biteho.com

For the first time in what feels like living memory, EA Sports appear to be making notable changes to Career Mode with FIFA 21 on PC, PS4 and Xbox One, with the Switch seemingly being left behind for another year and no news on what’s in-store for next-gen FIFA yet. Alterations are being made to how you sign players, develop them and manage their schedules, and while not quite displaying the level of control over your squad that you’d see in perennial simulation Football Manager, these changes do seem like they’ll actually make a genuine difference to who the mode will be played. Let’s take a look at the major additions in some more detail:

Interactive Match Sim

A new way to play through a season in FIFA 21 that lands somewhere between playing through each match and using the instant result simulation option to skip through games you just don’t fancy playing. It’s presentation borrows heavily from the classic Football Manager viewpoint of bouncing circles shuffling around the pitch from a birds-eye view but on a gameplay level is much closer to the Play the Moments option found in the Madden games since Madden 17.

You’ll be able to watch your fixtures take place at an increased pace, but crucially can jump in at any moment during the match to take control of your players on the pitch. Whether this be as short a moment like attempting to score a crucial penalty, or a full half if your team is trailing after 45 minutes and the tide is in need of turning. There’s no limit to how many times you can seamlessly jump in and out of each viewpoint and should provide a new level of flexibility as to how you manage your fixtures.

More Transfer Options

New ways to sign players are being introduced. Loan to buy options with both optional and mandatory fees will be available, as well as these types of deal being initiated by AI managers. When you start a new career mode, new set-up options will also be available. Authentic transfer mode can be turned on, leading to tougher negotiations and less bizarre transfer dealings from other clubs. On the other end of the spectrum though, you can choose to start with a financial takeover to instantly boost your transfer funds and play more of a fantasy football style.

Change Player Positions

This is the most exciting new aspect to career mode in my eyes and should allow for new levels of variety when team-building. The way you develop individual players in your squad once you’ve signed them is also being overhauled. The new growth system will allow you to train players into learning new positions. By selecting their new position and monitoring their attribute changes in training you’ll be able to see how well they are adjusting and hopefully watch their stat numbers rise. There’s no guarantee of success though, the more the drastic the position change, the less chance of the player adopting it. You’ll likely have far more joy converting Raheem Sterling from a winger into a centre-forward due to his pace and finishing stats or Alexander-Arnold into a play-making midfielder than you would attempting to turn Neymar into a rock of a centre-back. It’s this sort of experimentation that could lead to some fun results though. [widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”albumSlug=fifa-21-13-new-images&captions=true”]

Match Sharpness

Match sharpness is a new attribute that indicates how likely your players are to perform in the most crucial moments of a game. You can increase your players’ sharpness by organising group training sessions that focus on specific situations. Want your forwards to put away their big chances? Do a finishing drill. Think you might be on the back foot in the next fixture? Focus on getting your defenders sharp in the training session beforehand. It’s not quite clear how much of an impact match sharpness will have on the pitch yet, but adds another dynamic to take into account rather than just skipping through all training sessions to get to the next match.

Schedule Planning

You’ll now have more flexibility than ever before about what your squad does when not playing matches. Balancing rest days with training sessions will be key as you try and keep match fitness, sharpness and morale in perfect harmony. It will be an extra level of challenge on top of playing the actual matches that once again relates to the Football Manager series. It’s not got quite the level of depth to the systems found in Sports Interactive series but definitely is a step in the right direction of taking in account more of the aspects of a manager’s role. It will be intriguing to see if this system is genuinely useful, or just becomes an annoyance to manage over time as the inevitable fixture pile-up occurs.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/fifa-21-official-gameplay-trailer”]

While I can see myself using the new interactive match sim option intermittently and having a lot of fun messing with players positions and developing them, career mode maybe isn’t get the complete overhaul that FIFA fans have been wishing for quite some time now. Nonetheless, I’m excited to get my hands on it for myself and see just how much these changes will affect how I approach the mode. What changes are looking forward to, and what features would you like to see added to career mode in the future? Let us know in the comments below!

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Simon Cardy loves everything about football despite being regularly tortured by his Tottenham Hotspur season ticket. Send old Gareth Bale goals to him on Twitter at @CardySimon.

