Video Games

The road to WrestleMania officially begins on Saturday with the Royal Rumble, but WWE and 2K are also giving fans more reasons to get excited. 

2K released an official gameplay trailer Saturday for the upcoming WWE 2K22 video game featuring Rey Mysterio, The Undertaker and many more superstars:

Last week provided initial details about some of the changes 2K made to the video game. ESPN's Tim Fiorvanti noted one of the biggest differences is "completely redesigned gameplay engine."

In the game's official announcement trailer released on Jan. 20, it was revealed gamers who preorder WWE 2K22 will get three playable versions of The Undertaker. 

Another feature of the game is 2K Showcase, which will allow players to go through some of the biggest matches and moments from Mysterio's legendary career. 

2K has yet to announce the full roster for the game. The original nWo, with Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Syxx, will be available in the nWo 4-Life edition of the game. 

WWE 2K22 will be available on Playstation, Xbox and PC on March 11. Players who preorder the deluxe or nWo 4-Life editions will have early access on March 8. 

Joel Embiid's recent hot streak in real life has paid off for his overall rating in NBA 2K22. 

Per the latest update for the video game, the Philadelphia 76ers star has been given a one-point boost to 96 overall:

This season, the Sixers' superstar is averaging 29 points per game, 10.8 rebounds per game, 4.3 assists per game, and 1.4 blocks per game. Those numbers are already impressive, but when you consider what he's doing without Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris, who's been injured on and off this year, his numbers are even more jaw-dropping. Over his last 10 games, Embiid is scorching the opposition by averaging 35.2 points per game, while adding 11 rebounds per game. The former Kansas Jayhawk is seeing red right now and has more than earned this bump to his overall rating.

Other notable players who saw an increase in their overall rating include Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (94 OVR, +1), Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden (91 OVR, +1) and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (87 OVR, +1). 

The Sixers are currently sitting in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a 29-19 record overall. They have won 13 of their past 16 games since a 98-96 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Dec. 23. 

During this 16-game stretch, Embiid is averaging 34.1 points, 10.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists per contest. He has put himself squarely in the MVP discussion thanks to this recent hot streak. 

Embiid's 96 overall rating ties him with four other players, including LeBron James and Kevin Durant, for the second-best mark in the game. Giannis Antetokounmpo leads all players with a 97 OVR mark. 

Doncic is still trying to find his shooting form, but his ability to impact the game in other ways has made him a driving force behind the Mavs' recent surge. The 22-year-old is averaging 26.3 points, 10.6 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game in his past nine starts, despite shooting 42.5 percent from the field. 

Dallas has climbed up to fifth in the Western Conference with a 28-21 overall record. The team is 10-3 in the last 13 games Doncic has played. 

Harden, who missed Wednesday's game with a hamstring injury, has had an interesting season.

The nine-time All-Star is not playing at his MVP level, but he's looked better since Kevin Durant went down with a sprained MCL on Jan. 13. He nearly averaged a triple-double with 25.0 points, 11.5 assists and 8.3 rebounds per game in six starts from Jan. 15-25. 

It's not easy to get attention playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder right now, but Gilgeous-Alexander continues to solidify his status as a franchise player. The four-year veteran has put up 26.2 points, 6.8 assists and 5.0 rebounds in six games since the last update on Jan. 14. 

Like Doncic, Gilgeous-Alexander is still struggling to find consistency with his shot. He's only connecting on 42.4 percent of his field-goal attempts this season. The 23-year-old has to get better in that area, but there should be no other complaints with his game right now. 

This marks the sixth update to NBA 2K22 since the start of the regular season. The next update should be available in two weeks on Feb. 11. 

Pokemon Legends: Arceus is a dream come true for children who grew up with the original games, TV show and movies in the '90s. This is the closest game we have to replicating the TV show and movies, and it is an absolute joy to experience. For gamers who have fantasized for decades about being able to freely journey into an open-world area to uncover the wild life of Pokemon while completing quests, Legends was well worth the wait. 

There have been many spinoff Pokemon games released since the '90s, but Legends is the perfect game to accompany the mainline series. The open-world hub areas with third-person action exploration leading directly into the familiar and comfortable turn-based gameplay is a perfect blend of styles to present a welcomed twist on Pokemon games.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus is such a blast to play and a step in the right direction for what gamers have desired that it should be part of the rotation for mainline Pokemon games every two (or three) years.

