Author: Trevor Cripe

It’s that time of year again. The fall season, where all the sports games start releasing back to back. It all starts with Madden in August, then goes NHL and NBA in the middle of September, then wraps up with the release of FIFA in late September. Unlike most years, where you could, for the most part, only get these games on the Xbox One and PS4, there was a new console this year in the Nintendo Switch. With a new console, comes a potential new market of players to grab, but it also means you have to develop a new port for said game. Right here is where developers EA and Visual Concepts took different routes for their Switch versions of the popular console games in FIFA 18 and NBA 2K18.

In the past when FIFA 18 was announced for the Switch, I expressed some concerns in another viewpoint article, which can be viewed right here. In that article, I spoke about how the game will not be using the usual Frostbite engine and will be missing multiple game modes.

Well, since that article there have been some updates regarding the Switch version, and in my opinion, it comes off as a little insulting. In an interview with FIFA 18 developer, Andrei Lazarescu was asked about the missing modes in the Switch version, for example, the Switch version is missing The Journey, FUT champions and squad battles. His response for the missing modes was “If you throw everything from the get go to a completely new player base, you might not get the desired result.”

This argument that Andrei is presenting is one of the most ridiculous statements I’ve ever read. He is essentially saying that Nintendo Switch users are too incompetent to understand the intricacies of FIFA 18. Andrei we all know the real story here, the real reason that the Switch version is so butchered down and simple is because EA didn’t want to put any money into it – mainly because of their Wii U failure. Next time, don’t lie to the consumer about it and try to spin it. Saying that Switch users wouldn’t understand the technicalities of a soccer game is far worse than being upfront and honest about it.

NBA 2K18

With the disappointment of FIFA 18 came the surprise of NBA 2K18 for the Switch. Unlike EA, Visual concepts went all in on their Switch port of 2K18. Senior producer Rob Jones said porting 2K18 to the Nintendo Switch was a “gargantuan task.” The game features all of the same game modes and runs on the same engine as the PS4 and Xbox One versions:

“It’s not the same exact graphics because the Switch can’t push them, you know, but the experience itself – you’re not missing out on anything from the Switch version [compared] to the main consoles version”, he said, talking about the Switch version of 2K18.

The only compromises Visual Concepts had to make regarding the Switch port is the toned-down graphics, and they had to cut the frame rate from 60fps to 30fps.

With the Switch port of 2K18, you really are getting a console-quality sports game on the go. It’s great that they were able to pull this off, especially since EA couldn’t figure out how to port FIFA 18 to the Switch in a respectable manner. I really wish I didn’t have to bash on the Switch version of FIFA 18, but the Switch version of NBA 2K18 makes it come off as a lazy cash grab.

In the end, it doesn’t matter what I think. All that matters is what the public as a whole thinks about these ports. So, with that being said, will you guys be picking up the seemingly great Switch port in NBA 2K18? Or, will you still be picking up the Switch Port of FIFA 18 despite all of its downfalls? Or maybe you’ll be picking up both? Let me know in the comments below!

“The Man in Black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.” This is the very first line from book one (The Gunslinger) of the epic Dark Tower series from Stephen King. This one line leaves you with great anticipation of the adventure you’re about to experience. This one line could easily be a pitch for, let’s say, a video game (or a sh** movie…) based off this series of books.

The Dark Tower is an epic tale, that mixes western, sci-fi, good vs evil, and fantasy in one very special package that is begging to be put in the hands of a good developer. You could take this potential game in so many directions. The two I would recommend is either an open world adventure like Red Dead Redemption or a choose your own adventure like Telltale – by going through the book’s story over multiple seasons, just like they have done with their other series of games.

For an open world game, there is limitless potential in the Dark Tower series, because there are quite a few different worlds, and each one can be radically different or similar to the others. But, if I were in charge of developing the game, I wouldn’t get crazy and go off the rails like the books get later on. I would keep it grounded, and would base it off the first book. The opening line sums up the first book to a tee, and that’s what the game could resemble. Exploring the universe of the Dark Tower series, meeting the iconic characters, doing quests, learning more about the lore, and ultimately chasing down the Man in Black.

The Telltale route would be an interesting endeavour because in those games you make the choices for the character, so you would have to spin-off the source material to make it work. If this were to happen, Telltale studios should have no problem pulling this off. They’ve done it with their other games The Walking Dead, Batman, Game of Thrones, etc. It would be awesome to experience what their version of a Stephen King world would be like.

