Tag: Video Games

Ever wanted to play the Par 3 Course at Augusta National? Here’s your chance (sort of)

This may be your best chance to play the famed 9-hole course.

The Par 3 Contest is one of the best parts of Masters week every year.

Now, you have a chance to play the famed 9-hole course. Well, sort of.

As part of its Road to the Masters series, EA Sports PGA Tour is adding the par-3 gem at Augusta National Golf Club in a future update. Last year, the video game became the first in nearly a decade to feature Augusta National as a playable and licensed course. Now, the par-3 course is getting its due.

Some details haven’t been announced, like whether the Par 3 Contest will be a playable mode and official release date.

But, if you’ve ever wanted to take a swing at the most famous par-3 course in the world, this is probably the only chance you’ve got.

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Over 10,000 players have opted in to be included in EA Sports’ College Football 25 video game

I guess the debate about this is over.

There’s been debate over the upcoming EA Sports College Football 25 video game — particularly on whether athletes should allow EA to use their name, image and likeness.

The company began getting athlete approval at the end of February. EA offered the student-athletes a one-time payment of $600 and a free copy of the game in exchange for their likeness.

That’s where the debate came in. People questioned whether that was enough. A one-time payment isn’t very much considering that this game will use the players’ likenesses in perpetuity — at least for this iteration.

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Others thought it was a fair deal. And at least 10,000 players fall into this camp, too.

Front Office Sports reports that over 10,000 players have opted in for the game, putting EA Sports 87 percent of the way to its 11,000-player goal.

It seems most players just want to be in the video game. It’s hard to fault them for that — it’s pretty cool. There is validity to the argument that these players aren’t getting enough for their likeness here.

 

Regardless, it seems, the game has the players it needs. Things are moving forward.

Florida QB opts into EA College Football Video Game NIL usage

Graham Mertz has opted into the NIL partnership with EA Sports and will appear as the Florida Gators quarterback in the franchise reboot.

On Saturday, Florida quarterback [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] confirmed he would appear in the upcoming EA College Football 25 video game, which is among the most-anticipated sports titles of all time.

Mertz and the EA Sports college account posted in collaboration on Instagram confirming the partnership. EA Sports announced that more than 11,000 college football players would have a chance to earn money — roughly $600 — in exchange for NIL rights.

“Players would be in the game as long as they are on a roster, whether they transfer or not, and will be compensated on a yearly basis based on those factors. Players also could opt out of the game when future editions of the game are released if they so choose.

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Aside from players, ESPN’s top broadcast team of Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit have confirmed they will appear in the game. Herbstreit was the main analyst for the original series, which was discontinued in 2013.

Other ESPN personalities, such as Kevin Connors, Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, [autotag]Jesse Palmer[/autotag] and David Pollack have confirmed they will appear in the game, too.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

The Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree trailer and 2024 release date is here

Who is Messmer? We’ll find out later in 2024.

We finally got a glimpse of the long-anticipated DLC for Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree, as the trailer was released by From Software in February.

Players will be traveling to the Land of the Shadow, where they will finally meet a character that has long been speculated to be the centerpiece of the DLC, Miquella. The brother of the ultra-hard boss from the base game, Malenia, Miquella, was only briefly seen in Elden Ring as his arm hangs out of an egg in the background of the Mohg fight. The slumbering empyrean will most likely feature as a boss, but one can hope that he will be an ally in this strange new land.

The trailer — see it below! — features a host of new weapons and bosses to test your skills against, including the introduction of Messmer the Impaler. During my first watch of the trailer, I assumed this menacing character was Miquella, but if you wait to see the info for the Collector’s edition, it shows this character’s name. Who is Messmer, and why are they trying to stop the tarnished? Players will be able to find out on June 21st!

EA releases teaser for College Football 25 video game

The long national nightmare is nearly over. A new EA Sports college football video game will hit the market this year.

A generation of kids will never know what they missed out on.

On Thursday, EA Sports officially announced a relaunch date for its College Football video game franchise. The last installment — NCAA Football 14 — featured Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson on the cover, but the franchise was discontinued after name, image and likeness disputes.

