Video Games

Far Cry 6 isn't out to revolutionize video games—but a revolutionary backdrop in a gorgeous tropical setting once again drops players into a sandbox with nigh-endless options for fun.  

Originally intended as an early 2021 release, the latest entry in the historic franchise from developer Ubisoft Toronto comes on the heels of 2019's Far Cry New Dawn and leans heavily into the power of next-generation consoles. 

Where New Dawn was just a smaller, narrative spin-off from Far Cry 5, though, this new release is a full-fledged experience that tabs heavyweight names like Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad, etc.) to tell a gripping tale atop the usual highly individualized styles of gameplay experiences while liberating an entire chain of islands. 

A massive effort for solo adventurers or co-op sessions, Far Cry 6 works hard to capitalize on series strengths while upgrading with a fine attention for detail and modern gaming mechanics. 

         

Graphics and Gameplay

Yara (essentially a fictional Cuba) is a diverse, depth-riddled joy to explore. 

Out away from where humans have settled down, the wildlife chirps, rivers gush and foliage sways in heat. Players can quickly become the victim far from where human ears can provide assistance. But in cities, impressive depth, back alleys, secret paths and plenty of NPCs keep things visually interesting. 

As a whole, the player eventually has free reign to explore a series of islands. Some militarized sections are sprawling in nature, while little hut-based settlements might boast a few dirt roads and a shoreline bar next to a dock. 

Far Cry 6 is one of those games that is just stunningly gorgeous at a distance. It's breathtaking to reach a high point on the map and just take it all in, whether it's lush jungles, a detailed harbor or town, examples abound. 

But the same isn't always true up close. Getting up close and personal with that great-looking fauna can reveal some of it clipping through the ground or just featuring odd textures. Other characters in camps early in the game, though impressively detailed and varied in their actions, don't pass the eye test at all times (get too close to one guy sharpening a blade with a rock and it's clear both blade and rock clip through the ground itself). 

What doesn't struggle at all when players get up close? NPC models look fantastic, and the lip-synching is surprisingly good most of the time. This is even true for civilians out on the roads, not just story characters. 

Though the visuals might be hit or miss at times, the sense of fun immersion isn't. While traveling, players will stumble across civilians in a variety of different vehicles, NPCs dealing with soldiers or wildlife and sometimes in outright open conflict or reacting to what the player does. At one point, swerving at an oncoming car caused the NPC to veer off, smash into a pole and limp away. NPCs also (somewhat admittedly hilariously) react realistically when the player decides to torch some underbrush with a flamethrower. 

Simply put, getting from Point A to Point B is a great time. It's not free of boring stretches, but romping around on a horse is a great addition. It's really fun to get a good-feeling, first-person experience on horseback. It even comes with the "follow road" feature made popular in games like Red Dead. 

It sure doesn't hurt that the player isn't just unrealistically shuffled into combat situation after combat situation while exploring. Far Cry 6 bucks that usual video game-ism in a realistic manner.  

It's hard to express just how much more dynamic an open world feels when it's done like this. The player's character isn't just up and considered hostile by all enemy forces, whether out in the country or in a town itself. If the player holsters a weapon and doesn't do anything to raise suspicion while exploring, it's not a shoot-on-sight situation, which is really refreshing. In many cases, players might whip out a weapon to help a civilian being harassed by a soldier, or they could blend in with bystanders in order to avoid combat. 

That this has seamlessly transitioned from immersion and presentation to gameplay mechanics says it all—Far Cry 6 does a really good job of blending the two. Keeping that weapon holstered might even let players find a double agent of a soldier willing to sell them information about their army. Approach with a weapon out, though, and it's a shootout. 

Far Cry 6 is also up there as the top contender for best-feeling shooting in a video game. Recoil matters, so do the perks that players slap on a gun. The feedback, including rumble, is superb, and enemies react in a way that really sells the punch of weapons in a realistic manner. 

More importantly, it's so refreshing to see just how much weapon customization and ammo types matter. Trying to shoot an armored enemy without armor-piercing rounds is a seriously bad time. Slapping poison rounds on a weapon to do some damage over time while ducking into cover is a fun element. 

This does sometimes create one of those situations where enemies can feel like bullet sponges—but it's the fault of the player for not properly preparing and/or using the right ammo types. Granted, sometimes it does feel like players have to spend almost too much time at a workbench tinkering, but it manages to keep a nice rhythm. Assisting in this area is a new backpack-styled weapon dubbed a Supremo that lets the player house a handful of gadgets and pull off a super-styled move after a cooldown. Nothing wild, but it's a fun new gameplay wrinkle.

The usual Far Cry gameplay loop benefits from this added layer of impactful strategy. Scouting out a base or outpost beforehand from afar and using a cellphone to reveal enemy types and what they are weak against, then looping to a workbench to best prep for the task at hand, simply feels great. In prior entries there just wasn't this much strategy or thought available. 

Also freshening up the tried-and-true gameplay loop are new classes of enemies. The ideas themselves aren't wildly new to gaming—some enemies can lay traps, medics can revive their allies and the big bads of a certain area can call more reinforcements. But when put into practice in the Far Cry formula, it's a fresh jolt the experience clearly needed that will prevent players from going on autopilot. 

It helps that enemy AI itself is solid. They'll communicate, call for backups and respond to non-player threats well. There's the goofy behavior here and there and stealth can still feel hit or miss as far as detection goes, but it's not like blasting through braindead AI found in other games that actually diminishes the experience. 

As a whole, the presentation-gameplay tandem makes it a blast to explore the world in almost any way a player chooses to tackle it. 

      

Story and More

Players drop into the shoes of Dani Rojas, male or female, and struggle amid the chaotic, disjointed rebellion in response to "El Presidente" Anton Castillo's iron fist.