AMC will reopen theaters at more than 100 locations in the U.S. on August 20, with admission prices set at just 15 cents per ticket, for one day only, in a promotion that commemorates the chain’s centennial celebration.

Variety reports that AMC Theaters will be rolling back ticket prices to roughly match the same rate that moviegoers would have paid in 1920, “the year that the company’s founders, the Dubinsky Brothers, began operations with a single movie screen in Kansas City, Missouri.”

Celebrate a century of movies at AMC with 15¢ tickets to any movie on Thursday, August 20! Hurry – get your tickets online now before they sell out! https://t.co/FyQXj4G9qb pic.twitter.com/1TQcT2iU35

— AMC Theatres (@AMCTheatres) August 13, 2020

The throwback ticket prices will apply to the chain’s slate of legacy movies, which includes the likes of Black Panther and The Empire Strikes Back. Tickets for these catalog titles will increase to $5 apiece after opening day while new movies will cost approximately $10 per ticket, depending on the market.

The theatrical release calendar for new films comprises of Russell Crowe’s revenge-thriller Unhinged and Disney’s long-awaited New Mutants, which is expected to debut on August 28, while Christopher Nolan’s highly-anticipated Tenet is set for September 3, one week after its international release.

Warner Bros. demonstrated flexibility by releasing Tenet in other territories first while the U.S. theater release date suffered several delays due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. AMC now aims to have approximately “two-thirds of its more than 600 locations operational” in time for the film’s release.

[widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true”]

AMC is just one of many companies that has been hit hard by the pandemic. After closing more than 600 locations in March, AMC furloughed its CEO and other corporate employees, as the company faced financial uncertainty after its credit rating was downgraded amid fears that the entertainment chain would run out of cash during its extended theater closures.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Ember Labs’ Kena: Bridge of Spirits debuted during a PS5 showcase, but it will be coming to PS4 as well. You can buy the current-gen version with confidence, though, as the studio says the upgrade to the PS5 version will be free.

The studio addressed a fan asking about next-gen upgrade, and confirmed that it will be free. It does come with one caveat: Ember says it hasn’t finalized the time limit details yet. Some next-gen upgrades, like EA’s Dual Entitlement for many sports games, only apply if you upgrade to the next-gen version within a certain window. Other games, like Control, have made waves by offering less generous upgrade programs.

The debut for Kena: Bridge of Spirits showed off a lush, vibrant world in the style of Studio Ghibli films. We saw combat with magic powers and a bow, as well as the assistance of a magical woodland spirit.

PlayStation competitor Xbox is offering next-gen upgrades as well with Smart Delivery. That program is voluntary for third-parties, but Microsoft says that all of its first-party games will use it to automatically determine the optimized version for your hardware.

Ubisoft’s launched its battle royale game Hyper Scape this week, which has so far seen a lukewarm response on Twitch now that it’s available to the public.

A first-person shooter that was built to compete with the biggest games on the streaming platform, Hyper Scape is designed to be more closely integrated with Twitch and provide an interactive experience for viewers who can vote on where a match takes place or what modifiers will be present within each round.

At the time of writing, Hyper Scape had around 6200 viewers tuning in and 252,000 followers. In comparison, the recently launched Fall Guys, which has its own game show spin on the battle royale formula, currently has over 184,000 viewers and more than 475,000 subscribers. Hyper Scape’s primary competition (Apex Legends, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and Call of Duty: Warzone) all have hundreds of thousands of viewers watching daily, and subscribers numbering in the millions.

Hyper Scape’s viewership stats are also nowhere near the numbers it achieved when it was surprise-dropped on Twitch in early July, as the technical test phase saw various streamers and influencers rack up over half a million viewers within 30 minutes. The current numbers may paint a bleak picture for Hyper Scape, but Ubisoft has experience in approaching their games with longterm planning in mind.

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege struggled at first to find an audience, but after five years of constant fine-tuning and expansions, the team-based title has become one of the most popular games in esports today.

Hyper Scape is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, and recently introduced a new patch that tweaked certain weapons, and Hacks, and it also adjusted health regeneration.

