and smoother transitions in and out of specific animations Increased passing speed and responsiveness Tighter control and more speed while dribbling, and skill moves are faster Increased variability on crosses, to favour player skill over repetitive wide play Increased heading error relative to Authentic Increase variability in Corner Kicks outcomes, with fewer attacking players involved by default Less authentic visuals when avoiding a ball, to resolve these situations more effectively Players get up quickly after being tackled to the ground Players show no reaction animations when hit by a fast incoming ball Note that while some of the effects above were mentioned in the Fundamentals section, they were increased/tuned up for Competitive gameplay. UT Competitive Camera [NG] We also created a new UT Competitive Camera that is exclusive to the Ultimate Team Stadiums. This camera provides a way to see more of the pitch, while still showing off the stadium and its atmosphere. This camera is on a rail, ensuring more predictable pad angle behavior to aid Competitive Gameplay. Authentic Gameplay Bringing Realism and Choice to EA SPORTS FC Authentic Gameplay is the default for Manager and Player Career Mode and optional in Kick Off. You'll still be able to toggle between both presets in Kick Off and Career to tailor your gameplay experience. Authentic gameplay is not playable in Ultimate Team or Clubs. Our goal with Authentic Gameplay is to create a true-to-football experience with a heavy emphasis on realism, strategy, and immersion. This is an experience tailored for those who enjoy methodical and less predictable gameplay. What allows us to achieve the above is not just the Competitive mechanic toggle, but also the Authentic Gameplay Sliders. We have carefully tuned them to accomplish that true-to-football experience with a heavy focus on realism and immersion. Weather Effects are also turned on by default. The changes to Authentic Gameplay aim to deliver on three authentic community priorities: Immersion, Realism, and Less Predictability. The main differences in Authentic Gameplay are: Authentic Sliders Weather Effects, including Wind, Rain, and Snow Lower speeds for dribbling and skill moves More physics-based GK rebounds, blocks, and bounces More realistic tackle accuracy Greater AI defending enabled, with tighter defensive lines and defenders reacting realistically when a ball is nearby More realistic and tighter positioning in midfield More realistic header passing and shooting accuracy Corner kicks and Crossing tuned to match real-world success rates Players avoiding a ball might occasionally be hit by it instead More realistic animation transitions Human-like reactions and get up animations Authenticity Features Toggle Article continues below This setting activates a set of features that are specifically designed to support the Authentic gameplay type, such as the increased influence of physics in ball movement, or the increased assistance with AI defending. This toggle is locked when in Authentic Gameplay, but can be turned on/off when customizing your gameplay type. It cannot be turned on in Competitive.
Metro
14 hours ago
- Metro
New Nintendo Switch 2 bundle announced as console breaks another sales record
Mega Dragonite is the first new mega evolution in over a decade (The Pokémon Company) The Nintendo Switch 2 is being bundled with Pokémon Legends: Z-A, as the latest Pokémon Presents reveals new surprises. The Pokémon Company has held its latest Pokémon Presents showcase, and the results were strangely underwhelming. Anyone hoping for a Gen 10 tease, or a surprising new spin-off, will have come away disappointed, as it mostly featured only updates on mobile games and a new Pokémon Legends: Z-A trailer. It was not without a few surprises, but the most significant of the lot wasn't actually shared during the showcase: a new Nintendo Switch 2 bundle that'll be available for pre-order in less than 24 hours. The news was revealed on Nintendo's social media accounts, once the showcase wrapped, and as you can probably guess, it will include both the console and a copy of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It will launch the same day as the game on October 16. Nintendo doesn't specify if the bundled game will be a physical or digital version, but it's almost certainly the latter, if the Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza bundles are anything to go by. Expert, exclusive gaming analysis Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. There's also no pricing at the moment, but with pre-orders opening tomorrow on July 23, you won't need to wait long to find out. Although we can estimate based on the prices of the other two Switch 2 bundles. While the Mario Kart World bundle costs £429.99, and thus saves money on the game itself, the Donkey Kong Bananza bundle is £454.98, which is exactly how much you'd spend if you bought the Switch 2 console and a digital copy of the game separately. Assuming Nintendo is handling the Pokémon Legends: Z-A bundle the same way, it would cost the same amount as the Donkey Kong one, since the Switch 2 version of the game is priced at £58.99. The Switch 1 version is cheaper at £49.99 and can be upgraded to the Switch 2 version, but with the additional fee, you'd only be saving £1. Every new announcement at Pokémon Presents July 22 A proper teaser for Pokémon's collaboration with Wallace & Gromit studio Aardman was shown, confirming the two companies are producing a stop-motion animated series called Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures Of Sirfetch'd & Pichu that will start in 2027 and is set in the UK-inspired Galar region from Pokémon Sword & Shield. A permanent outdoor attraction called PokéPark Kanto is scheduled to open in early 2026 in Japanese amusement park Yomiuriland. Exact details of what it entails are slim, but it's described as 'a space where pokémon will always be, and where people and pokémon can have fun together.' A new mobile app called Pokémon Friends is already available on Switch as well as the Apple and Google Play stores, and offers simple pokémon-themed puzzles that reward you with in-game plush toys you can use to decorate rooms with. A new trailer for Pokémon Legends: Z-A revealed some of the new characters you'll meet, as well as rogue mega evolutions, where certain wild pokémon are able to mega evolve without a trainer. It also confirmed the game's first new mega evolution – Mega Dragonite – and that pre-orders net you a Ralts that can later mega evolve to Mega Gardevoir. This announcement comes after it was reported by Japanese outlet Yomiuri that, according to data compiled by Famitsu, the Switch 2 has broken another sales record, pushing more than 1.5 million units in Japan one month after its June launch. If accurate, this would mean the Switch 2 is selling three times faster than its predecessor and has even outpaced the PlayStation 2, the best-selling console of all time, in its first month in Japan. What's more staggering is that, according to analyst Dr Serkan Toto, Famitsu's data doesn't include units sold directly by Nintendo, so the real sales figure is even higher. Nintendo itself has yet to formally share any sales data, but after it smashed records worldwide the company is likely to exceed its target of 15 million Switch 2s sold by the end of March 2026. Will you be pre-ordering Pokémon Legends ZA (The Pokémon Company) Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. Arrow MORE: Nintendo Switch 2 sales: an overnight success as UK stock shortages loom Arrow MORE: Man opened £1,500 mystery container to uncover a Pokémon treasure trove Arrow MORE: Pokemon voice actor James Carter Cathcart dies aged 71