Giancarlo Esposito delivers a masterful performance, as expected. His character does a splendid job of walking the line between a timid, almost mild leader who wants the best for his country and a borderline psychopath willing to commit atrocities for the "greater good" of said country. 

But Esposito's performance is far from the only good one. The majority of big-name characters the player runs into have great voice acting and really sell things. Ditto for Rojas himself/herself. It all does really help sell this sense of "us against the world" as the player and friends are outnumbered at every turn. 

It's nice that the player's character has an actual voice and personality again after past entries in the series suffered from a silent protagonist. Dani isn't the most amazing character by any means, but Rojas quickly has very personal reasons to plow through the story and fight back. That same effect just wouldn't be felt if the player's character was silent and didn't have any personal stakes. 

The island, paired with the many strong gameplay systems, does just feel like a fun playground. One simple mission can turn into taking a horseback ride, using a grappling hook to get vertical, diving off a cliff, popping a parachute to float around a base, diving into the ocean and infiltrating from a cave system, working all the way up to the top. 

Between checkpoints, outposts, actual cities, wildlife and fun things off the grid to discover, plus some serious verticality that players can quickly navigate thanks to the grappling hook, this is easily the most open and explorable Far Cry map to date. It's intimidatingly big—like players will have their jaws drop the first time they zoom out—but that's not a bad thing here. 

Progression is where one of the big shake-ups happen that players should know about. 

In past Far Cry games, earning experience points would unlock perks and RPG-looking nodes on skill trees. This time out, the series does away with that in favor of weapon and gear-based progression. Weapons and attire have numbers and stats tied to them. 

Much of this goes the very trendy Destiny route. Certain pants have perks that allow for better driving. Some globes or bracelets (which all look cool and realistic, even in cutscenes) offer better damage against certain types of enemies. It's a fun added layer of strategy the series didn't have. Pair it with the ability to go slow in scouting out an enemy base, plotting the course of action and kitting out a set of weapons, gadgets and even companions, and there's a ton of depth and strategy here that most games struggle to achieve. 

While some might groan at the idea of another system like this, it's worth pointing out that transmog is in the game, so players won't have to stoop to wearing terrible-looking outfits that don't match just to get the best possible stats or loadouts. That said, there, are microtransactions for this non-multiplayer game, but they seem only cosmetic out of the gates.

Granted, there's still an overall "level" to grind as well, but it's merely the player character's rank within the resistance army. Climb higher, have access to more fun stuff, essentially. 

Customization extends to the animal companions, which are both goofy and helpful. The first, a crocodile, follows the player over any terrain, even diving into water for a swim. It's pretty impressive to just see the animals following the player, though incredibly goofy that a croc can go manhandle enemies during a fight. 

Different animals provide different buffs (one can provide distractions for stealth takedowns, for example). But for some players, it's going to be almost too goofy for the setting or type of playthrough they'd like to have, so telling the animal to stay put somewhere is totally an option. 

It does feel like Far Cry is trying to branch out a bit slowly via the bases feature. Like the last entry, players can customize a few buildings and features here and there within a given base. When players enter them, the camera kicks into third person, presumably just to show off the customized look of the player better. 

Far Cry 6 should also get a nod for its extensive list of accessibility and general options. There's plenty here for most players, and as an aside, the game runs smooth and seems to make the most of the next-generation systems so far.

    

Speedrunning Tips

As always with Far Cry games, the player agency offered by the map and tools at a player's fingertips would make it seem like speedruns could look quite different across the board. 

But as always, it boils down to one thing—mowing through enemies as fast as possible. 

Doing this in Far Cry 6 isn't necessarily as easy as it was in past games (Far Cry 5 best times checked in under the four-hour mark). But memorizing menus and how to trick out guns as fast as possible is an important step to take. 

Said tricking out needs to largely feature armor-piercing rounds to deal with the big bads of a mandatory base. For harder encounters later in a run, properly managing ammo on bigger explosive weapons and powerful ammo types (we won't go too spoilery here) is a must, but players are never out of a potential record time because there's no level gating. 

Following the main path, skipping cutscenes and generally memorizing where, what, when and how will put players on fast tracks to top times. There isn't a lot of side content players should need to hit and wasting a ton of time looting doesn't feel necessary because the game feeds enough resources to the player on the necessary path to get the run-important upgrades. 

It's not a revolutionary set of ideas for a first-person-shooter speedrun by any means, but it should still see the game have a healthy running community simply because of the skill it will take to navigate the map and perfect routes. 

    

Conclusion

Far Cry players are going to feel right at home with the latest entry in the series. It's a whole lot of the same, with some really good tweaks to keep the world and progression system interesting, with a major assist from a great story. 

Some players might yearn to get away from some of the goofiness that comes with companion animals and story elements or characters. But the game itself is a joy to explore, and players are free to not only take it as seriously or as lighthearted as they want, but to essentially play any way they want. 

The result is a rock-solid foundation of a game that is what players want it to be. The story isn't a landmark event for the series in the same way Vaas Montenegro's tale in Far Cry 3 was, but this does feel like a landmark moment for the series from a gameplay and immersion perspective.

By all accounts, FIFA 22 is the franchise's best title in years. The first game released in full on "next-gen" systems might not be the greatest soccer video game of all time, but it's a strong step in the right direction.

Most expected FIFA's graphics to improve with the addition of Hypermotion Technology and few expected the insistence on microtransactions to go away. Those sentiments appear to have proved accurate, but some other changes have given the new title a lift.

From an improved meta's gameplay to increased customization in Ultimate Team and the Career modes, EA have seemingly done enough good to convince fans and critics alike that this is the best title since FIFA 19.

       

Metacritic Reviews

First things first, let's look at the numbers. From FIFA 19 to FIFA 21, Metacritic's critic and user scores dropped from 83 and 2.1 to 72 and 0.8, respectively. Those both bump all the way back up with 22, with critics granting the title a 79 and users a (somewhat pre-emptive) 3.1.