The brand-new, just-released 27-inch iMac is now available to purchase at Amazon for up to $100 off. This 2020 model of Apple’s flagship desktop computer features a host of upgrades, including new 10th-gen Intel processors, faster GPUs, more RAM, and additional SSD storage capacity. It’s a welcome update, and you can order one right now at a discount of up to 6%. It might not be a massive discount, but it’s the best one we’ve found yet.

These iMacs are available in the standard configurations on Amazon. If you want extra customization options, like adding nano-texture glass for an extra $500(!), you can do that on the Apple Store. In any case, here are the configurations available on Amazon.

New 27-Inch MacBook Is Up at Amazon

[poilib element=”commerceDeal” parameters=”slug=27-inch-apple-imac-2020″]

All of these new 27-inch iMacs come with 10th-gen Comet Lake processors. They have 5120-by-2880 Retina 5K displays. Apple has also switched out the webcam, which in previous models included a 720p sensor, with a new 1080p HD sensor. It also has better software for tone mapping and face detection that will make your work-from-home Zoom calls look better.

The other notable upgrade in this model is that SSDs are standard in all configurations, replacing the fusion drives in previous models. Aside from that, you get two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, four USB-A ports, and a gigabit Ethernet port. It also comes with a Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse 2 for your wireless input enjoyment.

For more deals on laptops, watches, tablets, and more, check out the best Apple deals, including the wireless, noise-canceling Apple AirPod Pros on sale for $219 and up to $300 off the latest MacBook models.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Chris Reed is IGN’s shopping and commerce editor. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.

[widget path=”ign/modules/recirc” parameters=”title=&type=articles%2Cvideos&tags=us-shopping&count=3&columnCount=3&theme=article”]

2K Sports has announced more details on NBA 2K21, including news about a demo and how the gameplay is changing on current-generation platforms. There are some major changes coming to the controls, with the pro stick getting a significant overhaul this year, while there is a new shot meter, more shot types, and signature moves. We break down all the major changes below.

Players can test out some of these new features through a free demo will be available for NBA 2K21 on August 24 for PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. The demo won’t be available on PC and Stadia, it seems. In previous years, 2K released a demo of sorts called The Prologue, but it’s not clear if this is that or something else.

Basketball For Everyone

Regarding the current-generation gameplay updates for NBA 2K21, the developer said this year in particular it is trying to make the game appeal to a “wide range of fans.” Players who want a hardcore simulation experience will have it, while the game is also aiming to appeal to newcomers.

“One way we set out to accomplish this was through building out a robust set of sliders and carefully mapping the appropriate settings to all the various modes in our game,” gameplay director Mike Wang said in a statement.

“I’m pretty confident that longtime fans of 2K basketball will notice the improvements and appreciate what the team was able to accomplish,” he added.

The “pro stick” has been updated to give players more control on offense. “In past games, you could hold the pro stick in any direction to take a jump shot. That was limiting us from utilizing the right stick as a fully featured dribble stick. So this year, we’re making a pretty significant change to how the Pro Stick works,” Wang said.

Here is the new setup:

• Hold RS down = jump shot
• Hold RS left or right = escape dribble moves
• Hold RS up = signature size-ups
• Tap the RS = quick 1-to-1 dribble moves
• Tap the RS with Sprint held = quick momentum dribble moves

Wang said it will take only a few games for the new control setup to feel “second nature.” With the new pro stick controls, players should have more freedom to play with style and flair.

“Along with the remap, the moves themselves have been overhauled to be much more responsive and chain-able,” Wang said. “Street moves have been moved to a tap of the left trigger as well, so you won’t be firing them off by accident when you’re breaking down defenders in the Park.”

New animations have been added to NBA 2K21 as well, including James Harden’s “around the leg dribble” and Kevin Durant’s “hesi cross” move. Former player Nate Robinson is also in the game, and he performed new motion capture to bring some “unique moves” to NBA 2K21.

New Shooting Mechanics

The pro stick changes also impact how shooting and finishing baskets works in NBA 2K21. “We really wanted to make scoring the basketball a skill both from the perimeter and at the rim, so we brainstormed and prototyped a number of various shooting mechanics for this year’s game,” Wang said.

