Author: Game Infliction

Indie sensation Vampire Survivors is finally coming to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on August 29, 2024.

Developer Poncle announced the release date in an admittedly ridiculous trailer, below, promising 500,000 texture mapped garlic balls and at least 13.5 hours of gameplay, all for the price of a peri peri chicken wrap.

Vampire Survivors is a fast paced and over the top gothic horror game with rogue-lite elements, where your choices can allow you to quickly snowball against the hundreds of monsters that get thrown at you.

It became one of the biggest surprise hits of the last few years as what launched as a humble indie game on Steam blew up in popularity and snowballed itself.

Poncle soon added layers of new content to the game and the core experience now offers 50 playable characters and 80 weapons to play with. That’s before the two major expansions too.

In our 8/10 review, IGN said: “Need a game to play while listening to podcasts? This is it. Vampire Survivors is outwardly simple but turns out to be an incredibly deep hole to fall down — though it’s not without extended dull periods when you get ahead of its curve.”

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Nearly a month ago, the long-awaited return to College Football video games arrived on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. And today, EA Sports has announced the first major update for College Football 25, which introduces new playbook options, new uniform pieces, tweaks to gameplay, addresses various bug fixes in game modes like Road to Glory, and more.

In a new Campus Huddle blog post, EA Sports revealed a slew of new changes as part of College Football 25’s Title Update 2. The most notable ones include expanded playbook options and new uniform pieces. Regarding new playbook options, the new update adds 8 new shotgun formations to 35 teams, providing more variation in offensive strategies to the applicable terms. This update’s specific formations include Bunch Quads Open and Slot F Wing.

Regarding the new uniforms, EA Sports revealed that new uniform pieces are introduced in College Football 25. According to the blog post, the following teams have received new uniform pieces: Baylor Oregon, Iowa State, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Bowling Green, Northwestern, UTEP, Boise State, New Mexico State, App State, Texas State, Louisiana, New Mexico, and South Alabama. Some schools, like TCU and Missouri, also received adjusted uniform pieces to reflect the upcoming season.

College Football 25’s Title Update 2 also introduces tweaks to gameplay. Some notable adjustments include adjusting the O-Line behavior, resulting in fewer ineligible receiver downfield penalties when players executed an RPO-style play, specifically when players opted to pass instead of running the ball.

Changes to specific game modes, most notably Dynasty and Road to Glory. The most notable one for the former includes addressing an issue where players could not have more than 20 created coaches at one time during an online Dynasty League. The most notable change for the latter includes an additional undisclosed scenario and new NIL content, alongside fixing an issue that caused some players’ games to crash when quitting a Position Battle.

The full patch notes will be provided below.

College Football 25 has been a massive success for EA. While the publisher has disclosed no firm sales numbers, the publicly available data revealed that 2.2 million people were willing to spend $100 to pre-order the Deluxe version, which granted buyers access to College Football 25 a couple of days early.

In our review of College Football 25, IGN wrote: “College Football 25 nails the on-field action with a dynamic feel, stellar graphics, and tons of smart gameplay tweaks. However, so much of what’s off the field feels unfinished, with UI issues and barebones modes that seem like they are waiting for a rebuild next season.”

