Recommended Posts

if your looking for a specific thing on the map

click the eyeball

hide all

select the specific thing you want

The map is showing nothing at all, neither specific nor all the items. Maybe it's a problem with Firefox, I don't have access to Chrome on this computer.

The map is showing nothing at all, neither specific nor all the items. Maybe it's a problem with Firefox, I don't have access to Chrome on this computer.

oh i don't have firefox installed, so no idea

just tried it with IE, got what you got, nothing

must be a Chrome only thing

Are we going to do anything with the Neowin guild? Like try and get upgrades, perhaps have a guild bank?

Everytime i've come on, no one is chatting and only a couple of people are online (not representing). Chat works across servers right?

Even party up and do a dungeon or some events?

Are we going to do anything with the Neowin guild? Like try and get upgrades, perhaps have a guild bank?

Everytime i've come on, no one is chatting and only a couple of people are online (not representing). Chat works across servers right?

Even party up and do a dungeon or some events?

That was the intention of it. I can't force people to represent the guild though. Was waiting to get enough influence to be able to purchase upgrades. Takes a lot longer when you don't do anything as a guild.

Can guilds be spread across servers or do you need to be in the same server. I would love to join someone's guild as I don't know anyone plaything this game at the moment.

I have my Mesmer at level 18, a Warrior at level 11, and a few other even lower-lowbies that I've played around with. Probably have put about 15 hours into the game so far (rough estimate). So far I am loving the game. The art direction is really nice. The game has a good leveling pace to it. I'm excited about hitting level 20 on my Mesmer so that I can see what unlocking the next skill brings.

What I don't like about the game so far is how the skills are basically given to you. I like RPGs where I'm given a new firework to play with every couple of levels. Keeps me more engaged in the leveling process. In this game all your primary fighting skills (i.e., fireworks) are given to you at the first level. For my Mesmer I pretty much saw everything there was to see by level 3 or 4 and the past 14 levels have been just dinging with better stats. I'm hoping that level 20 opens up the palette a little more with somethings I can throw in the mix. Or maybe do higher level weapons have different skills than lower level ones? Its hard to get excited about leveling in this game because of this. When playing my Mesmer I keep wanting to start a new character just so I can see different fireworks associated with a different play style.

Also, are there any health potions in this game? Is there an alternative to healing yourself other than the class heal ability?

Are we going to do anything with the Neowin guild? Like try and get upgrades, perhaps have a guild bank?

Everytime i've come on, no one is chatting and only a couple of people are online (not representing). Chat works across servers right?

Even party up and do a dungeon or some events?

Community based guilds never work out.

Can guilds be spread across servers or do you need to be in the same server. I would love to join someone's guild as I don't know anyone plaything this game at the moment.

I have my Mesmer at level 18, a Warrior at level 11, and a few other even lower-lowbies that I've played around with. Probably have put about 15 hours into the game so far (rough estimate). So far I am loving the game. The art direction is really nice. The game has a good leveling pace to it. I'm excited about hitting level 20 on my Mesmer so that I can see what unlocking the next skill brings.

What I don't like about the game so far is how the skills are basically given to you. I like RPGs where I'm given a new firework to play with every couple of levels. Keeps me more engaged in the leveling process. In this game all your primary fighting skills (i.e., fireworks) are given to you at the first level. For my Mesmer I pretty much saw everything there was to see by level 3 or 4 and the past 14 levels have been just dinging with better stats. I'm hoping that level 20 opens up the palette a little more with somethings I can throw in the mix. Or maybe do higher level weapons have different skills than lower level ones? Its hard to get excited about leveling in this game because of this. When playing my Mesmer I keep wanting to start a new character just so I can see different fireworks associated with a different play style.

Also, are there any health potions in this game? Is there an alternative to healing yourself other than the class heal ability?

I hope you are using different weapons... You also have slot skills that need to be bought and unlock.

Guilds can be spread across servers.