         

Gameplay, Difficulty and Exploration Impressions

Legends is a great entry point for newcomers to open-world games, similar to how the original Pokemon games were great entryways to RPGs.

The map is excellent. Objectives, waypoint markers and button inputs are cleanly displayed and easily defined, which makes gameplay and exploration extremely accessible. In some other open-world RPGs, such as Xenoblade Chronicles 2, it can be difficult to see exactly where the objective marker is guiding toward, but in Legends it is clear to see if the player needs to go high or low to reach the destination.

The open-world hub areas are big enough to spend hours exploring, but they aren't overwhelming or daunting. Like previous Pokemon games, the player will eventually discover Pokemon to assist in traversal, which opens up many more possibilities for fun and quicker exploration—but more importantly, different aspects of the terrain for each map.

A common complaint of previous Pokemon games is that the difficulty is far too easy and most gamers can just coast through the game, mostly using just one or two overpowered Pokemon. This game is far more difficult than previous Pokemon games, and the player will always have to be aware of their surroundings. From the start, it feels like enemy Pokemon are more powerful and hit harder in this game.

While playing at a steady pace at one's own leisure, this game should definitely present more of a challenge and require far more strategy during battles. Every player needs to make sure they have a plethora of revive, potions and berries available because enemy Pokemon can quickly wipe out half of the party. 

Wild Pokemon are often very aggressive too, even attacking the main character. The player will need to have their head on a swivel and be mindful of triggered Pokemon rushing to attack from the side or behind. The dodge mechanic will be extremely useful while the player swaps to the Pokemon they want to battle with to try to get the upper hand. 

A great aspect of the open-world nature is that if the player tries to battle a Pokemon with another enemy Pokemon nearby, they may have to battle two or even three Pokemon at the same time.

Regarding gameplay within the Pokemon battles, each Pokemon's moves have three options: regular moves, strong moves and agile moves. Regular moves are base moves that do standard damage and require normal PP usage, while strong and agile moves should be used to try to gain an advantage during a battle or to deal the final blow to end a battle. Strong movies boosts power, lowers user's action speed and uses more PP than usual, while agile moves reduces power, raises user's action speed and uses more PP than usual.

The introduction of three different types of options for a single move is a fantastic twist on the traditional turn-based gameplay to provide another layer of strategy not often seen in a Pokemon game. 

Action order, like in some other turn-based RPGs, shows when each Pokemon will act next during the battle. This is always welcomed in turn-based games because it helps the player further strategize during battle. Including the action order makes even more makes when considering the use of strong and agile moves, but more importantly, when battling against multiple Pokemon at the same time.

Legends: Arceus also offers a nice variety of boss and mini-boss battles out in the world and during the main quests. For example, not every battle is just turn-based with Pokemon leading the way. This game really makes the player feel like they're more involved in the gameplay by incorporating the main character into certain encounters while bouncing between Pokemon battles and other mechanics to provide greater gameplay variety than traditional Pokemon games.

Amid uncovering the mysteries surrounding the world (no story spoilers here), filling out Pokedex is still a top priority as previous games.

There's an amazing mix of old-school and new-school Pokemon to keep players guessing who they will discover out in the open-world areas. Considering that's such a major part of the fun of exploring, the different and specific Pokemon in the game won't be mentioned, other than to say that there's definitely enough for fans of all generations to feel happy.

Of course, a major gameplay feature is the ability to capture Pokemon, so nailing the act of throwing a Pokeball is vital.

Developer Game Freak implemented smooth controls and options for capturing Pokemon. The act of throwing a Pokeball is extremely easy, as it feels like a traditional third-person action game in that the player can hold down ZL to focus on a target and then use ZR to throw the ball at the Pokemon. As always, there's many different types of Pokeballs, but there's also an abundance of items the player can use to distract wild Pokemon or gain an advantage during exploration in order to make an easier catch.

It can't be stressed enough how important it is to make sure an abundance of Pokeballs are available during exploration, so be mindful of money and materials to buy or craft Pokeballs.

Legends offers a nice spin on the way the Pokedex operates, with several different criteria to meet for completing each Pokemon's specific entry in the Pokedex. As a result, it feels like everything matters when out in the world. For example, defeating and/or capturing the same Pokemon many different times is now tracked in the Pokedex in order to max it out. Another fun and unique task, for example, includes capturing a Pokemon without being detected. 

