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Samsung Galaxy S25 series rumors and leaks: Everything we know so far

Update: August 19, 2024 (1:40 AM ET): We’ve updated our Galaxy S25 series rumor hub with a leak about the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s purported screen size.


Samsung’s Galaxy S24 series launched in the middle of January 2024, arriving a little earlier in the year than the last couple of generations. Along with it, the company introduced Galaxy AI, a titanium frame, new camera tricks, and a number of other features. But now that the Galaxy S24 launch has come and gone, it is time to start thinking about the next iteration in the series. How will the Galaxy S25 series set itself apart from its predecessor? What new features will Samsung come up with for the next generation? Will 2025 finally be the year we see a major shift in the Galaxy S design philosophy? Here, we’ll break down everything we know so far about the Galaxy S25.

Will there be a Samsung Galaxy S25?

Samsung Galaxy S24 homescreen in hand

Galaxy S24
Credit: Robert Triggs / Android Authority

Samsung releases a new Galaxy S series phone on an annual cadence, and there’s no reason to believe it will stop at the Galaxy S24. But if that’s not enough to convince you, there have already been plenty of leaks and rumors about the incoming family of handsets that we’ll get into later on. Obviously, nothing is official until Samsung announces it. The company could always suddenly decide to shut down development, but that is extremely unlikely given how profitable its smartphones are. We would say it’s less of a question of whether Samsung will release a Galaxy S25 and more of a question of when it will launch in 2025.

What is the most likely Samsung Galaxy S25 release date?

samsung galaxy s24 ultra case hero with phone

Credit: Ryan Haines / Android Authority
  • Galaxy S22 — February 9, 2022
  • Galaxy S23 — February 17, 2023
  • Galaxy S24 — January 31, 2024

The Galaxy S24 lineup launched in January, so we’re still a fair distance away from the expected release of the Galaxy S25 series. As such, it will be a while before Samsung provides an official launch date for the device. As far as leaks and rumors are concerned, there’s not really anything on that front, either. Given the lack of information, we’ll need to speculate on what the date could be.

The South Korea-based firm usually launches its Galaxy S phones near the beginning of the year. For the last three years, the release date has fallen in the months of January and February. We assume Samsung will keep the same cadence for the Galaxy S25. Unfortunately, we’ll need to wait to find out the exact date.

What rumored specs and features could the Samsung Galaxy S25 have?

Samsung Galaxy S24 Family 1

Credit: Lanh Nguyen / Android Authority

Even before the Galaxy S24 launched in January 2024, we were hearing rumors about the Galaxy S25. Now that it has been a while since the release of 2024’s Galaxy phones, the rumor mill for next year’s phones has picked up a lot of steam. These rumors and leaks span the gamut from the SoC to the design and more. Let’s take a moment to break down all of the available information.

Name

It stands to reason that the Galaxy S25 series will consist of the Galaxy S25, the Galaxy S25 Plus, and the Galaxy S25 Ultra. After all, Samsung has used this naming convention since the Galaxy S20 series.

Tipster Yogesh Brar made a rather interesting claim on August 16, though. The leaker claimed that Samsung could be thinking about a name change for the Plus and Ultra models. More specifically, Brar asserted that the Galaxy S25 Ultra could become the Galaxy S25 Note, while the S25 Plus could become the S25 Pro.

Yogesh Brar Galaxy S25 Note and Pro name change

We’ve previously seen Apple offer the iPhone 15 Pro, which has more features than the iPhone 15 Plus. So we’re guessing an S25 Pro could be a more feature-packed offering than an S25 Plus. But this is just a rumor for now so you shouldn’t hold your breath for this change.

Design

The design of the Galaxy S series has hardly changed in the last few generations, but we might finally be in store for something a little different with the next iteration. Leaker Revegnus said that Ilhwan Lee, a former Mercedes-Benz designer, has been tasked with making the Galaxy brand feel “fresh” and that design changes are expected.

Galaxy S25 revegnus

Credit: Revegnus

With the release of Samsung’s 2024 flagship devices, the company introduced titanium to the Galaxy S line, specifically for the Ultra model. There is reason to believe Samsung will continue to use the same metal in the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The question, however, is whether the firm sticks with the same type of titanium that appeared in the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It is also unknown if this build material will come to the regular and Plus models in 2025, though that seems unlikely.

In a now-deleted social post from PandaFlash (via Android Headlines), the tipster claimed, “I have doubts about the rumors of the Highest-Grade titanium in the Galaxy S25 Ultra.” In case you didn’t know, titanium comes in different grades. For example, Apple gave the iPhone 15 Pro series Grade 5 titanium, which is an alloy made of titanium, aluminum, and vanadium. The Galaxy S24 Ultra, on the other hand, uses Grade 2 titanium, which is all titanium. The difference is that Grade 2 titanium is softer, cheaper, and easier to work with than the Grade 5 version. If PandaFlash is correct, then it looks like the tech giant may stay on the same path.

Another rumor, this one originating from a now-deleted social post from PandaFlash (via Android Headlines), suggests Samsung is testing four prototypes for the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Although the tipster didn’t have renders of these prototypes, they did create mock-ups of what they thought the Ultra might look like based on their information:

galaxy s25 ultra design

Credit: PandaFlash

According to the rumor, the main changes seem to revolve around the frame and bezels. We could see thinner bezels but the same frame as before, a thinner and flatter frame with slimmer bezels, thinner sides but a thicker top and bottom, or a thinner frame with rounded edges. Outside of that, it appears the front of the device will look mostly the same as the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Leaker Ice Universe claimed in late June that the Galaxy S25 Ultra could gain a more rounded design, saying it would be “as round as the Galaxy Note 7.” The tipster also asserted that the Ultra phone will measure 8.4mm thick, making it thinner than all previous Galaxy S Ultra phones. Later on, the tipster claimed that the frame would be more rounded towards the back panel and straight on the display side. It’s said this design will make the frame thinner than the one on the Galaxy S24 Ultra and reduce the bezels on the sides.

Ice Universe would go on to post an apparent mock-up showing the front of the Galaxy S25 Ultra in August, and it indeed shows a phone with a more rounded design. The leaker also posted a mock-up comparing the S25 Ultra design to the boxier S24 Ultra design. Check out the images below.

Meanwhile, leaker Bennett Buhner claims that Samsung might increase the display size of the Galaxy S25 Ultra to something closer to 6.9 inches. This could mean that the device will be slightly bigger, but it could also just mean the screen has smaller bezels, giving it a slightly different aspect ratio.

Ice Universe posted the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s apparent screen size on Weibo on August 17, claiming it will have a 6.86-inch screen which “can be considered as 6.9 inches.”

Galaxy S25 Ultra screen size weibo Ice Universe

The Ultra isn’t the only model rumored to see some design changes. Korean blogger yeux1122 has claimed on Naver that the base Galaxy S25’s screen size could grow by 0.16 inches, putting it at 6.36 inches. If this is true, it would be the second time in the last three generations that Samsung has increased the diagonal screen size of the base model.

Specs

One of the first pieces of information to leak about the S25 was the camera specs. Early rumors were very conflicted, with some claiming massive overhauls (such as going with a simple, triple-lens setup) and a big upgrade for the primary 200MP lens. However, as the year has gone on, most of those early rumors have been shot down. The most recent info points to a few upgrades for the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but not a complete overhaul.

Ice Universe posted a load of apparent Galaxy S25 Ultra camera specs on Weibo on May 27. They claimed that the Ultra phone would stick with a 200MP main camera and 50MP 5x periscope telephoto zoom but would switch to a 50MP 3x camera and a 50MP ultrawide lens. The 50MP 3x camera would be a big upgrade over the current 10MP 3x lens, which has been used since 2021’s S21 Ultra.

Later, leaker Sperandio4Tech posted info on sensor upgrades for those two upgraded lenses. Allegedly, the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s ultrawide lens could get “a new version of the 1/2.76-inch JN1 sensor.” Meanwhile, the 3x telephoto lens could get “a new 1/3-inch Isocell sensor.” These upgrades would be combined with the previously mentioned resolution upgrades to 50MP for both lenses.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra could offer upgraded 3x and ultrawide cameras, according to one significant leak.

On June 27, we finally got a closer look at what is likely to be the sensor for the Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus, as the company announced several new sensors, but it was the ISCOELL GNJ that caught our eye. The GNJ has a sensor that’s roughly on par with the main camera sensor in the S24 and S24 Plus at 1/1.57-inches, versus the 1/1.56-inch sensor found on the two S24 handsets. The new sensor also sports one-micron pixels, much like the sensor used on the S24 and S24 Plus.

Moving on to the display, not much is currently known about display specs outside of the rumor that the series could go bigger. However, Samsung has been working on next-generation OLED displays that would allow fingerprint scanning anywhere on the screen, as well as open up the ability to scan multiple fingerprints simultaneously. At the time, the CEO of Isorg, Dieter May, predicted that Samsung would be ready to deliver these displays by 2025.

Samsung itself made some promises regarding Galaxy S25 series upgrades during its Q2 2024 earnings call on August 1. Executive Daniel Araujo promised that the S25 series would get “top-of-the-line” camera and display upgrades, although he didn’t issue any specific details.

The Samsung representative also issued vague AI plans for the new phones:

So looking forward, we expect to be able to understand the context of conversations and provide a natural conversation and experience across our devices. To achieve this, we’ll strengthen partnerships and collaborations while developing our AI technologies further.

Some of the biggest Galaxy S25 rumors so far have related to the processors. Samsung brought back its tradition of offering the Galaxy S series with a Snapdragon processor in selected markets and an Exynos chip for the rest of the world with the S24. This was after the much-welcome shift in 2023 of abandoning Exynos and offering Snapdragon processors for all handsets around the world.

While a few previous rumors suggested Samsung might return to its all-Snapdragon-everywhere policy in 2025, a conflicting report says Samsung is hoping to improve its Exynos 2500 chip yields so it can once again offer multiple chip configurations depending on the market. Furthermore, at least one leak claims the company could also utilize a MediaTek Dimensity SoC for select models. This seems less likely and it’s important to mention the sourcing is a bit questionable with this one, so a grain of salt is necessary. Still, it seems likely Samsung isn’t happy paying Qualcomm’s high pricing for its chips and is actively looking for other options.

This means that every Galaxy S25 phone, regardless of location, would have a Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. This is reportedly due to Samsung’s manufacturing issues with the supposed Exynos 2500 chipset, which would appear in the Galaxy S25 series. As of now, this is the strongest rumor we have, so it’s looking likely we could see only Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S25 phones next year.

It's possible we could see a return to all-Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S25 phones in 2025.

If Samsung does go all-in on Snapdragon, it looks like the Galaxy S25 could get a nice speed boost. Tipster Digital Chat Station claims that “Tongzi” — supposedly the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4’s codename — chips will hit 4GHz. This would be a notable improvement from the Gen 3 processor, which is capable of reaching 3.3GHz.

On to battery specs, it’s possible Samsung could be planning to use stack technology for the battery in the S25 series, according to a report from The Elec. This tech is commonly used in electric vehicles, but it appears Samsung’s research and development department is considering bringing it over to smartphones. Stacking refers to the way cells in the battery are arranged, which can lead to a higher energy capacity inside a smaller volume. According to the report, the arrangement could provide a 10% improvement in energy density.

Meanwhile, a report from GalaxyClub says the standard Galaxy S25 could have the same 4,000mAh capacity as the Galaxy S24. This isn’t bad news, but it might be disappointing for anyone hoping to eke out a bit more juice from the Galaxy S25. As for the Galaxy S25 Ultra, tipster Digital Chat Station says to expect a 5,000mAh battery with 45W fast charging.

In a reply to a social post from Samsung, tipster Ice Universe claims that the base Galaxy S25 will once again have 8GB of RAM. Presumably, the leaker is suggesting that only 8GB of RAM will be available, regardless of the configuration. If true, this would mean the S25 will have the same amount of memory as Samsung gave the S24 and S23.

While it is possible we won’t see a change in the amount of memory, the storage story could be different. Samsung Semiconductor released a roadmap for the next generation of UFS. That roadmap states the company will release UFS 4.0 4-lane CS in 2025 before jumping to UFS 5.0 in 2027.

Samsung Semiconductors Storage speed roadmap

Credit: Weixin

Based on the roadmap, UFS 4.0 4-lane CS will double the read/write rates of the current UFS 4.0 standard. The additional speed will provide a number of benefits, like faster load times and more efficient on-device AI applications.

What might the Samsung Galaxy S25 price be?

Samsung Galaxy S24 Family 7

Credit: Lanh Nguyen / Android Authority
  • Galaxy S22 — $799 (base), $999 (Plus), $1,199 (Ultra)
  • Galaxy S23 — $799 (base), $999 (Plus), $1,199 (Ultra)
  • Galaxy S24 — $799 (base), $999 (Plus), $1,299 (Ultra)

When it comes to pricing, Samsung has stayed fairly consistent over recent years. For the last three years, in fact, the base and Plus models have remained at $799 and $999, respectively. The only price change that happened during this time span was with the Ultra model, which went up by $100 in 2024. The good news is there’s not enough information to suggest there will be a price increase for any model. On the other hand, the bad news is that there’s also not enough information to suggest that Samsung won’t implement a price bump. If we had to guess, however, we believe the cost will be the same as it was in 2024.

Should you wait for the Samsung Galaxy S25?

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs S23 Ultra vs S22 Ultra 1

Credit: Lanh Nguyen / Android Authority

Unless you’re dead set on getting the latest and greatest from Samsung, there’s not really any reason to wait. The exception to that is if you’re not in immediate need of a new phone. In that case, it might be worth waiting to see how the Galaxy S25 series pans out.

If you need something now, Samsung’s Galaxy S24 (), Galaxy S24 Plus (), and Galaxy S24 Ultra () can likely serve all your needs. Likewise, you have your choice of perfectly capable non-Samsung handsets that range anywhere from premium to budget-tier and everything in between. For example, the Google Pixel 9 Pro () is a solid device that has great cameras and neat AI features powered by Gemini. There’s also the Nothing Phone 2 () if you want a flagship smartphone that won’t hurt your wallet.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra could sport a bigger display, thinner bezels

Samsung is done with all major flagship phone launches for 2024. It started the year by announcing the Galaxy S24 series and followed it up with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 launch in July. The company might launch the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Slim later this year, but its limited availability will make it a niche device. Unsurprisingly, the rumor mill has now turned its attention to the next big thing from the Korean company: the Galaxy S25 Ultra. A new leak has now detailed the phone's screen size and the reduced bezel size.

Age Verification Laws Are Just A Path Towards A Full Ban On Porn, Proponent Admits

It’s never about the children. Supporters of age verification laws, book bans, drag show bans, and abortion bans always claim they’re doing these things to protect children. But it’s always just about themselves. They want to impose their morality on other adults. That’s all there is to it.

Abortion bans are just a way to strip women of bodily autonomy. If it was really about cherishing children and new lives, these same legislators wouldn’t be routinely stripping school lunch programs of funding, introducing onerous means testing to government aid programs, and generally treating children as a presumptive drain on society.