I feel the largest pitfall to this game is the way the weapon skills are assigned. I suppose it does great for balance (only specific skills are used for specific weapons), but I really don't like the whole "unlock all weapon skills by level 5 and your attack skills never change after that, only heal/utility skills".....it really stomps on the build variations that Guild Wars 1 had in that respect.

No health potions.....class heal ability plus certain weapon skills and utility skills are what heals you (and depending on the ability, others).

Still enjoying the game a ton though, decided to catch up my weaponsmithing (150 to 200) and take cooking from 0 to 200 (planning on going to max but 200 was as high as I could take it with where my character currently is....already earned back the karma and silver spent doing it less than half a day after doing it) and I gained 4 levels from it all. Helped my catch up level-wise big time (I needed 2 levels for my next storyline quest, and already had renown hearts up to my level done in two different zones).

Trading post seems up now, bought a few fine crafting mats I need to get my level 50 armor/jewelry and sold all my tier 1 mats (all the professions I have/care about are already beyond tier 1) and a few random things here and there.

Community based guilds never work out.

I disagree...I've been in community based guilds that have worked out for 4+ years....the only reason they fell apart is because the owner could no longer afford to keep the community running. The problem is Neowin is not a very close-knit community as it is not based around games (gaming are just one of the many sections on Neowin)....most community-based guilds that stick together focus solely on games and are much closer to each other than Neowin members.

I hope you are using different weapons... You also have slot skills that need to be bought and unlock.

Yeah... by about level 5 you get your one-handed set of skills and your two-handed set of skills all unlocked. There is some variety with underwater and what offhand you use. But yeah, the game is really exciting as you unlock and learn your new abilities but its kind of a bummer when you realize "ok..umm..is this it for the rest of the game or whaaaatttt?"

Are we going to do anything with the Neowin guild? Like try and get upgrades, perhaps have a guild bank?

Everytime i've come on, no one is chatting and only a couple of people are online (not representing). Chat works across servers right?

Even party up and do a dungeon or some events?

im on and representing, but i will agree, the lack of chatting, or even grouping it seems,i was going to drop the guild, but fell asleep instead. the guild is atm, pointless. yes chat is cross server i belive. and grouping can even be done cross server i belive, not really shure how the cross server guild thing works

Had to reroll my race, the Norn Malproportioned Upper Torso vs Spindly legs was annoying me, luckly because the bank/crafting mats are shared and bags not soulbound, wasnt that hard, only bad part is i was 28

Havent checked Dye's yet, had a number of them ( *Edit - Nooo, lost all my dye's, soab, i hd alot of cool dye's to )

And because im a ranger, ill have to head back to norn lands to get my Artic Wolf, Polar Bear, Snow Lepard, and ill have to wait on mu Great White Shard till im 25

The Norn city also has a Polar Bear on the ice lake and Brown Bear in the quest area.

I'm going to report people now just because you have a problem with it. I never did before, but yeah. I feel like it's my moral civic duty and I've been neglecting it.

You can still say vulgar things that aren't picked up by the language filter and if you really have to talk like that use private channels, k? Thanks.

Not sure if serious.

The Norn city also has a Polar Bear on the ice lake and Brown Bear in the quest area.

yea i traveled out there when i rolled and re got the Polar Bear, Arctic wolf, and Snow Leopard. but while in the world i find i use the Bear's pretty much exclusively due to the Bear's tank ability, and Self Heal.

my Brown Bear was named Smokey, Polar is now Coke, but will change to Coca-Cola later tonight

I do really love the game, but I also have 1 more complaint: The Music. I really can't believe that the sound track for this game was done by Jeremy Soule because its all very generic sounding to me. The exception being the music for the Asura area which are decent tracks. But the human starting area music is just really...trumpetty? Idk...generic.