College Football 25 Title Update 2 Patch Notes

• Gameplay
  • Included 8 new shotgun formations to a total of 35 teams: Bunch Quads Open (Known as Diamond Quads; added to teams including Texas Tech, Western Michigan), Deuce Twins Over (Buffalo, Toledo), Slot F Wing (NC State, Liberty), Split Pro Far (NC State, Liberty), Split Pro Near (NC State), Tight Y Off Flex (Florida), Wing HB Wk Close (Indiana, Minnesota), Wing Slot Over (Texas A&M, Kansas State)
  • Tuning and logic enhancements to pursuit angles.
  • Introduced new behavior that further differentiates players with high pursuit ratings vs lower pursuit ratings.
    • Dev Note: We will monitor feedback on how this change impacts gameplay and based on results could make further adjustments in a future title update.
  • Reduced frequency of broken tackles from trailing defenders.
  • Fixed various instances of rare broken play bugs.
  • Fixed issue where certain formations had offensive players align too wide when on the near or far hash.
  • Fixed an issue where you could not use 4-2-5 or 3-3-5 formations in a custom playbook.
  • Fixed an issue where singleback formations would be assigned the wrong name when creating a custom playbook.
  • Fixed an issue where Spiking the Ball in online modes was not working as part of the Turbo Tempo system.
  • Fixed an issue so a Speed Option Running Back will follow the QB longer.
  • Adjusted AI QB behavior on shot plays to make more lob throws vs bullet passes.
  • Adjusted AI QB behavior to be less aggressive based on awareness rating.
  • Adjusted AI offensive line behavior resulting in less illegal man downfield penalties during RPO style plays.
    • Dev Note: For best chances at success, make sure you press the icon of which receiver you want to throw to before the RB receives the ball.
  • Adjusted the DB’s ability to more effectively shed blocks on the perimeter.
  • Increased the speed penalty for running out of stamina during play.
  • QB scrambles behind the line of scrimmage will lose stamina at a faster rate.
  • Fixed an exploit where players would leave a QB contain player unblocked and run around them.
    • Dev Note: We will make further improvements to QB Contain in a future title update.
  • Increased the reward players receive for shading inside or outside correctly in Man Coverage vs passing routes.
  • Adjusted False Start chances when you make preplay adjustments late in the play clock.
  • Fixed an issue where run-fit defenders were not responding as effectively to Wildcat run plays.
  • Made an adjustment to the Wildcat Unbalanced Motion Zone play.
  • Reduced the effectiveness of multiple laterals in a single play.
  • Adjusted the thresholds required to receive the most effective Juke and Spin moves.
  • Adjusted press animations to be more of an effective counter to the Takeoff Ability.
  • Updated pass protection mechanic to only include the RB in the protection if they are already on a block or block and release assignment.
  • Abilities
    • Updated the coloring of Platinum tier Abilities to further distinct the look vs Silver Abilities.
    • Rebalanced the Gold and Platinum tiers of the Juke and Spin abilities like 360 and Side Step.
    • Rebalanced the Platinum tier of the extender ability which includes not firing on QB designed run plays.
    • Slightly rebalanced the effectiveness of the Gold and Platinum tiers of the Quick Jump Ability. Additionally we made adjustments to the tier levels found on the Texas Front 7.
• Dynasty Mode
  • Fixed an issue where players were unable to have more than 20 created coaches at one time in an online Dynasty League.
  • Various fixes around score summaries and Box Scores.
  • Various fixes for News Stories.
  • Introduced a new Playoff Bracket Screen.
  • Updated Texas/Oklahoma Rivalry data.
  • Discovered that FCS SE, MW, and NW were secretly using professional players and passing them off as collegiate players. Gave them sanctions and ensured they are now using properly-rated players.
    • Dev Note: For this change to go into effect, you will need to create a new Dynasty.
  • Fixed an issue where Wear and Tear did not recover for FCS teams resulting in a high number of FCS team injuries during gameplay.
  • Reduced dynamic attendance penalties for playing FCS teams.
  • Increased dynamic attendance in rivalry games.
  • Retuned Toughest Places to Play formula to reduce the impact that large stadiums have on Toughest Places to Play and increase the value of filling the stadium and winning games at home historically.:
  • Reduced impact of raw crowd size.
  • Increased impact of historical win rate.
  • Increased impact of attendance rate.
  • Updated Right hand panel in Stadium Atmosphere Grade on My School screen to accurately reflect the Toughest Places to Play at all times.
  • Increased the accumulation of Pride stickers, particularly for defensive players and offensive linemen.
  • Reduced the Chance to Transfer Penalty for players rated below 90 OVR.
  • Updated Coach Talents on Wyoming Offensive Coordinator.
    • Dev Note: For this change to go into effect, you will need to create a new Dynasty.
  • Defensive Schemes and Playbooks for the following teams have been updated.
    • Dev Note: For this change to go into effect, you will need to create a new Dynasty.
      • USC
      • UCLA
      • Mississippi State
      • Texas Tech
      • UConn
      • Miami
      • Memphis
      • Nevada
      • North Carolina
      • Notre Dame
      • Oregon State
      • San Jose State
      • TCU
      • Texas A&M
      • Troy
    • UMass
  • Updating your coach’s playbook in the Schemes and Playbooks screen will now update your team’s scheme and should be reflected in Team Needs.
  • Fixed an issue where Offensive Linemen would appear in the Preseason Heisman Watch in future seasons.
  • Updated the Heisman Watch logic to reduce the value of receiving TDs.
  • Recruiting
    • Dev Note: Our primary goals for this update were to remove most of the recruiting strategies that were discovered during early access and to smooth out the pain points our players were reporting. Recruiting is a delicate balance as we want to try to make things as realistic as possible, while also allowing players to live out their football fantasies. With that in mind, we decided to introduce additional recruiting logic and balance changes:
• Fixed an issue where teams were pursuing too many quarterbacks in High School Recruiting.
• Reduced the number of unrecruited 4 and 5 stars early in the season.
• Increased the number of players that the AI will pursue at one time.
  • Dev Note: The above changes strive to decrease the number of players that go unrecruited until late in the cycle, while also slightly reducing how aggressive the AI could be with those recruits once they start to recruit them. Our goal is to deliver a fun but balanced recruiting experience that feels rewarding to all players. We will monitor the impacts these changes have on the overall recruiting experience and continue to adjust as needed.