The same goes for book bans. They claim they want to prevent children from accessing inappropriate material. But you can only prevent children from accessing it by removing it entirely from public libraries, which means even adults will no longer be able to read these books.

The laws targeting drag shows aren’t about children. They’re about punishing certain people for being the way they are — people whose mere existence seems to be considered wholly unacceptable by bigots with far too much power.

The slew of age verification laws introduced in recent years are being shot down by courts almost as swiftly as they’re enacted. And for good reason. Age verification laws are unconstitutional. And they’re certainly not being enacted to prevent children from accessing porn.

Of course, none of the people pushing this kind of legislation will ever openly admit their reasons for doing so. But they will admit it to people they think are like-minded. All it takes is a tiny bit of subterfuge to tease these admissions out of activist groups that want to control what content adults have access to — something that’s barely hidden by their “for the children” facade.

As Shawn Musgrave reports for The Intercept, a couple of people managed to coax this admission out of a former Trump official simply by pretending they were there to give his pet project a bunch of cash.

“I actually never talk about our porn agenda,” said Russell Vought, a former top Trump administration official, in late July. Vought was chatting with two men he thought were potential donors to his right-wing think tank, the Center for Renewing America. 

For the last three years, Vought and the CRA have been pushing laws that require porn websites to verify their visitors are not minors, on the argument that children need to be protected from smut. Dozens of states have enacted or considered these “age verification laws,” many of them modeled on the CRA’s proposals. 

[…]

But in a wide-ranging, covertly recorded conversation with two undercover operatives — a paid actor and a reporter for the British journalism nonprofit Centre for Climate Reporting — Vought let them in on a thinly veiled secret: These age verification laws are a pretext for restricting access to porn more broadly. 

“Thinly veiled” is right. While it’s somewhat amusing Vought was taken in so easily and was immediately willing to say the quiet part loud when he thought cash was on the line, he’s made his antipathy towards porn exceedingly clear. As Musgrave notes in his article, Vought’s contribution to Project 2025 — a right-wing masturbatory fantasy masquerading as policy proposals should Trump take office again — almost immediately veers into the sort of territory normally only explored by dictators and autocrats who relied heavily on domestic surveillance, forced labor camps, and torture to rein in those who disagreed with their moral stances.

Pornography, manifested today in the omnipresent propagation of transgender ideology and sexualization of children, for instance, is not a political Gordian knot inextricably binding up disparate claims about free speech, property rights, sexual liberation, and child welfare. It has no claim to First Amendment protection. Its purveyors are child predators and misogynistic exploiters of women. Their product is as addictive as any illicit drug and as psychologically destructive as any crime. Pornography should be outlawed. The people who produce and distribute it should be imprisoned. Educators and public librarians who purvey it should be classed as registered sex offenders. And telecommunications and technology firms that facilitate its spread should be shuttered.

Perhaps the most surprising part of this paragraph (and, indeed, a lot of Vought’s contribution to Project 2025) is that it isn’t written in all caps with a “follow me on xTwitter” link attached. These are not the words of a hinged person. They are the opposite — the ravings of a man in desperate need of a competent re-hinging service.

And he’s wrong about everything in this paragraph, especially his assertion that pornography is not a First Amendment issue. It is. That’s why so many of these laws are getting rejected by federal courts. The rest is hyperbole that pretends it’s just bold, common sense assertions. I would like to hear more about the epidemic of porn overdoses that’s leaving children parentless and overloading our health system. And who can forget the recent killing sprees of the Sinoloa Porn Cartel, which has led to federal intervention from the Mexican government?

But the most horrifying part is Vought’s desire to imprison people for producing porn and converting librarians to registered sex offenders just because their libraries carry some content that personally offends his sensibilities.

These are the words and actions of people who strongly support fascism so long as they’re part of the ruling party. They don’t care about kids, America, democracy, or the Constitution. They want a nation of followers and the power to punish anyone who steps out of line. The Center for Renewing America is only one of several groups with the same ideology and the same censorial urges. These are dangerous people, but their ideas and policy proposals are now so common it’s almost impossible to classify it as “extremist.” There are a lot of Americans who would rather see the nation destroyed than have to, at minimum, tolerate people and ideas they don’t personally like. Their ugliness needs to be dragged out into the open as often as possible, if only to force them to confront the things they’ve actually said and done.

EA Sports College Football 25 Review

The Best “Back To School” Since Rodney Dangerfield

HIGH That moment when your old dorm is accurately represented in a videogame.

LOW Mode selection is a little lackluster.

WTF Academic performance tracking is my weekly nightmare come to life.


I don’t remember exactly where I was the last time I played a new college football game but I’m sure the scene involved me, my couch, and a noticeable cushion dent from hours of endless play. It’s not a pretty picture, but it is an accurate one. Now, after nearly 11 years away from digital collegiate gridiron, I was skeptical that EA Sports would be able to recapture that “just one more game” feeling.

Oh, EA Sports proved me wrong in so many wonderful ways.

College Football 25 (No “NCAA” this time around) is an outstanding, immersive, nostalgic title that quickly carves out its own identity against the inevitable Madden comparisons. Yes, those familiar with EA’s pro title will easily adapt to College Football 25’s controls and gameplay, but those — ahem — schooled in collegiate strategy and atmosphere will find themselves with a notable advantage.

The unparalleled college vibe is one of the biggest surprises after more than a decade away. The old NCAA series always did a solid job of emulating stadiums and crowd noise, but modern technology has allowed them to recreate the unique environments that each home school provides.

Fans of major programs like Clemson and Alabama will lose themselves in how seamlessly the designers implemented mascots, in-game chants, student traditions, and more. There’s even a noise meter that shakes the screen and affects playcalling, giving home teams a distinct advantage in competitive situations. Small, moderately successful schools might trigger the needle a little, but big schools with bigger money programs will regularly reap the rewards of the home field.

It even showed for my alma mater, the University of Maryland, which may not be a top-tier football school among its peers in the Big Ten Conference, but we did have an original set of chants and music to accompany our team. Sure enough, when in a crucial in-game situation, the students reacted accordingly, elevating the atmosphere tenfold. All of it was flawlessly represented alongside the nuances that made our school stand apart. And no, this level of detail isn’t exclusive to bigger schools — even the smaller programs receive the same level of detail and unique presentation.

Of course, none of this matters if the on-field visuals are lackluster. Thankfully, EA Sports made the most of its 11-year respite — every player on the field demonstrates a unique look and feel. Linemen seem a little jumpier than their professional counterparts. Defensive secondaries find themselves scrambling a little more before the snap. Quarterbacks don’t appear quite as composed. In other words, they seem like young adults tasked with handling some immense, big-game pressure. Plus, the player models are (generally) a little smaller and less monstrous than professional players. These details are subtle but add so much in helping College Football 25 stand apart from its more established big brother.

Another exciting aspect of the college game is that not every player is awesome. Deep pass plays are riskier, and big running gains are more likely against suspect defenses. Where Madden has its handful of top-rated receivers who seem to have glue on their gloves, the college level reflects teams of players who are still learning as they go, and that means nothing is “automatic.” When big plays happen, they just seem to mean more to the player.

That said, CF25 acknowledges those who take time to learn. (This is a college game, after all.) While smaller programs might not see initial success against juggernauts and experience some initial frustration, growth is earned and learning how to maximize each player’s skill set is a rewarding experience from season to season.

My only complaint about College Football 25‘s gameplay is the same I’ve made for most football titles — there continue to be plays and moves that are simply too easy to spam. (Just check YouTube for some of the spin move “highlights.”) Good players will always find a way to adjust, but newcomers online might find themselves stopped before they even get started. I was fortunate to not see many people abusing these quirks, but over time, I anticipate steeper beginner learning curves.

Since launch, I’ve seen a lot of online chatter about College Football 25’s “thin” and “disappointing” selection of modes and features, but I see this as a positive because I think it was vital for the developers to focus more on developing unique, rewarding on-field gameplay, and it seems they agreed. Of course, it doesn’t exactly lack variety with a solid selection of the modes we’ve come to expect from EA Sports titles.

For those looking to spend significant time in the trenches, Dynasty mode is far more rewarding than its professional counterpart, mostly because the focus is on winning, player development, and team success, rather than keeping high-profile players satisfied season over season. Here, users can help a struggling program methodically improve and find intermittent successes along the way. Maybe it’s getting close to being ranked among the top 25. Maybe it’s knocking off a top-ranked opponent. Maybe it’s being considered for a coveted bowl game. Minor, moral victories seem to matter more at the collegiate level since there’s just so much more to aim for than one solitary trophy.

Unfortunately, the touted Road to Glory mode, while more streamlined than Dynasty, doesn’t give users enough to do over its shorter career span. At first, this exercise of allocating experience points to improve on-field performance seems enjoyable. But tasks like improving academics and resting injuries quickly become a week-to-week slog, more busywork than play. Likewise, the limited Road to the CFP mode will appeal to those who want bragging rights, but there’s little to do beyond seeing a name on leaderboards. With more attention, this could become a legitimate mode for those seeking to achieve online immortality, but there’s still room to expand it into something deeper than just a ranking.

As expected, College Football 25 features its own Ultimate Team mode, which is identical to the countless revisions we’ve seen in Madden over the years. For users into card collecting, trading, and yes, spending to build an unbeatable squad there are no surprises to be had, other than some moderate challenges to break up the grind. While I probably need to get with the times and accept these modes as part of gaming reality, here it seems redundant, rather than necessary.

Online, the game performed flawlessly during my testing, with no lag or latency. Lobbies were easy to navigate, and games started quickly. It allowed me to recreate my favorite college matchups, playing with my favorite college roommate. Only now, 1,300 miles separated us, even though the conversations and laughs remained the same.

And that perfectly illustrates the bigger point. To fans like me, College Football 25 is about as pure a gaming experience as there is. It wasn’t an online leaderboard or card-collecting mode that made fans beg EA Sports to bring back college football. It was the memories of trash talking on the couch, and recreating a rivalry. It was figuring out those spam plays and finally shutting them down. It was a throwback to gaming’s roots when higher scores were all people needed to enjoy themselves.

I could belabor this review with more examples, but in the end, there’s only one key takeaway — College Football 25 delivers on the memories I just listed, alongside countless others. And I can’t wait to see where the series goes from here.

Score: 9 out of 10


Disclosures: This game is published by EA Sports and developed by EA Orlando. It is available on XBX/S and PS5. This game copy was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the XBX. Approximately 15 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was not completed. Approximately 5 hours of play were devoted to online multiplayer.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated E. This is a realistic representation of full-contact college football, and some tackling animations and injuries may concern some parents.

Colorblind Modes: Colorblind modes are available in the Game Settings menu.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: College Football 25 features subtitles, speech-to-text, and numerous tactile feedback features in all modes. The game is easily playable without sound and is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: No, the game’s controls are not remappable.

Now Playing at SUPERJUMP, Issue 25

Now Playing at SUPERJUMP, Issue 25

We're back with another issue of Now Playing at SUPERJUMP, and this one marks the quarter-century point! We've gone monthly with this format, giving our writers the time to truly sink into the games they're playing. True to form, they've been toiling away at a wildly eclectic and diverse set of games, and they're dying to tell you about them! Enjoy this week's entries and we'll see you back here soon with more recommendations and odes to the games we love!

Charlotte Huston

I finished a replay of Portal 2 the other day and I was impressed at how well it still holds up; it's the pinnacle of the puzzle genre to me. The way it respects your time, and keeps you engaged is genius, since it gives the player a reason to want to complete all the puzzles in their way.

The main thing I've been playing is Disco Elysium. I'm not the biggest CRPG person, but Disco Elysium presents itself in such a way that I've been thoroughly enjoying it. It somehow manages to be utterly engaging almost immediately. I really couldn't bring myself to look away from it, and I was utterly enthralled by its writing and atmosphere. I do think getting into the world-building is a tad hard to wrap your head around since this is a fictional town with fictional countries and history. I've had an issue trying to establish that in my head from what the game gives you.

Beyond that, I've thoroughly enjoyed what I've played of Disco Elysium so far. I'd highly recommend playing it but without any prior knowledge. This feels like something you just need to play and experience for yourself. It feels like a visual novel a lot of the time despite being a CRPG, especially since the dice rolls don't feel intrusive. Sometimes you'll have to fail a dice roll in order to figure out what to do next, and I think that just shows how good the game is at putting the player in their world right away while making sure they feel comfortable and not overwhelmed at all. I can't wait to play more of it.

I also intend to play Star Wars: Bounty Hunter's re-release after a friend gifted it as a birthday present, really looking forward to that as well.

Now Playing at SUPERJUMP, Issue 25
Source: Press Kit.

C.S. Voll

I finished 428: Shibuya Scramble's main story and most of its side routes, bonus stories, and bad endings. It's easy to see why Famitsu gave the game a 40/40 review score back in the day; it convinces you to care about all the characters, including the ones that are initially quite irritating, too. The team accomplished that largely through still photos and text; quite the accomplishment. It really goes to show that, no matter how you tell it, a good story can elevate an experience. It must have been a mammoth effort to fill out all those branching storylines on a board (my playing time clocked in at over 30 hours, and I didn't even complete everything).

Now onto another visual novel: Steins;Gate. I first encountered Okabe's story through the anime, when I was much younger. Back then, I was about the same age as the protagonist, and I admired his frenetic, mad scientist energy. Now, playing the game with a couple of years of added life experience, I kind of feel sad when I watch him act out his delusions at the start. It's interesting how the passage of time can change one's perception of a complicated character. It's still a special, if somewhat melancholic experience to revisit this story in a different form, though. When I started up the game for the first time, the distinctive notes of the theme song played, and I had to sit back and soak it all in for a moment. This is going to be quite a ride.

Now Playing at SUPERJUMP, Issue 25
Abiotic Factor. Source: IGDB.

Taylor Levesque

If 7 Days to Die and Half-Life had a baby, it’d be Abiotic Factor. Recently my husband and I have been trying this game out, and we are absolutely loving it! It’s an Early-Access game that’s still in the works, and the Deep Field Games team is actively looking for feedback to improve it. I’ve already gone and convinced a few family members to get it because I was already having so much fun.

As you may have guessed by my description – or from what you've maybe even seen in screenshots or videos – this game is survival-by-crafting. You’re a scientist (or group of scientists) trapped in a research facility, aliens are on the loose, and you’ll need to use everything at your disposal to craft your way to survival. Cook up some dead aliens to keep from starving, get enough sleep, find sources of clean water, and ensure you can find a toilet in time, all while destroying anything in sight that you think you can use to make your next big invention. It may sound simple, but good gods, it is addictive.

Priya Sridhar

I started playing Princess Peach Showtime! and am having a blast. Part of me wants to make some of the cookies that she assembles and bakes in the Festival of Sweets. Also, I can dive into another world with my basic gaming skillset and receive a lot of forgiveness for failing to dodge or jump at the right time.

Now Playing at SUPERJUMP, Issue 25
KinitoPET. Source: IGDB.