I do really love the game, but I also have 1 more complaint: The Music. I really can't believe that the sound track for this game was done by Jeremy Soule because its all very generic sounding to me. The exception being the music for the Asura area which are decent tracks. But the human starting area music is just really...trumpetty? Idk...generic.

I agree. Some of it the music is really generic. There are some real gems in it though. The music in Hoelbrak is really nice and the battle music when you fight Sons of Svanir in a world event near hunters lake. Must be difficult because some of the areas you will spend hours in, so you have to make music that can never get annoying.

I see people complaining about the weapon skill abilities, but to be honest, there's a lot of great ways to customize your character between the stat choices on gear, the utility skills, and the traits. How you build your character will shape what you are able to do, along with how well you setup your utility/elite skills to synergize with your build and weapon choices. This is why I was recommending you guys to go to guildwars2guru.com to check out the forums. There are some pretty insightful people there with some ideas I'd never thought to try, like the following below (for Guardian):

For the second tier I recommend Purging Flames if you use the greatsword. It creates a Fire field which you can use Whirling Wrath and Binding Blade to send out Burning bolts with. Additionally, Leap of Faith will give you Fire Armor which is more damaging than Retaliation in pretty much any situation where the enemy isn't immune to, or can take advantage of conditions.

Of course, I'm sticking to my sturdy-as-hell guardian build. I might try out a healy build just to be the ultimate tank, but I like that I'm outputting decent damage too. Also, Mace/focus is pretty cool in the number 5 ability that blocks 3 attacks straight up. Might not be a bad idea to swap from mace/focus to mace/shield when being a defensive machine. :)

I see people complaining about the weapon skill abilities, but to be honest, there's a lot of great ways to customize your character between the stat choices on gear, the utility skills, and the traits. How you build your character will shape what you are able to do, along with how well you setup your utility/elite skills to synergize with your build and weapon choices. This is why I was recommending you guys to go to guildwars2guru.com to check out the forums. There are some pretty insightful people there with some ideas I'd never thought to try, like the following below (for Guardian):

I think people are accustomed to games like WoW where they require 4 hotkey bars just to have access to all their abilities or like GW1 where there were hundred of abilities to use.

I kind of agree. GW2 is pretty limiting.

I think people are accustomed to games like WoW where they require 4 hotkey bars just to have access to all their abilities or like GW1 where there were hundred of abilities to use.

I kind of agree. GW2 is pretty limiting.

Except GW2 is no different from a normal mmo when it comes to skill use. Sure, you can have 5 million buttons on you WoW UI, but how many of them do you use very frequently for any typical build? Rarely any more than the 10 that make up your gw2 skillbar. It's not limiting at all, it just looks like it to some people cause they think "omg i can't have 6 billion icons".

I'm growing a little bored of the game now. It was fun for the first zone but I'm at my 3rd now and it's starting to feel like a grind. The hearts are the main thing that I don't like now because the majority of the quests are "kill a bunch of something around here" and that is really boring. A bit of variety would be really nice.

Another thing is I tried making a new character to try a different class but I gave up on that after just a few minutes. Doing the same quests again in the starter zone just annoyed me.

Now I know that they wanted to get away from the "go to a quest giver and get a quest" mechanic and yes walking in to an area and receiving an objective does feel more organic but it is also more limiting. At-least with quest givers I could pick and choose from 10-20 quests and complete about half of them before moving to a new area. In GW2 I'm pretty much required to complete all the hearts to be able to move on to something else and having the hearts there on your map in your face makes you want to complete all of them, but if I do that the next character I make will feel so boring.

Another issue I'm having is the level system. If there is a quest or task I can't do on my own, I'll never be able to do it on my own. Because whenever I go back to that area my level changes to the content. That is really frustrating as there are some things you just can't solo. I'm trying to do one of my main storyline quests, I forget its name but it's impossible. I'm now 5 levels above it and I still can't do it I die within the first 30 seconds when 30 mobs spawn. I can't find anyone to do it with me after several days trying and spamming map chat. This is just a poorly thought out mechanic in my eyes.

