Super Mario 3D All-Stars, the recently released Switch compilation of 3D Mario platformers, has been a big sales success in the UK. 3D All-Stars has had one of the year’s best launches in the country, and ranks fairly high in Nintendo’s all-time list, too.
According to Gamesindustry.biz, 3D All-Stars was the best-selling physical game in the UK last week, tracking ahead of Marvel’s Avengers (which saw a sales decrease of 46% compared to the previous week). It was the third biggest opening for any game this year in the country, behind only The Last of Us: Part II and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Nintendo’s bundle featuring HD ports of Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy for Switch is the third biggest game launch of the year in the UK, after Sony’s The Last of Us: Part II and another Nintendo staple, Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
It’s also the fifth fastest-selling Switch game in the country, the second best Mario platformer of all time (behind Super Mario Odyssey), and Nintendo’s 15th best launch in the UK of all time. Essentially, it’s done very well, although the exact sales numbers have not been released.
This milestone only covers the physical release, too. Super Mario 3D All-Stars is the current top-selling game on the Nintendo Switch Eshop in the US, UK, Australia, and Japan, too. While sales data for other regions isn’t available yet, it’s likely done well–the game was Amazon’s second-best selling game of 2020 well before launch.
3D All-Stars received an 8/10 in GameSpot’s review. “Despite their age, the games are still rife with inventive ideas and surprises, which more than makes up for the collection’s presentational shortcomings,” wrote reviewer Kevin Knezevic. The game is a limited-time release, and will only be available until March 31, 2021.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
One of the new features in NHL 21 is Hut Rush, which is a faster-paced version of the standard Hockey Ultimate Team (HUT). EA Sports has now published a new gameplay video for it and shared some additional details about what to expect.
HUT Rush has a “Style Scoring” system which, as its name suggests, rewards players for scoring goals with style moves. There is a multiplier system so you can chain moves together to score the highest possible amount of points.
“A 2-on-1 cross crease pass for an easy one-timer won’t earn you as many points as a saucer pass to a streaking forward who tucks in the puck one handed. With Hut Rush, the prettier the play, the bigger the bonus,” EA said.
The video above showcases the new scoring system in Hut Rush. As you can see, the player successfully chains together a chip deke (which is new for NHL 21) and a toe drag before finishing the play with a snapshot to score. They got 935 points for this.
HUT Rush will have seasons that span different modes like 3v3, 5v5, goal-limit games, timed games, and first goal wins, among others. Players will rise (or fall) through the rankings, and they’ll earn rewards along the way. EA also confirmed that you can play Hut Rush with mascots, while the mode also supports outdoor arenas.
NHL 21 is coming to PS4 and Xbox One on October 16, which is later than usual due to complications related to COVID-19. There won’t be a dedicated version of the game for PS5 and Xbox Series X, but the game will play on those consoles through backwards compatibility. For more, check out this extended gameplay video that showcases the improvements in the game this year.
Right on schedule, the fourth title update for Madden NFL 21 is now available, and it’s a big one. The September 22 patch introduces a series of new player abilities, makes fixes and tuning changes for several issues, and addresses bugs with Franchise, Madden Ultimate Team, and The Yard.
One of the most notable fixes in this patch is for the bug that could cause the kick meter to “hitch” during field goal tries. Many complained about the kick meter bugging out, causing frustration and missed extra points in some scenarios. In GameSpot’s Madden NFL 21 review, we said there was “fairly extreme lag” that could cause kicks to go array.
In terms of the new abilities, these include Run Committed and Pass Committed, which help defenders break up plays. Another new ability is called Deflator, and this causes increased fatigue-related penalties when using an aggressive tackle on a ball-carrier.
The Madden series is known for its various bugs, and these often get smoothed out over time. This newest patch addresses a few silly-sounding bugs, like one where the runner would run continuously after scoring, and another where the quarterback would pitch the ball with the wrong hand. The patch also fixes an issue that could cause the football to pass through a defender’s body, which sounds terribly painful.