As for the rationale, GFINITY's Tom Young and IGN's Jordan Oloman paint contrasting experiences. The former gave the title an 8/10, while the latter opted for a more modest 7/10.

Young noted that the gameplay's new meta "feels a lot more rewarding than it has done in years gone by" and that it rewards "proper football" (possession over arcade through-ball spam). Additionally, he commended the graphics and "slicker" Career Modes.

While Oloman agreed that the graphics and animations are "beautiful" and the playstyle is more "rewarding," he couldn't look past the emphasis on money: "This is the same game in a new pair of pants—which means its microtransactions are just as eager as ever to get you to turn your pockets inside out."

         

Ultimate Team Tips

When it comes to Ultimate Team, there weren't many substantial changes—which is understandable given the mode's success.

Still, there are some changes and new tips to maximize your performance once you make like EA Sports and get "in the game."

Regarding team construction, two chief points of emphasis stand out: potential and chemistry. You want to target players with high potential, as they can pay off massively long-term. For example, GamesRadar's Ben Wilson noted that Atletico Madrid's Joao Felix can go from an 83 to a 91, while Barcelona's Pedri can go from an 81 to a 91.

And, for chemistry, you want to prioritize players from the same division. 

Oh, and finally, the biggest tip is to take advantage of the new "Create a Club" feature. You can pick a rival, design your kits and, ultimately, ensure that you're always putting your best foot forward. As the timeless saying goes: "Look good, feel good. Feel good, play good." 

The NBA 2K League is adding an expansion franchise out of Mexico for the 2022 season.

Spanish esports organization DUX Gaming will own the team, the 24th for the 2K League and the second based outside the United States. Gen.G Tigers out of Shanghai began competition in 2020.

Welcome to the NBA 2K League, @TeamDUXGaming!

Based in Mexico, DUX Gaming will be the 24th team and the first NBA 2K League team in Latin America. pic.twitter.com/QdrBrUknMT

— NBA 2K League (@NBA2KLeague) September 29, 2021

2K League president Brendan Donohue issued a statement on the move:

This is a historic day as we welcome another premier international organization to the NBA 2K League family. DUX Gaming has a demonstrated track record of growing its fan base in new and creative ways which makes it an ideal partner to help the NBA 2K League successfully expand to Latin America, where basketball and 2K are already incredibly popular. We're thrilled that DUX Gaming will represent Mexico in the NBA 2K League for years to come.

The 2K League plans to announce the name and branding for Dux Gaming's expansion franchise at a later date. The team will fill out its roster through the NBA 2K League expansion draft on Nov. 17.

DUX Gaming was founded in 2018 and its portfolio includes DUX Internacional de Madrid, which competes in the third tier of Spanish soccer. DUX Logrono is also a women's club in Spain's second division. Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and Real Betis forward Borja Iglesias are among company's the notable investors.

FIFA 22 is out in the wild for those who pre-ordered the game's Ultimate Edition. 

For everyone else, the first installment to heavily use the power of next-generation consoles launches globally on Friday. 

As would-be players likely expected, many of the new upgrades center on the graphics and presentation department. Like every year, there are a ton of new player face scans, this time to better align with the upgraded graphics. Some entire clubs even had face scans across the board redone. 

Liverpool was one of those teams, while some other heavyweight stars have new scans: 

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Fifa 22 scanning pic.twitter.com/EgN3ZFuyUN

— EA FC Faces (@FifaFaces1) June 16, 2021

Of course, the scans themselves and just how good the game looks wouldn't matter much if the player ratings aren't realistic, right? 

Fresh out of the box, here's how the top stars in the sport align: 

Let the debates begin 🗣️ The #FIFA22 Top 22 are here. #FIFARatings

Learn more 👉 https://t.co/ZK0OTWbF37 pic.twitter.com/PrqHGfLJWV

— EA SPORTS FC (@EASPORTSFC) September 13, 2021

The "Top 22" will continue to be the subject of much debate, though keep in mind its order and actual members will consistently shift over the course of the next year while EA Sports throws in real-time updates to reflect on-pitch action. 

FIFA isn't limiting the visual upgrades to face scans this year, of course. The entire game, unless players want to switch it up, unfolds from a brand-new camera angle that lets players see more passing lanes than in the past. 

Also of note is Alex Scott and Stewart Robson joining the broadcast to offer up a fresh-feeling, robust experience. The whole presentation package has a live-television feel, while the menus are still a paradise of advanced metrics, charts and hot-spot analysis players can utilize. 

Over in Career modes, the presentation packages and actual commentary from the booth and pitch, plus cinematics that play in locker rooms, will change to reflect the status of the entire club or the player's created character. 

A strong marriage between the graphical firepower and gameplay persists, too. Best example? How great all of the faithfully reproduced stadiums look, right down to the surface of the pitch. Depending on the weather, the ball physics will behave differently and force players to adjust. 

Speaking of some next-generation-feel gameplay, the latest FIFA also uses the extra power there. 

Most important is what EA Sports has dubbed Hypermotion, which gets the following explanation from the game's site: "Xsens suits enable motion capture from 22 professional footballers playing at high-intensity for the first time. The resulting unprecedented volume of high-quality real-human movement data powers how both individuals and teams move across FIFA 22."

And seeing the game in motion, whether it's via a gameplay video or actually experiencing it, even the description undersells the impact this new technology has. 

From either vantage point, it's clear clubs with certain identities move more like the real thing now, which makes matches feel more unique. Players also move more realistically away from the ball, which means there are less exploitable, robotic-like things to take advantage of each match. And this, plus an added boost to the A.I. behind the scenes, clearly means better defensive adaptations and more varied ways of computer-controlled ways attacking, such as taking shots from farther out than ever. 