Completing the Pokedex will either be a completionist's dream or nightmare, but it at least adds stakes to the encounters (whether outright capturing or battling). This is all a smart way to increase the player's involvement instead of feeling like they can just do the same thing with every encounter.

One amazing feature is the ability to evolve Pokemon from the menu instead of it automatically happening like in some previous entries.

The player will receive a notification that the Pokemon can be evolved and then the player can decide when to do so from the menu screen. Players can also pay for new moves for their Pokemon at the training grounds and even master moves depending on specific conditions. It's important to remember that a Pokemon's moves can be changed from their menu screen, as it won't be immediately triggered after a battle like in previous games.

One downside is that players can't switch Pokemon on the fly from menus, which is an amazing quality-of-life feature in recent Pokemon games. However, the party can be switched by visiting a camp instead of having to go all the way back to the home village, which is easy to do thanks to the excellent fast-travel feature.

Crafting and money are extremely important. The economy is very well done as the player will get money after submitting a field report when looking to head back to the main village after adventuring in the hub areas. There will be opportunities to earn items through side quests and mining items out in the world, which of course can be sold for money.

Another cool wrinkle to exploration is being able to find lost satchels from other gamers. Once found, gamers can go to the "Lost and Found" menu to turn them in for MP, which is separate currency that can be spent at a certain shop. 

There's tons of side quests, which help make the world and the village feel like lived-in places. There's also a good amount of quests tied to the day-and-night cycle, which further enhances the atmosphere to create a lifelike world. Of course, more side quests will unlock depending on certain conditions being met throughout the main journey.

From a technical perspective, the graphics have the usual Pokemon charm to it, which is always pleasant. Whether playing on a TV or in handheld mode, the game is vibrant and performs well. It's still awesome to play a Pokemon game on the big screen, but there's always that comfortability of playing in handheld, which is even better if playing on the new Switch OLED screen.

The game will definitely draw comparisons to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild with some of the visual and audio cues (in addition to some collectable elements and using pins as waypoint markers), but the art style of Breath of the Wild should prove to have more longevity than Legends.

The biggest disappointment is still some of the pop-in around the open world despite not being the most detailed or intensive environments. However, it's awesome that there is minimal load times throughout the game. Another fantastic feature is being able to save seemingly anywhere and anytime, plus the Switch can be put in sleep mode and pick right back up where the player left off.

Overall, this is a well polished game that didn't experience any glitches that can often hold back other open-world style games.

          

Conclusion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUW1ZWAq09M

Pokemon Legends: Arceus is packed with content to keep people playing for dozens of hours. There's a plethora of Pokemon, customization options, quests and secrets to uncover. The game is also perfect for implementing post-launch expansion packs, similar to how Pokemon Sword and Shield received two major expansions after launch.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus is a must-experience game for Pokemon fans and a must-play game for Switch owners looking for an entry point into the world of Pokemon. Legends should be treated as an essential mainline series along with the traditional games because this was an excellent debut.

Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball is launching his own esports brand called MB1 Gaming in conjunction with esports technology firm One Up.

According to Shawn Grant of The Source, Ball said the following regarding his decision to delve into esports:

"When I am not playing and focusing on basketball, I'm gaming. This was a way to extend my brand to new fans and empower a next generation of esports athletes to compete and monetize their skills. MB1 will be the destination for the gamer who wants to compete and be a part of my gaming community."

MB1 Gaming and One Up have already announced an NBA All-Star Weekend NBA 2K22 Invitational with a prize pool of $25,000.

Per Grant, the tournament will begin Feb. 5 and the top four finalists will advance to Cleveland, where they will compete on Feb. 18 during NBA All-Star Weekend.

The winner of the tournament will receive $20,000, while each of the finalists will receive a pair of signature Puma MB.01 shoes.

In just his second season, Ball is already among the most popular, exciting players in the NBA.

After going third overall in the 2020 draft, LaMelo averaged 15.7 points, 6.1 assists and 5.9 rebounds per game en route to being named Rookie of the Year.

He has been even better this season, averaging 19.0 points, 7.6 assists, 7.3 rebounds, 2.6 three-pointers made and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 41.6 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from beyond the arc.

Ball also has the 26-21 Hornets trending toward potentially reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

The 20-year-old will be in Cleveland for All-Star Weekend regardless because of MB1 Gaming's inaugural tournament, but he might have some other business to attend to in the form of the NBA All-Star Game.