(NEW) Run Committed – Defenders with this ability will dominantly win run blocks when they correctly use the Guess Play adjustment to predict a run. Incorrect guesses will result in a loss.
(NEW) Pass Committed – Defenders with this ability will win pass blocks when they correctly use the Guess Play adjustment to predict a pass. Incorrect guesses will result in a loss.
(NEW) Deflator – Defenders with this ability will cause increased fatigue penalties when tackling a Ball Carrier with a non-conservative tackle.
Enforcer – Addressed an issue causing CPU-controlled defenders with the Enforcer ability to use hit-stick tackles too frequently, and as a result also cause more fumbles than intended
Ball Carrier
Updated QB-Slide functionality so that a double-tap of the dive button will now always be slide while a single press will always be dive, which will align with the non-QB ball carrier ‘give-up’ functionality
Modified the new ‘Jurdle’ animation to reduce over-steering
Fixed an issue that would sometimes allow the QB to enter a tackle animation while attempting to slide, which could lead to fumbles
Fixed an issue where Ball Carriers would stumble and fall well after having a collision with their legs
Fixed an issue where ball carriers were stumbling and falling too frequently when running through the line and colliding with their blockers
Fixed an issue rarely causing the ball carrier to continuously run after scoring a TD
Fixed quarterbacks pitching the ball with the wrong hand on option plays
Defensive Coverage
Fixed issue allowing the ‘Bunch Verticals Flanker Motion-Snap’ quick-throw exploit vs Cover 3 and Cover 4:
DEV NOTE:A longstanding legacy issue, allowing users to call Bunch Verticals, motion the flanker to the outside, snap while in motion and quick throw to that receiver who would be open against Cover 3 and Cover 4. We have added logic for the Curl Flat and Quarters Flat defenders to cover that throw.
Addressed a Motion issue causing defensive backs in man coverage that were covering a receiver in motion to swap assignments with another defensive back on the other side of the formation, leaving the motion receiver open
Fixed an issue allowing route-swapping out of any passing formation by audible & resetting their play call twice
Addressed an issue with Cornerback Matchups by Route causing linebackers and cornerbacks to switch alignments in pre-play vs. certain offensive formations
Fixed an issue causing man-coverage defenders to get into a bad position vs motion-wheel routes
Fixed multiple defensive alignment issues caused by motioning the Slot Receiver to the inside in Gun Empty Bunch and motioning a HB out wide in Gun Trips, resulting in inverted assignment and alignments
Fixed issues with Defensive Backs reacting too slowly to WR auto-motion and user-controlled receiver motion, leaving the receiver wide open at the snap
Addressed an issue where defenders mirroring a receiver in motion would sometimes stumble on their teammate when the ball was snapped
Fixed an issue rarely causing pass-rushing outside linebackers to flip their gap assignment to the opposite side of the formation when the ball was snapped
Fixed an issue causing a defender in man coverage vs. a screen-blocking receiver would run past the blocking receiver on some RPO Alert plays
Tackling
Tuning for a variety of tackling animation issues that sometimes prevented tackles from triggering vs. ball carriers in Juke moves, and some cases where the ball carrier was not using any special move
Fixed an issue causing an offensive lineman on the ground to warp back up to be part of a multi-player sack interaction between the pass rusher and quarterback
Fixed an issue causing a CPU-controlled defender to celebrate while the ball is still live after a fumble
Catching
Improved multiple issues where the ball was going through players’ torsos on swat and catch attempts
Addressed an issue allowing user-controlled receivers using Aggressive Catch to make catches that they should not have specifically on jumping and diving catch animations. The player ratings will have a heavier impact on the outcome of these specific catch animations
Fixed an issue preventing a teammate from catching a pitch on kickoff returns
Tuning to ball physics to reduce the frequency of footballs consistently/repeatedly bouncing off of moving players and keeping the play live
General Fixes
Fixed an issue with users being able to grief their opponent online by getting endless False Start penalties
DEV NOTE: We have addressed this issue and now 3 consecutive False Starts, Delay of Game, or any combination of those penalties will result in the user committing the penalties getting booted.