FIFA 22 doesn't just rewrite behind-the-scenes details that have an impact and call it a day. Perhaps the most prominent new gameplay feature is the Explosive Sprint, as the game's site explained: 

"A new gameplay mechanic that changes the dynamic of one-on-one situations, Explosive Sprint gives you more control over acceleration when dribbling or defending. Lure opponents in and choose when to unleash your full speed to get away from the defender as you drive your team forward in attack."

So, not only will the gameplay experience feel fresh, but players will also have to juggle another entirely new system and apply it on the fly. On paper, it sounds like a brilliant addition to better measure the pacing of games and create big skill gaps at the same time. 

Keep in mind as mentioned, all of this takes place with a backdrop that boasts a next-generation-feeling presentation slate across all game modes, and especially in Career mode. While reviews still have to roll out as the game does the same, it sounds like exactly what players should expect from the first heavyweight next-gen FIFA offering. 

The beginning of a great overhaul for FIFA from EA Sports appears to be here with FIFA 22.  

Last year's release, which was supposed to be the apex of the series as it started to wave goodbye to last-generation consoles, wasn't met with an overwhelmingly strong reaction (a 72 on Metacritic). 

But FIFA 22 leans heavily into the newfound power of next-generation consoles for the first time with FIFA 22 and aims to get things back on solid pacing with dramatic overhauls to gameplay and the big three game modes. 

The result is a coherent-feeling effort that lives up to some of its billing and indeed signals the beginning of something potentially special. 

    

Gameplay

Gameplay is where FIFA made its biggest promises this year—and where it delivers the most. 

Players making the jump from last year's game to this will feel the difference right from the start. There's more of a simulation feel to the proceedings on the pitch. The players, their kicks and their tackles are heavier, and the way everything moves on the pitch creates a more realistic (and better) pacing to a match. 

While it's hard to tell in real-time if the game is just making up new animations on the fly as things happen, it's abundantly clear that there are a ton of new animations and A.I.-controlled players move differently, both individually and as a unit. 

Upgraded A.I.—thanks to the additional horsepower provided by next-generation consoles—was a big talking point this year. While it isn't perfect, A.I. players actually react realistically away from the ball, and on offense, they notably take shots from farther out on the pitch than in the past. 

It adds more character and removes some of the robotic feel, too. A club known for its stout midfield defense in certain formations actually feels that way now. A.I. opponents will mix up the where, how and why of attacks, often matching with the club's real-life behavior, making each engagement feel fresh. 

Some of this blends perfectly with little tweaks implemented last year to player ratings and the importance of them on the pitch. Teams as a whole have a more realistic slant to match their identities this year, and superstars indeed seem in a whole different weight class compared to the other players out there. 

Players have to actually earn their goals this year, and a finesse shot isn't a cheat code for finding the net. A one-on-one feels more realistic, and auto-blocks by defenders have clearly been turned down quite a bit. But sheer positioning and better A.I. logic for moving in open spaces, even away from the ball, organically turns up the challenge. 

Passing feels more refined this year, too, especially on the ground or with lobs. There isn't as much "cross the fingers and hope for the best" when trying to quickly pass in a certain direction. Headers can still feel a bit random, and the amount of power players can put on them without momentum is investigation-worthy, but as a whole, the ball feels more natural in most cases. This is especially true when putting a certain spin on the ball or seeing how it changes while moving across a wet field compared to a dry one. 

If it all seems to have a skill-oriented slant to it, that's likely true—a game getting more and more akin to an actual simulation will naturally reward players who understand the real game. Another good example of this? Explosive Sprint is a feature that rewards players who sprint in the proper context. Smash sprint all the time and it won't have the desired effect while still draining stamina. Another example? Throwing players on to the pitch out of position can have disastrous results. 

Keepers that don't feel all that changed. There are some new animations baked in it, like with everything else, but some of the old tricks to exploit the A.I. there remain. 

It's also worth pointing out, at least at launch, that stamina seems like it plays a big role. Smart management of substitutions can lead to fresh players off the sideline just blitzing past an opponent's formation, which is especially dangerous for tactical-minded players who understand the weaknesses of these more realistic formations.

If there's a big drawback, it's that player switching can feel wonky at first. And on higher difficulties, the A.I. will exploit it hard. But even that's avoidable because players can press a button that brings up a prompt showing which players they can switch to with an additional button press. 

A year ago, FIFA 21 tried to re-balance the scales to make offense more fun. It worked almost too well, so the next-generation juice working behind the scenes has actually corrected things. Offense is still potent, but it's not rampant. 

In some ways, much of this comes with a caveat—the meta and feel of the gameplay can and will change with post-launch updates. But this is the most balanced FIFA has felt on the pitch in years, and the pacing of it is in a sweet spot that will make the series much better for it if it isn't disrupted. 

   

Graphics and Presentation

FIFA 22 is a spectacle for the eyes and largely remains an immersive experience throughout. 

The sheer graphical firepower of the title on next-generation consoles is obvious from one look at simple gameplay videos. Details pepper every venue, whether it's a traditional pitch or one of the globe-trotting, varied venues from Volta Football. 

On those pitches, stars stand out big time, crowds sway and react well, and jerseys, nets and flags sway realistically in varied, good-looking weather patterns. The sound design is again top-notch, with crowds sounding like the real thing and noises from the players on the pitch rising up, too. 

Where FIFA really excels this year along these lines is through smaller details. The new default camera angle is a pleasant surprise that permits players to see newfound passing lanes. Alex Scott and Stewart Robson add nice depth to the call on the broadcasts in a much-needed shakeup. 

During a game, the usual array of near-overwhelming data available across the board, even in pause menus, once again returns. Heat maps, tendencies and robust stat charts are readily available in a feast for the eyes (and brains of the most strategic among us). 

