Elden Ring

It’s easy to dismiss Elden Ring as little more than open-world Dark Souls. But it takes the sheer freedom of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and packs it with weapons, Incantations, Sorceries, armor, enemies, mini-bosses, side quests, lore and quirky characters. Elden Ring is a dense experience that goes from one spectacle to the next.

Next week is when things get spicy as 7 Days to Die launches on cloud, consoles and PC on April 26th. Turn-based action title Research and Destroy is out on the same day for consoles and PC. Then there’s Bugsnax for cloud, consoles and PC on April 28th, which coincides with the release of its free expansion The Isle of Bigsnax.

Unsouled, a “punishingly difficult (yet fair)” action RPG launches on the same day for consoles and PC. A number of titles will also be leaving Game Pass on April 30th so play them now while you still have the chance:

• Cricket 19 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Outlast 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Secret Neighbor (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Streets of Rage 4 (Cloud, Console, and PC)

F1 2021’s update 1.17 mainly focuses on improving the game’s online experience, including by addressing an issue where players are sometimes unable to start a race if joined during the grace period of a qualifying session, or another issue with the fastest lap point not getting removed after editing results in Leagues, or grid penalties correctly carry over from session in Leagues.

General bug fixes, such as improved AI behavior in sessions, fixing an issue with victory VO not playing, fixing the calibration issue with Fanatec CSL DD pedals, and more have also been introduced.

Check out the full patch notes below for more details. F1 2021 is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S< PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

F1 2021 UPDATE 1.17

Online

• Addressed an issue where if a player joined during the grace period of a qualifying session, they would be unable to start the race.
• Fastest lap point is no longer removed after editing results in Leagues.
• Grid penalties now correctly carry over from sessions in Leagues if they are completed at different times.

General

• Red Bull White livery added as an option to use on the Player Car.
• Improved AI Behaviour in sessions when they are on in-laps with faster cars approaching.
• Addressed an issue where Victory VO may not play at the end of a race.
• Addressed a calibration issue with the Fanatec CSL DD pedals.
• Addressed an issue where the R&D completed or failed screen would show up blank.
• General stability improvements.
• Various minor fixes.

As per a report by GamesIndustry, several of last year’s games such as Far Cry 6, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, and Ratchet and Clank: A Rift Apart, which were some of the best-sellers of the year, performed very well, selling more physically than digitally. The only exception to this is Resident Evil Village, which was marginally a little bit more popular on the digital front.

Nintendo games continue to perform well physically, unsurprisingly. Of all the physical copies sold, Switch had a share of 47%. Apart from that, FIFA 22‘s digital sales share was 61%, making it the fastest-growing digital product in the country, whereas the Call of Duty franchise saw the digital share drop year on year, with Call of Duty: Vanguard’s share being 58%.

EA’s F1 2021 in the end takes the bag for the biggest digital sales share for a new release, enjoying a 64% digital sales split.

Below, you can have a look at the 2021 UK sales chart with digital sales split to get an overview of the current market situation.

THE LAST OF US PART 2

The Last of Us Part 2’s standout higher difficulty settings didn’t arrive until after the game’s launch, but anyone who enjoyed the game’s mechanics and wants to engage with them on a deeper level should go back and experience it that way at least once. With harder enemies, scarcer resources, Listen mode and several HUD elements being disabled, and more, Grounded mode is a grueling trek through The Last of Us Part 2’s post-apocalypse- while the option to turn permadeath on brings even more intensity to an already intense experience.

We also get a brief look at future content with the Imola circuit arriving next month along with Sports Livery updates. November sees the release of Jeddah circuit and the F2 2021 season. Beyond that, we’ll have to wait and see but there is content to keep fans coming back.

F1 2021 is currently available for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5 and PC. As the first title published by EA Sports following Codemasters’ acquisition, it introduces a new story mode in Braking Point, co-op Career Mode and revamps several features like R&D. For more details, check out our official review here.

Now, 3D audio for PS5 headsets has been re-enabled as well. The game’s latest patch has apparently fixed the underlying issue and put 3D audio functionality back in the game. Here’s hoping that’s the end of the game’s technical hiccups on the PS5.

Pther balancing issues and minor bugs have also been addressed in the patch, such as updated driver name filters for the career mode, players sometimes having negative resource points, and more. You can check out the full patch notes for update 1.07 below.

F1 2021 is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

PATCH NOTES:

• Addressed an issue where Xbox users could fail to join an online session with error WS10004
• Re-enabled 3D audio for PS5 headsets and addressed the underlying issue
• F2™ races that finish due to the 1-hour time limit no longer result in the incorrect positions being awarded
• Fixed an issue where driver stats were reset to baseline stats and not taking upgrades into consideration
• Addressed an issue where players could start a lap ahead at certain tracks
• Distort sponsor will now correctly pay out the sponsor bonus after achieving the goals
• Driver name filters have been updated for career
• Addressed an issue where audio could drop out during an extended play period
• The vehicle halo will no longer have low shadow resolution
• Fanatec advanced paddle module top paddles will now be correctly recognised
• Addressed an issue with saturated characters in the background of meet the press sequences with HDR enabled
• Closing the game during the season transition in MyTeam no longer results in the user having no team name, engine supplier or sponsor
• Viewing a highlight or replay after a race no longer causes game resolution to change on ultrawide screens
• Addressed an issue where users could have negative resource points
• DRS Beep audio level has been increased
• AI will no longer overtake the safety car when it is ending
• Collision setting will now be retained if changed between sessions
• Addressed an issue where the ERS deploy setting could display “To Do”
• UDP: m_resultStatus no longer shows as active after the race has finished
• UDP: Correct number of laps now shown in final classification
• UDP: Session history information from previous session is no longer sent following a restart
• UDP: LapHistoryData will now be correctly sent for an active car following a retirement
• On-Demand leagues can now turn AI reserves off
• Very Short has been added to the session length filter in social play
• Ability to hide the menu when customising camera settings has been re-added
• Added quality options and sharpening slider for DLSS
• Rebalanced chapters 3, 5, 9 and 12 on Challenging difficulty in Braking Point
• Rebalanced chapters 3, 5 and 12 on Hard difficulty in Braking Point
• General stability improvements
• Various minor fixes

The only other noteworthy title was Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: The Official Video Game. It saw sales increase by 43 percent, no doubt due to the buzz of the real-life Olympics, putting it in third place. Sadly, the buzz didn’t help Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 which saw sales drop by 13 percent.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD saw a major dip, going from second to fifth place after sales dropped by 46 percent. NEO: The World Ends with You debuted last week in tenth place but sadly fell out of the top ten this week. Check out the Gfk top ten for the week ending August 7th 2021 below.

Here are all the sponsors along with their signing bonuses, weekly incomes and goal bonuses.

• X-Formig – Provides $4.2 million signing bonus and $280,000 weekly income. Completing a full season nets $1.68 million as a bonus for the season.
• RGB – Provides $4.4 million signing bonus and $268,8000 weekly income. Finishing in 10^th position or better in the Constructors’ Championship nets $2.24 million bonus.
• Xenon Dynamics – Provides $4.5 million signing bonus and $268,8000 weekly income. If you earn 15 points in the Constructors’ Championship, then $4.03 million bonus is awarded.
• Echo – Provides $4.6 million signing bonus and $263,200 weekly income. If you achieve two point finishes in a season, then $3.92 million is awarded as a bonus.

You also need to choose an engine which will be subtracted from the signing bonus of whichever sponsor is chosen. Keep that in mind when choosing one.

Leveling up allows for another sponsor to be unlocked, though the contracts are shorter. These can be viewed under the Corporate Sponsorships tab and will often pay out based on goals achieved each week. A view examples includes completing all of the practice programs, getting the fastest lap for a race, ensuring that both your drivers don’t get “DNF” and even just answering some interview questions. Go with those you’re most comfortable with in a season.

You’ll also need a second driver for your team and they’ll have stats like Pace, Focus (which is akin to the driver’s morale), Individual Acclaim, Rating, Experience, Awareness and so on. If you’re not happy with a driver, simply sign some new ones via the Corporate Driver Market tab.

Let’s take a look at some ways to get the best results out of a season. Right off the bat, look for the group that has a particular specialization you want. When questioned about one’s favorite department in an interview, answering will rank up that department, providing an instant advantage. Try to be amicable during interviews (tempting as it is to be smarmy) since they’re a decent source of Acclaim.

There are six key departments – Aerodynamics, which is all about turning speed and maneuvering; Powertrain which is focused on speed when racing down straights; Durability, which affects the overall wear and tear that a vehicle receives; Personnel, which influences a teammate’s attributes; Marketing for more boosts and acclaim when completing team activities; and Chassis, which governs the weight distribution and performance of your vehicle. Again, based on the department chosen during interviews, you’ll receive bonuses throughout the game. Certain events can also occur, like sponsors investing more money (which leads to resource point costs being reduced) and having to fix the facility when it gets flooded (leading to more or less money being lost).

It’s also worth taking stock of how many calendar activities are available each weekend, especially if the season is shorter. Look for bonuses that you need in certain places while also accounting for your drivers’ Acclaim. Taking Marketing in these cases can be highly beneficial when playing longer seasons.

As you upgrade different departments, you’ll receive more parts for R&D, like Fabrication which increases the number of active projects at a time and Resource Point Generation which increases the amount of weekly research points. Along with calendar activities and events, Resource Points can be earned from departments and when achieving different goals in practice sessions. The Development Feedback perk for your driver also provides a slight increase to Resource Points earned and has three upgrade tiers. Other perks include Social Media Team (which increases the amount of Individual Acclaim generated), Power Mapping (reduces engine wear and tear) and Media Coaching (for more interview responses.

Delving deeper into the R&D tab, it’s a lot easier to get into than F1 2020. Each department is organized neatly and various upgrades unlock in a pre-defined sequence. As you increase the Spec Rank, new technologies and features are unlocked. It’s worth noting that developing certain parts may end in failure and will require another try, though it often succeeds the second time around.

Patch 1.06 for the game recently went live, and its patch notes reveal that 3D audio when using headphones has been temporarily disabled. Apparently, it’s been causing some audio issues, and Codemasters says it will be re-enabled as soon as these have been dealt with. Hopefully, it won’t take too long. Ray-tracing was only disabled for a little over a week, so hopefully we’re looking at a similar timeline here.

F1 2021 is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.