Ignas Vieversys

Besides continuously getting my ass handed to me by the creatures of The Realm of Shadow - special shoutout goes to Bayle The Dread, the Brobdingnagian proto dragon, the ugly sibling of Deathwing with broken hitboxes, who made me change my entire gear and took around 40 attempts in total, but rewarded me with one of the most epic boss fights so far (Shadow of the Erdtree players don't miss out on this!) - this month I've been playing KinitoPET.

For those who don't watch Nexpo religiously, KinitoPET is a little horror game inspired by BonziBUDDY, the infamous desktop virtual assistant from the 90s (think Clippy but more sinister and hairy). The game can be finished in an hour or two (there are multiple endings, as per the tradition of other fantastic fourth-wall-breakers like Pony Island and IMSCARED), but the tricks that KinitoPET pulls off in that short time - like turning on your webcam and opening the command prompt - do make you uneasy in the best possible way, especially if you're playing this alone in the dark (my salute to those daredevils). One piece of advice: go into this experience blind. Don't watch any walkthroughs, nor read any reviews - just download KinitoPET, have a glass of holy water by your side (just in case), and start the game.

If you love the cheap thrills of obscure horror games as much as I do, this one will blow your socks off. The most insane part is that KinitoPET was created by a high school student with no prior coding or interactive design experience if we were to believe that one Reddit interview. As a person who went through a game design course myself, to see people work full time on much lesser projects with additional help from experienced developers, I'm both in awe of the young lad and frankly, a bit scared. If he was able to make some players believe that KinitoPET is an actual virus as a first-time developer, who knows what thrilling horrors await us in the future?

Now Playing at SUPERJUMP, Issue 25
Source: KnightNews.com

Bryan Finck

Having polished off Dave the Diver not long after the last "Now Playing..." was published, I immediately jumped to another highly acclaimed title in my backlog - Tunic. I'd heard great things about the game while it was still an Xbox console-exclusive title, and I've been dying to get to it ever since it came to PS Plus. I'm happy to say it didn't disappoint, and I quite enjoyed getting one of several endings to the game's story. Though I found the game's main gimmick of playing rather blindly while you discover the instruction manual to be new and refreshing, it led to some WTF moments that seemed too cute by half. The minute-to-minute gameplay was almost always great though, and for me that is what matters most. I enjoyed my time with it and I can't ask more than that.

My most anticipated game of the year was EA Sports College Football '25. As a college football wonk and devotee of the games before their 11-year hiatus, I was beyond excited for the game to return. That said, I've barely played it because I was trying to finish Tunic, which I suppose is quite the recommendation for the diminutive fox and company. Now that I've had time to jump in though, the gridiron simulation is all I had hoped for and more. The on-field gameplay is a bit tougher than I remembered, which is appropriate, as defense can be a challenge even against "lesser" teams both in the game and in real life. Dynasty mode is where I'll spend most of my time, leading my beloved UCF Knights to an eventual College Football Playoff Championship with a side of world domination. Definitely pick it up if you're a fan of the sport.

Last but not least, the horrific reviews of the Borderlands film led me to jump back into Borderlands 2, which I started in 2020 and never finished. So now I'm (hopefully) about to face Handsome Jack for the final time, and I'm remembering why I loved (and occasionally hated) the game. Wave after wave of enemies can feel punishing to the extreme, but blasting them to bits is always mechanically pleasing. With death a mere blip with no real consequences, and each new weapon gives that sweet loot-filled hit of dopamine when you need it most. I wanted an FPS fix in the extreme and Gearbox's sequel hit the spot just right.


Be sure to tell us what you're playing in the comments and check back next month for more of what our team is getting into

NBA 2K25 Play Now Online Mode Is Getting an Update

Holy crap, 2K is actually updating Play Now Online (PNO) in NBA 2K25. We’re not even sure if it’s a good update, but they’re actually changing the mode. This confirms 2K does know the mode still exists.

KG, hit ’em with it!

To be clear, I’m not even quite sure how this new system will work, but let me take you through what 2K put together on the PlayStation Blog. We’re going back to a ranking system with what I assume to be matchmaking within those tiers. So you’ll battle through Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and then hit the GOAT tier. Assuming enough people are playing, I would think 2K will always try to match a Bronze player with another Bronze player and so on.

You will be accruing Victory Points with wins that eventually add up to get you to the next tier, but it’s not clear if you will lose points with a loss. In other words, I don’t know if just grinding out wins will get you through these tiers regardless of how many losses you rack up, but my guess is total wins will be all that matters.

As you get to new tiers, you also get more teams to select (you start with just the 30 NBA teams):

  • Bronze to Silver: Unlocks ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s eras teams
  • Silver to Gold: Unlocks 2000s era teams
  • Gold to Platinum: Unlocks 2010s era teams
  • Platinum to GOAT: Unlocks a GOATED Team (new GOATED team each Season)

The biggest change is that you can only use the same team once every five games. Is that a good thing? I’m not sure, but the thinking is probably that you see so few teams in PNO that maybe this gets people out of their comfort zone and “proves” who is actually good with more than just the meta teams. I play and talk about PNO with some other sickos on OS, and we have some who are so steadfast about never leveling up out of the initial tier in order to avoid some of the classic cheese squads.

The same concept from old PNO versions where you are rewarded for using lesser squads does apply here as you’ll get more Victory Points by winning with crappier squads.

  • Tier 1 – Win with one of the top 10 overall-rated teams in the NBA to receive the smallest amount of Victory Points
  • Tier 2 – Win with teams ranked 11-20 overall to receive the medium amount of Victory Points
  • Tier 3 – Win with teams ranked 21-30 overall to receive the largest amount of Victory Points

However, I’m not sure what makes up those 30 teams once you’re out of the initial Bronze tier because I would think you can still use the standard NBA teams in all the tiers. Again, I’m just guessing, but maybe the top 20 teams are figured out depending on your tier and every team after 20 is in that Tier 3 group even as the selectable squads balloon well past 30.

It’s also not clear if teams get “blacked out” after you use them, or you can still use them but you just won’t accrue the Victory Points if you win with them during that five-game cooldown period. Finally, I don’t know what you do with the “all-time teams” you unlock when you get to GOAT tier. Yes, it’s bragging rights, but do I then get to use those teams once every five games?

Whatever the case may be, if these changes get some more people in the PNO pool, I’ll be all for it. Of course, the biggest thing I wish they’d add is a way for us to play with WNBA teams in a PNO environment (give us our own league for it, who cares if it’s just the current WNBA teams!), but it seems like 2K just does not want us to play with WNBA teams online for some reason.

The post NBA 2K25 Play Now Online Mode Is Getting an Update appeared first on Operation Sports.

NBA 2K25 Player Ratings Week - Top 51 - 70 Players 

Yesterday, 2K revealed the top 71-100 rated players in NBA 2K25. Ratings week continues today with the top 51-70. Last week, the team highlighted various attribute ratings, showcasing the top 5 in three-point shooting, ball handling, steals, dunks and more, along with ratings for WNBA players and rookies.

Let's keep the #NBA2KTop100 going with 20 more players 🔥 pic.twitter.com/qsQbhIFy7y

— NBA 2K (@NBA2K) August 20, 2024

NBA 2K25 releases on September 6 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC. Fans who purchase before September 6 can play up to two days early, starting on Wednesday, September 4 at 5 AM ET. Players who previously pre-ordered any edition on compatible platforms at participating retailers are automatically eligible for the Early Tip-Off benefit. The PC version will have feature parity with the Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 version of the game.

The post NBA 2K25 Player Ratings Week - Top 51 - 70 Players  appeared first on Operation Sports.

NBA 2K25 Player Ratings Week - Top 71 - 100 Players

2K is set to reveal the top 100 players in NBA 2K25 this week, starting today with the announcement of players ranked 71 through 100. Last week, the team shared some attribute ratings, highlighting the top 5 in three point shooting, handles, steals, dunks and more, as well as WNBA and rookie ratings.

🗣 The #NBA2KTop100 starts NOW!

Drop your takes on this first group of #NBA2K25 ratings ✍ pic.twitter.com/0sIWbLXdHt

— NBA 2K (@NBA2K) August 19, 2024

NBA 2K25 releases on September 6 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC. Fans who purchase before September 6 can play up to two days early, starting on Wednesday, September 4 at 5 AM ET. Players who previously pre-ordered any edition on compatible platforms at participating retailers are automatically eligible for the Early Tip-Off benefit. The PC version will have feature parity with the Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 version of the game.

The post NBA 2K25 Player Ratings Week - Top 71 - 100 Players appeared first on Operation Sports.

NBA 2K25 Play Now updates and new PS5 Digital Edition – 2K25 Bundle revealed

The recent NBA offseason captured headlines with some of the league’s biggest stars shining overseas and others taking their talents to new teams via trade and free agency; as a result, you may be itching to play with your new-look squad in NBA 2K25’s Play Now mode. When you hit the court in the latest iteration of the NBA 2K franchise September 4, 5am PST on PS5 and PS4, experience a bevy of enhancements across all of NBA 2K25’s competitive game modes, including Play Now Online* featuring the return of Leagues, an overhauled leaderboard and ranking system, and more! 

We also have first details on the PS5 Digital Edition – NBA 2K25 Bundle**, coming soon on September 4.

Whether you’re playing solo or with a friend, the classic Play Now mode is the quickest way to jump into the action and start throwing down thunderous dunks in a traditional head-to-head format. Choose from current NBA teams updated with active rosters, or pay homage to basketball’s legends with iconic rosters from the past. While you’ll immediately have the pick of the litter in offline Play Now, the rules of Play Now Online are slightly different.

The biggest change to Play Now Online is the return of Leagues, a five-level ranking system with Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and GOAT to determine your skill level. Every player will begin at the Bronze level and have all 30 current NBA teams to choose from, but in order to gain access to the expanded list, you’ll need to level up.

  • Bronze to Silver: Unlocks ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s eras teams
  • Silver to Gold: Unlocks 2000s era teams
  • Gold to Platinum: Unlocks 2010s era teams
  • Platinum to GOAT: Unlocks a GOATED Team (new GOATED team each Season)

To advance from Bronze to Silver and so on, you’ll need to accrue enough Victory Points by winning to move on. But there’s a catch: in NBA 2K25, you’ll only be able to use the same team once every five games, or until you level up to the next League. As much fun as it would be to dominate every game with the Boston Celtics, there’s an added incentive for using a lesser-ranked squad.

Leagues use overall ratings to group teams into three tiers to quantify how the Victory Points are awarded. Take a look below:

  • Tier 1 – Win with one of the top 10 overall-rated teams in the NBA to receive the smallest amount of Victory Points
  • Tier 2 – Win with teams ranked 11-20 overall to receive the medium amount of Victory Points
  • Tier 3 – Win with teams ranked 21-30 overall to receive the largest amount of Victory Points

The pursuit of victory is the ultimate goal in Play Now Online, but leveling up comes with its own set of bragging rights. Players who accrue enough points in the GOAT League will receive a VC prize, an All-time Team, and Prestige for completing the GOAT League. In addition, players who rank in the Top 100 players will receive an in-game logo, visible to all players, to show off their achievement.

Play Now Online in NBA 2K25 maintains the same authentic feel it always has, but this year it’s been refreshed with significant changes to add another layer of competitive fun for you to enjoy. The simpler, cleaner UI makes understanding the new progression system easy for all skill levels, and adds to the overall intuitive nature of Play Now.

We can’t wait for you to experience Play Now Online and all of the other enhancements in NBA 2K25 coming September 4 to PS5 and PS4. 

PS5 Console – NBA 2K25 Bundle

We’re also excited to announce the PS5 Digital Edition – NBA 2K25 Bundle coming soon on September 4. 

Experience on-the-court immersion made possible by the DualSense wireless controller’s haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. Explore NBA 2K25’s more intimate City environment with 4K resolution***. Enjoy shortened load times and return to the action faster than ever with the PS5 console’s high-speed SSD. The PS5 Digital Edition – NBA 2K25 Bundle includes:

  • PlayStation 5 Digital Edition
  • DualSense wireless controller
  • 2 Horizontal stand feet
  • HDMI cable
  • AC power cord
  • USB cable
  • Printed materials
  • Astro’s Playroom (Pre-installed game. PS5 console may need to be updated to the latest system software version. Internet connection required.)
  • NBA 2K25 Standard Edition voucher1

1Account for PlayStation Network and internet connection required to redeem voucher.

* PlayStation Plus subscription and internet connection required for online gameplay. PlayStation Plus is an ongoing subscription subject to a recurring subscription fee taken automatically (at the then-current PS Store price) at the frequency you choose until cancellation. Terms apply, see play.st/psplus-usageterms. 

** The PS5 Digital Edition – NBA2K25 bundle is available in US and Canada at select retailers only. Subject to availability. Available from 12am local time on September 4. NBA 2K25 purchased through a bundle will not be accessible until the official launch of NBA 2K25 on September 4 at 5 AM PST.

*** 4K and HDR require a 4K and HDR compatible TV or display.

Is IShowSpeed in Madden NFL 25?

IShowSpeed is a famous internet personality who has taken the internet by storm in the last couple of years. He is a streamer and a content creator on YouTube who is quite popular among the younger generation. His enthusiastic and often overdramatic persona on YouTube has amassed him a very large following across various social media platforms. If you browse through social media frequently, then chances are that you’ve seen a few of his clips that are floating around on the internet every now and then.

From everything that he does, IShowSpeed is most well-known for playing a variety of video games on his stream. He’s a big sports fan in general who loves playing the newest sports video games. Madden 25 just released this August, and so you might be wondering whether IShowSpeed is in the latest installation of the most famous American football video game series.

 Is IShowSpeed in Madden NFL 25?

Managing Players menu

Unfortunately, IShowSpeed is not available as a playable character in Madden NFL 25. He is not signed to any of the teams and is not affiliated with the video game series itself, so the American internet personality is not present in any capacity in Madden NFL 25.

However, if you are a massive IShowSpeed fan, and you would really love to play as him or include him in your favorite team in Madden NFL 25, then you don’t need to worry. You can still make a custom player that resembles IShowSpeed very closely, down to every physical detail. Speed may not be available as a ready-to-play or pre-made player, but that doesn’t mean you cannot enjoy the game the way you want to.

Create Your Own Player

The ‘create your own player’ feature in the Madden NFL series allows you to recreate all of your favorite celebrities and influencers in animated form. You could even change some parts of their appearance, such as their hair color if you wish to. This feature allows you to be as creative and adventurous as you want to be in your Madden NFL experience.

The Players and Uniforms option found within the Creation Center

To create your own player in Madden 25, you will need to head over to the Creation Center and select the Players and Uniforms option.

Selecting the Create A Player option

Once you’ve done that, you can open up the character creation menu by selecting the Create A Player option. When creating a player in this game, you can customize pretty much everything related to them. So you can create IShowSpeed and play him in any position you want.

It will surely take you some time and effort to accurately portray them on your end, but the final result will be worth it. Soon, you will be able to dominate the football fields as IShowSpeed himself! If you don’t like a character you’ve created, you can delete it and start over. Make sure you check out our guide on how to delete your player in Superstar mode.

The post Is IShowSpeed in Madden NFL 25? appeared first on Games Fuze.