It's worth pointing out here that post-match cinematics, locker room cinematics and even broadcast calls indeed get changed up in refreshing ways based on how a player's career progresses in career mode. It's a little thing, but an organic one that removes some of that robotic feel to grinding a solo mode. 

Kudos goes to the smooth marriage of presentation and gameplay for the game's mini-tutorial when a player first boots the game, too. Players start out in a hotel room with a phone buzzing, pick a face and name/stats, then zip through the crowded streets of Paris learning the basic controls for dribbling and passing. It's a fun, innovative way to mask a bit of a tutorial that most sports games don't bother with. 

The power of the new consoles is really felt during loading times and transitions between cinematics, too. Perhaps most notably, replays feel faster than ever, which is nothing if not a nice touch. 

On PlayStation 5 exclusively, the haptic feedback from the controller is another next-generation upgrade that deserves a nod. Varying levels of vibration based on shot or tackle types, plus the gigantic roar from a goal in front of home fans, is an unmatched feeling. 

   

Career, Volta Football, FUT and More

It's all about the big three of FIFA 22. 

Career modes were arguably the biggest talking point about the game this year, as the two flavors both get some big attention as things shift to the new consoles. 

In the club-based career mode, it's commendable that players have a ton of options to work with right out of the gate. Going from an underdog of a club and earning a spot in the bigger leagues, making each season an absolute scrap, is a blast. But players who want to just jump right into the deep end with the sharks are free to do so, too. 

Customization was one of the bigger talking points around this year's club-based mode, and that's fair enough with the Create-A-Club function. Players are free to put their personal touch on crests, kits and even stadiums, including the tifos that go up behind the goalposts. None of it is the most revolutionary thing ever seen in a sports game by any means, but it's hard to complain about more customization. 

At times, the sheer number of options and tweaking a player can do to a club can be dizzying. But to keep things broad, upon release it feels like the game does a good job of dishing proper-oriented goals depending on the overall status and talent of the club. For underdog clubs, merely avoiding regulation is one heck of a goal to achieve at first. 

It's the same story for the more solo-oriented career mode. Because of the big number of skill trees and ways to grind out a player character, it's truly a case of every experience should feel different. And the game generally does a really good job of match-based goals. It isn't always a perfect hit, but the game indeed takes into account the player's position and the responsibilities that come with it, plus the formations both his or her team and the opposition run. 

As a whole, the solo-player career doesn't feel amazingly different this year, but progression feels better thanks to the goal system. It's the broader club mode that feels overhauled, even if it's only carrying over some of the stadium customization already found in Volta Football.  

This year, FUT (FIFA Ultimate Team) promises a revamped competitive ladder. It will take some time to see how it all plays out, but the promise of checkpoints along a player's climb that make sure they don't fall back past a certain point sounds really welcome. So too does the best of the very best being split off into their own matchmaking division, which should leave more room at the top for other players to compete. 

Otherwise, chasing seasonal rewards will keep things fresh. There's still a nice onboarding process and an almost overwhelming amount of things to unlock by merely playing single-player challenges and matches. Much of the mode doesn't feel overly changed, but it's got the something-for-everyone feel as it's clear the goal is to let players earn and build clubs however they want—within the confines of a season format, at least.  

Volta Football was an absolute blast last year and returns again with some souped-up features that only move the needle more into the positive, must-play range. 

The implementation of a skill meter that builds as players pull off tricks and proper assignments is a genius idea for the arcade-based mode. Building that up over four different thresholds amplifies the amount the next goal is worth. An already thrilling, fast-paced mode only gets more nail-bitingly tense because even a four-goal lead isn't necessarily safe now. 

Actually building up the meter takes time and skill in a way that feels natural, so it doesn't seem like it will be too overpowered or abused. It's hard to get a read on the new signature abilities, though, which seem to function similarly to super abilities in other games. One lets players rip off wild offensive moves, another exceeds the 99 overall thresholds for speed in the open pitch and another lets players pull off big tackles. Not terrible ideas, but it should be interesting to see how they evolve once the online community starts to figure out a meta. 

One underrated element to Volta this year that deserves some love? A player's character starts outright at an 82 overall instead of the low 60s like some other sports games. It's a nice way to stay competitive on the pitch. Make no mistake, the grind to improve still feels like a massive time investment and questionably worth it, but it's nice to not be outclassed right from the jump. That 96 overall is the ratings cap is nice to see as well, as players won't be able to excel at everything. 

Outside of the big three, the expected rounds out a robust feature set. Smaller things like tournaments, skill games and UEFA Champions League make the cut. They're nice to have, though the fact the big three are deep enough to almost justify their own individual game releases means players probably won't look at them too often.

FIFA also deserves a quick nod for its extensive list of tweakable options in a robust set of menus. Pretty much everything players might think is adjustable is, right on down to an attacking tactics menu and refined control of how good the computer A.I. is at certain things. 

    

Conclusion

FIFA 22 truly feels like a next-generation sports title. 

From an outsider's view, it sure seems like the lessons learned from the last two releases in the series, plus a serious boost in horsepower provided by new consoles, has helped produce the most balanced simulation experience we've ever seen. 

The game is slower, more natural feeling, and the skill cap feels dramatically raised. It won't make everyone happy by any means, but should this post-launch gameplay not get patched over and over again, the future is incredibly bright for the on-pitch action. 

A superb surrounding set of modes only makes things better. Some of the upgrades aren't shocking or overly innovative, but it's hard to complain about FIFA building atop the best feature set in a sports game. 

An annual sports release and next-generational leap done right, FIFA 22 is the best sports title of the year, a perfect onboarding point and an encouraging foundational block for the future of the series. 

FIFA 22 has arrived. 

For those who pre-ordered the Ultimate Edition of the annual football juggernaut, the game is available as of Monday. For those who waited, global launch is Friday. 