Paris Saint-Germain teammates Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe headline the FIFA 22 Team of the Year, which was announced Thursday.

EA Sports showcased the full group with a little help from Manchester United legend David Beckham:

🏆 Football's best, decided by you.
This is your #TOTY. pic.twitter.com/eyK03VbFgh

— EA SPORTS FC (@EASPORTSFC) January 20, 2022

The FIFA Team of the Year was selected by fan vote after an initial list of 80 finalists from the groups of attackers, midfielders, defenders and goalkeepers.

Players chosen for TOTY will now receive special items in FIFA Ultimate Team, which will feature "some of the highest ratings of the season to celebrate each player's status as the best in the world," according to the game's official website.

PSG dominated the voting with defenders Marquinhos and Achraf Hakimi along with goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma joining Messi and Mbappe to give the French giants nearly half of the starting XI.

Manchester City (Kevin De Bruyne, Joao Cancelo and Ruben Dias) and Chelsea (Jorginho and N'Golo Kante) also received multiple selections.

Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski rounded out the starting XI after finishing second to Messi in 2021 Ballon d'Or voting.

The players may also hold the distinction as the last FIFA Team of the Year honorees.

In October, EA Sports announced it was "exploring the idea of renaming" its soccer video games without FIFA branding. Tariq Panja of the New York Times reported the sides had "hit the wall" in discussions about a contract extension for the partnership.

So, barring a last-minute deal, it appears a rebrand is on the horizon for the popular EA Sports title, including the lucrative FIFA Ultimate Team mode.

The Tom Clancy brand and well-established Rainbow Six series dive headfirst into uncharted waters with the release of Rainbow Six Extraction from developer Ubisoft Montreal.  

A spinoff of the wildly successful competitive player vs. player Rainbow Six Siege, Extraction goes the totally opposite direction. It embraces a three-player co-op experience with the Siege setting, adding a sci-fi element via a parasitic alien and leaning into different roguelike genres in an effort to innovate. 

The result is something that avoids seeming like a cliche "Left 4 Dead clone" feel, and it's a starkly unexpected direction for a game under the uber-realistic Tom Clancy umbrella.

And it works. 

While there are questions worth asking about Extraction's long-term potential, the innovative blend of unexpected elements creates a rather unique, niche experience worth checking out.  

   

Graphics and Gameplay

It'd be selling Extraction short to say it looks like Siege with a splash of sci-fi goodness thanks to aliens and a parasite overtaking various locales players will gun or sneak through. 

But that's probably the most succinct way to talk about Extraction's presentation. 

Siege veterans will feel right at home. As a Rainbow Six game, the sound design is superb, whether talking about the voice acting or sound of gunfire or just overall ambiance. And they'll recognize the included 18 of 60 operators from Siege. 

Where Extraction differs is in some of the sci-fi elements. There's still the expected industrial levels and expected variance that comes with any modern-setting shooter, but areas within those have been overtaken by a parasite that smatters the walls, ceiling and floor. While pretty, it still feels very much like a Rainbow Six game at each stop, especially thanks to the expected environmental destruction. 

Like presentation, Siege veterans will feel right at home with the gameplay itself. Precise shooting, impactful weapons, leaning, crouching, it's all back and feels the same. For those who haven't played Siege, let's just say it's setting the industry standard for competitive multiplayer and therefore feels great here, too. 

At its core, a team of three operators must make infiltrations dubbed incursions into specific areas around the globe. They'll confront not only one of a double-digit list of objectives in each sub-section of map, but a procedurally generated location of both those tasks and enemies. 

Each main level has three sub-sections with safe rooms. Players can choose to book it for an extraction point and end the mission in each of the sub-sections, or seek out the safe room and keep advancing. The farther players go into the levels, the greater the risk, and of course, the reward. 

How the game handles health is both unique-feeling and adds a degree of difficulty. Players can't just passively regenerate health and actual packs are very, very limited. 

Extraction is a really interesting approach to the gameplay loop. If a player's operator "dies" during a mission, they're unavailable from the roster screen. Players then have to pick a different operator and load into that mission and can extract (get it?) them. If successful, that previously lost operator is available again from the selection screen, albeit with low health. Going back into missions with other operators can help replace lost health. 

It's actually a solid way for the game to add tension to each attempt at a run. It succeeds in this area, asking players to think more strategically about decisions instead of just running and gunning—there's no guarantee they'll be able to extract lost operators later if they mess up. 