In my opinion you should have the option of staying at your current level of having your level adjusted to the content around you. A simple tick box would make my life so much easier and the game much more enjoyable for me.

The game has some really nice things but the repetitiveness and the basic problems like the leveling are starting to **** me off enough not to want to play it anymore. I never had this problem in Guild Wars 1 or WoW. Both games I completed, I honestly can't believe I'm considering just giving up on it before I'm max level, it seemed so promising just a few days ago and I've only spent about 10 hours in the game and I'm already ready to quit.

Something else I forgot to say is, as someone that loved the WoW auction house, what on earth is this trading post interface? It's so weirdly laid out, lacks lots of granular controls, it doesn't even have anti-aliased text or icons, they could have at-least made an effort to fit the browser rendering engine in to the game properly.

In my opinion you should have the option of staying at your current level of having your level adjusted to the content around you. A simple tick box would make my life so much easier and the game much more enjoyable for me.

Gear stats don't scale. So you'll still have all your additional crit, damage, etc.

I think people are accustomed to games like WoW where they require 4 hotkey bars just to have access to all their abilities or like GW1 where there were hundred of abilities to use.

I kind of agree. GW2 is pretty limiting.

I got sick of crap like that thanks to Aion to be honest. You reach max level, they drop a patch. What does it do? ADDS MORE ABILITIES. I remember talking to an assassin who was bragging abut how awesome his character was. He (no joke) had over 60 hotkeys just to play his damn class, that he actually used.

As a mage in WoW though, I had a big ass toolkit to work with (which thankfully got cleaned up a bit in Cataclysm, like elemental specific wards), but I only really worked with a few abilities in Arcane and Fire. Hell, arcane was what... 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 3... Then channel my mana back at 33% and rinse/repeat for the most part... I loved playing Frost though because it required so much more work just to be viable, and had so much control in raids...

That's one reason I love the elementalist and engineer in this game. They're very versatile in what you can do, they are just very awesome classes to play. Engineer reminding me of my mage a lot though with the control specifically. Use one skill to blast the enemy back, use my net shot to tie them up, throw a ball of napalm at them for lulz, and all that good stuff.

@Vice, maybe change up your build? That's what I've done, though like I said earlier, I've done lots of reading up on my class. Went from being a glass canon to a steel canon. :]