Madden 25: How to Delete Player in Superstar | Remove My Avatar in Superstar Mode

This ambitious American football simulator called Madden 25 is also jam-packed with various game modes to jump into. Among these game modes, you’ll be able to find the Superstar mode. In this player-driven mode, you create your very own NFL player. You can customize your player’s physical appearance and decide on their archetype, which will determine the abilities they will be able to possess.

If you don’t like the player you create here, you can also delete it or remove it to create a new one. In this guide, we will be looking at what you need to do in order to delete your player from the game.

Deleting your Player or Avatar in Superstar Mode

Getting rid of an unwanted player is pretty easy and can be done in no time at all.

Superstar mode

To delete your player in the Superstar mode, you will need to enter the mode through the Superstar option found in the main menu.

Using the Y button to Swap Avatar

Once you are inside, look at the bottom left of your screen to see the swap avatar option. Press the input button depicted on the left of the swap avatar option (This will vary depending on your platform)  to open the player or avatar settings.

Selecting a player inside the Superstar mode that you want to delete.

Lastly, select the player or avatar file you would wish to delete and press the input button for delete shown once again at the bottom left of your screen. Once you do that, you will be given a warning that asks you if you’re sure you want to delete this file. Select yes to delete the file.

If the player you deleted was a quarterback, then you will be able to create a new quarterback in their place.

So there you have it, a quick and easy guide on how to delete/remove your player in the Superstar mode. For more related to Madden 25, You can check out our guide on how to download Custom Draft Classes.

The post Madden 25: How to Delete Player in Superstar | Remove My Avatar in Superstar Mode appeared first on Games Fuze.

Madden 25: How to Change Animations in Superstar Mode | New Celebration & Interception Animations

Like all of the other entries in the franchise, Madden 25 comes equipped with a ton of cool animations that help elevate the immersive experience the game provides. From celebrations to interceptions, there are a ton of different animation options that you can choose from while playing the game. So how do you change animations in Madden 25?

In this guide, we will be looking at exactly what you need to do to change animations in Madden 25. Alongside all the returning animation, Madden 25 also features several different new animations that you can unlock and use.

How to Change Animations in Superstar Mode

Customize option inside Superstar mode

All customization related to your player can be done through the Customize option found inside the Superstar game mode.

The animations tab inside Customize

Once you are inside Customize, switch over to Animations to access all of the customization options related to animation. From here you can choose which animations you want to change.

Animations you can unlock

So if you click on Celebrations for example, you will be able to see all of the different celebration animations that are usable in the game. If you are just starting your journey in Madden 25, then most of the celebrations here will be locked for you.

You can unlock a celebration using the blue creds that you get by simply playing the game. If you don’t have blue creds on you, you can also unlock them using the game’s premium points currency. When deciding which animation to unlock, you can hover over them to get a short preview of them. This should help you make your decision and ensure you don’t waste your hard-earned creds and points.

So there’s that, a complete guide on how to change animations in Madden 25. Madden 25 has a ton of other customization options available to you alongside the different animations. One of them being the ability to import community-made custom draft teams. Make sure you check out our guide on how to download custom draft teams for more on that.

The post Madden 25: How to Change Animations in Superstar Mode | New Celebration & Interception Animations appeared first on Games Fuze.

Trailer na EA Sports FC 25 podrobně popisují režim kariéry a Ultimate Team

ea sports fc 25 image 7

S blížícím se zářijovým vydáním EA Sports FC 25 pokračuje společnost EA ve vydávání nových upoutávek, které odhalují podrobnosti o různých aspektech připravovaného fotbalového simulátoru. V nově vydaných upoutávkách společnost zaměřila pozornost na dva největší režimy série – Ultimate Team a režim kariéry.

Ultimate Team se podrobně věnuje tomu, jak letošní režim implementuje nové funkce a doplňky v podobě nové hry 5v5 Rush, stejně jako dříve podrobně popsanému taktickému systému FC IQ a novým rolím hráčů. Hráči se mohou těšit i na různá další vylepšení, jako jsou nové sestřihy přenosů ze zápasů, rozšířené kosmetické možnosti hráčů, odstranění kontraktů a další.

Hluboký ponor do režimu kariéry mezitím hovoří také o výše zmíněných hlavních novinkách, jako je Rush, FC IQ a role hráčů, a o tom, jak ovlivní kariéru hráče i manažera, a dále o vylepšeních v plánech rozvoje hráčů, skautingu a rozvoji mládeže, tiskových konferencích a morálce hráčů a dalších.

Další klíčovou novinkou v letošním režimu kariéry je možnost spravovat ženský tým v pěti dostupných prvoligových soutěžích a také nové Live Start Points, které vám umožní naskočit do sezóny 2024/25 během libovolného herního týdne, přičemž hra bude reflektovat aktuální bodový zisk, příběhy, statistiky a další údaje z právě probíhající sezóny v reálném světě. Očekávat můžete také nové elegantní nabídky, nové možnosti přizpůsobení a další. Další podrobnosti najdete v níže uvedených upoutávkách.

EA Sports FC 25 vychází 27. září pro PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch a PC.

Článek Trailer na EA Sports FC 25 podrobně popisují režim kariéry a Ultimate Team se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

Chytré kamery Tapo C125 a C225 – Vaši domácí pomocníci a strážci

chytre-kamery-tapo-c125-a-c225-–-vasi-domaci-pomocnici-a-strazci

Tapo C225 US 2.0 product lifestyle 02

Představte si malé, ale výkonné přístroje, které dokáží nejen hlídat váš domov, ale také monitorovat vaše děti nebo domácí mazlíčky, a navíc je můžete ovládat hlasově pomocí Apple Home. Přesně to vám nabídnou chytré bezpečnostní kamery Tapo C125 a Tapo C225 od TP-Link, které vám přinesou klid a bezpečí, ať jste kdekoliv.

Vysoká kvalita obrazu za všech podmínek

Se širokoúhlým obrazem o rozlišení 2K QHD vám neunikne jediný detail. Obě kamery zachytí vše ve vysoké kvalitě, a to i za zhoršených světelných podmínek. V noci lze monitorovat okolí pomocí červeného IR LED světla nebo neviditelného IR režimu, abyste červeným světlem nerušili spánek svých blízkých. Model C225 navíc disponuje barevným nočním viděním pro ještě lepší viditelnost v temnotě.

Pokročilé funkce pro váš klid a bezpečí

Tyto malé krasavice nejsou jen tak ledajaké. Obě jsou vybaveny pokročilými AI funkcemi, které rozpoznají osoby, domácí mazlíčky i neobvyklé zvuky, jako je pláč nebo štěkot. Okamžitě vás na tyto situace upozorní, ať už jste kdekoliv. Zároveň dbají na vaše soukromí. Disponují fyzickou krytkou na objektiv, kterou můžete kdykoli aktivovat a zamezit tak nežádoucímu sledování. A když už budete chtít monitorovat svůj domov, můžete si nastavit virtuální zóny a detekci překročení čáry pro maximální kontrolu.

Model C225 přidává další užitečné funkce, jako je vestavěná siréna pro odstrašení potenciálních vetřelců a schopnost otáčení a naklápění pro 360° pokrytí prostoru.

Tapo C225 US 2.0 product lifestyle 02
Zdroj: Tapo

Snadná instalace a ovládání

Obě chytré kamerky se vyznačují opravdu jednoduchým nastavením. Tapo C225 je bezdrátová a Tapo C125 disponuje silnou magnetickou základnou a dlouhým napájecím kabelem, přičemž obě mají kompaktní rozměry, takže je snadno umístíte kamkoliv. Stačí je jen připojit k Wi-Fi a skrze aplikaci Tapo můžete sledovat vše živě i z mobilu nebo tabletu. Nechybí ani hlasové ovládání prostřednictvím Apple Home, Alexa a Google Home. K ukládání záznamů lze využít microSD kartu s kapacitou až 512 GB nebo placené cloudové úložiště Tapo Care.

Vzájemná komunikace

Obě kamery jsou vybaveny obousměrným audiem, které vám umožní nejen slyšet, co se děje ve vašem domově, ale také komunikovat s lidmi nebo domácími mazlíčky pomocí vestavěného reproduktoru a mikrofonu.

Overview
Zdroj: TP-Link

Volba podle vašich potřeb

Ať už zvolíte model Tapo C125 pro menší prostory a základní monitoring, nebo se rozhodnete pro pokročilejší Tapo C225 s rozšířenými funkcemi, obě kamery vám poskytnou špičkovou kvalitu obrazu a pokročilé AI funkce pro maximální bezpečnost vašeho domova. Díky propracovaným funkcím, vysokému rozlišení a důrazu na soukromí se tyto chytré kamery stanou vašimi nepostradatelnými pomocníky, s nimiž získáte klid a jistotu, že váš domov je pod neustálým dohledem, ať už jste kdekoliv.

Článek Chytré kamery Tapo C125 a C225 – Vaši domácí pomocníci a strážci se nejdříve objevil na MOBILE PRESS.

Článek Chytré kamery Tapo C125 a C225 – Vaši domácí pomocníci a strážci se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

NBA 2K25 Play Now updates and new PS5 Digital Edition – 2K25 Bundle revealed

The recent NBA offseason captured headlines with some of the league’s biggest stars shining overseas and others taking their talents to new teams via trade and free agency; as a result, you may be itching to play with your new-look squad in NBA 2K25’s Play Now mode. When you hit the court in the latest iteration of the NBA 2K franchise September 4, 5am PST on PS5 and PS4, experience a bevy of enhancements across all of NBA 2K25’s competitive game modes, including Play Now Online* featuring the return of Leagues, an overhauled leaderboard and ranking system, and more! 

We also have first details on the PS5 Digital Edition – NBA 2K25 Bundle**, coming soon on September 4.

Whether you’re playing solo or with a friend, the classic Play Now mode is the quickest way to jump into the action and start throwing down thunderous dunks in a traditional head-to-head format. Choose from current NBA teams updated with active rosters, or pay homage to basketball’s legends with iconic rosters from the past. While you’ll immediately have the pick of the litter in offline Play Now, the rules of Play Now Online are slightly different.

The biggest change to Play Now Online is the return of Leagues, a five-level ranking system with Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and GOAT to determine your skill level. Every player will begin at the Bronze level and have all 30 current NBA teams to choose from, but in order to gain access to the expanded list, you’ll need to level up.

  • Bronze to Silver: Unlocks ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s eras teams
  • Silver to Gold: Unlocks 2000s era teams
  • Gold to Platinum: Unlocks 2010s era teams
  • Platinum to GOAT: Unlocks a GOATED Team (new GOATED team each Season)

To advance from Bronze to Silver and so on, you’ll need to accrue enough Victory Points by winning to move on. But there’s a catch: in NBA 2K25, you’ll only be able to use the same team once every five games, or until you level up to the next League. As much fun as it would be to dominate every game with the Boston Celtics, there’s an added incentive for using a lesser-ranked squad.

Leagues use overall ratings to group teams into three tiers to quantify how the Victory Points are awarded. Take a look below:

  • Tier 1 – Win with one of the top 10 overall-rated teams in the NBA to receive the smallest amount of Victory Points
  • Tier 2 – Win with teams ranked 11-20 overall to receive the medium amount of Victory Points
  • Tier 3 – Win with teams ranked 21-30 overall to receive the largest amount of Victory Points

The pursuit of victory is the ultimate goal in Play Now Online, but leveling up comes with its own set of bragging rights. Players who accrue enough points in the GOAT League will receive a VC prize, an All-time Team, and Prestige for completing the GOAT League. In addition, players who rank in the Top 100 players will receive an in-game logo, visible to all players, to show off their achievement.

Play Now Online in NBA 2K25 maintains the same authentic feel it always has, but this year it’s been refreshed with significant changes to add another layer of competitive fun for you to enjoy. The simpler, cleaner UI makes understanding the new progression system easy for all skill levels, and adds to the overall intuitive nature of Play Now.

We can’t wait for you to experience Play Now Online and all of the other enhancements in NBA 2K25 coming September 4 to PS5 and PS4. 

PS5 Console – NBA 2K25 Bundle

We’re also excited to announce the PS5 Digital Edition – NBA 2K25 Bundle coming soon on September 4. 

Experience on-the-court immersion made possible by the DualSense wireless controller’s haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. Explore NBA 2K25’s more intimate City environment with 4K resolution***. Enjoy shortened load times and return to the action faster than ever with the PS5 console’s high-speed SSD. The PS5 Digital Edition – NBA 2K25 Bundle includes:

  • PlayStation 5 Digital Edition
  • DualSense wireless controller
  • 2 Horizontal stand feet
  • HDMI cable
  • AC power cord
  • USB cable
  • Printed materials
  • Astro’s Playroom (Pre-installed game. PS5 console may need to be updated to the latest system software version. Internet connection required.)
  • NBA 2K25 Standard Edition voucher1

1Account for PlayStation Network and internet connection required to redeem voucher.

* PlayStation Plus subscription and internet connection required for online gameplay. PlayStation Plus is an ongoing subscription subject to a recurring subscription fee taken automatically (at the then-current PS Store price) at the frequency you choose until cancellation. Terms apply, see play.st/psplus-usageterms. 

** The PS5 Digital Edition – NBA2K25 bundle is available in US and Canada at select retailers only. Subject to availability. Available from 12am local time on September 4. NBA 2K25 purchased through a bundle will not be accessible until the official launch of NBA 2K25 on September 4 at 5 AM PST.

*** 4K and HDR require a 4K and HDR compatible TV or display.

How to use future draft classes in Madden NFL 25 Franchise mode

An image of Madden NFL 25

In Madden NFL 25's Franchise mode, it's possible to play with prospects who are expected to appear in future draft classes.

Thanks to the Team Builder website, which is available to all for free, you can play with custom squads. There are already some wonderful creations themed around them, and some involve future rookies. That said, importing them into a Franchise mode can be tricky if you haven't done it in previous Madden titles.

How to download future draft classes in Madden NFL 25

The Download Center will be your best friend (unless you want to sit and create the entire future draft class).

  • Start and load the game.
  • From the main menu, go to the first option under Download Center.
  • Here, a host of different types of downloads will be available for free. The one you're looking for will be featured as Rosters.
  • When I accessed this section, I could already find 2025 and 2026 draft classes with several downloads from the community.
  • Just select one, and it will be downloaded. You can check this under the "My Downloads" section.

This completes the first part of the task.

An image of Madden NFL 25
Image via Destructoid

How to load future draft classes in Madden NFL 25

For this part, you'll need a new save file.

  • From the Download Center, go to the last option.
  • Here, you can load your custom files. Load the one you downloaded with a future draft class.
  • Create a new Franchise mode save.
  • Make sure to choose a custom squad instead of using a default one.

This will automatically load your custom squad file containing future draft prospects. Do remember that the community makes all such files. There might be a chance of something going wrong in your save in the future (it might not happen, but fair warning nevertheless).

The post How to use future draft classes in Madden NFL 25 Franchise mode appeared first on Destructoid.