Either way, a dramatically upgraded football experience awaits as the FIFA series fully leans into the power of next-generation consoles for the first time. Doing so has paved the way for a huge overhaul to the feel of gameplay, plus new features and upgrades for three of the game's biggest modes. 

Of course, right around the release date is when player ratings really start to enter the discussion. 

This year, the game's cover star Kylian Mbappe is right there alongside the sport's heaviest hitters as one of the players with the highest overall rating: 

Let the debates begin 🗣️ The #FIFA22 Top 22 are here. #FIFARatings

Learn more 👉 https://t.co/ZK0OTWbF37 pic.twitter.com/PrqHGfLJWV

— EA SPORTS FC (@EASPORTSFC) September 13, 2021

And just for fun, let's point out that Mbappe has the highest "potential" rating in the game for career modes: 

The future blockbuster deadline deals of your CM save? 🤔

Check out the players with the Highest Potential in Career Mode in #FIFA22 👉 https://t.co/ZXNNcRN2Vo pic.twitter.com/OGYf2Q3e1d

— EA SPORTS FC (@EASPORTSFC) September 23, 2021

Career mode is a huge point of emphasis for the game this year. The player-oriented career mode offers big overhauls to progression and match-based goals that actually reflect what's happening on the field. Meaning, a player's created avatar will have to accomplish goals based on the formation of the opponent and his or her team's formation and individual position. 

The club-based career mode gets the most noteworthy boosts of all, though. There's an extensive list of things players will be able to customize while creating a club, including kits, crests and more. 

From there, players will pick the league, rivals and other features that will actually be properly reflected in the presentation package thanks to the upgraded power of the new consoles.

From a developer diary: 

"You can choose any league in the game, carving your path to glory from the bottom tier of a country’s league system or playing against the world’s biggest teams in the top leagues. You will then choose a Rival club from within your league. Matches against your rival will be treated with higher importance in our broadcast experience and benefit from additional news coverage & stories."

Volta Football offers similar customization options for those who prefer the more arcade-based gameplay. Players can tweak much of their home pitch's design, including the crowd itself. If nothing else, it's just another way to put a personal touch on a player's home environment, especially when playing online against others. 

That's a smaller note about Volta compared to the really big stuff, though. This year, FIFA introduced a Skill Meter to gameplay that amplifies how much a goal is actually worth on the scoreboard. Filling up this 1,000-point-based meter through feats like wall passes (200 points) and fancy passes (100) changes a goal's worth by up to four.

There are also new super abilities to earn and use on the pitch at key moments, as a developer diary explained: "Signature Abilities are brand new, easy-to-use, game-changing abilities for you to trigger during a match. Whether you want to slam home thundering shots from anywhere on the pitch, blow past opponents with lightning pace, or rattle bones with crunching tackles, Signature Abilities are there to help."

By comparison, FUT (FIFA Ultimate Team) doesn't have as many noteworthy upgrades. But the collection-based mode continues to flaunt a customization slant of its own merely because it lets players earn rewards in the way they choose instead of shoving them into activities they don't want to play. 

Solo players who want to tackle challenges alone can do just that and still earn plenty of awards compared to more multiplayer and competitive-minded players. But it's online that gets a big overhaul this year, as a new Division Rivals format offers players skill checkpoints to reach for additional rewards alongside season-long goals. The highest of the top-end players even get split off into their own bracket as everyone pursues the playoffs and more before seasonal resets. 

In the backdrop of all these upgrades for the big three are simple gameplay boosts provided by the additional power of the new systems. Computer A.I. is smarter, mixes up attacks more and behaves more realistically away from the ball. 

That, paired with a new camera angle and improved ball physics, makes for a better-feeling game that aligns with the simulation-styled goals of the series as a whole. 

Of course, it only has to be a simulation sort of game for players who want it to be. Volta is still there for players who want arcade-only action, FUT is there for the fantasy-drafters across all eras and the career modes with endless numbers and stats is there for players who want to go elbow-deep while running an entire club. 

Written another way, it's a great time to be a fan of the sport as FIFA finally steps into the next generation. 

Lost Judgment from developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is the latest in a budding line of beloved action RPG games that blends deep systems with old-school feeling combat and a mystery story hanging in the backdrop.  

A sequel to Judgment from 2018, Lost Judgment goes further than any of the Yakuza spin-offs that preceded it in setting itself apart with its own flair. There is likely 100-plus hours of content to explore thanks to a stunningly deep locale and nigh-endless side activities and missions to tackle outside of the main story. 

Interestingly enough, the city and side content itself might just shine better than the main narrative for the majority of players. Either way, a developer that has quietly earned a reputation as a sleeper favorite for the AAA-quality games it churns out appears to have another hit on its hands, especially for players who have experience with the quirky combat, storytelling and immersion presented in Lost Judgment.

Graphics and Gameplay

What Lost Judgment does well visually and on the immersion front is nearly unmatched in video games today. 

Take the sheer realistic nature of the faces found throughout the experience. They're downright stunning, varied and largely without equal, even if it's a shame the lip-synching is all over the place. Watching a cutscene could fool an onlooker into thinking it was a movie at times. 

The voice acting behind the narrative points is downright splendid too, though the drawback there is that the writing isn't always...very good. But from the actors themselves, it's blatant this is a passion project that elicited superb performances from almost all involved and it's a pleasure to experience. 

Moving about the various city locales is a treat most games can't match either. These aren't large-scale maps that could take upwards of twenty minutes to cross from point to point. It's not a Grand Theft Auto-level experience from a bird's eye view where the player can hijack any vehicle they want and elicit a big police response. 

Lost Judgment is more dialed in than that, and frankly, much better for it. It's almost a city-block simulator. A playable space may not be massive, but it is dense. Seriously, just walking into a store is a stunning affair because of the realism and variety baked into the store shelves. It sounds almost silly, but where most games would slap some 2D renders behind glass doors or something, this game goes overboard with the details and real products, treating each space as if players will closely examine them (and they should). 