  • Visits
  • Fixed an issue where you could not schedule visits for recruits in certain situations.
  • Fixed an issue where a visit remained scheduled even if a recruit was removed from a board.
  • Fixed an issue where the allowed the number of visits scheduled for a week to exceed 4.
  • Tuned Visit Influence effects:
  • Removed initial influence when scheduling a visit.
  • Increased disparity between winning and losing a game during a visit.
  • Tuned the logic for game stakes to better account for ranked teams.
  • Increased the penalty for choosing a visit activity that the team does not have a high grade in or the player is not interested in.
  • SuperSim
  • Increased hand off rate for simulated RPOs to increase the number of running plays across the country, especially for teams with a lot of RPOs in their playbook.
  • Various tuning fixes to increase the gap between good and bad teams/players.
    • Dev Note: We are going to continue to monitor the simulation results to ensure that teams and players are performing within expected ranges, including reducing frequency of upsets, based on Pre-Season Projections and expected win totals.
  • Polls
  • Increased the loss penalty for schools with more than 1 loss.
  • Increased the weighing of Conference Prestige in the poll calculation.
  • Reduced variance in CFP poll logic vs Media/Coaches
    • Dev Note: As with the other systems mentioned above, we will continue to monitor the Polls system to ensure that it strikes a balance between realism and reward for player success.
  • Custom Conferences/Custom Schedules
    • Dev Note: We will continue to monitor feedback about Custom Conferences and Scheduling. Based on this feedback we plan to continue making adjustments in future title updates.
  • Fixed an issue in Conference Rules where Divisions were changed to off, even if those Divisions were previously turned on.
  • Fixed an issue where the Independents Tab disappeared when removing all teams from Independents
    • Dev Note: This also fixes issues with tabs to the right of Independents having incorrect or missing data.
  • Addressed UI issues around the Conference Title game for the CUSA and PAC-12
  • Addressed UI issues around Dynasty Team Select UI appropriately respecting Custom Conference moves
  • Updated text in the Team Header on the Custom Schedules Screen
• Road to Glory
  • Added an additional scenario and NIL content.
  • Fixed rare issues where you’d get a scenario reward screen that did not align with your received bonuses.
  • Fixed an issue where users were getting Skill Points maxed out after completing a practice.
  • Fixed a crash when quitting a Position Battle.
  • Reworked Wear and Tear UI to show position-appropriate ratings-impacts.
  • Fixed an issue where you cannot equip a Mental Ability during the RTG Player creation flow if you enter a settings menu during creation.
  • Fixed an issue where Meter Mental Progress is not tracked during Bye Weeks.
  • Fixed an issue where it is impossible to lose Coach Trust once you reach max Coach Trust.
  • Fixed a UI issue related to the display of Coach Trust when a user is close to max Coach Trust.
  • Fixed an issue where you cannot Upgrade your player during Bye Weeks.
  • Fixed a UI issue related to the display of Weekly Energy in the Meters Screen.
  • Fixed issues with Mental Goals not tracking correctly or reaching Platinum correctly.
  • Fixed UI issues around Text Messages.
  • Fixed an issue where backing out of the Team Selection step in RTG Creation can soft lock the mode.
  • Fixed an issue where a player can continue to work on Academics after graduating early.
• College Football Ultimate Team
  • Generating ‘Best Lineup’ no longer changes your equipped visuals and playbook.
  • Player Portraits will no longer appear on non-player items after filtering or sorting.
  • Fixed a crash that occurred during kicking off at halftime when playing Champs.
  • Attributes on the front of Player Items should update correctly after a Player Item has been upgraded.
  • Fixed an issue that was occurring when highlighting the Rename Team tile on the UT Hub.
  • Fixed an issue with Squads 3v3 that prevented 2 users from being able to connect to the game.
  • Fixed an issue with the Orientation Pack that was preventing new users from being able to upgrade their lineup and progress through the Orientation Field Pass.
  • Fixed an issue on the Player Profile Screen that prevented users from being able to transition within the Profile selections.
  • Removed the Green Gavel icon that appeared on owned items placed on the Auction House.
  • Fixed a crash with House Rules: Touchdown Tango that triggered when the play clock reached 0.
  • Player Items displayed on the New Items Screen no longer appear transparent when not highlighted.
  • When viewing Challenge Details the yardage marker is now displayed within the Conditions.
  • On the Lineup Screen names of players in backup slots contributing to Chemistry should change in scale when highlighting a Chemistry boost.
  • Improved UI around Attributes that are receiving chemistry boosts when viewing the Attributes tab of the Item Detail screen.
  • Fixed issue that was causing long load transitions on the New Item Screen during the First Time User Experience.
  • The Difficulty star for Challenges now displays correctly when scrolling down the Play Co-op List.
  • Fixed an issue that was causing users to error out to the Main Hub when trying to access the Auction House.
  • Conference Filters in the Auction House now work correctly.
  • Fixed stability issues for users entering Ultimate Team for the first time.
• Presentation
  • Added new uniform pieces for Baylor, Oregon, Iowa State, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Bowling Green, Northwestern, UTEP, Boise State, New Mexico State, App State, Texas State, Louisiana, New Mexico, and South Alabama.
  • Adjusted uniform pieces for 2024 season: TCU, Arkansas, Missouri, Baylor
  • Various improvements made to teams’ uniform pieces for authenticity
  • Updates have been made to the following stadiums:
    • Holiday Bowl
    • Texas State
    • Kansas
    • Kennesaw State
    • Oklahoma State
    • Wake Forest
    • UL-Monroe
    • Nebraska
  • Fixed an Issue where the USC Mascot would disappear during the opening ceremony.
  • Fixed an Issue where the incorrect mascot would appear during different situations.
  • Restored opening chants for Penn State, FSU, and Tennessee on Xbox Series S.
• Road to the College Football Playoff
  • Tier Rebalancing and Reconstruction changing the format from 3 tiers to 5 tiers.