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • Five things you might have missed during Apple's WWDC 2026 by Aditya Tiwari Image: Apple Apple's annual developer event, WWDC 2026, happened from June 8 through June 12. We have already covered several new features and updates that the iPhone maker unveiled during the official keynote. Apple took Google's help and finally announced the upgraded Siri AI personal assistant, which now comes with an app. Moreover, a truckload of Apple Intelligence features took the center stage. That said, this year's WWDC is a bit different, and you might have noticed or missed the following stuff: Apple's ongoing unification of platforms Image: Apple One thing Apple is widely known for is its seamless hardware-software ecosystem. The company added a new chapter in 2020, when it began the Apple Silicon transition and launched macOS 11 Big Sur with native ARM support. Some major changes happened last year as well, when Apple renamed all of its operating systems to version 26 and introduced the Liquid Glass design language. Until WWDC 2025, Apple keynotes had dedicated segments for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and other operating systems, in which the company discussed each in detail. The WWDC 2026 keynote was different, and Apple allotted most of the screen time to Apple Intelligence and Siri. It didn't even publish separate press releases on its website for different operating systems. While it might seem surprising at first, it shows how Apple plans to move forward with its software ecosystem. Be it the Liquid Glass changes, child safety updates, or other features, they are mostly rolling out across multiple platforms. In other words, Apple is slowly blurring the line between its operating systems and achieving feature parity wherever possible. It's easy to rule out that someone in Apple's marketing team forgot to press the publish button. Everything is a calculated move when it comes to a company like Apple. Putting Apple Intelligence left, right, and center hints that the OS itself is no longer the product anymore. It's Siri, not Pepsi Time and again, various Apple products have been compared to unrelated things and turned into meme material. You might have heard about the "cheese grater" Mac Pro or the "trash can" Mac Pro, to name a few. It's Siri's turn this time. The upgraded AI assistant got a fresh logo, and people have started comparing it with Pepsi. There are other contenders, such as the Sony Ericsson logo and the Yin and Yang symbol. Shot on iPhone. Edited on Mac Image: Apple Apple has been putting the iPhone's camera muscles to the test on various occasions. Even NASA astronauts took it to Space earlier this year and captured some out-of-this-world photos. Recently, Apple TV streamed the first major live sporting event shot entirely on iPhone 17 Pro: an MLS match featuring the LA Galaxy vs. the Houston Dynamo FC. The 'Pro' iPhone has also been used to shoot Apple events in recent years. It's "Scary Fast" Mac event in 2023 was among the earliest attempts, and the tradition trickled down to the WWDC 2026 keynote, which ended with the tag line "Shot on iPhone. Edited on Mac." It's unsurprising to see Apple flexing the camera capabilities of its Pro models, especially when it has been baking professional-grade features, including ProRes RAW and Genlock. Hints for the foldable Apple has been sitting on the foldable iPhone for so long. There is still confusion over when the company will make it official. A recent report said that the iPhone Fold might get delayed as Apple is struggling to perfect its hinge mechanism. But Apple has been dropping hints here and there. A developer dug into the iOS 27 beta code and found internal references about device folding states. As verified by Macworld, the code includes references to "foldState" and "angleDegrees" internal status values, which are apparently designed to tell apps if a device is folded and at what angle. As of now, no other Apple device uses these states. The publication also found internal code suggesting Apple has been testing a device with both Touch ID and Dynamic Island, a combo that doesn't exist today. Last event as Apple CEO Image: Apple Tim Cook's bond with Apple is now almost three decades old, having started in 1998 as the SVP of Worldwide Operations. Back in August 2011, Steve Jobs stepped down as Apple CEO months before his passing, and Cook took charge. Now, the baton has been passed to the hardware chief, John Ternus, who will take over the role on September 1. WWDC 2026 is the last major Apple Event for Tim Cook as CEO. We have seen so much during Cook's tenure over the years, much of which defines Apple as we know it today. From new hardware product lines like Apple Watch, AirPods, Apple Vision Pro, and Apple Silicon, to boosting Apple's services business with Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Pay, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, Apple Care One, and more. That said, the first developer betas for Apple's latest operating systems are now available. You can check if your device is supported on iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate, watchOS 27, and other platforms. What's your favorite feature that Apple announced this year at WWDC 2026? Tell us in the comments.