That said, the game doesn't really need the help in the tension department because it's quite difficult, especially for the first few hours. This isn't a game where a trio can just load in and run and gun. That might work rarely given the right set of objectives and generated enemies, but trying it often will result in lost operators. 

Veteran Siege players might find it a little disappointing that the array of equipment and gadgets is just carried over from the main game. But they'll at least be familiar with the arsenal right away, right? It's also a little fun from a narrative standpoint—this alien-like enemy just came out of nowhere, right? They can only use what they have available to them. 

Levels are mostly horizontal, besides some multifloor buildings. There's a dread that comes with this, though. Enemies don't seem to ever pull off surprise attacks from above or through surfaces, but they can overwhelm quickly. Trying to lure them into a bottleneck isn't advisable, especially when considering the way the game handles health. 

Make no mistake—that's by design. There's a whole different creepy, dreadful feel to these sort of modern settings against these enemies, A.I. or not, compared to if it was just other players in a PvP match flying around, and the great level design is a big reason for that feel. 

    

Story, Multiplayer and More

Extraction doesn't waste any team getting right into the meat of things. An alien threat dubbed the "Archaeans" touches down and starts its parasitic spread throughout the globe. The good guys form REACT (Rainbow Exogenous Analysis and Containment Team) and away the narrative goes. 

There are some really touching, albeit brief cutscenes that work hard to character-build the involved people. The idea seems to be making players care even more for the included operators and their supporting cast, though it's easy enough to gloss through it while focusing on the next mission. 

Still, it's strong for what it is and gives the whole setting a narrative excuse for the fun to be had out in the field with the big-feeling set of operators. Eighteen isn't a huge number at launch, but the abilities are so varied the roster feels bigger than it is. 

Operator selection and team composition is another big element of the strategy inherent to the experience. Going without an operator equipped to rip through destructible walls, for example, limits what the whole team can do on a given run.

Besides the tried-and-true skills (like a holographic decoy), players can reinforce certain positions, doors and windows. They can also use the ping system and utilize tech like drones to scout ahead. 

But the alien enemy is very much versatile and unpredictable, too. Some classes of alien can slow the team's movement, which is deadly in combination with a sharp-shooting class of enemy or a wave that runs them down. 

Adding to the danger is the actual infected areas, which dramatically slow down player movement. It only enhances enemy power, though, giving yet another reason to take things very slow, if not entirely stealthily. 

Actual gameplay objectives for each mission center on expected things like alien kill counts or retrieving intel. They're not going to do any sort of groundbreaking work for first-person shooters as a whole, but the variance prevents numbing repetition. 

Moreso than most games in similar genres, Extraction demands communication between players. Attempting to extract an operator, for example, literally means carrying a body slowly with only a sidearm equipped. It's easy for poor communication to lead to a botched recovery effort and mission fail, quickly. Getting that body actually unstuck from the parasite requires one player pulling on it and two others shooting attach points elsewhere—all while juggling whatever enemy happens to be in the area.  

The game really is packed with content and options. There are 60-plus weapons with their own upgrade routes, 20-plus gadgets and more assuredly to come. Also included is a very strong set of accessibility and hardware options, which also come over from Siege. 

Also worth a note is the ability to straight-up mute an entire team with the press of a button upon launching a session. It could help to curb any toxicity online and is a much better option than simply removing public chat like some other recent releases. 

All the positives aside, Extraction's lifespan is a concerning thing to ponder. The niche co-op zombie genre is already pretty saturated with Call of Duty putting out zombies modes often. This comes close on the heels of Back 4 Blood, too. There are plans for post-launch support of course, but whether the playerbase remains populated is hard to say—the first impression will be critical. 

Interestingly, Extraction will hope to keep the competitive side of things alive for a long time via Maelstrom, a ranked mode that upticks the number of challenges per session, offers leaderboards and throws out major experience bonuses and seasonal loot to participants. It's a smooth potential way to keep competitive players on board despite it technically being a co-op game. 

Narratively speaking, it'd be fun if the game took a "living world" approach and started implementing more sci-fi-esque gadgets and such as the universe adapts to and struggles with the alien threat. But again, the long term is a mystery. Extraction won't necessarily be ripping players from Siege itself, but rather possibly taking from similar games. 

   

Conclusion

Extraction has a lot of interesting things going for it despite residing in a pretty occupied niche. 