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

A new entry in the Mario Party series is heading our way. Super Mario Party Jamboree is set to release exclusively for Nintendo Switch on October 17. It comes with over 110 minigames and supports up to 20 players in online competitions. Better yet, it includes a free three-month membership to Nintendo Switch Online (individual membership). It’s available to preorder now from a variety of retailers (see it at Best Buy). Read on for the details.

Preorder Super Mario Party Jamboree

• Get it at Best Buy – $59.99
• Get it at GameStop – $59.99
• Get it at Target – $59.99
• Get it at Nintendo eShop (digital) – $59.99

No special editions have been announced, so the standard one is all you can get. If you’re holding off to preorder from Amazon, you might not want to do that. Recently, physical copies of Switch games have been appearing on Amazon at launch rather than becoming available to preorder beforehand.

Super Mario Party Jamboree Bonus

Preordering (or buying) Super Mario Party Jamboree gets you a free 3-month individual membership to Nintendo Switch Online. An NSO account is required to play the 20-player online Koopathlon mode, which should be pretty cool. It also gets you access to cloud saves, a bunch of NES and SNES games, and more.

What is Super Mario Party Jamboree?

The Super Mario Party series dates all the way back to 1998, in the halcyon days of the Nintendo 64 era. The series has come a long way since then, so long (and with so many entries) that they stopped numbering the new installments after the 10 one, which came out on the Wii U. And that’s just the console entries — there were even more on Nintendo’s handhelds throughout the years.