NBA 2K21’s shooting mechanics are going back to an idea originally tested in NBA 2K17. In NBA 2K21, the shot meter has changed from timing to targeting. This can be disabled, and you can revert to the shooting controls from NBA 2K20, if you want.

“So instead of trying to stop the shot meter when you reach the perfect release window, you adjust the pro stick in real time to hit the ideal center aim point,” Wang said. “The target window resizes dynamically based on player ability, shooting range, and how well the shot is contested and can also shift to the left or right based on the shot’s degree of difficulty. If you miss the target too far to the left or right, your shot will miss in that direction.”

NBA 2K21’s new difficulty sliders will also apply to these new shooting mechanics, so players can fine-tune the experience to be as easy or challenging as they want.

“You also won’t be penalized for using the entire shooting motion to find the sweet spot. In other words, you don’t have to time your release when you’re shooting with the pro stick,” Wang said. “But if you want to take it to the next level and know your release, you can lock in your timing and aim by either centering the pro stick or by tapping one of the triggers when you reach the apex of the shot. The lock in will be indicated by a brief flash on the shot meter. If you can time AND aim well, you will give yourself the best chances at making the shot.”

Wang also confirmed that the new aiming system also applies to layups, so players will need to have a “good touch” near the rim, the developer said.

“As you’re driving you can still hold the pro stick in any direction to start a layup, but this year, you’ll want to quickly swing the stick to move the aiming tick to the center of the target,” Wang said. “Aiming layups well can help overcome shot contests and help you finish through contact.”

“If you can master shooting with the pro stick, you’ll have a higher ceiling for getting greens and making tough shots, so I’m pretty sure it’s going to be the shot method of choice for many competitive 2K players,” Wang added. “But since I know some will ask… yes, there is an option to disable shot aiming if you really want to go back to last year’s controls.”

Additionally, there will be more shot types for NBA 2K21, including James Harden’s fadeaway.

On defense, players can expect improvements in the form of block targeting that should make it easier to knock away shots. There will also be more options in the paint to stop offensive players for scoring easily.

Bigger Point Guards

For NBA 2K21’s MyCareer mode, the developers have increased the height limit for point guards to 6’8″. The change came directly from a request by NBA 2K21’s current-gen cover star, Damian Lillard, according to 2K.

More Updates

NBA 2K21 also introduces improvements to the signature dribble styles that were added for offensive moves in NBA 2K20. For this year’s game, signature moves for defense have been added, including those based on Russell Westbrook, Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Pat Beverley, Andre Iguodala, and Draymond Green.

Wang also confirmed that the Badge system from NBA 2K20 is coming back for this year’s game. “I think you’ll find that more badges will have merit and fight for a spot in your badge loadout, giving you more effective tools to take over games in a more varied fashion,” Wang said. “And here’s some good news that I know the community will appreciate. We removed Quick Draw and put release speed back into the Jump Shot Creator. So that’s one thing you won’t have to waste your precious badge points on.”

Next-Gen Details Later

Wang said players who pick up NBA 2K20 on current-gen platforms will find a “great step forward,” but the game is also coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X where it’s going to cost $70 USD. Wang said players can look forward to gameplay details for “all the goodies” on PS5 and Xbox Series X in the coming months. What we do already know about the next-gen versions of NBA 2K21 is that they will offer drastically improved loading times and better graphics overall, but the full featureset for the new editions has not been confirmed as of yet.

NBA 2K21 has very large shoes to fill, as last year’s game sold an astonishing 14 million copies to become the highest-selling entry in the franchise of all time.

Fortnite developer Epic Games has announced a platform-wide slash on the price for V-Bucks, the in-game currency used in its battle royale. Players will now be able to buy them for less, with up to 20% off.

The discount isn’t time limited. Instead Epic Games is making the change permanent, but with a few caveats on some platforms. If you play Fortnite on PC or console–be it Xbox One, PS4, or Nintendo Switch–you won’t need to change a thing. The new prices will reflect from today and work with any of your payment methods. For example, 1000 V-Bucks will cost $8 instead of $10.