Fixed a blocking issue causing the fullback and offset tight end to collide with each other following the snap on certain formations
Fixed an issue causing offensive players to rarely move out of their formation positions in pre-play, such as a QB moving to a guard position or a guard moving to a WR position after an audible:
DEV NOTE:We were able to finally narrow down the steps to identify the cause of this rare bug, based on detailed feedback we gathered from our community. Thank you! While we are confident this specific situation is fixed, there could be other situations that could cause some similar behaviors so we will continue to monitor and address issues here as they come up.
Fixed an issue causing the CPU-controlled offense to call passing plays sometimes when winning late in the game instead of running plays
Fixed an issue causing CPU-controlled quarterbacks to roll out of the pocket but then suddenly stop to try to throw resulting in unnecessary sacks
Madden Ultimate Team Updates:
Improved the accuracy of difficulty descriptions for Challenges
Various quality of life improvements among different MUT UI screens
Addressed an exploit where users could complete one play challenges and get bonus XP
Updated logic to address player feedback that the play clock would wind down to the point where pre-snap adjustments were difficult to execute
Addressed an issue allowing users to intentionally leave certain positions in the depth chart empty to get receivers to auto-sub in at the tight end positions, and then use this to exploit the ‘audibles by personnel’ feature in gameplay; with this change, you will now get defensive players subbed into any offensive position that is left empty on the depth chart, which will prevent any audibles from those sets as the defender doesn’t fit any offensive personnel packages
Addressed a gameplay issue specific to Ultimate Team where specific QB’s would cause bad snaps over his head occasionally on Jet Sweep types of plays
Franchise Updates:
Face of the Franchise Updates:
General stability improvements
Added a new cutscene for users named NFL MVP in The Comeback storyline
Fixed issue with audio not playing correctly in the final Face of the Franchise cutscene at the user’s high school field
Fixed several issues in storylines with branching logic, rewards, ability unlocks, typos, and goal tracking
Fixed performance issues in the 1st High School game
Franchise Updates:
Fixed an issue with users input not working when navigating positions in the Formation Subs screen
Fixed an issue with Slow Sim for PS4 users
General stability improvements
Fixed issue with Veteran players receiving votes for Rookie of the Year awards
Added league names to Franchise cloud save tiles
The following abilities have been added Franchise:
Run Committed
Pass Committed
Deflator
The Yard Updates:
Added visual indicator for whether you are viewing H2H or versus CPU events
Added your own score to Frienderboard display
Fixed issues around player control and loot round drafts
Fixed an issue where abilities would not display correctly if accessed in quick succession
Fixed an issue where maxed out prototypes would display blank rewards
Stability and online connectivity improvements
Fixed an issue where CPU-controlled quarterbacks were always getting sacked when the play matchup was Trips Verts Hook vs Safe Zone Blitz
Fixed the Slot Streak being open every time when running Deep Dish vs 1 Deep Zone Blitz
Fixed an issue causing the ball to warp between the passer’s hands while throwing out of a sack
Addressed an issue causing the offensive receiver icons to sometimes appear after the defense had made an interception in the backfield, which could result in the defender unintentionally passing the ball back to offensive players when attempting skill moves
Fixed an issue preventing players from attempting to recover a loose ball after a fumbled pitch or lateral
Presentation Updates:
Updated helmet and chinstrap placement lots of high profile players who have changed helmets like Derek Carr, Devin Bush, Denzel Ward and Alex Smith to name a few
Fixed an issue with Titans AFL jersey
Updated multiple generic heads with newer high quality ones
User Experience (UX) Updates:
Updates have been made to address general performance that impacted reliability of the kick meter, where it would sometimes hitch during field goal situations.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is releasing later this year, and the Assassin’s Creed UK Twitter account posted a video looking back at the history of the series’ most iconic weapon, the Hidden Blade, to celebrate. However, fans were quick to note something off about the video–it only featured men.