Tornáda i mláďata hospodářských zvířat ve Farming Simulatoru 25 - INDIAN

U příležitosti Gamescomu v Kolíně nad Rýnem přineslo švýcarské studio Giants Software první gameplay trailer. Ten odhaluje některé z novinek, na které se můžeme těšit ve Farming Simulatoru 25.

Těmito novinkami jsou dva nové typy zvířat. Domácí buvoli a kozy produkují nové druhy mléka. Ve výrobních řetězcích z takového mléka můžete vyrobit lahodné sýry a prodávat je. Zvířata také mohou produkovat potomky. Roztomilá mláďata můžete poté sledovat v ohradách, jak se učí chodit a rostou do produktivních hospodářských zvířat.

V rámci efektů a deformace terénu dojde na bouřky. Tmavé mraky mohou s sebou přinést menší tornáda a kroupy. Před těmito rozmary počasí je nutné zabezpečit všechny balíky, které ještě nemáte pod střechou. Také musíte počítat s tím, že může dojít ke zničení části polí a lesů, jak ukazuje nové video z americké mapy Riverbend Springs, kterou si můžete detailně prohlédnout v nedávné galerii. Pokud by vám to příliš vadilo, můžete v nastavení hry zničení plodin deaktivovat.

Farming Simulator 25 vyjde 12. listopadu/novembra letošního roku na PC, PlayStation 5 a Xbox Series X/S. Už dříve byly potvrzeny české titulky.

Madden 25 Review – Moving the Sticks

Madden 25 on PS5

We’re seeing an injection of fresh life into this year’s Madden thanks to the return of college football with EA Sports College Football 25’s release. The college football franchise comes off an 11-year hiatus, tying nicely into Madden 25’s pro football package. But the return of college football can only do so much for Madden 25, as this year’s experience feels more like a mechanical iteration from past entries rather than a comprehensive overhaul.

Surprisingly, the biggest innovations in this year’s Madden are found in nitty-gritty gameplay details rather than in modes or presentation. EA has been proudly campaigning its new BOOM Tech physics suite; a physics package that incorporates realistic tackles and individualized player movements. By extension, the iconic Madden Hit Stick has been re-engineered so that you can control your tackles through risk/reward hit timings. I’m a terrible tackler in these games and even I found the Hit Stick timings to be intuitive and fun to pull off, even if it sometimes resulted in the carrier breaking through a poorly timed hit.

Galaxy S25 and VR headset to share design elements and features

In case you forgot, we're supposed to be going through a new AR and VR revolution, except we're not. The Vision Pro, Apple's first mixed reality (XR) headset, hasn't reshaped the market how many thought it would. And soon, it will be Samsung's turn to have another try at the virtual and augmented reality market. Will it succeed?

There's no way to tell how things will go for Samsung and its two major partners, Qualcomm and Google. It's hard to predict how the XR market will evolve or change and which manufacturer will finally manage to bring this technology truly into the mainstream.

Nevertheless, Samsung, Qualcomm, and Google say they're working on the “next XR experience.” And according to tipster @UniverseIce, the tentatively named ‘Galaxy XR' has some things in common with the upcoming Galaxy S25 flagship phone.

Galaxy XR and Galaxy S25 have common DNA

According to the latest rumor, “some of the design and features of the Galaxy S25 take into account the Galaxy XR.” It's unclear what this means exactly, and it would be easy to assume that the source hints at a Gear VR kind of experience where the phone powers the headset.

However, every leak and rumor so far says otherwise. The Galaxy XR should be a stand-alone device with its own processing hardware and power source, as well as a 3500ppi OLEDoS screen developed by Samsung Display or at least a micro-OLED from Sony.

If we were to guess, it's more likely that the source says the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy XR may have overlapping design languages.

As an older rumor has it, the Galaxy S25 series could look more different than the S24 and S23 lineups, as Samsung might be ready to transition to a new design language. Of course, this makes it harder to predict what kind of design Samsung's XR headset might adopt.

Furthermore, these different devices — phone and XR headset — could share some clever features, like Samsung Continuity and Galaxy AI.

The story continues after the video

Galaxy AI could have a huge positive impact on the XR experience, as it might be the key to lifting some of the barriers that have so far held XR back, such as typing without a real keyboard or otherwise interacting seamlessly with the digital world around the user.

For now, it's just a guessing game. Samsung hasn't been confirmed these features so far. The company hasn't said anything that would link Galaxy AI and Galaxy XR, so time will tell how things develop.

Previous rumors suggest Samsung may release a developer version of Galaxy XR this year, followed by the consumer version in Q1 2025.

The post Galaxy S25 and VR headset to share design elements and features appeared first on SamMobile.

CFB 25: 5 Tips to Instantly Improve Your Defense

Od: hotyhs
Highly skilled defence in College Football 25 is very important, which determines our ability to survive longer in a game. Below we are going to detail 5 tips to immediately improve your defensive skills in College Football 25 games. Whether it’s improving your man defense or stopping those pesky short passes, mastering these five essentialContinue reading "CFB 25: 5 Tips to Instantly Improve Your Defense"

TopSpin 2K25: Pushing Past the Baseline

TopSpin 2K25 goes far beyond being just another single-player grind; its online multiplayer scene offers something completely unique: competing against real human opponents who all possess different playstyles and strategies is both challenging and exhilarating; plus who wouldn't love a healthy dose of friendly (or not-so-friendly) competition?

TopSpin 2K25 Multiverse: An Extravagant Crossover Extravaganza

And speaking of competition, let's get creative! Here is the challenge: see how TopSpin 2K25 compares against other iconic franchises like Mario Tennis Open or 3D Tennis? Perhaps Bowser would overpower Federer? Likewise, in TopSpin vs Street Fighter, you might witness Ryu using Hadokens against an exact drop shot from TopSpin. It will be fun but ultimately you buy TopSpin 2K25 to play tennis, not start a fight (even if McEnroe is iconic).

TopSpin 2K25's Rise from Basement Dweller to Ace Champ

Now is your opportunity to play the best tennis simulation consoles ever seen! So get out your virtual rackets, sharpen those button-mashing skills, and let's see who can move from basement dweller to TopSpin 2K25 champion in no time at all. Remember: practice makes perfect, and who knows... one day maybe one of you may dethrone me from my self-proclaimed virtual Wimbledon title! Now if you'll excuse me I have an appointment with Roger Routine...and it's payback time.

Court Kings and Queens: Performance on Multiple Surfaces

The court surface plays an essential part in TopSpin 2K25. Here is how:

  • Grass: Being one of the fastest surfaces, grass rewards aggressive baseline play and powerful serves. Players such as Novak Djokovic excel on this surface due to their dominant serve-and-volley style of play.
  • Hard Court: For optimal play on this surface, hard courts offer the ideal blend of speed and bounce. Baseline rallies that emphasize powerful groundstrokes are crucial; look out for players like Novak Djokovic.
  • Clay: Clay tennis courts are known for long rallies and strategic play that requires topspin and patience from its players - especially players such as Kent Carlsson.
Return of Fire: Strategies to Tackle Big Servers

TopSpin 2K25 is a realistic tennis simulation video game, so do not be surprised that you will have to take into account various aspects like professional tennis players do in real life. For example:

  • Adapt to the Surface: Analyse opponent strengths before choosing an approach/character/playstyle suitable to each court surface type.
  • Exploit Player Weaknesses: Carefully analyze past matches played against an opponent and exploit any weakness they possess such as difficulty hitting drop shots strategically used as weaponry against them.
  • Remind yourself that data analysis is just one piece of the puzzle; practice, develop your skills, and have fun on the virtual court! Combining both data and instinct will put you on track towards conquering TopSpin 2K25 online meta!
Are You Worried about Receiving an Abrupt Serve? Take Comfort!

From Button Masher to Baseline Boss

My initial encounter with TopSpin 2K25 was more awkward than watching an elephant trot downhill on roller skates. Button-mashing like an infant learning how to type resulted in a bizarre ballet of flailing arms and misplaced shots - balls flying past like angry bees while "Roger Routine", an AI opponent named after one of Roger Routine's famous spin shots from earlier rounds smirked like an unsympathetic AI, mocked me mercilessly - enough so as not even close examination could show. Something clicked, though: perhaps the helpful tutorials (voiced by John McEnroe without all his antics on the court); maybe it was finally landing an expertly timed topspin that sent it sailing past Roger's virtual racket; whatever it was, I was hooked!

Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine now supports custom levels

Od: NekoJonez

Everybody has several games that mean quite a lot to them. For me, one of these games is Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine. I not only grew up with this game, but I also have a lot of memories of this game. Outside of that, I also met some amazing friends through the community behind this game. I even did several speedruns of this game, and I’m an active member of the community. Now, color me surprised that 25 years after the release of this game, we got new fan-made content for this game. Not just fan made content in the style of fan patches to solve bugs with the game, a whole new level and promises of a level editor to create even more new custom content. This blew me off my socks and in today’s article I want to talk about it. So strap in and let’s get ready to play new content for one of the best Indiana Jones games ever made.

The new level – SED

There is a speedrunning discord server for this game. Well, it was a speedrunning discord server but for a few years now, this server has grown into a server of people who appreciate this game. If you want to join this discord, here is an invite link. When the server started to grow, several modders joined our server. One of these modders is going under the name of Urgon (currently) and what we didn’t know is that he was decompiling the whole game. Not only that, he was creating a level editor based upon an existing level editor.

This existing level editor is for Star Wars Jedi Knight & Mysteries of the Sith. Those games used an engine that formed the basis for the Jones3D engine. While he was developing that editor, he tested his skills by creating a new level. So, basically, parts of this new level are tests of the new level editor and what you can do with it.

Now, information about this new level and the download link can be found at this GitHub repository. If you want to download the actual level, you have to go to this page and click the green button named “Code”. In that dropdown, you can choose “download zip”. You’ll need that later if you want to install/play this custom level. Now, if you read the pre-mod or the installation instructions for this level, you might feel overwhelmed if you aren’t very technically inclined. That’s why two community members wrote two special tools to aid you in preparing your game.

You might ask yourself, like Klamath did in at the end of our stream of this custom level, why are there two tools for basically the same? Well, let me tell you the history about it. When I wanted to play the custom level, I had a bit of trouble myself while figuring out the tutorial. I also found that the required steps were quite a lot to do. So, I decided to start writing a PowerShell script that did all the steps. I announced that in the Indy3D discord that I was writing this. When I almost completed my tool, the_Kovic dropped his version of the tool.

Personally, I didn’t want to throw my work out the window and continued finishing my GUI version. When I finished, I didn’t convert my tool to an EXE and left it just as a script file you could run using a command line or a code editor. The next day, Kovic released a GUI version of his tool and I gave some feedback on his tool. In the days after that, I created an EXE version of my tool and we both kept adding features in our tool. He wrote his tool in C#, which is a bit friendlier to create an EXE. If I didn’t release my first version as a script only and converted it to an EXE, I think it might have been less overwhelming for people.

That said, Kovic thanked me for creating my tool since like he said on our stream: “It put my butt into gear to create a tool and write a GUI, which I normally don’t write“. On top of that, our tools aren’t meant to compete with each other. I can’t write C# and Kovic can’t write PowerShell. And it would be a shame to just delete work because somebody else was quicker or made their tool more user-friendly first. The result now is that we both have two very strong tools with a very similar, maybe even completely the same, feature set.

Outside a different choice of coding language, the biggest differences between both our tools are under the hood. In Kovic’s tool, you get more files than in my tool when you download the tool. And that’s because to prepare your game for custom levels, you need to extract several files in the resource folder. The tool used for extraction has a bug where instead of extracting the folders of the archive into the resource folder, it extracts them into separate folders, like if you would extract a zip file. Kovic packs a modified version of this extraction tool so that part of the process goes a bit faster. In my version, the tool just downloads the latest official versions of the tool and prepare the game that way.

In the end, both our tools give you the same end result. They prepare your game to install custom levels and play them. If you want to try out the_kovic’s tool, you can find the latest version on this releases page. If you want to try our my tool, you can find it on this releases page. Feedback to our tools is always welcome! If you find an issue or if you have an idea, feel free to hit us up, and we will look into it.

Earlier I talked about a stream of the level we did. Klamath, the_Kovic and me did a live stream where we played through this level. Now, I have to emphasize that release of this level is an impressive technical achievement. Creating a level for a 3D game isn’t easy and requires a lot of work. It’s even more impressive when you know that not everything is documented about the engine, and you have to decompile a lot of it. In the next part of this article, I’m going to talk about the level itself and critique it.

If you don’t want spoilers, I’d advise you to skip that section for now and come back later. Now, I want to say that I start reviewing the level in a moment, but this feedback is mostly meant for people who want to make new custom content. What did this new level do right and wrong if you look at it as a player who doesn’t know the technical background of this level? This isn’t meant to break down the amazing work the modders did to make this work.

Reviewing the new level

Editorial note: this review will spoil quite a lot. If you don’t want to get spoiled, you have to skip this section of the article. This isn’t a walkthrough of the level either. Some sections are skipped, I’m only going to talk about the sections I want to talk about.

The new level takes place 25 years after the ending of the original game. Indy returns to his Canyonlands dig site. You are set loose at the tent where Sophia picked Indy up with a helicopter to start the Infernal Machine adventure.

In terms of new content, there isn’t a lot new to see. Some ladders are missing and some parts of the level are blocked off. Also, all treasures are missing that you would usually find in the level.

Before I continue, I want to mention that some parts of this level are made quite difficult on purpose. The developer wanted to give us the feeling we were young kids again, playing this game for the first time, and have us figure out the new puzzles by ourselves. Yet, finding a correct balance between difficulty and unfair is a very fine line to thread. Personally, I think that in some sections, the developer crossed the line into unfair level design.

When running on the top section, you notice that there are some new voice lines. These voice lines are made possible with a voice cloning AI tool that was trained on lines from Doug Lee, the original voice actor for this game. The new voice lines sound amazing, and if you didn’t know better, you’d think that Doug Lee came back to record the new lines. In most cases, these voice lines really fit Indy’s personality and fit right into the game.

We come to our first snag when we want to go to the new content. I can understand not seeing the shovel and being confused, since it’s hanging at the jeep on top. And you know what’s even more confusing, the other side of the jeep model has a shovel in its texture! Anyhow, when you pick up the shovel and dig up the Infernal Machine part, it’s clear that you need to break a wall. Here comes one of the worst parts of this level. The location of this cracked wall is insanely well hidden. It’s in one of the last places you’d look, and several of the first players ran around for hours upon hours in Canyonlands before it was found. And when it was found, it made us annoyed.

It’s a clear example of how players who are used to the level, overlooking the obvious. The wall you need to break has an actual cracked wall texture, but it’s behind something you can’t see through. I think it would have been fine if the location, where it is at, had a bigger ledge so you’d notice it somewhat instead of just having to go on a wild goose chase.

Now, we enter the new area. We come to a big open space where the next set of puzzles are. The first puzzle is actually a jumping puzzle. Now, I highly advise you to not play this level if you haven’t played through most of Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine. Not that there are spoilers, but because some of the jumps in this level are straight up difficult and not what you really expect from this game. Kovic calls it “Kaizo Jones” for a good reason.

