OS Weekly Wrap Up, Getting You Caught Up on Sports Gaming News (Sep 6 - Sep 12, 2020)

There have been a bunch of football video games released over the last couple years, and each has tried to bring a unique style and gameplay to the virtual gridiron. Several of these football games have come from “the little guy” and have resonated with me. I now think we can add 26K’s arcade-style football video game to that list. Sure, it might still be in Early Access, but there’s enough at the core of Sunday Rivals‘ gameplay to be excited.

Trying to capitalize on the void left by games like FIFA Street and SSX, Street Power Soccer (Football) attempts to mix “sick style” with “high energy action” all under the umbrella of street soccer. Publisher Maximus Games is no stranger to the sports market with their main claim to fame being The Golf Club Collector’s Edition. However, after the disastrous Rugby 15, they have a lot of work to do to gain the respect of footy gamers worldwide. How did they fare? Let’s find out in this Street Power Soccer review.

In my demo Impressions from a couple weeks ago, I spoke very, very highly about what I saw from Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2. It seemed to hit on every possible opportunity, excelling at what made the series so beloved and banishing the missteps that hurt the franchise’s most recent titles. My key takeaway and concern was how to breathe longevity and replay value into a remaster of two 20-year-old games. In my opinion, Activision and Vicarious Visions did a tremendous job doing exactly that while staying faithful to the original, so let’s talk about why that is in this Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 review.

#2KDay has now come and gone. After what many felt was a lousy demo with limited playability and a new shooting mechanic considered to be complicated, four days of full hands-on time has passed. NBA 2K21‘s launch weekend came and went with almost no issues, which is most definitely a welcome sight. (In saying that, a lot of people didn’t receive any of their pre-order bonus content and are still waiting on the 100K VC as well. However, by 2K standards — and just big-budget games in general — it was clean.) After jumping into the game and spending the weekend (mostly) grinding out in MyCareer, here’s are some of my NBA 2K21 impressions up to this point.

While the 2K community was focused on the shooting meter and an inability to make shots, there was another issue that cropped up right away and did not receive as much attention. The 2K Share is down for NBA 2K21 and has remained broken since the game launched on September 4. 2K Share gives you the ability to download draft classes, custom rosters, created players and even offline MyLeague saves. It remains one of the best features 2K provides as it gives a chance for players to create rosters and players and share them across the community. As a franchise player only, this seems like even more of a slap in the face considering there were very minimal changes made to MyLeague.

Just seven months after their first collaboration (Tony Stewart’s Spring Car Racing), Tony Stewart Racing and Monster Games have teamed up again for the release of Tony Stewart’s All-American Racing. The focus here is once again on the local dirt track scene, but instead of sprint cars being represented, this time the optics have shifted to Legends, big block modified and street stock. The team has also implemented a new physics system that differs from the game’s predecessor and there is a whole new set of fantasy tracks to attack. So, is it a worthy upgrade or a re-skinned clone of the previous title? Let’s find out in this Tony Stewart’s All-American Racing review.

With Mike’s sliders, I’ve featured his MLB The Show sliders multiple times and trust his judgment with tweaking the game. On top of that, he’s also been playing from the broadcast view, which is something else I’ve started to adopt more and more in recent times. He does have these on All-Madden level, which maybe could scare some people off, but he implores people to at least try them out first.

Overall, I am feeling great about where the game is at, and how the sliders have been customized to the title update. M21 is really one of the best gameplay bases we have had on the Frostbite engine. There is a true sense that anything can happen, and it requires 100 percent of your attention. I hope the slider changes make sense, but don’t hesitate to ask questions if they don’t. Enjoy Version 4!

It’s still early days for things like a Madden 21 draft class, but we do have one early-season favorite so far that comes from jcblayze on the forums. This is a PlayStation-related draft class for the 2021 NFL Draft. It is a full 450-player class. In addition, jcblayze has plans for 2022-2024 classes in the future. (We will post Xbox-related classes when we see ones that the community connects with.)