Operation Sports
Sports Gaming News Weekly Wrap-Up – Reviews For NHL 23, NASCAR Rivals & More
Every Sunday we get you caught up on the sports gaming news you might have missed during the busy week. This week we’ve posted reviews for NHL 23 and NASCAR Rivals. We also have the latest patch notes for Retro Bowl, FIFA 23 and NBA 2K23 along with our impressions of the latest patch for Madden NFL 23, eFootball 2023 and more.
Sports Gaming News
- Retro Bowl Update Fixes Fumble Issue, Sim Stats & More – Patch Notes
- Madden NFL 23 Play Now Live Update Won’t Arrive Until Week 10
- Out of the Park Baseball 23 and Topps Team Up in Perfect Team Mode
- Save 20% on F1 Manager 2022 For PlayStation and Xbox Consoles
- Undisputed Gameplay Videos – Two Full Rounds of Boxing
- FIFA 23 Patch #2 Available For All Platforms – Patch Notes
- NBA Now 23 Update Adds Latest Rosters, Schedules, Events & More
- NBA 2K23 Arcade Edition Available Now Exclusively on Apple Arcade
- Need For Speed Unbound Gameplay Trailer – Risk & Reward
- F1 22 Free Play Weekend Begins Tomorrow Through October 24
- NBA 2K23 Season 2 Arrives on October 21 – Trailer, Features & Details
- Official Madden NFL 23 Roster Update For Week 7 Available – See the Changes Here
- NBA 2K23 Patch #2 Available Now – Patch Notes
- Football Manager 2023 Beta Available Now
- Gran Turismo 7 Patch 1.25 Adds More New Cars, Cafe Menu Books and Scapes – Patch Notes
- Diamond Dynasty – 2022 Postseason Program and Event
- Madden NFL 23 Developers Share Top Priorities For Franchise Mode Issues
Operation Sports Featured Articles
Although I am not a massive fan of releasing a licensed NASCAR title right in the middle of one of the busiest seasons for sports overall, this is precisely what Motorsport Games has done by releasing NASCAR Rivals, the long-awaited debut of its official NASCAR series on the Nintendo Switch. Although under the name NASCAR Rivals, Motorsport Games looks to deliver a remarkably similar experience found on consoles with NASCAR Ignition. Does NASCAR Rivals bring something new and exciting to the Nintendo Switch, or does it pull a “start and park” and become an afterthought? Let’s talk about it in my NASCAR Rivals review.
For far too long, AI players in PES/eFootball have not reacted to the ball. Instead, they run back to their positions or adhere to their individual instructions when common sense logic should prevail. The dumbing down of the AI in these scenarios contributed to the headless chicken mantra that at times can result in some entirely avoidable goals. Even reaction times, which are tied into these scenarios, are delayed and that means you have to be ready on the sticks in order to ensure that you’re the first to a 50-50 ball.
Player movement, which was one of the best things about the game in its earlier stages, has been slowed down with agile players like Neymar turning much slower than you would anticipate. While I don’t expect FIFA levels of inertia and movement, I do expect players to turn and accelerate quickly if they have the stats for it. With the second man press — one of the biggest meta’s online — the only way to beat the press the now is through quick 1-2 passes, while previous builds allowed you to shield the ball and use your dribbling skills to beat defenders. So instead of being able to wiggle out of these situations, you’re left watching players tackle the ball from each other with regularity because of the slight delay after you win the ball.
Last Thursday, EA Sports released a highly anticipated Patch #3 for Madden 23, and fans worldwide rejoiced, right? After all, this new patch was supposed to fix glaring issues with some of Madden’s single-player game modes like Face of the Franchise and Connected Franchise. In addition, we hoped to see some fine-tuning done to the gameplay issues gamers have experienced — like throwing a ton of costly interceptions. But like we’ve seen time and time again from EA and other video game companies, there’s only so much they can fit into each update, and everyone will never be happy with what has changed. This is no different. There is some good that comes with this new update, but for the most part, there’s still a lot that needs work. So along with the help from the Operation Sports community, I present to you our Madden 23 Patch #3 review.
By now, sports video game fans have become fairly accustomed to seeing the slightest of improvements one year to the next from annual titles. While you’re probably hoping to see the kind of unmistakable upgrades that practically leap off the screen, it’s more likely that you’ll end up having to squint real hard to spot any differences from the prior title. This is the case with NHL 23 in many regards, which is destined to have those who invested even a moderate amount of time into NHL 22experiencing a strong sense of déjà vu a lot of the time. Without any new game modes or massive changes to the existing ones (beyond a notable change for franchise mode), you’re left with the distinct impression that this new release is closer to an update than a brand new game. Fortunately, the subtle but impactful adjustments that have been been made to the on-ice action help to temper my disappointment by making this the most realistic and fun depiction of hockey that the series has produced in at least a decade. With that in mind, let’s get into my NHL 23review.
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