It excellently stacks tension. The formula offers unique spins, especially with the procedural generation and roguelike difficulty elements. And it's got tried-and-true Siege characters, gadgets, gunplay and movement.

Meaning, it's not Left 4 Dead. It's not Back 4 Blood. While some will hit Extraction for using so much from Siege itself, the way it carves out a space of its own within a beloved niche is a sound effort. 

As a title easily available on Xbox Game Pass, it's easy to see the combination of these factors lifting Extraction into mega-hit status. It's worth a look for the reasons listed above, though again, the first impression and future support plans will decide whether it can have a run as long as Siege, its industry juggernaut cousin, which also elbowed into a well-populated genre and is now a staple of it. 

The Madden NFL 22 player rating updates dropped Thursday following an eventful Week 15 slate that included huge upsets, thrilling games and excellent individual performances.

No one shined more on the defensive end than the New Orleans Saints' Cameron Jordan, who moved up one point to 92 overall:

Cam Jordan did @camjordan94 things last week on SNF 😤

📈 https://t.co/nsDsy8UM5N #Madden22 pic.twitter.com/f9mdVO6Qp9

— Madden NFL 25 (@EAMaddenNFL) December 23, 2021

It was a well-deserved bump for Jordan, who had five solo tackles, three quarterback hits and two sacks in the Saints' 9-0 road win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

He also forced a fumble after tackling Bucs quarterback Tom Brady, which led to a recovery from Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore that prevented a likely field-goal attempt in the third quarter.

Ball is loose. @Saints recover!

📺: #NOvsTB on NBC
📱: https://t.co/Oqb90AsSAM pic.twitter.com/XLWvu9j2LK

— NFL (@NFL) December 20, 2021

Jordan also surpassed 100 career sacks on the night, and he joined Pro Football Hall of Famer Rickey Jackson as the only two players in Saints history to earn that honor.

Elsewhere, Buffalo Bills wide receiver Gabriel Davis is making a name for himself late, scoring four touchdowns in his last three games. Thanks to his efforts, he's now at 76 overall.

4 TDs in the last 3 games 👀

@DavisGB1 | #Madden22 pic.twitter.com/QHNd6tD6AJ

— Madden NFL 25 (@EAMaddenNFL) December 23, 2021

He's taken over for Emmanuel Sanders (knee) and fared well in his absence, notably catching five passes for 85 yards and two scores in a 31-14 win over the Carolina Panthers.

This catch on 3rd-and-12 gave Buffalo a 23-8 lead:

Put this on the nice list. 🎁

📺: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/2YVyrNIDEq

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) December 19, 2021

It wasn't a good day for the Carolina defense, but Panthers safety Jeremy Chinn was an exception with seven tackles (five solo) and an interception. He moved up to 82 overall after his performance.

There's a 🚫 ✈️ zone in Carolina #Madden22@ChinnJeremy2 | https://t.co/nsDsy8UM5N pic.twitter.com/GUroRJL5B5

— Madden NFL 25 (@EAMaddenNFL) December 24, 2021

Chinn is first on Carolina with 98 tackles and tied for second with five pass breakups.

Welcome to the Madden 99 Club, Myles Garrett.

The Cleveland Browns defensive end's inclusion on the video game franchise's exclusive list of the best players in the league was the biggest development for this week's ratings update. EA Sports announced the changes Thursday, as Garrett saw his rating move from a 98 to a 99.

That the honor came this week for the two-time Pro Bowler is no surprise.

The moment @Flash_Garrett found out he joined the @EAMaddenNFL #99Club.

Congrats, Myles! pic.twitter.com/jyDulYvKpj

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) December 16, 2021

Garrett dominated Sunday's win over the Baltimore Ravens for extended stretches with a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery he returned for a touchdown. The touchdown and ensuing extra point put the Browns up 24-3 in the second quarter and seemed to put the game away.

That turned out to not be the case as the Ravens came charging back, which only made the touchdown all the more important in Cleveland's 24-22 win.

Garrett wasn't the only player who started the 2021 campaign on the Browns to see a ratings boost. Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. moved from an 84 to an 85 overall as he continues to thrive on his new team following a disappointing start to the season in Cleveland.

Beckham caught a touchdown during Monday's win over the Arizona Cardinals, marking his third straight game with a score after he failed to find the end zone in six games with Cleveland.