But now it’s the age of NIL and college fans are getting a new game this summer. A full reveal is expected to come in May. Renderings of the Florida Gators jersey were shown in the teaser trailer below. Florida State, Michigan and Texas A&M were also featured.

The new game is expected to feature the classic Dynasty and Road to Glory modes, and FBS players should be allowed to opt into having their likeness used for the character models.

The game will use the Madden engine (sigh) but it won’t be a reskin of the NFL title, according to The Athletic. The expectation is for the transfer portal and an expanded playoff system to be included.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

EA’s College Football 25 video game is officially back, with a teaser trailer and everything

It’s back. It’s finally back.

It’s been nearly a decade since college football fans could boot up their Xboxes, Playstations or PCs, grab a controller and halfback angle their way to a national title. EA Sports gave up its annual release of NCAA Football after the 2014 edition — so long ago the cover athlete was Michigan star Denard Robinson.

Concerns about student athlete compensation rights in the aftermath of Ed O’Bannon’s Supreme Court win over the NCAA in 2015 effectively shuttered the series. But with name, image and likeness rules now allowing players to monetize their college careers, a pathway was created to allow the beloved franchise to rise from the ashes like a phoenix. Specifically the kind of phoenix that runs the option and takes Ball State to the national championship.

Years of speculation have finally given way to a concrete announcement. While the name has changed from “NCAA Football” to “College Football,” EA’s back in the game — and the next installment comes out this summer.

Fans were excited enough to watch the teaser — which features zero actual gameplay — 1.5 million times in the first half hour the post was online. This was merely a puddle in a desert of college football video gaming, and folks bathed in it like an oasis. And hell, if it means I get a chance to guide Vanderbilt football to an SEC championship, I’m ready to dive in myself.

A definitive ranking of the top 30 video games of all time

Our newest batch of writers rank the best video games of all time

For many people, being able to name the best video game of all time can be challenging. Everyone plays different genres and consoles, and the library of games makes it nearly impossible to identify a favorite, let alone a game that can be considered the best. But here at For the Win, we like a challenge.

A talented group of writers and I will eventually bring you our picks for the best PlayStation 3 or sports games, but first, we put our heads together to get you FTW’s official Top 30 games of all time. Each contributor ranked his top 25 games, and the total scores were tallied golf style, with the total number of nominations breaking the tie. Read on to see which game took the top spot!

The best VR games of 2023

The competition was fierce this year, but we’ve narrowed it down to our 10 favorite VR games of 2023, from Resident Evil to Vampire and more

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The best VR games of 2023 don’t just coast along with immersion and motion controls as their big selling points, though some of them do innovative things in those areas. The medium is finally moving on from using VR as a video game gimmick, and 2023’s top picks use it to create unique experiences – in Resident Evil Village, for example – or even to augment storytelling in some respects, as Vampire Justice does. The competition was fierce this year, but we’ve narrowed it down to our 10 favorite VR games of 2023 and rattled them off below.

Best of 2023: Why we loved these 6 games, from Baldur’s Gate 3 to Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Some of our staff’s favorite games from 2023.

As 2023 winds down and 2024 looms on the horizon, it’s time to look back at the year that was in pop culture. We asked our staff to pick their favorite movies, music, television and games from the past year, and now we are sharing it with you.

MORE: Best Television of 2023: Why we loved these 21 shows from Lessons in Chemistry to Succession

The rules are pretty simple: it had to have released in the calendar year 2023. For television, just one episode had to air for the first time over the last year. To be clear, this list isn’t necessarily the best of the year, it’s our favorites. 

There were a handful of top-notch video game releases in 2023, so let’s get to some of our favorites.

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10 brilliant video games you (probably) missed in 2023

We’ve rounded up the 10 best video games of 2023 you might not even realize existed, from horror games to strategy, climbing, and more

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Amid all the 2023 video games, it’s inevitable some absolute bangers would get lost in the shuffle. And there were some proper bangers, making the process of narrowing them down to 10 a pretty difficult one. We did it, though. We’ve got an award-winning indie, a thoughtful spin on climbing games, a spooky visual novel, and even a strategy game that actually respects your time, and that’s just the start.

Check out the 10 best games of 2023 you might not even know existed.