This could spend hours gushing about the playable spaces, really. The cities found in 2020’s Yakuza: Like a Dragon are just as stunning at night as ever. It's difficult to find a more immersive experience in gaming than on this front, as it really feels like the player gets dropped into a city block and is set loose. Immersion claimed by other games is actually found here, simply through variety and attention to detail. 

On the gameplay front, the first and obvious thing to address is the very weighty and rewarding combat. It really channels old-school kung-fu movies and 2D fighters that ruled the arcade machines scene back in the day. 

Players can switch on the fly between Crane, Tiger and Snake styles based on what's in front of them. While some styles might be better in certain situations, it doesn't feel like a necessity to switch things up in order to be successful. That's actually a notable drawback—at no point does the player ever feel like an underdog in a fight, even early in the game. The player's character is a movie star-styled fighter with dodges, counters and wicked moves ready to go whenever, wherever. 

But that's part of the allure and fun, right? Players constantly have to take on groups of enemies on their lonesome in scraps. Learning chains of moves, pulling off dodges, earning EX special moves and picking up any variety of weapons found in the fighting area to smash on an opponent is just plain fun. The EX super moves built via a meter system are fun to pull off (like a sliding knee into a downed opponent's face). 

The one big negative is when a boss-styled opponent shows up. Unstoppable baddies with giant health pools aren't anything new in video games right now, but the ones in this particular game have dangerous moves that can essentially knock out the player's character in one or two shots (like a german suplex onto concrete, ouch) and it's tough to avoid them without any real tells. It's a small complaint but feels like an artificial difficulty booster. 

Outside of the excellent combat, Lost Judgment does suffer from some archaic design. Players have been asked to "tail" targets in countless games this year, not to mention over the last decade. So doing it again here has a same old, same old feel to it. Ditto for on-the-rails segments meant to emulate thrilling chases that really just fall flat. The former is really just walking behind an NPC for far too long and sometimes using a camera. The latter is running behind an NPC and doing quick-time events that sometimes don't even make sense (don't go left around the group of people, click right so you can flip off the wall over them). 

Similarly, stealth sequences aren't really all that engaging. They feel linear, to put it nicely. The game restricts players to getting to certain spots in a situation. Actually sneaking up behind an enemy to knock them out will sometimes result in a fail state—because the game wanted them to throw a coin to a specific spot first. 

Parkour is at least a nice addition, though clunky. Scaling the side of a building, for example, provided that old hiccup where still pressing right inexplicably starting having the character go left.

If there's one standout feature on the detective side of things, it's being able to eavesdrop on pedestrians, plug keywords into social media and uncover places on a game's map where the player might find clues. But this is a very isolated thing. The actual detective gameplay comes off as boring. Scanning environments for clues has no depth, it's just a matter of finding what the game wants the player to find. Same for interrogations, which don't have a fail state. 

In short, come for the shockingly good city immersion and fun, albeit all too rare combat, and brace for some oddly paced, archaic-in-a-bad-way gameplay mixups that make things drag a bit. 

    

Story and More

Lost Judgment has a big heart and the genuine care it tries to put into very severe topics is commendable, even if it doesn't always land because of the usual funky gameplay and goofy characters that inhabit the story. 

Protagonist Takayuki Yagami and best friend/business partner Masaharu Kaito have set up a detective agency and as expected, get slingshotted into a multi-layered conspiracy. The story doesn't really do anything unexpected, but it's well-paced and enjoyable, in large part due to the characters. 

Yagami himself is actually perhaps the most boring character in the game. That might be intentional as he's meant to be a stand-in for the player, but it stands out in a bad way because the rest of the surrounding cast and even one-off characters encountered are so good. He never really says or does anything all that interesting despite the mentioned superb performance from his voice actor. 

The game's story gives off some whiplash at times, though. It deals with very heavy themes such as bullying, sexual assault and suicide. There's a care taken to handle the topics, but it's still a really weird marriage of tones. The game opens with some of those heavy themes, including a defendant accused of committing a crime that went viral on social media via cell phone footage.

But the main character, nearly 40 years old and donned in a leather jacket, is quickly whisked away to earn the trust of Seiryo High School, where he's immediately involved in...dance minigames with the dance club. And with bullying such a prominent topic in the game's lengthy opener at the school, the strange tonal balance really sticks out because the main character also beats the absolute tar out of teenagers in classrooms when the game, well, decides it's video game time. 

Structurally, though some of the side quests are so seamlessly interwoven in the main narrative that it can be difficult to tell what actually is a sidequest. That's a good thing on the immersion front. There's just a ton of stuff to get lost in, be it robot clubs, eSports clubs, skateboarding crews and more. It's all rather deep, too, though skippable. 

Similar story out in the world beyond the school. There is an absolutely staggering number of minigames to seize a player's time. Batting cages, arcade games, board games, drone races, it goes on and on. Players can pop into shops and buy upgraded items for some of these activities in order to keep improving at them while leveling in those specific activities. 

The above hints at a staggering number of items to collect and manage in an inventory, which is totally true. But the structure of the inventory isn't too hard to figure out and manage at least, though things like health boosts are never really needed because again, the combat is pretty easy right from the jump. 

As a whole, Lost Judgement is pretty intuitive on that front. Menus are smooth and easy to figure out, controls make sense along those same lines and there's a surprising number of options to mess with in the menus. 

    

Speedrunning Tips

Mainlining Lost Judgement won't take nearly as long as a full completionist run. 

In fact, those interested in gunning for speed-running numbers can skip out on pretty much any and all side content and just focus on the main story. If one had to guess, the numbers will come in around the four or five-hour mark like the best runs from the last entry in the series. 