There are some small platforms and not having the look key working is going to be a pain in this section. Since, there are some moments where you need to be able to free look and not being able to see beneath or above you will make things a lot more tricky. After you finished these jumps, you might start to notice that the developer of this custom level added some details. Like, the rope bridges are gently moving in the wind. This is something that isn’t present in the original game. It’s a new “COG” script that makes that possible.

These cog scripts are a blessing for custom content. Since, this game isn’t hardcoded at all, so if you learn how to write these cog scripts, you can basically write new mechanics as well. It’s insane what possibilities there are going to be in the future for this game. I hope there is going to be good documentation so that custom level creaters know what’s possible and what’s impossible with the level editor.

While you are exploring this area, you notice that it’s huge. This also explains why it takes quite a while to load this level. Currently, modders are looking into why it’s running so slow. Since, we don’t really know if it’s the level size or something else slowing down the loading of this level.

So, after jumping around the central column, you’ll arive at the shed. Here you notice you can actually enter the shed from the top. Kovic explains it quite well during the stream. If you want to hear some technical explanations on how this level works, I’d advice you to watch our stream. Since there is a lot of interesting development talk in there. Later, Kovic and myself had a contest in trying to quote voice lines from the main game. We got close to 200. Kovic won that because I said a line he already said.

After you picked up everything from this shed and climbed outside, you experience another new mechanic of this game. It’s a mechanic that gets backported from Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb. The fact you can use your whip to go over a zipline.

After you returned and struggled with getting across the other bridge, you will encounter other parts of this level. Here you’ll encounter two voice lines that straight up lie to you. The first voice line is that you need more force, explosives to break a rock that’s blocking your way forwards. Here is the issue with that, you get an explosive barrel later. You need to find an extremely hidden swim tunnel in the water. It’s not the only hidden thing in the water, so investigate behind and underneath rocks quite well. Since, these puzzles in this water border in the unfair territory. What makes that explosive voice line even more evil is that there is a box of TNT in the shed earlier. But what’s the second voice line that lies to you?

Well, that is after you made your way past said boulder. You find a minecart and interacting with it, Indy says that it will run with gasoline. And there is still gasoline left in the shed. Sadly, you can’t pick it up anymore. Now, this is a red haring, you don’t need this minecart at all.

By now, you have learned that this level likes to break the rules of how the main game is designed. You’ll have to think outside of the box sometimes to beat this level. But, for some jumps, you need to use your knowledge of what’s possible and impossible to progress. This makes it quite tricky sometimes to progress. And this brings me to a conclusion we also said on stream. I think that the issue is that people expected a more tame level than what we actually got and that might turn some people off. But, I’m so glad that the quick save system exists in this game. So, abuse the quick save system and make multiple saves since you’ll need them if you aren’t a veteran player of this game.

Anyhow, let’s get back into the flow of the level. After we completed the lever puzzle, we go back towards to the huge open area and take the lift to a new location. What follows is a totally new area where it’s a good thing if you saved up on health packs and you have a great sense of direction.

So, the short minecart ridge comes to an end. It doesn’t take long before you find yourself into a watermaze. This watermaze is unfair in my honest opinion. Klamath had a tricky time solving it and he had to use almost every health pack to get through it. Without Kovic pointing out the right tunnel, I think it would have made the stream quite a bit longer. There was supposed to be a minecart section instead of this swimming maze, but the developer had a hard time making the minecart section to work and he gave up and made this swimming maze.

Now, I’m all fine with this swimming maze, but the map glitches out at certain parts. I have a mediocre sense of direction and I wanted to rely on the map. The map doesn’t always render the tunnels correctly. You sometimes swim off the map or “in nothingness”. Sadly, I have to draw my own map. I wish I still had it, since it would make for a nice screenshot here… But I threw it out but me and my clumsiness… I knocked over my waterbottle over it.

After the swimming maze, we get a new section of “Kaizo Jones”. Where we get some extremely tricky platforming. Here is where you need to use the look key again and be sure you are playing in 4:3. If you are playing in another resolution like 16:9 or 16:10, this will also be one of the moments where you don’t see all the information.

The block puzzle that follows, feels right out of Tomb Raider. The initial reviews of this game called out this game as a Tomb Raider clone. While, this game does the formula a whole lot differently. We even talked about that during the stream. In terms of theming, Infernal Machine is a lot better. Tomb Raider feels like obstacle courses. But that’s thanks to a different engine and control style. If you want to hear the whole discussion, you can watch the stream from this point. Excuse Kovic’s internet being spotty while he was replying.

After the block puzzle, a new path opens in the swim maze. Then, some platforming comes. Something I love is how there is even a troll hidden inside the platforming. It caught me off guard and made me smile. This platforming section was also love to do. It felt like a real test on how well I know the game. This platforming section feels a lot better put together and feel less cryptic on where you need to go next. You really start to notice that the developer was getting more used to the level editor and made better puzzles. The moment of having to use the whip to swing over the gap while the platform underneath you was breaking was amazing.

After that, we get into the finale of this level. We jump into a portal and we land in a playable area which is shown at the end of Shambala, the 4th level in the original game. That area that’s shown to you after you have beaten the Ice Guardian. The path that takes you to Palawan Lagoon. It was possible to explore that using cheats and modified saves, but now it’s in a level for real. Exploring the little house at the end brings us to something you totally don’t expect this custom level to do. You’ll find a parchment inside with a riddle and at the end you notice something in red saying: “MAT -> ZIP”.

There is some meta gaming now going on. You’ll need to make a hard save and exit your game. You’ll need to go to your resource folder & then open the MAT folder. In there you’ll need to rename “SED.MAT” to “SED.ZIP”. You’ll also need to enter the password for the zip, since you get a new cog script to continue the level, which you need to place in your cog folder. In there, there is another surprise. But, that’s something I’m not going to spoil. But, be sure that Kovic is playing with that surprise and maybe I’m going to dig into it. PS, the next paragraph is in white with the right spelling of the password:

Marcus

The way the level ends is bittersweet. If you solve the final puzzle, something special happens and you can beat the level. You could argue that the ending of this level is “lazy” or “creative”… But, it’s an amazing way to wrap up the story in one level with a nice bow.

At the start of the custom level, I felt that it was quite rough around the edges and it had some moments that felt badly designed. In terms of game design that is. If you look at it visually and level flow wise, I personally think that this level would fit right into the original game as a final challenge. But, the further you go into the level, the more you start to notice that the developer of this level is getting used to the tools and the editor and more polished puzzles and area’s are coming through. You notice the journey of the developer and see it becoming better and better.

I want to give a big congrats to everybody who was involved in releasing this custom level. It’s a blast to play and I can’t wait to see more custom levels. The stream I did with this level was one of the best streams ever and it was also quite a lot of fun to write the tool to help people play this custom level. I’m curious what you think about this custom level and/or the content of this article. Feel free to drop something in the comment section down below.

And with that, I have said everything I wanted to say about this for now. I want to thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to welcome you back in another article but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.

Top Spin 2025 Review

A Solid RETURN To Form

HIGH That ‘aha!’ moment when the complex controls suddenly make sense.

LOW The crowds are so reminiscent of Xbox 360 graphics, I expected a red ring of death.

WTF John McEnroe sounds like he recorded after visiting a dispensary.


Despite some questionable market presence, there’s been no shortage of tennis titles for modern
consoles. That said, for die-hard enthusiasts of the sport, only one tennis series matters — Top Spin. Now, after a 13-year absence, the series has returned in the form of Top Spin 2K25.

Considering how long the series has been dormant, there was understandable enthusiasm for this
revival, but considerable pressure on 2K Sports to deliver on the hype and produce a truly “next-generation” tennis experience. For the most part, 2K25 is a welcome addition to any fan’s library
coming up just short of being essential.

Unlike most sports titles which want to overwhelm users with a litany of new modes, features, enhancements and eye candy, Top Spin 2K25 wants gamers to get right on the court. Within seconds of hitting the “A” button, I found myself in a fairly intense training regimen of baseline rallies, mid-court volleys, and some precision serving mechanics.

Despite voicework from a sleepwalking John McEnroe, the TopSpin Academy is a strong introduction to Top Spin’s refined control scheme and is essential for fans and newcomers alike since the series has always boasted unique mechanics that require some patience to learn and master.

At first, the controls seem overly complicated when compared to other titles. But when that “a-ha” moment clicks, there is a sense of fluidity and ease that transcends face buttons and analog sticks. At that point, the timing-based shots are powerful, intuitive, and more rewarding than the norm. Winners feel weighty and impactful, especially at the end of a long, well-played point.

One thing I’ve always admired about the Top Spin series is how it added depth and strategy, elevating tennis titles above “Prettier Pong.” Here, it adapts to a user’s strategy, letting them choose their preferred style. There is so much variety in gameplay, whether gamers choose to launch aggressive baseline shots, inject some serve-and-volley into the mix, or stay aggressive at the net through precision lobs, no match feels redundant. The physics of how different court surfaces affect shots only enhances the realism.

As mentioned above, the gameplay is largely excellent, if not perfect. Unfortunately, the AI is a bit suspect, varying from wonderful court knowledge to ridiculous shot selection in a matter of strokes. Likewise, as players work through the career mode, the AI jumps from fair to unbeatable in no time at all, leading to unwanted frustration.

Visually, Top Spin 2K25 is good from afar, meaning the stock (television-style) camera angle. However,close-up replays show some janky animations, poor facial renders, and some Xbox 360-quality crowds and NPCs. Maybe tennis doesn’t need to be the most visually arresting game in the library, but considering how long fans have waited, the graphics will need a lot of work if there’s a 2K26.

The audio is also a mixed bag. While on-court sounds, player grunts and the overall tennis atmosphere are true to life, the commentary would put golf announcers to sleep. The enthusiasm doesn’t rise during long rallies, nor do the repetitive phrases always match what happens on the court.As mentioned, tennis doesn’t lend itself to a slew of modes and features but Career Mode is a simple, no-frills addition that keeps gamers focused on earning upgrades and scoring upset victories in a wide range of tournaments. It might not be dynamic, or story-driven, but there is reward to be had from steady progress up the rankings.

A lot of Top Spin’s success is going to hinge on how fans like the multiplayer modes. The 2K Tour mode lets users challenge others using existing tennis stars, while the World Tour mode lets users take their created avatars and pit them against the world in a variety of weekly tournaments and challenges.Both modes are smooth and competitive, if not a little daunting for newcomers.

I found basic online multiplayer to be the biggest surprise, with a large, active community of tennis enthusiasts offering competitive play without pretense. I had no problem finding a quick exhibition match against friendly fans, with no lag, latency, or lobby concerns. This is a major win, and possibly my new preferred way to enjoy digital tennis.

Regardless of the drawbacks, fans should welcome Top Spin back into their lives thanks to the largely enjoyable 2K25. With some visual and audio enhancement, and maybe a slightly more accessible learning curve, this series could find a new generation of fans. Let’s just hope it doesn’t take another 13 years to do it.

Rating: 7 out of 10


Disclosures: This game is developed and published by 2K Sports. It is currently available on PC,PS4/5 and XBO/X/S. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on Xbox Series X. Approximately 10 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was not completed. Approximately 14 hours were devoted to multiplayer modes.

Parents: Top Spin 2K25 is rated E. This is a sports simulation game in which players compete in tennis matches. Players can engage in a variety of game modes (e.g., Career, Exhibition) to improve their skills and abilities. There is no questionable content.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: The game is fully accessible. There are adjustable settings for subtitles, and the game offers controller vibration during ball strikes. No audio cues are needed for successful play. The game is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: The controls are not remappable.

EA Sports FC 25 Ultimate Team Details Revealed in Latest Video and Pitch Notes

EA Sports provided details earlier today on FC 25 Ultimate Team with a new Pitch Notes deep dive and features video. In FUT, players can join friends in 5v5 Rush and explore advanced strategies with a tactical overhaul in FC IQ, where AI models and real-world data drive player tactics through the new Player Roles. The mode will also include a new storage system for untradeable duplicates, manager presets, redesigned stadiums, enhanced live match broadcasts and more cosmetic evolutions that will highlight the Player Item shell.

  • ULTIMATE TEAM RUSH – Bring your favourite player item from your Ultimate Team club, team up with friends, and hit the pitch in intense, locked-to-player 5v5 matches. Rewards earned in Ultimate Team Rush can be used to improve your own Ultimate Team roster in the 11v11 experience.
  • FC IQ IN ULTIMATE TEAM – FC IQ informs the Ultimate Team experience in a variety of key ways. Manager Items will feature the manager’s real-world tactical preferences, authentically influencing how your team plays on the pitch. Player Roles are also part of each player item and available from the very beginning of the Ultimate Team season.
  • NEW STADIUM & MATCH EXPERIENCE – The Ultimate Team match experience is fully refreshed thanks to newly designed stadiums and more engaging live broadcasting sequences. New presentation elements highlight lineup decisions and both teams’ unique players. Larger away sections allow you to bring more of the home stadium experience on the road.
  • COSMETIC EVOLUTIONS- The Player Item shell has always held the spotlight in Football Ultimate Team, but now you can make it your own in unique ways. Upgrade Player Item shells with all-new cosmetic Evolutions: add more breakouts and modify embellishment components such as backgrounds, borders and SFX.

For more details on FC 25 Ultimate Team, check out the trailer embedded above and the latest Pitch Notes. The EA Sports FC 25 Standard Edition will release on September 27 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch. The Ultimate Edition releases on September 20, along with the EA Play 10 hour early access trial.

The post EA Sports FC 25 Ultimate Team Details Revealed in Latest Video and Pitch Notes appeared first on Operation Sports.

Madden 25 Video Includes 19 Minutes of Gameplay

EA has released a new Madden 25 gameplay video today featuring clips from two games that clock in at over 19 minutes of footage.

It’s not entirely raw gameplay, and it works like a lot of EA’s other gameplay reveals this year where it’s mixing in explaining all the changes to the game this year while two folks are playing things out. For this one, Micah Parsons and the undisputed pro of the Madden comp scene, Henry Leverette, are on the sticks.

We’ve already talked extensively about the Madden 25 gameplay, so I don’t want to really waste your time going back into things we’ve already broken down. I think the footage mostly can speak for itself, but I will say the game does feel different in your hands than it might look. I think the “feel” is better than how the game looks as a spectator, but that could just be me (and it’s based on a version of the game that wasn’t final anyway).

The one negative I will speak to from the video that bothered me the most was the lack of a pocket being made by the offensive line. It’s been a negative forever, and it just sticks out more here because other parts of the game have been improving at faster rates. Things like 15-yard dropbacks not being punished by a Nick Bosa burning around the edge, or quickly being able to spin out to the left to break the pocket with Mahomes because the edges don’t get set, and just not seeing dominant pass rushers eat up the offensive line when they don’t get cut or double teamed is a pet peeve of mine for sure.

All that said, I think it’s worth watching the video even if you’ve been playing lots of EA Sports College Football 25 as the Madden gameplay certainly comes off looking a little slower, and you can see things like Madden’s take on the new kick meter.