Jamboree is the third Mario Party game on the Switch, and it’s the biggest one yet. Announced during the June 2024 Nintendo Direct, it takes place on an island resort. It has seven boards, including new ones like a racetrack-themed one called Roll ‘em Raceway and a shopping mall one called Rainbow Galleria. It also has a few favorite boards from previous games. With over 110 minigames, it’s the biggest Mario Party game yet. It has a number of play modes, including a 20-player online Koopathlon, which has you duke it out for a high score against more players than ever before in the series.

Other Preorder Guides

Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN’s board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Threads.

Nintendo games can be pricey, but Switch fans can still find fantastic deals. Throughout the year, there are numerous sales on games, Switch consoles, and accessories that are worth exploring. We’ve gathered the top deals currently available below, including Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown for Switch for $24.99 (50% off), the Timmy & Tommy’s Aloha Edition Nintendo Switch Lite bundle for $159 at Walmart, and more. Check out our favorite deals at the moment below, and for more updates on the latest discounts, follow @IGNDeals on Twitter or Threads.

Preorder the the Nintendo Switch Lite Hyrule Edition Console

Announced alongside The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom during June’s Nintendo Direct, the Nintendo Switch Lite: Hyrule Edition handheld console is officially up for preorder. Best Buy is offering preorders for $209.99 with orders shipping out on September 26. That’s $10 more than a stock Switch Lite, but that’s more than justified by the fact that this edition includes a 12 month Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership.

Score a Nintendo Switch Lite with Animal Crossing for $159

Walmart still has this excellent deal available, which is worth taking advantage of if you’ve been hoping to get your hands on a Switch console. Right now, you can grab a Nintendo Switch Lite (Timmy & Tommy’s Aloha Edition) bundle with Animal Crossing for 20% off, marking it down to $159.

More Nintendo Switch Game Deals

There are quite a few different Switch games on sale at the moment that are worth picking up for your collection. Some of our favorites right now are Unicorn Overlord for $39.99, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for $45.95, and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, which is 50% off to just $24.99. You can see even more of our favorite Switch game deals below.

More Switch Video Game Deals

• Unicorn Overlord for $39.99
• Shin Megami Tensei V for $39.99
• Rabbids: Party of Legends for $19.99
• Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope for $19.99
• Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble Launch Edition for $34.99
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for $63.99
• Super Mario Maker 2 for $39.99
• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD for $44.99
• Metroid Dread (Preowned) for $44.99

Best Switch Micro SD Card Deals

The best Switch SD card should be fast, reliable, and as future-proof as possible. That last one is important, especially with the Switch successor on the horizon. Therefore, you’re going to want to opt for the latest in SD card tech, which is a micro SDXC UHS-I U3 A2 V30 memory card. That’s a lot of random letters, so to save you a bit of time we’ve left our top suggestions and deals just above and below for your convenience (like this excellent deal on a Lexar 1TB PLAY microSDXC Memory Card for $73.99). To see even more SD card deals, make sure to check out our roundup of the best SD card deals.

More Switch Micro SD Card Deals

Best Nintendo Switch Accessory Deals

Whether you’re looking for a new controller or a little bag to carry your Switch in, there are quite a few different deals on Nintendo Switch accessories that are worth checking out right now as well. Here, we’ve listed just a few of our favorite discounts at a variety of retailers that are worth picking up.

When Should You Buy a Nintendo Switch?

The short answer is that you should buy a Nintendo Switch whenever there’s any kind of sale, regardless of the time of year. Amazon will likely offer the same console bundles on any other sale as it will on Black Friday or Amazon Prime Day, so there’s no real reason to wait if you’re in need of a Nintendo Switch.

That being said, there are sometimes some unique bundles and promotions during Black Friday that you won’t find any other time of the year. They usually includes additional games (like the infamous Mario Kart 8 bundle) or Switch accessories for free, but quantities tend to be limited. As always, do your research into the seller before you make a purchase and keep in mind that the Nintendo Switch 2 is coming out next year.

Where to Buy a Nintendo Switch in 2024

• Nintendo Switch Console for $299.00
• Nintendo Switch Lite Console for $199.00

With how expensive gaming is getting in 2024, we’re trying to save you as much money as possible on the games and other tech you actually want to buy. We’ve got great deal roundups available for all major platforms such as PlayStation and Xbox, and keep these updated daily with brand-new offers. If you’re trying to keep costs down while maintaining your favorite hobby, stay tuned for more incredible discounts.

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Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.