Zox, Author at VG Strategy

Final Madden 12 Roster Update Coming Next Week

For the last 5 months, Madden 12 fans have associated Friday with a new roster update on their PlayStation 3’s or XBOX 360’s. EA Sports has decided to skip this week and launch the final roster update next week. The update will include player increases and decreaes based on performance in the Super Bowl but also a lot of general maintanence with putting injured players back into the lineup and getting all the rosters exactly how they should be to get us to Madden 13.

For those of you that play online franchise, there will also be a roster update coming to that game mode so if you are thinking of starting up a new online franchise, it would be wise to wait until next week’s roster update before you start it up. EA Sports has done a fantastic job of sticking to consistent roster updates this year which lots of Madden fans are very grateful for. When the full details of the update come out, you will be able to find it at VG Strategy.

UFC Undisputed 3 Online Features

UFC 3 Online

As with any video game, the ability to play online with friends is a huge selling point. It is likely even more important for UFC Undisputed 3. Who doesn’t like beating the virtual crap out of one of your friends online and then bragging about it until the next time you fight? In a press release earlier today THQ released the full details on what to expect when you hop online in UFC Undisputed 3.

ONLINE EXHIBITION – In Ranked Matches, players will select their fighters, referee and venue within UFC or PRIDE® Mode. In addition, they will have the option to generate a Quick Match for automated matchmaking, a Custom Match to search with specific settings or select Create Session to host a match. Once a fight is complete, players will proceed to the post-game statistics for rankings information. Ranked statistics will contribute to a player’s Fighting Points grade and rank, as well as Fight Camp leaderboards.

EXHIBITION MATCHMAKING & FIGHTER POINTS – UFC Undisputed 3 will introduce new servers to significantly improve online matchmaking capabilities. Parameters will also be set on ranked matches to ensure fairness for leaderboard participants. The ranked settings are set to three rounds, while downloadable content and created fighters, mirror matches and camp fighting will be active during gameplay. In addition, Online Exhibition in UFC Undisputed 3 will introduce a new Fighter Points system. This system will enable players to compare ranks and show off their skill levels to see who is the ultimate champion.

HIGHLIGHT REELS – UFC Undisputed 3 will automatically save gameplay footage from fight rounds, up to the 50 most recent, enabling players to go back and watch them again. They will be able to save these videos to their Favorites and also cut clips from these fights to create a Highlight Reel. Highlight Reels may be also shared online so players can show off their accomplishments.

CONTENT CREATION & COMMUNITY SHARING – A community hub will allow players to upload their custom content, including created fighters, highlight reels and logo designs, and share the items with others from around the world. Once uploaded, anyone can download the content and use it within gameplay. A ratings system will allow players to rank each piece of shared content for others to review. In addition, players will also be able to download and review upcoming fight cards.

FIGHT CAMPS RETURN – Players may apply to join an existing camp or create their own, including selection of the camp’s name, developing a camp ID for use in match lobbies and creating a camp banner to be displayed during matches. The Camp Menu will offer several options based on player rankings, including access to the camp’s member list to monitor online status, option to view camp milestones and progress, as well as the ability to invite new camp members, accept applications and edit camp profile settings. In the gym, players will participate in free sparring with camp partners, play in unranked matches with camp members, compete in ranked matches outside of the camp and arrange chat sessions with up to four other players.

What do you think about the UFC Undisputed 3 online features? Let us know in the comments section.

THQ Does Community Right

thq gets ufc undisputed 3 community right As most of you would expect, a lot of reviews for UFC Undisputed 3 will start to trickle out over the next few days. Instead of releasing a traditional review of UFC Undisputed 3 (the game is great btw), I want to take some time to review something that is often overlooked: The community atmosphere that goes along with every game.

THQ seems to be the only gaming company that understands which people are most important to their success. Other video game companies seem to cater only to the major video game media outlets like IGN and Gamespot. Then they rely on those companies to get the news out to passionate fans and hope that the news eventually spreads to smaller websites. But that ostracizes the true fans that play these games for multiple hours a day. For example, where would the Madden NFL series be without the community websites like TheGamersLab.com, Madden-School.com, GGmadden.com, MaddenTips.com, and countless others? Yet none of those websites get the courtesy of being informed about upcoming news directly from EA Sports. Furthermore, those websites have never been recognized by Electronic Arts as a part of their community. Yet each of those websites have thousands of active users even now that football season is over. It is only a matter of time before the people that dedicate their free time to those websites become fed up.

Now let me talk about my experience with THQ … If you head on over to the official UFC Undisputed community website, you will see prominent links to various fan websites within the community. Last year they gave away free prizes like TapOut gear and a Brock Lesnar signed copy of the game to users on the relatively new website UFCgaming.com (which didn’t have a big fan base but it did have lots of loyal and hardcore fans). They invited representatives from the website UndisputedOnline.net to their headquarters to give them a behind the scenes look. They have consistently sent out emails informing even the small websites about trailers, screenshots, and news about UFC Undisputed 3. They didn’t take the easy way out and send a press release to a huge media outlet and then call it a day. They reached out to those of us that have always been true fans. Free review copies of UFC Undisputed 3 were sent out to not just administrators of fan websites but also dedicated members of those websites. The community managers made real connections with their community and that should be commended. THQ has made a lifelong fan out of me and countless others based purely on their interaction with the community. Other gaming companies would be wise to follow their lead.

FIFA Street Game Modes

FIFA Street game modes trailer

Arguably the best part about FIFA Street is the variety of different game modes that are available. Street football/soccer takes many different forms and the guys at EA Sports have incorporated that into the game. You can choose from game modes such as 5-A-Side, Futsal, Last Man Standing, Panna Rules, or if none of those fit your style you can create a custom match. In the video below the creative director of FIFA Street, Gary Paterson, goes over what you can expect in the upcoming game.

MLB 2K12 Official Trailer

This year’s MLB 2K12 game is set to come out on March 6th, the same day that MLB 12: The Show is scheduled to be released. While we have lots of news, screenshots, and trailers about The Show, news on MLB 2K12 has been kept largely a secret. Today, 2K Sports released their official trailer for MLB 2K12 that includes 90 seconds of actual in-game footage. Feel free to watch the full trailer and leave your comments below.

Top 3 Candidates For The NCAA Football 13 Cover

ncaa football 13 cover candidates

Now that football season has come to a close, passionate football fans really don’t have much to do outside of mock drafts, television re-runs, and of course football video games. Last week EA Sports announced that their will be a 64 man tournament to decide the madden 13 cover athlete. As we wait for that to kick off on March 7th, we turn to NCAA Football 13. Below you will find our list of the 3 most likely cover athletes for NCAA 13 in no particular order.

1. Andrew Luck – His career at Stanford speaks for itself. Most analysts agree that he is the most NFL ready quarterback to come out of college in the last 10 years. He has the complete package and is a great spokesman for the game of football. Look for him to be on the cover of a future Madden NFL game as well in a couple years.

2. Justin Blackmon – Anyone who watched Blackmon single handedly tear apart the Stanford defense in the Fiesta Bowl will know why we have Blackmon on our list. Warren Moon describes him as Dez Bryant with a brain. He is a physical nightmare to match up with and is the type of player that is lots of fun to play with in a video game.

3. Robert Griffin III – Imagine a young Michael Vick or Vince Young with no off-field issues and you have RG III. He successfully turned around the program at Baylor from a joke to a national contender. There is no better player to get people to go out to the stores and pick up a copy of NCAA Football 13 than him and EA Sports knows that.

Who do you think deserves to be on the cover of NCAA Football 13? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.