The Dark Tower series really does have it all, from sorcerers to demons, to talking animals, to gunfights, to deep and intriguing characters, an expansive story and lore with connections to Stephen King’s other works. This series would do wonders in an experienced studio’s hand like Rockstar, Telltale or even better would be CD Projekt Red. If you can adapt the books without completely tarnishing what made the book series special, cough *the movie* cough, then it would be an absolute blast to be able to control Roland the gunslinger and hunt down the Man in Black.

If you guys have no idea what the Dark Tower is, I will include the movie trailer below, but I HIGHLY recommend reading the books, or even the graphic novels instead of watching the movie.

To those fans of The Dark Tower series, what do you think? Is The Dark Tower series primed for a video game adaption? Or should nobody touch it again after the recently released movie? Let me know in the comments below!

FIFA is finally coming back to a Nintendo home console. Yes, it’s been a long time Nintendo fans, just about five years to be exact. After FIFA and Madden both sold poorly for the Wii U, EA sports pulled support for the console. That was all the way in 2012, but with the recent release of the Nintendo Switch, EA is giving it another go. This time they’re taking a more cautious route, and are only releasing FIFA 18 for the Switch. Which honestly looks like EA is taking a test run with the console this year, and the downgraded version of FIFA they’re about to release shows just that.

With the announcement of FIFA for the Switch came a decent amount of anticipation from sports gamers, who are looking for a quality sports gaming experience on the go. But, it did not take long for the bad news to start leaking out. Literally a couple of hours after the Switch version was announced there was a rumor that it was just a port of the 360/PS3 versions of the game (thank god that turned out to be false.) Secondly, came the news that the game will NOT run on the Frostbite engine like the Xbox One and PS4 versions do. Instead, FIFA 18 for the Switch will use a “custom-made” engine to adapt with Switch’s different methods of play.

This is concerning. FIFA for the Xbox One and PS4 didn’t even start feeling like a “Next-Gen” soccer experience until they upgraded the engine for FIFA 17. So, straight off the bat, FIFA for the Switch is not only going to look worse (as expected) but play dramatically worse as well. The Frostbite engine upgraded the visuals, the AI, the ball and player physics, the atmosphere, the look of the pitch, etc. The ‘switch’ from the Ignite engine to the Frostbite engine really has changed the game of FIFA for the better. Also, the Frostbite engine was able to run on the Xbox 360 and PS3, which the Switch is clearly more powerful than. Now, obviously the Xbox One/PS4 version of Frostbite EA is using couldn’t work on the 360 and PS3, but the fact that Frostbite could run on the 360 and PS3 just shows how scaleable that engine is. So why can’t it run on the Switch? Just some food for thought.

Thirdly, the Switch version of FIFA 18 will not have the game mode called “The Journey.” Which is a cinematic story mode where you take control of a young teenager, named Alex Hunter, and guide him through the English Premier League. While I was not a fan of this mode, and thought it was essentially just a rip off of the movie Goal: The Dream Begins, I won’t deny its wide appeal. EA says this mode is linked exclusively to the Frostbite engine, so it wont be on the Switch version. Well….. my question for EA is: why not? If you can make a custom build of the whole base game and all its other modes for the Switch, why can’t you guys do the same thing for the “The Journey” as well? This just makes EA look lazy or too scared to put money into the Switch version of the game.

Lastly, and my main concern for the game, is how it actually plays. I started playing the series back with FIFA 14 on the Xbox One, and I can tell you, gameplay is all that really matters. I was hopeful with their new custom-built engine that they were going to keep the action on the pitch as close to the Xbox One/PS4 versions as they possibly could, but from what I’ve been reading from the E3 demos, that does not seem to be the case. Gameplay is king, and if FIFA 18 on Switch really does play like the 2014-2016 Xbox One/PS4 versions, then unfortunately I will not be buying this version of the game. Which is a shame, because if FIFA 18 sells poorly on the Switch, it would not surprise me to see EA pull the product from the console. Just like they did with the Wii U and Vita versions.

Just to be clear, I would never expect FIFA 18 on the Switch to be a like-for-like with the Xbox One and PS4 versions. The Switch just isn’t powerful enough for that. But, that shouldn’t give EA permission to put out a half-assed product. This puts Nintendo fans in a hard spot because if they don’t buy this version of FIFA for the Switch, then they might never get another version of the game. I own a Switch and an Xbox One, I’ve considered buying both versions of the game to support the Switch. But, for the same price point of $60 for the Switch and Xbox version, I cannot justify spending the same amount on a much lesser version.

So, Nintendo and FIFA fans, what are your thoughts on FIFA 18 for the Switch? Will you be picking it up or will you not support it at all? Let me know in the comments down below!