The post Madden 25 Video Includes 19 Minutes of Gameplay appeared first on Operation Sports.

Madden NFL 25 Gameplay Tomorrow at 11:00 AM ET

EA Sports will release their first look at Madden NFL 25 gameplay tomorrow, August 5 at 11:00 AM ET, featuring Dallas Cowboys Micah Parsons and the first-ever Madden millionaire, Henry Leverette.

The Standard Edition of Madden NFL 25 will release on August 16 for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and PC. The Deluxe Edition and EA Play trial will release on August 12 at 4:00 PM ET. Of course, there’s also the MVP Bundle that comes with the Deluxe Editions of both Madden NFL 25 and EA Sports College Football 25.

An extended look at #Madden25 Gameplay hits tomorrow with @MicahhParsons11 vs. @Henry773_

🎮 : https://t.co/SCHURodNMs pic.twitter.com/SgQ7D9Sgid

— Madden NFL 25 (@EAMaddenNFL) August 4, 2024

The post Madden NFL 25 Gameplay Tomorrow at 11:00 AM ET appeared first on Operation Sports.

Why Does Progression in Sports Games Usually Suck?

If there’s one area in most every sports game that is problematic on a yearly basis, it’s player progression. Whether that’s a lack of progress, too much progress, simulation vs. real game progress irregularities, or a progression system that simply can’t handle going year to year without slowly breaking, sports games have not been able to solve how to create a realistic and fun progression system.

(This is part of our weekly newsletter, Not Just Another Roster Update, that is sent every Friday to our subscribers. You can sign-up for the newsletter here — it’s the only e-mail you’ll get from us.)

It’s also almost impossible to point to one thing that causes the issue. I’ll mainly use the two football games as examples here since it’s still football season, but let me be clear that they’re not the only culprits.

For EA Sports College Football 25, there’s various issues, but the overarching progression issue is that most teams get way better over time. The balance and variety to the rosters in the launch game is diminished over multiple seasons as more and more good players end up at all positions. The ironic thing here is this isn’t even a simulation vs. playing the games problem because the sim engine — a weakness in both football games likely because they use the same sim engine — leads to unrealistically low stats for multiple position groups. So even though players are not accruing tons of stats, we’re still getting more superteams.

In Madden 24, the sim engine struggles with various position groups, but while the sim engine overrates various QBs and other position groups in terms of accrued stats, things like playbooks seem to be a big issue for player progression. A team like the Chiefs will consistently have great tight ends no matter what, so losing Travis Kelce to retirement doesn’t end up really mattering much because the Chiefs playbook allows them to have great TE stats in simulated games.

Now, I will give credit to the community by saying there are some awesome folks out there who were able to tune XP sliders to get some good results for player progression (not to mention PC mods), but roster building is integral to player progression as well, and Madden 24 still was a failure there if you didn’t control every team. There’s more than one reason why that happens, but I would say it ultimately comes back to the salary cap.

I spoke a ton about the salary cap in my deep dive of Madden 25’s franchise mode, so I’m not going to belabor that aspect too much beyond saying that the salary cap needs to matter. How you build a roster does not matter if you never have to worry about the salary cap.

EA doesn’t explicitly talk about the salary cap in their deep dive, but they do mention at multiple points how AI teams will prioritize building their roster, and they do mention player progression multiple times as well.

In Madden 24, the sim engine struggles with various position groups, but while the sim engine overrates various QBs and other position groups in terms of accrued stats, things like playbooks seem to be a big issue for player progression. A team like the Chiefs will consistently have great tight ends no matter what, so losing Travis Kelce to retirement doesn’t end up really mattering much because the Chiefs playbook allows them to have great TE stats in simulated games.

madden 25 cmc

Now, I will give credit to the community by saying there are some awesome folks out there who were able to tune XP sliders to get some good results for player progression, but roster building is integral to player progression as well, and Madden 24 still was a failure there if you didn’t control every team. There’s more than one reason why that happens, but I would say it ultimately comes back to the salary cap.

I spoke a ton about the salary cap in my deep dive of Madden 25’s franchise mode, so I’m not going to belabor that aspect too much beyond saying that the salary cap needs to matter. How you build a roster does not matter if you never have to worry about the salary cap.

EA doesn’t explicitly talk about the salary cap in their deep dive, but they do mention at multiple points how AI teams will prioritize building their roster, and they do mention player progression multiple times as well.

Whether or not EA is able to nail those two areas is TBD (to the highest degree), but significantly improving those two areas would undeniably be awesome for the longevity of our franchises. They mention wanting to get more Puka Nakua/Isiah Pacheco progression stories in place, which they’re focused on doing via Breakout Storylines, but on a basic level those scenarios were something you could mimic to a degree by modifying the aforementioned XP sliders last year.

On top of that, EA wants to make sure older players like Derrick Henry are not getting more speed in their age-31 seasons. I do have some confidence in them being able to pull these two examples off because we could mostly get there last year if we put in the work tuning our own settings. So if the “default” XP sliders are just close to what some on OS were already doing last year, that’s a good starting point for Madden 25’s XP system.

I’m less bullish on EA’s ability to pull off the roster building portion to this. Even if we avoid the situations where good players are rotting in free agency after a certain amount of years, here’s a couple things EA is saying will happen:

  • We’ll start with Contract Re-Signing logic, where teams will now prioritize extending their core young talent with a better understanding of positional value, depth and potential.
  • Once the future of the franchise is secure, veteran players and roster depth will be prioritized.
  • This mindset will extend to Franchise Tag decisions, which have been rebalanced by position and become a last resort for teams when they need to hang on to players that they want to build around.
  • As a result, the strategies behind Offseason Free Agency AI have shifted. A few prized talents will be highly coveted while the bulk of the signings will be made up of veterans as teams look to solidify their rosters.
  • Then it’s on to the Draft, where teams will primarily focus on selecting long-term cornerstone players early on and then shift their focus to adding depth in the later rounds.
  • Refined player progression ensures that older players regress physically as you would expect, while younger stars receive more opportunities to make an impact in the league early in their careers.

It all sounds great! And, to be clear, if it’s pulled off then these are the biggest additions to the quality of franchise mode in many years. However, I have almost no faith in the overall sim engine in EA’s football games. And, again, there’s no mention of the salary cap there.

The hope would be that because these teams are all prioritizing the same things, that talent will be paid the proper amount. If every team cares about the same key positions, they’ll be paid a proper AAV (average annual value) and make roster building elsewhere tougher. That still needs to line up with how the salary cap goes up year after year, but at least the AI teams would know what players matter.

Either way, I want to believe, but there’s no chance I’ll take EA’s word for this. I will have to see it to believe it.

The post Why Does Progression in Sports Games Usually Suck? appeared first on Operation Sports.

EA Sports Details FC 25 Clubs Mode in Latest Pitch Notes

EA Sports provided details earlier today on FC 25 Clubs mode with a new Pitch Notes deep dive and features video. The article highlights Clubhouse, the new Clubs Rush experience, the return of Relegation, gameplay improvements, social space, customization options and much more.

  • Clubs Rush – Enjoy a more social experience with 5v5 Clubs Rush. Lobby up with friends or fly solo as you squad up with other players of your skill level. Every win earns a Victory Point to your club’s tally, boosting your Rush rank on the road to exciting seasonal rewards.
  • The Clubhouse – Welcome to the Clubhouse, your home for social interaction and customizations in Clubs. The Clubhouse is a hub for your team, showcasing your Club’s identity along with your clubmates who will appear in the locker room when they join the mode.
  • Club Facilities – Grow your club and unlock higher facility budgets via the club’s reputation system. Allocate that budget towards different facilities like a weight room, new PlayStyles, or even a shooting coach.
  • League Updates – Relegation returns to the Clubs League. Losing matches decreases your number of division chances. Lose them all and take part in a Relegation Battle, one single match that will determine whether your Club will beat the drop, or be sent down a division.

For more details on FC 25 Clubs mode, check out the trailer embedded above and the latest Pitch Notes. The EA Sports FC 25 Standard Edition will release on September 27 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch. The Ultimate Edition releases on September 20, along with the EA Play 10 hour early access trial.

The post EA Sports Details FC 25 Clubs Mode in Latest Pitch Notes appeared first on Operation Sports.

Madden NFL 25 Player Ratings - Top 10 Quarterbacks and Linebackers

Madden NFL 25 ratings continue to roll out as EA Sports revealed the top 10 quarterbacks and linebackers in the game this year. More player ratings for the rest of the quarterbacks and linebackers, including rookies, can be seen on the official ratings page. Patrick Mahomes joins Travis Kelce, Trent Williams, Christian McCaffrey and Tyreek Hill in the 99 Club.

A closer look at some of the personalized gifts for our #99Club Athletes 🔥

Congrats to all the #Madden25 99 OVR Players! 👑 pic.twitter.com/mjyUViU8p9

— Madden NFL 25 (@EAMaddenNFL) August 2, 2024

Top 10 Quarterbacks

  • Patrick Mahomes (99 Overall)  
  • Lamar Jackson (98 Overall)  
  • Joe Burrow (93 Overall)  
  • Josh Allen (92 Overall)  
  • Dak Prescott (90 Overall)  
  • Tua Tagovailoa (88 Overall)  
  • Justin Herbert (87 Overall)  
  • Jalen Hurts (86 Overall)  
  • Brock Purdy (85 Overall)  
  • Kirk Cousins (84 Overall)  

Top 10 Linebackers

  • Fred Waner (97 Overall)  
  • Roquan Smith (95 Overall)  
  • Demario Davis (92 Overall)  
  • Lavonte David (90 Overall)  
  • C.J. Mosley (90 Overall)  
  • Foyesade Oluokun (89 Overall)  
  • Dre Greenlaw (87 Overall)  
  • Matt Milano (87 Overall)  
  • Bobby Wagner (87 Overall)  
  • Bobby Okereke (86 Overall)  

The Standard Edition of Madden NFL 25 will release on August 16 for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and PC. The Deluxe Edition and EA Play trial will release on August 12 at 4:00 PM ET. Of course, there’s also the MVP Bundle that comes with the Deluxe Editions of both Madden NFL 25 and EA Sports College Football 25.

The post Madden NFL 25 Player Ratings - Top 10 Quarterbacks and Linebackers appeared first on Operation Sports.

Madden NFL 25 Developers Worked with Mike Tomlin on New Kickoff Rules

As the NFL season approaches, there’s considerable interest in how the new kickoff rules will affect the game, with coaches particularly curious about their impact. Mike Tomlin, the Super Bowl-winning Head Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers and a member of the NFL Rules Committee, was keen to see how these rules would play out in practice. To get ahead of the curve, he used Madden NFL 25 to better understand and strategize around the changes.

The new Dynamic Kickoff rule is going into action tonight at the @ProFootballHOF Game.

Before you see it, get a full breakdown of the new play, the coaches who helped shape the rules and how it was integrated into #Madden25. @EAMaddenNFL pic.twitter.com/gkRXePPpN4

— NFL (@NFL) August 1, 2024

The Madden NFL Development Team integrated the new kickoff rules into Madden NFL 25 with visual aids, commentary and new kick types to help fans grasp the adjustments. Coach Tomlin, who regards Madden NFL as a “real simulator,” collaborated with Clint Oldenburg, Production Director, and the development team over several weeks to explore the new special teams setup. All of this happened after the Madden team had already finished production of the game.

The Standard Edition of Madden NFL 25 will release on August 16 for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and PC. The Deluxe Edition and EA Play trial will release on August 12 at 4:00 PM ET. Of course, there’s also the MVP Bundle that comes with the Deluxe Editions of both Madden NFL 25 and EA Sports College Football 25.

The post Madden NFL 25 Developers Worked with Mike Tomlin on New Kickoff Rules appeared first on Operation Sports.

Madden NFL 25 - Official Gameplay First Look Video (ft. Micah Parsons and Henry Leverette)

Od: IGN India
Madden NFL 25 is next up in the legendary American Football sports simulation game developed by EA. Join Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons and Henry Leverette as they show off brand-new gameplay of Madden NFL 25. Get a glimpse at some new core features of the game such as a new iteration of FieldSENSE, the new BOOM Tech being a new dynamic physics-based tackling system, and more. Madden NFL 25 launches on August 16 for PlayStation 4 (PS4), PlayStation 5 (PS5), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

EA Sports FC 25 - Official Ultimate Team Deep Dive Overview Trailer

Od: IGN India
EA Sports FC 25 is the latest installment in the football (soccer) simulation series developed by EA. With Ultimate Team, players can arrange a squad that fits their exact desires in a Football Club with new features such as Rush, Manager Presets, and more. Take a look at the latest deep dive overview trailer going over key information for this year's Ultimate Team mode for EA Sports FC 25, launching September 20 for PlayStation 4 (PS4), PlayStation 5 (PS5), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

FC 25 Ultimate Team will eliminate my biggest FUT frustration

FC 25 Ultimate Team will eliminate my biggest FUT frustration

The deep dives keep on coming for FC 25, and in EA Sports’ latest breakdown of what’s to come in the new soccer sim, the series’ biggest game mode is the star of the show. Yes, the highly-anticipated FC 25 Ultimate Team deep dive is here, and while the integration of the new five-a-side Rush mode is the most notable change this year, there are some smaller details to highlight. This includes fancier Evolutions cards, more streamlining, and the implementation of what is surely the most-requested feature from FUT fans: storage for your duplicates.

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best sports games, Best multiplayer games, Best PC games

EA FC 25’s Ultimate Team Deep Dive makes it clear that Rush is the push this year

An image of Jude Bellingham on EA FC 25 cover

August 5 was EA FC 25's big deep dive into the Ultimate Team mode, but the presentation focused mostly on a new game mode coming this year.

It's no secret that EA Sports is optimistic about the Rush game mode, which will be implemented in Ultimate Team (along with FC Clubs and Career Mode). While Ultimate Team has plenty of finer elements that the developers could have showcased, the audience mostly got an explanation of how Rush will work. It's pretty obvious that Rush, being an upcoming addition to Ultimate Team, got so much attention. But that meant not seeing other pieces of the mode, some of which have been core parts of Ultimate Team over the years.

EA FC 25 Ultimate Team deep dive could have had more details

Tonight was the shortest presentation in terms of length. EA Sports opened the deep dive with a detailed explanation of the Rush mode—things that the public already knows. The new mode does look fun, and it is a welcome change from the competitiveness that surrounds Division Rivals and Champions Finals. However, almost all the information about Rush has been explained previously.

The Rush mode will also have rewards, and as per the developers, it will have more objectives related to it. It's understandable that the developers are excited about it, but Ultimate Team requires a lot of changes. In fact, Evolutions will undergo a big change, yet EA Sports managed to push it under the radar.

We have also seen such announcements about Moments in the past. Two games later, nobody bothers grinding Moments, and the lack of fresh content makes things worse. Hopefully, Rush won't meet the same fate in Ultimate Team, especially when players will invest time in Division Rivals, Friendlies, Champions Finals, and other modes.