    • Trailer park trash “sport “, fits the current White House
    • KataLib 5.3.0.0 by Razvan Serea KataLib is more than just a music player — it's a complete audio suite designed for music lovers and creators alike. It combines a powerful audio player, a flexible metadata editor, a capable audio converter, and a music library manager into one streamlined application. Core Features: Audio Player Enjoy seamless playback of virtually any audio format or even streaming video files. DJ Mode lets you mix tracks with manual or automatic crossfades. You can also load and save WinAmp-style playlists for quick access to your favorite sets. Audio Converter Convert between a wide range of audio formats effortlessly. Trim or normalize your output automatically, and even extract audio from streaming video sources. Ideal for preparing files for different devices or platforms. Metadata Editor View and edit ID3v2 tags and other metadata. Batch edit multiple files at once, and fetch missing information directly from the MusicBrainz database. You can also apply or update album art with ease. Music Library Manager Organize your entire audio collection, search across tracks instantly, and download cover images from the internet — or use your own custom artwork. KataLib makes it easy to keep your library tidy and enriched with useful info. Supported Formats: KataLib supports a wide range of both lossy and lossless audio formats: Input: OPUS, AAC, FLAC, M4A, MP3, MP4, MPC, APE, AIF, MKV, AVI, MOV, FLV, WEBM, Ogg Vorbis, WAV, WAVPack, WMA, AC3, OGA, MP2, MPGA, MPEG, DTS, M4B, DSD (DFS) Output: OPUS, FLAC, M4A, MP3, Ogg Vorbis, WAV Under the hood, KataLib uses the trusted FFmpeg engine for audio conversion and media playback, ensuring compatibility with virtually all mainstream media formats. KataLib 5.3.0.0 changelog: Added Option to select the Zoom level of the Oscilloscope visualizer. The taskbar button of the app now displays the progress of its processing tasks. The metadata text of the Visualization Video can now be aligned by the user. We can now reorder the order of the Visualizers and Metadata, in the Visualization Video Setup dialog, by removing any item and adding it again. It will be added at the end. Changed The font size of the Visualization Video can now be more than 30 points. Updated yt-dlp library to version 2026... Fixed Opening the Visualization Video Setup dialog could fail if the settings were wrong. Sometimes there were false duplicates in the Rename Tracks dialog. Tracks without metadata appeared without title in the Recent menu. Download: KataLib 5.3.0.0 | 90.0 MB (Open Source) Links: KataLib Home Page | Github | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • EA Sports UFC 6 review: Brutal, satisfying, and surprisingly accessible to newcomers by Pulasthi Ariyasinghe EA’s UFC series of fighting games has been putting out games for over 10 years now, but it’s a series I have never spent any time with. As a PC guy, the series being console-exclusive is the primary reason for that. The latest entry to the series, EA Sports UFC 6, is still not coming to PC, but I have an Xbox now. When EA reached out to see if I could have a crack at the game and give my opinion about it, I finally got the chance to see what this franchise is about. I have spent about a week playing UFC 6 on the Xbox Series X. Despite my lackluster skill with fighting games, I still have fun with entries like Street Fighter and Tekken. I quickly came to realize this is a different kind of fighting game, not the arcade titles I am usually dabbling with. Most of the week that I spent playing UFC 6 was in the career mode, trying not to get knocked out while slowly improving my combos and reactions. The review below will be from the perspective of a newcomer to the series and an amateur fighting game fan, so please forgive any mistyped lingo or series-staple mechanics I am not comprehending. In the Ring Getting a solid hit in UFC 6 is satisfying. It’s probably the most satisfying impact reaction I have seen in a fighting game. The ripples in the muscles, the spray of sweat (and blood), the meaty sound, and the subsequent stumble all carry a lot of weight. If I miss a heavy swing like that, though, I already know that I'm in for a world of hurt from the incoming counters. The fighting is a real treat. The actions aren’t as snappy as arcade titles, so a miss feels like a much bigger mistake here. This slowness did take some getting used to, but I felt the improvement in my abilities even after a few drills with basic punch and kick combos. If I’m not deliberate with my actions in the ring, whether it be a hasty retreat or a flying punch, the possibility of getting instantly knocked out is always there. The head, chest, and legs all come with their own health bars, so guarding just one area is just asking for trouble. A few hits to the head, and it's game over. Meanwhile, you won’t even be able to stay on your feet if they get damaged enough, drastically lowering the total amount of stamina available for the rest of the match. I was also encountering a large range of fighting styles to customize my own fighter with. There are a huge number of real-life superstars here from multiple eras. It’s not as exaggerated as Street Fighter or Tekken, but the way they move, evade, throw punches, or even take steps is based on their