The game looks and sounds great and the combat remains core. Flow State is a welcome addition, however, if going towards being a fighting game. The menu performance is abysmal and hopefully can be improved as it detracts from doing certain things. The Hall of Legends is a wonderful experience that needs to be implemented into other sports games. Everyone loves a good documentary. UFC 6 improves on the UFC experience over its predecessor and boasts everything that the fanbase could ask for.

One may think that there are fears involved, especially with a new way to race and some mixed reactions from not only the fanbase, but the drivers as well. In speaking with Steven Embling, the Senior Games Designer at Codemasters, he mentioned the changes created excitement for the development team to instill these new regulations. The racing is certainly more engaging in the game than it ever has been before, as you can check out our thoughts on it here.

While most trinkets offer some benefit, equipping the following provides immediate combat or survivability benefits, and when combined, can practically solve the game. They aren’t the best option in *all* circumstances, but leaving any of these on is almost never a bad play.

Crushed in Time is a clever adventure game that manages to provide a compelling meta narrative and use it well. The vibrant world of Holmes and Watson is constantly changing around in a way that pays homage to game development itself as well as the genre’s different possibilities without breaking from its physics-inspired “point-and-pinch” format. 

NBA THE RUN accomplishes Play by Play Studios' goal of providing NBA Street to modern gamers. This is accomplished by setting the game up as a battle royale while keeping the gameplay completely similar to its predecessors. Taking this style of game online with real NBA players may actually bring players over from 2K who are looking for something different. 

A lot of these updates and shared features are aspects that can benefit the gameplay of both games. The games can be further adjusted to better separate how each sport works. College Football 27 is coming to PC, and while Madden has been on PC, it hasn't been up to spec. That changes this year as it will be on par with the best console versions. This also means that the PS5 Pro will now go over 100 FPS in the game, and that can be set in the menu. Most likely this is the same for the Xbox Series X.

Echoes of Aincrad leaves a good first impression with solid action gameplay that has enough strategy to keep in mind when it comes to dealing with enemies. The narrative also has a chance to offer something truly special with the unique setting the developer is working with. It’s now a matter of seeing if the team can actually make the full experience stand out.

During a virtual preview prior to the Youtube event, Scott O'Gallagher dove into the biggest change in the last 20 years for the mode. You will be able to change the way your program is built as the mode evolves into the next large step and encompasses everything about the sport of College Football.

EA is introducing what it is calling the Persona System, and it's something that only modern day technology is capable of accomplishing. While Machine Learning technology si going into gameplay for ball carriers, the Persona Engine is something different and will provide literally everything Franchise Mode players have been wanting since 1997. EA wants this to be your league, so your decisions matter. A focus on player agency awaits in Madden NFL 27.