The other pass-catcher who received a boost was San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle, who improved by one to a 96 overall. Kittle is healthy and dominating again and was essentially unguardable while posting 13 catches for 151 yards and a touchdown during a win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Thursday's updates weren't all good news, as Browns running back Nick Chubb fell one point to a 95, while Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr's rating dropped one to 82.

Chubb is still one of the league's best running backs but was limited to 59 yards on 17 carries against Baltimore. Carr has one touchdown pass and one interception in the last two games combined and failed to throw for more than 263 yards in either of them.

It also doesn't help that the Raiders are 1-5 in their last six and on the outside looking in at a crowded AFC playoff race.          

EA Sports announced Thursday it will be adding women's teams to its NHL 22 video game for the first time when an update is launched in January. 

The game will add International Ice Hockey Federation women's national teams and the IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship. This means stars including Team USA's Kendall Coyne Schofield and Hilary Knight and Hockey Canada's Marie-Philip Poulin will be playable in the game. 

"The introduction of women's national teams to NHL 22 as part of the upcoming IIHF content will be an important moment for the franchise in its continued effort to reflect the diversity of the hockey community," EA sports vice president Sean Ramjagsingh said, per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. 

Players can choose from 10 women's teams to play with in tournament mode. Aside from the United States and Canada, Finland, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Hungary and the ROC are expected to be included in the game as those are the teams that competed in the 2021 IIHF Women's World Championship.

The decision to add women's teams is part of a trend among major sports video game franchises over the last several years. Women's teams were introduced to EA Sports' FIFA series in 2015, and NBA2K began including women in the 2020 version of the game when it added WNBA teams.

Both FIFA and NBA2K give players the option to customize their own female character, too. The NHL series has had the capability for players to create a female player for various game modes such as World of Chel, but the commentators would refer to that player as a man as the game did not have any commentary for women's players. 

In addition to women's content, the game is also being updated to include IIHF content for men's teams in January. The IIHF World Junior Championship and IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship will be included. 

Sports fans who have been lamenting the loss of EA Sports' NCAA Football video game series could be in luck. 

Per Brandon Marcello of 247Sports, EA Sports is "aiming" to bring back the college football video game in the summer of 2023. 

Cory Moss, CEO of Collegiate Licensing Co., told Marcello that 2023 is "the hope" as to when a new series would be launched. 

After Moss' comments, EA Sports pushed back on that timeline, saying it would confirm a launch "at a later date."

We have not announced a specific release timeframe for the upcoming EA SPORTS College Football title. We’ll confirm launch timing at a later date.

— EA SPORTS (@EASPORTS) December 9, 2021

Matt Brown of Extra Points obtained a copy of a proposal from EA Sports and the Collegiate Licensing Co. to FBS schools that indicates the video-game developer has a plan in place to release officially licensed games annually for four years starting on July 1, 2023. 

Got another copy of the EA Sports/CLC proposal to FBS schools, dated Jan 15, with fewer redactions than previous copies. Here's a bit more info on the money schools may make from the game:

Appears to be a four year license proposal pic.twitter.com/tVNegAXd8P

— Matt Brown (@MattBrownEP) June 25, 2021

There has been an expectation that the NCAA Football game franchise would return after the NCAA adopted name, image and likeness rules for student-athletes that took effect on July 1. 

EA Sports teased fans about a new release with this tweet posted on Feb. 2:

For those who never stopped believing...#EASPORTSCollegeFootball pic.twitter.com/2vDUYnbXEJ

— EA SPORTS (@EASPORTS) February 2, 2021

When that announcement was first made, Eddie Makuch of Gamespot reported the game was being made without the NCAA's involvement. 

"We love the energy, tradition and pageantry of college football and I am beyond thrilled to say we are back in development," Cam Weber, EA Sports executive vice president, said in a statement. "We have a lot of really exciting work ahead of us, and a great team that is eager to bring a new game to players in the next couple of years."

As part of the Madden NFL series, EA Sports has included licensed college teams as part of its storyline mode. This year's game featured 10 college teams that gamers could use in Superstar KO as part of a limited-time event. 

Players on those teams were made up of legends who played for the program. For instance, USC's roster had Matt Leinart and Carson Palmer as its quarterbacks, Reggie Bush at running back and Marcus Allen at fullback. 

The college football series has been dormant since the release of NCAA Football 14 in July 2013 because of legal issues over whether players should be paid for use of their likeness. 

EA Sports didn't use player names in the games, but things like jersey numbers, height, weight and in-game biographical information matched that of the player the avatar was based on.