It’s really on mobile where the move starts showing some additional reasoning. Whether you play on Android or iPhone, Fortnite will now offer two methods of payment: using Epic Games’ new payment method, or the one provided by Google or Apple respectively. If you choose to go with Epic Game’s method, you’ll be able to take advantage of the discount. But prices will not change if you go through the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.

This shift is a way for Epic Games to escape the royalty charges that both platforms enforce, something founder Tim Sweeney has been vocally against for years. By creating its own payment method, Epic Games not only profits from each purchase more, but is able to charge players less without the need to cover off royalty fees. Apple and Google both currently take a 30% cut of all in-app purchases, but Epic says it will adjust pricing accordingly should this change in the future.

If you recently purchased V-Bucks and feel burned by the sudden discount, Epic Games will be rewarding any customers who made purchases between July 14, 2020 – August 13, 2020 with an additional 20% of their order to make up for the discount. All active Fortnite players will also receive the Shooting Starstaff Pickaxe as a gift from Epic Games.

A Total War Saga: Troy just launched on the Epic Games Store, and it’s free to claim for 24 hours. You have until tomorrow, August 14, at 6 AM PT / 9 AM ET to snag the latest entry in Creative Assembly’s popular strategy series before it’s sold for its $50 list price.

Total War Saga: Troy’s story was inspired by Homer’s epic poem Illiad and chronicles the Trojan War. The trajectory of the war between Troy and Greece relies on your choice of the eight factions you control, each of which have its own story beats. Like other “Saga” entries, Troy focuses on one pivotal historical moment instead of a lengthy era.

For those unfamiliar with the Total War games, they offer a clever blend of turn-based strategy and real-time tactics combat, with a heavy emphasis on resource management. Total War Saga: Troy is exclusive to the Epic Games Store for one year. While it’s only available on PC at the moment, the giveaway extends to the Mac edition of the game, which will release soon. So Mac users should claim Total War Saga: Troy even though they cannot play today.

Total War Saga: Troy isn’t the only free game at Epic you can claim right now. Don’t forget to pick up Wilmot’s Warehouse before the free games lineup refreshes at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET. A new pair of free games at Epic go live this morning: Remnant: From the Ashes and The Alto Collection.

Embracer Group, the parent company of THQ Nordic and Deep Silver, is still on a hiring spree. The company announced a whopping eight studio acquisitions today, including 4A Games, the developers of the well-received Metro series. These latest acquisitions come after Embracer purchased Koch Media, Saber Interactive, and THQ Nordic (along with all of their own subsidiaries). In total, Embracer owns 33 game studios and has more than 4,000 employees.

The 150-plus person team at 4A Games in Malta and Ukraine will now work for Embracer Group. Additionally, the deal includes some of 4A’s technology, along with the Metro IP.

Embracer is paying $36 million USD in cash for 100 percent of shares in 4A Games, along with extra pay-outs based on milestones that could pay 4A a further $35 million. The purchase was completed by Embracer’s subsidiary, Saber Interactive.

4A Games CEO Dean Sharpe said the studio will make a multiplayer Metro game next, in addition to a “more ambitious new IP.”

“Embracer Group and Saber Interactive are the perfect partners for 4A Games and for our next phase of growth,” Sharpe said. “Together we will continue to build on the Metro franchise and will focus on bringing a multiplayer experience to our fanbase. We look forward to building a new and even more ambitious AAA IP in the near future.”

4A had been working with Embracer’s Deep Silver for a long time already on the Metro series. Going forward, the companies will work with author Dmitry Glukhovsky on new Metro projects

Embracer said the acquisition will help its bottom line because owning 4A will lead to a reduction in royalty costs. Additionally, Embracer gets 4A’s technology, development resources, and more, which should help save costs in the long run, the company said.

Embracer also purchased Insurgency developer New World Interactive for an undisclosed sum, mobile game studio Deca Games for €25 million, and Crisol: Theater of Idols studio Vermila Studios for €900,000. Additionally, Embracer is buying Rare Earth Games for €300,000, Palindrome Interactive for SEK 21.5 million, Pow Wow Entertainment for an undisclosed sum, and Sola Media for €2.3 million. In most cases, the acquired studios stand to make a significant amount of extra money if they reach certain performance targets.