While the Assassin’s Creed series has predominantly featured male protagonists, there have been several major women across the franchise, several of them playable. Most notable was the absence of Aveline de Grandpré, star of Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation, the first playable woman in the Assassin’s Creed series.
The tweet has since been followed up on and a new video has been posted, featuring Aveline and several other women from the series. You can watch it below.
We clearly missed some great assassins in this video, and we apologise. We’ve updated the asset to highlight ALL the assassins who master the hidden blade. Thanks to our passionate community for their input. pic.twitter.com/xqzL9Cd2yn
“This summer, we learned that certain employees did not uphold our company’s values and that our systems failed to protect the victims of their behavior,” Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said ahead of September’s Ubisoft Forward presentation. “We have taken significant steps to remove or sanction all those who violated our values and code of conduct, and we are working now to improve our systems and processes.”
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, the next game in the series, releases on November 10, 2020 (November 12 for the PS5 version). It will be available on PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Destiny 2 has just expanded greatly for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. The game’s two major expansions, Forsaken and Shadowkeep, are both available now for subscribers, making the entire Destiny 2 experience a part of Game Pass.
The two expansions add new story missions, planets, weapons, and much more to Destiny 2, and let you level up your guardians to a much higher Light level. If you’ve only dabbled in Destiny 2, these expansions will let you dive deep.
Destiny 2 went free-to-play some time ago, but these expansions have cost money since they launched. The next expansion, Beyond Light, will also be available on Game Pass on the day of its release, November 10.
The game will fundamentally change with the release of this expansion, with several planets and activities being removed when it arrives.
Since Destiny 2 features cross-save, Xbox Game Pass subscribers who have played the game elsewhere might want to migrate over to Xbox if they have not played the expansions yet–or if they don’t want to pay extra for Beyond Light when it releases.
We reviewed Forsaken and Shadowkeep, and both received an 8/10. Check out both reviews below.
In other big Xbox Game Pass news, Microsoft has bought Bethesda–and all of its upcoming games will go right to Game Pass.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Xbox Series X preorders are live, and if you want to pick up an extra controller, there are a number of new options to choose from. The first is a new colour for the Xbox Series X controller: Shock Blue. While the previously revealed Carbon Black and Robot White controllers have an MSRP of $60, the Shock Blue variant costs slightly more at $65.
In addition to the new controller, Microsoft has updated its PC controller bundles to include the new Xbox Series X controller. All of these controllers and bundles will be available on November 10, the same day the Xbox Series X and S launch. Some of these products are available to preorder now.
The Shock Blue Xbox controller features a blue front plate with blue buttons and analog sticks, accompanied by black triggers, shoulder buttons, and D-pad. Flip the controller over, and you see a white back plate that works great as an accent to the other two colours. The controller was designed for Xbox Series X and S, but it also works with Xbox One, PC, and compatible Bluetooth devices.
Microsoft’s PC controller bundles will now include the Carbon Black Xbox controller with either a USB-C cable for $60 or a USB wireless adapter for $80. However, you don’t need the adapter to connect to your PC wirelessly if your setup features Bluetooth connectivity.
Lastly, Microsoft has also revamped its Play & Charge kit, which features a rechargeable battery and a USB-C cable. This makes it so you can use the battery pack with one of the new Xbox Series X controllers and charge it while you play or in between sessions. The Play & Charge kit costs $25.
If you’re looking for more controller recommendations, check out our guide on the best Xbox Series X controllers. All controllers that are compatible with the Xbox One are also compatible with Xbox Series X and S, so any that you already own are ready to go with the new consoles.