There was zero information about modes like Squad Battles and Champions Finals. Both modes could do with improvements in some areas, but EA Sports had no mention of them in today's deep dive (despite Champions Finals being the most popular mode in Ultimate Team).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcGJ4fe0iNk

EA FC 25 Ultimate Team will get improvements

Ultimate Team will undergo some major improvements. For starters, relegation in Division Rivals will help players drop down to a level that matches their skills. You can also get weekly rewards based on total points instead of solely relying on wins.

Evolutions will be much more accessible, which is a big win for the community. The change of matchmaking in Friendlies from the existing system in EA FC 24 would also make them more interesting (although, the community might end up exploiting it).

Hopefully, EA Sports won't forget about the other modes after launch in favor of Rush. Putting all the eggs in one basket has seldom worked for any video game, and when it comes to Ultimate Team, improvements are definitely required in several departments.

The post EA FC 25’s Ultimate Team Deep Dive makes it clear that Rush is the push this year appeared first on Destructoid.

Samsung promises Galaxy S25 will get ‘top-of-the-line’ camera, display upgrades

Samsung Galaxy S24 series backs standing

Credit: Robert Triggs / Android Authority

  • A Samsung executive has claimed that the Galaxy S25 series will offer “top-of-the-line” camera and display upgrades.
  • The executive also said it expects future devices to “understand the context of conversations.”


The Galaxy S24 series seems like a great seller for Samsung, but the company is hard at work on next year’s Galaxy S25 series. We’ve already seen some leaks about the new phones, but the Galaxy maker has now briefly outlined what we should expect.

Samsung mobile experience (MX) vice-president Daniel Araujo promised notable Galaxy S25 upgrades in a Q2 2024 earnings call (h/t: Seeking Alpha):

So on your second question, we’ve consistently upgraded the hardware in our S Series to deliver industry-leading experiences to customers, and we’ll continue to enhance key experiences as well (as) upgrade hardware so that we can offer top performance. For camera and display specs in particular, where we’ve been leading, the S25 at launch will have top-of-the-line upgrades. And we’re also preparing industry-best APs and memory to boost AI performance and offer an overall premium experience.

The executive didn’t delve into specific camera and display upgrades. However, the most recent leaks suggest the Galaxy S25 Ultra, in particular, would get a 50MP 3x camera, which would be a major upgrade in theory from the S24 Ultra’s 10MP 3x sensor. We hope the Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus also see significant hardware upgrades, especially in light of the vanilla and Plus phones using the same camera hardware since 2022.

Araujo also broadly touched on Samsung’s future mobile AI plans:

So looking forward, we expect to be able to understand the context of conversations and provide a natural conversation and experience across our devices. To achieve this, we’ll strengthen partnerships and collaborations while developing our AI technologies further.

This statement comes a couple of weeks after Samsung announced the acquisition of UK startup Oxford Semantic Technologies, which specializes in knowledge graph technology.

“Combined with on-device AI technology, such as that on Samsung’s Galaxy S24 series, personal knowledge graph technology facilitates hyper-personalized user experiences while ensuring sensitive personal data remains secure on the device. It will be applicable across all of Samsung’s products, extending beyond just mobile devices to televisions and home appliances,” the Galaxy maker explained at the time.

Podle šéfa EA nebude mít stávka herců krátkodobý dopad na společnost - INDIAN

O probíhající stávce herních herců a dabérů jsme vás už informovali. Stejně tak o tom, že by neměla postihnout vyvíjené hry, jmenovitě GTA 6. To potvrzují i slova generálního ředitele EA Andrewa Wilsona. Ten jednomu z investorů odpověděl na otázku, jak stávka zasáhne společnost.

U našich produktů se to má tak, že stávka zahrnuje jen hry, které začaly produkci po září 2023, to včetně live service her,“ říká Wilson. V nejbližší době neočekává žádné narušení vyvíjených her, ani aktuálních live service her. „Jsme oddáni vyjednávání v dobré víře, že obě strany spolu situaci vyřeší. Nečekáme ale velký, krátkodobý dopad na EA,“ uzavírá.

Jak jsme psali, valná většina příjmů EA jsou mikrotransakce právě z live service her, dává tedy smysl, že minimálně z finančního hlediska společnost zasažena nebude. Datum září 2023 je také velmi benevolentní, protože vývoj her trvá několik let. Dávalo by tedy smysl, že EA má v rukávu ještě nějaké další neoznámené hry, které stávkou také zasaženy nebudou. Problém by ani neměl být s nadcházejícím RPG Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

Pokud bude ale stávka probíhat dlouho, není vyloučeno, že se i situace v EA změní a hry v dalších letech výrazně ovlivní.

Situaci ohledně stávky sdružení Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists budeme nadále sledovat a průběžně vás informovat. Prozatím si můžete přečíst náš článek, kde se této situaci podrobně věnujeme.

Electronic Arts táhnou mikrotransakce. Společnost překonala finanční předpoklady - INDIAN

V Electronic Arts mají za sebou silný začátek fiskálního roku. Americká společnost překonala finanční předpoklady a dosáhla na 1,262 miliardy dolarů čistých tržeb za čtvrtletí.

Postaraly se o to zejména mikrotransakce v live service hrách Madden NFL 24, EA Sports FC 24 a EA Sports FC Mobile. U fotbalu pomohlo mistrovství Evropy, které ke dvojici fotbalových her přitáhlo miliony nových hráčů.

Na tyto hry EA sází. Vždyť mikrotransakce tvoří 75 % příjmů. Za poslední rok to bylo 5,3 miliardy dolarů. U ostatních zdrojů je uváděno 1,7 miliardy dolarů, včetně prodeje samotných her.

Vedení EA si pochvaluje také zájem o EA Sports College Football 25, které sice vyšlo až po skončení účetního období, ale my víme, že v prvním týdnu hra zaznamenala rekordních 5 milionů hráčů. Včasný přístup skrz dražší edice využilo 2,2 milionu lidí. Zkušební verzi si přes předplatné EA Play zahrálo půl milionu hráčů.

Co se týče další části roku, v EA chystají Madden NFL 25 a EA Sports FC 25. Dorazit by mělo také nové NHL a do konce roku by se mělo objevit také Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

Režim Rush má přinést rychlé a zábavné zápasy v EA Sports FC 25 - INDIAN

Jednou z novinek EA Sports FC 25 je režim Rush, který nahrazuje Voltu z posledních let fotbalové série Electronic Arts. Vývojáři chtějí zápasy pět na pět přiblížit více klasickým zápasům jedenáct na jedenáct. Tvrdí, že zápasy mají vše, jen jsou na menším hřišti.

Rush je možné hrát v každém režimu, ať už jsou to Kluby, Ultimate Team nebo Kariéra. Ve všech případech budou na každé straně čtyři hráči v poli. Brankáře si vezme na starost umělá inteligence. Bot se přidá také v případě, kdy se některý z hráčů odpojí, případně chybí od samotného začátku. Brankáře může dále řídit kapitán, který v módech Kick-Off Rush a Manager Career Rush má plnou kontrolu nad celým týmem, zatímco v online zápasech jsou brankáři řízeny čistě hrou.

Deep Dive gameplay video ukazuje animace ProPLAY, zcela nový driblovací engine a další

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Od NBA 2K25 se neočekává příliš mnoho radikálních změn oproti svým předchůdcům, ačkoli vývojář Visual Concepts stále provádí několik vylepšení samotné akce na hřišti.

S nově nahraným videem se zprávou na kurtu nabídl herní režisér Mike Wang nové podrobnosti v této oblasti. 

NBA 2K25 pro začátek představí nové animace ProPLAY s více než 9 000 novými animacemi, včetně driblování, typických střel, pohybu mimo míč a dalších. Kromě toho se letošní hra může pochlubit také zcela novým driblovacím enginem, který byl postaven od základů a je nabízen jako největší herní změna, kterou série NBA 2K za poslední roky udělala. 

Ve spolupráci s ProPLAY se nový driblovací engine NBA 2K25 zaměří na dynamické pohyby a pohyby v reálném čase spíše než na předrenderované a naskriptované animace jako v předchozích hrách.

Kromě toho se hráči mohou těšit na několik dalších vylepšení, jako je zrušení výstřelu, charakteristické výstřely, nový obranný systém cutoff, různá vylepšení AI, nový výukový režim nazvaný Learn 2K a další. Další podrobnosti najdete ve videu níže. 

NBA 2K25 vychází 6. září pro PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch a PC

Článek Deep Dive gameplay video ukazuje animace ProPLAY, zcela nový driblovací engine a další se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

Podrobné informace o změnách v režimu Franchise, draftu NFL a dalších novinkách ve hře Madden NFL 25

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Společnost EA Sports vydala novou upoutávku na Madden NFL 25, která popisuje různé změny v letošním ročníku.

Draft NFL nyní slibuje být více pohlcující, s cutscénami s komisařem na scéně. Hráči si nyní mohou prohlédnout nástěnku Draft Prospect, která se aktualizuje v reálném čase, a seřadit hráče a zobrazit jejich prognózy. Během draftu a po něm také získají podrobnější analýzu.

K dispozici je také nové řízení osobnosti a dějové linie, protože trenéři řeší skutečné problémy, jako jsou fámy o výměně, mimosezónní tréninky a definování týmové kultury. Při plnění slibů budete muset brát v úvahu jednání hráčů a jejich potřeby. Jejich plnění poskytuje celosezónní zvýšení statistik, jako je stíhání a rozpoznávání hry v obraně a provádění v útoku. Pokud je porušíte, morálka klesne. Dějové linie mohou trvat několik sezón, což jim dodá tolik potřebné drama.

Letos také debutuje nástroj Team Builder, který umožňuje sestavit soupisku od základů. Můžete je sdílet online s ostatními hráči nebo si stáhnout další pro režim Franchise. Režim Franchise Mode má letos také více než 1400 dalších týmových a nováčkovských záznamů spolu s Franchise Central, domovskou základnou se zjednodušeným vytvářením ligy a personalizovaným systémem zpráv.

Mezi další novinky patří ženské modely pro Create A Coach, rychlejší postup mladších hráčů, nová příběhová prostředí, nové oslavy obratu, přepracované oslavy Superbowlu a více než 1000 zvukových efektů na hřišti. Dokonce i zvuky davu jsou pro větší autenticitu převzaty z filmů NFL.

Madden NFL 25 vychází 16. srpna pro PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4 a PS5.

Článek Podrobné informace o změnách v režimu Franchise, draftu NFL a dalších novinkách ve hře Madden NFL 25 se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

EA Sports FC 25 Deep Dive Trailer představuje Rush, nový režim 5v5

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EA Sports FC 25 představí zcela nový herní zážitek v podobě Rush, typu hry 5v5, který nahradí Voltu z posledních let, a EA vydalo trailer, v němž se dozvíte podrobnosti o tom, co přinese.

Rush se jednoduše přiblíží zápasům 11v11, než tomu bylo v minulých menších formátech, ale v prostředí 5v5. To samozřejmě bude znamenat, že se některé klíčové věci ještě změní.

To bude znamenat menší hřiště a také některá nová pravidla, která se budou vztahovat pouze na Rush, například ofsajdy budou udělovány pouze v poslední třetině hřiště nebo červené karty budou nahrazeny novými modrými kartami, které dočasně vyloučí hráče, kteří budou moci znovu nastoupit do zápasu až v okamžiku, kdy jejich tým dostane gól.

Rush bude k dispozici ve všech herních režimech, což znamená, že se můžete těšit na různé verze hry 5v5 v režimech kariéry, klubů a Ultimate Team, z nichž každá bude mít svůj vlastní jedinečný nádech. Podívejte se na hluboký ponor níže, kde najdete další podrobnosti.

EA Sports FC 25 vychází 27. září pro PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch a PC. Pro více informací o vylepšeních na hřišti se podívejte na nedávno vydaný trailer s hlubokým ponorem do hratelnosti, který najdete zde.

Článek EA Sports FC 25 Deep Dive Trailer představuje Rush, nový režim 5v5 se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

EA Sports FC 25 – podrobné informace o hře FC IQ, rolích hráčů a další informace

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Společnost EA Sports zveřejnila nové video, ve kterém podrobně popisuje některá z největších vylepšení, která v letošním ročníku přinese hraní na hřišti.

Krátce po oficiálním představení hry EA Sports zveřejnila nové video s hlubokým ponorem do hratelnosti EA Sports FC 25, které nabízí nové podrobnosti o některých největších změnách, vylepšeních a úpravách, které můžeme očekávat od hraní na hřišti v nadcházejícím fotbalovém simulátoru. Zdá se, že hlavní důraz je letos kladen na taktiku, a to díky novému systému, který byl nazván FC IQ.

Podle EA Sports ovlivní FC IQ jedinečným způsobem hratelnost v jednotlivých herních režimech, včetně režimů kariéry, klubů a Ultimate Team. FC IQ ve zkratce umožní hráčům mnohem jemnější kontrolu nad taktikou jejich týmu a umožní vytvářet plynulé a flexibilní systémy, které se mohou měnit za běhu během zápasu.

Zvláště zajímavou novinkou, která spadá do většího systému FC IQ, jsou hráčské role, které budou známé každému, kdo hrál hry Football Manager. Kromě pozic se nyní budete rozhodovat také mezi různými hráčskými rolemi pro vámi vybrané hráče, přičemž různí hráči jsou různě vhodní pro hraní určitých rolí.

Potvrzeno je i několik dalších vylepšení hratelnosti, včetně zavedení taktických faulů, vylepšení technologie HyperMotion, nových herních stylů (včetně brankářů), nových dovednostních pohybů, vizuálních vylepšení v oblasti prezentace a dalších. Podívejte se na video níže, kde najdete další podrobnosti.

EA Sports FC 25 vychází 27. září pro PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch a PC.

Článek EA Sports FC 25 – podrobné informace o hře FC IQ, rolích hráčů a další informace se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

EA Sports FC 25 odstraní smlouvy a zmírní požadavky na evoluci

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EA Sports FC 25, další titul úspěšné fotbalové série od Electronic Arts, vyjde v září a slibuje několik novinek. Vedle nového formátu 5v5 Rush obsahuje další hráčské role a nový model umělé inteligence pro „přepracovanou týmovou taktiku a realističtější kolektivní pohyb“. Jednou z nedoceněných změn je však odstranění kontraktů.

V novém příspěvku Community Update vývojový tým uvedl, že tato změna „vám umožní vrátit se k akci na hřišti rychleji než dříve“. Smlouvy jako jedna z největších výtek vůči režimu čelily kritice za to, že jsou zdlouhavé, protože je nutné je po určitém počtu zápasů neustále znovu aplikovat.

Další změny zahrnují méně omezující požadavky na evoluce a celkově více evolucí, což podporuje rozmanitost hráčských předmětů. K dispozici bude také úložiště až pro 100 neobchodovatelných duplicitních karet hráčů, díky čemuž budou výzvy pro sestavení družstva méně stresující.

V srpnu se do Ultimate Teamu ponoříme podrobněji, takže si počkejte na další informace. EA Sports FC 25 vychází 27. září pro Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PS4, PC a Nintendo Switch.

Článek EA Sports FC 25 odstraní smlouvy a zmírní požadavky na evoluci se nejdříve objevil na GAME PRESS.

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