Many of the same rules apply in this one. Slamming through combat as fast as possible is a must, though there isn't really a bad way to go about it. The real key will be memorizing and understanding how to get the best of those mentioned boss-styled characters in order to take them down quickly. 

As for world traversal, eventually coughing up cash to move around the city faster will be a key to any run. Luckily for would-be speedrunners, cash is never really hard to come by in the game, either. A stat-buffing consumable here and there might make some sense, but it's very situational and the player might end up wasting more time going to a store and then filtering through menus just to use it. 

Obviously, ripping through dialogue and cutscenes will be a staple of any speedrun as well. For a game like this in the speedrun category, skipping the obvious presentation stuff, learning what to lean on as a crutch in combat and simply memorizing bosses and what is skippable content not required for progression will fuel the best runs out there. 

    

Conclusion

There will undoubtedly be players who squeeze 100-plus hours out of Lost Judgment because there's just that much to do and the side content is really that engaging. It's a great game in that regard, just as it is for the immersion and detail level found in the majority of the game's areas. 

But for everyone else, managing expectations will be key. Thinking about Lost Judgement as a fighting game with a ton of window dressing around those mechanics and a pretty good story is best. The fighting is an absolute blast and the city is downright mesmerizing, but there are some archaic things the game tries to do that are a slog to get through. 

That just seems to be the give and take with the game as a whole. The story is heartfelt with great performances, but some odd writing and the usual video-game quirkiness strikes an awkward tone. The combat is a thrill and the RPG-styled sidequests are engrossing, but players might find themselves groaning at necessary hurdles. 

Lost Judgment is a game that represents an apex for the series and it no longer really classifies as a "spin-off" given how much it has spread its wings. Only some characters and locale really tie it to anything else. And frankly, despite its hiccups, it offers droves more entertaining and quality content than much bigger, beloved releases do these days. 

Get ready to be creative before heading on to the virtual pitch because there are a lot of customization options included in FIFA 22, the latest installment of EA Sports' annual soccer video game series.

Every year, fans of sports video games eagerly await the next edition of the FIFA, which has long been the top soccer title. And this year, it will be available on both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X for the first time, marking the start of a new era for virtual soccer.

FIFA 22 is set to be released Friday, but those who preordered the Ultimate Edition can begin playing Monday. And those who have EA Play have already been able to enjoy a 10-hour trial for the game.

One of the most popular features in FIFA each year is Career mode, which has received some substantial upgrades, particularly in terms of customization. EA Sports recently highlighted some of these features in a trailer for the game:

There are two ways that users can play Career mode: as a manager or as a player.

As a manager in FIFA 22, you can create your own club and customize all aspects of it. You get to design your kit and crest, create a stadium, build a team, choose your league and more. There are even ways to change your board priorities, which will help you sculpt exactly the type of club you want to run.

However, there are even more upgrades to the player Career mode. As senior game designer Alex Constantinescu put it, there was a "long overdue revamp" to that part of the game.

Among the new aspects are the ability to come into a game as a sub, a manager rating, match objectives, player growth for created players, an XP/leveling system that includes a skill tree and perks. Everything has been aimed at making this mode even more realistic.

The player career will resemble more closely what it's like for a young professional soccer player. You will only get limited minutes and have to improve your manager rating (which is determined by how they feel about your recent play) in order to get increased opportunities.

In some sports video games, you can take your created player and immediately become a star. But in this mode, it seems you will have to prove yourself to make your way up the ladder.

"If you fail your objectives constantly, you will end up getting dropped," Constantinescu wrote. "Performing well in training will allow you to get back in for a chance at redemption, but if you constantly fail to make the squad, you may ultimately end up transfer-listed. Your Pro's overall rating determines if they will be put up for a transfer or a loan."

For match objectives, you will get different tasks to complete depending on your position, how your team stacks up against the opponent and your team's formation. If you're facing a tough challenger, for example, you're not going to be expected to complete near-impossible objectives.

So if you decide to start a player Career mode once FIFA 22 launches, be prepared to put in some work. It's going to take a lot of effort to improve your player, develop their skills and lead them to success.

Hot starts to the 2021 season helped Rob Gronkowski and others boost their Madden 22 ratings.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers star jumped two points in the latest update from an 87 to 89, as former player Chad Johnson explained:

Gronk just keeps on balling, and his Madden rating just keeps going 📈 @ochocinco @RobGronkowski @Buccaneers @EAMaddenNFL pic.twitter.com/izO6tWXQ2L

— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) September 23, 2021

The 32-year-old has scored four touchdowns on 12 catches for 129 yards.

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr's rating increased from 81 to 82 in the update.

Carr leads the NFL with 817 passing yards and has four touchdowns and only one interception. The production has come against quality defenses with the Raiders defeating the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers.

The 30-year-old has especially impressed with his deep passing, including a long touchdown throw to Henry Ruggs III:

CARR DIMES HENRY RUGGS FOR SIX 💨

(via @NFL)https://t.co/YNvyn7N2ld

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 19, 2021

It helped Carr earn a two-point boost in his deep throw accuracy rating.

In addition to the veterans' recognition for their hot starts, Steelers rookie Najee Harris also gained one point from 76 to 77 with the help of an increased stiff arm rating:

Najee's nasty stiff arm has his Madden rating ticking upwards 🔥 @ohthatsNajee22 @steelers @ochocinco @EAMaddenNFL pic.twitter.com/8dxP7yJ53x

— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) September 23, 2021

Harris is averaging only 3.2 yards per carry, but his highlights have turned heads.

Washington Football Team receiver Terry McLaurin also reached a 90 rating after an 11-catch, 107-yard performance on Thursday Night Football against the New York Giants.

The 26-year-old has proved he can excel regardless of the quarterback, which makes him one of the top receivers in the game.