Solid-state drives, or SSDs, keeping getting quicker and quicker. If you’ve recently upgraded your PC with a motherboard that supports PCIe 4.0, then you have access to some of the fastest drives out there. This includes Samsung’s new 980 Pro, which could be fast enough to be used as expandable storage for the PlayStation 5, pending Sony’s confirmation that it will fit in the next-gen console.
The NVMe M.2 drive is Samsung’s new flagship storage option, boasting sequential read/write speeds of up to 7,000MB/s and 5,000MB/s, respectively. To put that into perspective, that’s already twice as fast as the maximum capabilities of PCIe 3.0, as well as 13 times faster than the more popular SATA SSDs that have become incredibly cheaper over the last few months.
The Samsung 980 Pro releases October 12 and comes in three sizes: 250GB for $90, 500GB for $150, and 1TB for $230. Samsung says a 2TB model is coming later this year but has not shared its price yet.
Of course, you’ll need a motherboard that supports PCIe 4.0 to really bring the best out of the 980 Pro, and Samsung is seemingly aware that most of its customers won’t have that yet. The 980 Pro is still compatible on PCIe 3.0 boards and features some impressive speeds on the more limited interface. With sequential read/write speeds of 3,500MB/s and 3,450MB/s respectively, this could be a great drive to use now and future-proof your PC for the years to com.
These types of PCIe 4.0 speeds are also in the ballpark of what PlayStation 5 architect Mark Cerny cited as a requirement for PS5 expansion. Sony will be allowing PS5 players to use consumer NVMe SSDs, but did warn that they will release a list of compatible drives in the future. This isn’t only about raw speed but also the form factor, so that you can rest assured the drive you buy fits into the console.
Team Rocket’s Jessie and James made their debut in Pokemon Go earlier this summer, but they won’t be around for much longer. The duo are set to leave the game on September 30, but before then, Niantic is holding a little event that gives you more chances to battle them before they blast off for good.
Starting today, September 22, at 12 PM local time, Jessie and James will appear in Pokemon Go more often than usual, so you’ll have more opportunities to challenge them to battles and rescue their Shadow Pokemon. Unlike other Team Go Rocket grunts, Jessie and James will appear above the world map in their signature Meowth-shaped hot air balloon, so you’ll know immediately when you’ve spotted them.
The Team Rocket event runs through the end of the month, until 11:59 PM local time on September 30, when the duo will leave the game. It’s not yet clear if Jessie and James will return to Pokemon Go in the future, so if you want to add their Shadow Ekans and Koffing to your collection, you’ll need to battle them before they depart. You can read more about the event on the Pokemon Go website.
In other Pokemon Go news, you also still have a little more time to battle Articuno. The Legendary Pokemon is appearing again in five-star Raids until September 25, after which point it will be replaced by another Legendary bird, Zapdos. Week 3 of Mega September is now underway as well. This week focuses on improving your friendship level with your Mega-Evolved Pokemon.
Niantic has also already announced a couple of Pokemon Go events for October. First, the game is celebrating The Pokemon Company’s partnership with fashion brand Longchamp Paris by holding a fashion-themed event from October 2-8. October’s Community Day, meanwhile, is set for Saturday, October 17. The featured Pokemon next month will be Charmander, and any that are evolved into Charizard before the event ends will learn the move Dragon Breath.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Xbox Series X and S preorders went live this morning right on time, as Microsoft announced they would. At least, they did in some places. For some people. As long as you weren’t stuck in a queue, or told it was sold out when it seemingly was not. Well, at least Amazon had pictures of cute dogs to keep you company.
Predictably, Xbox preorders were a shitshow, demonstrating for the third time in a short span (after the RTX 3080 and PS5) that retailer websites just aren’t equipped to deal with this level of heavy demand. Microsoft appears to have done what it could, announcing that preorders would go live at a specified time so that people could be prepared, rather than giving bots the opportunity to scrape everything up as they went live. But everyone knowing exactly when preorders would begin also ensured the maximum amount of traffic to all of these websites, and none of them seem to have handled it particularly well.