real-life counterparts. I can see this being a big draw for any mixed martial arts fan. One feature I was surprised to see here was the 'Flow State' ability. As rounds progress, a power-up meter can give a temporary boost to the unique fighting style of the selected fighter, essentially boosting what they are good at. There is an entire visual effect that kicks in when activating this, too. The surprising part was seeing something like this in a game that feels like it’s aiming to be more of a simulator than an arcade fighter. My skill level is too low to use this exactly how the game wants me to, so I ended up triggering it whenever the opponent did it as well. Streamlined vs Authentic When I first started it up, UFC 6 asked me about my experience with the series. Being genuinely new, I took its advice and opted for a lowered difficulty level and 'Streamlined' controls. Quickly, I realized that this wasn’t for me. My chosen fighters were throwing random attacks, no matter what combination the game was trying to teach me. Win streaks were happening, and I was already getting bored out of my mind just a few matches in. Turning off this mode and switching to 'Authentic' controls fixed everything right up. I was now able to control my fighter with more precision than I expected. I could control each arm and leg, which body part my attacks would aim at, and the fully customizable controls for setting up unorthodox moves were a cherry on top. None of these made me an expert at the game, but at least I was being beaten up fairly. This is not a point against UFC 6, though. Giving the option for anyone to enjoy the game is always a good thing in my eyes. There is a lot of customizability in the difficulty, with everything from slow-motion reactions to specific assists being offered as toggles. If I had a friend coming over and wanted to try a quick 1v1, the streamlined controls option is one I’d consider to make it a light and fun fight. The one part of the fighting that did not click with me was the grappling. Being taken to the ground brings in an entirely new control mechanism involving mounts and submissions that feel more like quick-time events than the heavy, tactical fighting I had seen so far while standing. The game wants me to hold sticks in certain directions to change the position or pull off submissions, trying to do the opposite actions of the opponent. Even though I tried to get used to this gameplay, it just felt like a momentum killer, and I eventually just wanted to get back on my feet to get back into the action. Legacy and Career It was UFC 6’s career mode that I wanted to play the most when I started it up. I grew up with EA Sports games, and taking my team from the ground to the top has always been my favorite task. UFC 6 has that same option but also offers a more cinematic entrance to the career experience than I expected with ‘The Legacy’ mode. This mini-campaign follows an up-and-coming fighter, Chris Carter, who is attempting to reach the heights his father had reached in the sport. Starting with a small-time gym and coach, the story follows both his growth in the space as well as the growing rivalry with a friend and fighter, Danny Lopez. The fights in this mode are very good at introducing a newcomer like me to the sport and its varying techniques. Cinematics land between the major fights, showing the growing tension between the two fighters as the years go by, feeling the pressure to not miss out on the hard-earned chances. The dialogue can be a little corny at times, especially when the bar fights kick off, but I largely enjoyed the storyline. At the end of it, I was pretty much familiar with all the mechanics of the career mode, unlocking new skills and moves, and how I needed to approach fights, both outside and inside the ring. This story mode isn’t a very lengthy one, so don’t expect an hour-long campaign. Once the conclusion is reached, Carter’s journey continues as if it’s a normal career playthrough, though I decided to start over from scratch now that I have some know-how about the basics. The career mode is very streamlined, which is to be expected considering there isn’t a team to manage like in other EA Sports games. It’s the journey of one fighter. When a fight comes up in the calendar, I could choose how many weeks I dedicate to preparing for it at the gym. A longer prep time gives the opportunity to get my fighter’s fitness up (giving a bonus during fights), earn more money and points for unlocking new skills, and gain more fans to fast-track the rise to stardom. While that sounds like a lot of things to manage, it’s more like a few clicks. There is a social media menu that sometimes pops up with canned replies I can send to fans, and the sponsors are once again a single click away from being assigned as finished. It’s the training aspect that adds a gameplay angle. Using the money from winnings and sponsorships, I was hiring different types of trainers and learning fancier moves to use in the ring. One small thing I appreciated was that it was possible to injure each other during these training sessions. If a trainer goes down in a bad way while sparring, they won’t be available for the remainder of training. If my fighter is injured, it takes valuable time and resources to heal and recuperate. Just like in real life, it makes