For starters, neither Amazon nor Best Buy had their preorders available right at 8 AM PT. That may have meant you were stuck frustratingly refreshing those pages, expecting them to be live any second, when you could have been spending your time frustratingly refreshing pages on Walmart, Target, and the Xbox Store, where there were consoles to place orders on right away.
Much like with PS5 last week, it was a crapshoot: Maybe you’d get an order through, maybe you wouldn’t. Either way, you were likely faced with numerous messages claiming that systems were sold out, even as orders for other people were getting through. The lesson in these situations, clearly, is to never trust what a retailer’s website claims about the stock situation and mash the checkout and refresh buttons over and over and over until something happens. I gave up trying to preorder at Best Buy after countless failures to do so, only to have luck placing an order after I saw that someone else had managed to get one through.
As eager would-be buyers failed at one retailer or another, seemingly everyone rushed to whatever store opened its preorders next–Sam’s Club, then Amazon, then Best Buy. That further ensured that these websites would be dealing with a heavy load, continuing the trend of false “sold out” notifications, consoles being inexplicably removed from carts, and so on. Amazon was the closest thing to a smooth ride, but there was no telling when its preorders would actually start. And now, it looks as if they’re sold out at most retailers.
After GameStop’s website collapsed during PS5 preorders, this time around, visitors to the site were met with a queue and told not to reload. That seemed like a sensible solution, but as some found out, that queue didn’t function properly: People got through by opening the site in a second browser after already sitting in the queue, and the queue page itself was automatically refreshing itself.
so just as a test (since ppl have pointed out that they’re storing a cookie that could be a queue system) i opened up https://t.co/3lLO3q2k5p in a new window in a diff browser. That window ended up getting through, my old window, 10 minutes earlier in the queue is still waiting…
All of this was to be expected, but it still made for a hugely frustrating experience no matter which store you turned to or whether or not you actually got one. And those who do will be spending the next few days or weeks worried that their preorder might either be canceled or not show up on launch day.
Sony’s PS5 preorder situation was worse than this because there was no advance notice or real warning regarding how it would work. Microsoft capitalized on that to cheekily highlight that people would know when Xbox preorders would start. Sony apologized for how it handled things, and while Microsoft might have positioned all of this better from the start, the end result was still a mess. Scalpers are already taking to eBay to turn a profit on their luck, further ensuring that–if you didn’t get one on your own–you walk away from the experience with a bad taste in your mouth.
We are humbled by the record-breaking demand for Xbox Series X and S. Huge thanks to everyone for the excitement. 🙏
If you weren’t successful today be sure to sign up with retailers for updates, and expect more consoles to be available on November 10. 💚
Ultimately, all of this will be forgotten. Like online servers for a game crashing at launch, once things are smoothed out and working as expected, the annoyance of times like this will fade away. (Microsoft is attributing this all to strong demand, which might be even stronger after the Bethesda acquisition.) But in the meantime, many are going to walk away feeling like their time was wasted.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Developer Arkane Studios is hiring for some unannounced AAA title. This comes not long after the Dishonored and Prey creator was scooped up by Microsoft, along with other ZeniMax Media studios for $7.5 billion.
The graphics engineer position in Austin is looking for someone with Unreal Engine 4 familiarity, signaling a possible engine change for the studio. Most of Arkane’s games, with the exception of Prey, run on a form of id Tech, a proprietary engine developed by id Software.
Arkane’s next game could also feature some form of online multiplayer, as well as live-service elements akin to Destiny 2 or Fortnite. The senior gameplay engineer role states that someone with “expertise with network and online features” would be a plus but is not required, while the studio also wants a server engineer with “experience in a ‘Live’ environment (ongoing support of product after launch).”
Deathloop, a first-person shooter about an assassin stuck in a time loop, is Arkane Studios’ next announced game and launches next year on PC and PlayStation 5.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