sense not to go so hard during training sessions and save that energy for the main event. Every training or sponsorship activity I took part in used up the days and weeks I had before the next fight, bringing a balancing element to the whole ordeal. There were times I simulated most of these to just get to the next fight, but the grind for gaining even the slightest bit of advantage while trying not to overdo it is an enjoyable one. Outside of quick fights and career modes, UFC 6 also introduces an almost museum-like mode to explore a trio of fighters considered to be legends of the sport: Max Holloway, Alex Pereira, and Zhang Weili. The aptly named Hall of Legends mode is unlike everything else seen in the game. Each of these fighters has entire levels dedicated to them that I could walk around in and explore their journey into the UFC. This includes footage from real-life fights and interviews about their original inspirations and training methods. Each of these spaces is almost like an interactive documentary. Once the highlights are done, the mode offers the opportunity to take over a deciding fight from the superstars. It’s an impressive transition. Going from the real-life televised event with crowds and commentary to immediately taking over in the game has some real hype behind it. Performance and visuals It’s clear to see that UFC 6 is going for a photo-realism look with its visuals compared to any other fighting game. The fighters don’t look great in selection screens. But inside the arenas, under the flood lights, surrounded by crowds, and facing an opponent, the visuals are more than impressive. As ghastly as it is to witness, things like blood spraying into the mat and muscles reddening as they get pummeled keep improving the immersion. The fluid animations help sell the illusion even further. A missed kick carries the momentum to require a corrective step. Hard punches that glance off blocks give off the air of a hit that still took some wind off the opponent’s guard. The special moves with flips and spins look mega awkward when missing, just as they do in real life. Suffice to say, the Frostbite Engine powering this game is one of the biggest strengths of EA development studios. Playing on the Xbox Series X, the 60 FPS gameplay did not miss the mark or cause any slowdowns that I could detect. I still wish this series were on PC to see just how far the developer can push the engine. One area I continue to have issues with, surprisingly enough, is the menus. The game has fast loading screens, but almost every menu I click through has a large amount of noticeable lag before it registers. This is immensely painful in the career mode, since I have to go through multiple menus between fights to train and do sponsorships, and having a 3-second pause when selecting a simple move between pages is the only time that made me quit the game. Thanks to Xbox’s quick resume, though, I was able to instantly jump back in the next day to the same point (and wade through more laggy menus). Conclusion My primary mission going into this EA Sports UFC 6 review as a newcomer to the series was to find out if this is a good jumping-in point for someone like me. Suffice it to say, the game passed that test with flying colors. Despite the high skill ceiling, the legacy mode introduction campaign, multiple types of accessible controls, and streamlined career had me picking up the basics and fighting styles much faster than I expected. I wish I had gotten to try out competitive multiplayer during my time with the game, too, but the lack of players in the pre-release version prevented this. The impressive visuals and animations, coupled with the impact physics that let me feel every punch and kick easily, made this the most immersive fighting game I have played. The only part that gave me pause was the grappling gameplay, which killed the momentum in most fights. The Flow State amplifying system didn’t hamper the experience, but I also felt like it made more sense for an arcade fighter, not this. Easily the most annoying thing about UFC 6 was its laggy menus, which I hope get some sort of fix later. Returning series veterans might have a completely different experience from me. But for a new fan like me looking to climb ranks and see fighters get floored in spectacular ways, UFC 6 doesn’t miss a step. EA Sports UFC 6 is releasing on June 19 across Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 for $69.99. Ultimate Edition owners can already jump in via advanced access. This review was conducted on the Xbox Series X version of the game provided by EA.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      ssd21345 earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Contributor
      MarkHughes4096 went up a rank
      Contributor
    • Dedicated
      jordanspringer earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • Rookie
      Rimplesnort went up a rank
      Rookie
    • One Year In
      Markus94287 earned a badge
      One Year In
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      486
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      173
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      138
    4. 4
      ATLien_0
      94
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      79
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!