AEW: Fight Forever - PlayStation LifeStyle

Diablo 4 Beats Final Fantasy 16 in PS5 Download Charts for June 2023

Rebecca Smith — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 23:19:44 +0000

Diablo 4 has become the best-selling PS5 game on the PlayStation Store for June 2023, beating Final Fantasy 16 to push the latter into second place. However, these weren’t the only new releases to make their way into the PS5 or PS4 download charts for last month.

Diablo 4 was nearly the best-selling game on PS5 and PS4 on both charts

According to Sony’s chart, Diablo 4 was the best-selling PS5 game on PSN in both the United States and Canada (which are paired together) and Europe during June 2023. While it was also the best-selling game on PS4 in the U.S. and Canada, it didn’t quite manage a clean sweep. The game only managed to get third place on PS4 in Europe behind Minecraft and FIFA 23. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise bearing in mind it made $600 million in its first five days of release.

Final Fantasy 16 came in a solid second place on PS5 in both regions. The game wasn’t released on PS4. However, this is a high performance since the game released on June 22 and only had nine days to claim its spot. FF16 has since become the fastest-selling PS5 exclusive. On the contrary, Diablo 4 had more than three weeks to notch up its sales after it was released on June 5.

Other new games to enter the top PS5 downloads chart include Street Fighter 6 (#3 in U.S./Canada, #6 in Europe) and AEW: Fight Forever (#12 in U.S./Canada). The former also made an appearance at #11 on the PS4 chart for U.S./Canada, but neither managed to chart in Europe.

Elsewhere, Beat Saber continues to dominate the new PSVR2 chart, although it is replaced by Creed: Rise to Glory – Championship Edition on the original PSVR headset. Fortnite, unsurprisingly, remains the most popular free-to-play game on PS5 and PS4.

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How the AEW Fight Forever Roster Stands Out

Stephen Wilds — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 22:00:00 +0000

The wrestling world is dominated by the WWE, so it isn’t surprising that its video games have a headlock on that category, as well. Other passionate contenders have stepped into the ring — Fire Pro Wrestling World deserves some praise — but not many can compete with the production value, budget, and hilarious glitches of the WWE 2K games. AEW, however, can and has stepped up with AEW: Fight Forever, which has a large pool of talent that’s still somewhat new to the digital world. And this fresh roster is a big part of the game’s appeal, so here’s how each of them stacks up.

Anna Jay

This Georgia girl has a fat ass and a bad attitude, which translates to a rotten time for most of her opponents. The Queenslayer is fierce and not afraid to drop some serious offense in the ring or use foreign objects when the situation calls for it. Formerly of the Dark Order, Anna Jay A.S. has more recently allied herself with the Jericho Appreciation Society and tag partner Tay Melo, but it isn’t hard to imagine there’s ambition there for her own path. Her gear looks great and some people have announced publicly that they think she’s, “the hottest bitch in this place.” Gold is most likely in Anna’s future, but with a savvy player backing her, that’ll be sooner rather than later.

AEW: Fight Forever Review (PS5): Empty Nostalgia

All Elite Wrestling was originally meant to provide a fresh alternative in the wrestling space and, in its own words,…

Reviews Tyler Treese 4 weeks ago

John Silver

The Dark Order has had a lot of ups and downs since its debut, but one of the standouts in their ranks as faces or heels has been John Silver. The muscular mound may be of smaller stature than most wrestling icons, but he can certainly go in the ring and has always felt like somewhat of an underdog, which makes it fun to play him against larger opponents or in matches with seemingly impossible odds. Johnny Hungiee may not be one of the most-picked characters in the game at first, but his charisma spills through even in this digital form. This student of Mikey Whipwreck’s is pro-meat, all beef, and purely entertaining.

Hikaru Shida

She isn’t just a former AEW Women’s World Champion, but the person to hold that belt the longest at this time, so let’s put a little respect on the name. Hikaru Shida is a woman of few words, a samurai on a mission, and as of late that has seen her facing off against The Outcasts. She’s a stylish person anywhere she goes, so it makes sense that her in-game model looks excellent, moves are fluid, and this Japanese warrior is a site to behold in action, especially when using her trademark kendo stick.

Powerhouse Hobbs

Will Hobbs lives up to the name Powerhouse. Everything he does is executed with raw strength and willpower. He is a dominant heel and his moves feel like any one of them could end a conflict right in the middle of the ring. The bigger guys aren’t usually my preferred combatants, but Powerhouse moves decently and I get a kick out of doing his Oklahoma Stampede finisher every time. Hobbs is a former member of Team Taz, associates with QTV, and held the TNT Championship, but his goal is to be the first African American AEW World Champion, and it seems like that chapter is already written in the Book of Hobbs, it’s just waiting to happen.

Jade Cargill

Her dominant reign may have hit a snag recently, but that doesn’t mean that Jade Cargill isn’t still that bitch. Cargill started out strong in the company, debuting in a feud involving Shaquille O’Neal, as well as Cody and Brandi Rhodes, and she’s continued to conquer the brand with the baddies and showed off her strength with an impressive TBS title run. She’s an imposing figure who sells the shit out of her moves, and it’s great how crisp that Jaded finisher looks in the game. Every piece of her assault feels like it’s going to hurt. Cargill has shown improvement over her time in the company and she’s the type to do stylish and nerdy entrances (Mortal Kombat, X-Men, and Thundercats – her gear looks good, but those would have been great to see here), leaving quite the impression. Jade is the brand of heel this game needs.

Nyla Rose

As a wrestler, it took a little time for Nyla Rose to grow on me. I was way more interested in her life as an actress, her work with Marvel Comics, and the path she is taking as a transgender athlete. Over the years, however, I came to respect the former champ’s in-ring work more and enjoy Rose’s matches, especially from a presentation standpoint. The Native Beast is a vicious heel and even in a loss, she comes across as a threat. Her model in the game isn’t perfect, but Nyla’s entrance with the mask and that song works very well. I was a bit surprised at how much I enjoy playing as Rose, as her moves can be a bit unruly at times and not connect. There’s just something satisfying about destroying opponents with that Beast Bomb.

Orange Cassidy

Whatever.

Penta El Zero M and Rey Fenix

I was first exposed to this duo in a fantastic promotion known as Lucha Underground and these two have never ceased to impress me since then. The Lucha Brothers are champions whether they’re currently holding belts or not, whether it’s AEW, ROH, or AAA, whether it’s together or in singles competition, both of these men are kings of the wrestling business. They have the look, moves, and off-the-charts showmanship even though they barely speak. This pair is also two-thirds of the dangerous Death Triangle group, which along with Pac, might be the most overall talented stable in the company.

Ricky Starks

The man who refers to himself as Absolute Ricky Starks is full of confidence, charisma, and interesting poses. He made his debut in an open challenge against Cody Rhodes and went on to join Team Taz, but everyone who took note of his NWA run knows that his path as a singles competitor is destined to be paved with more gold than just the FTW title. And his revolution will be televised. It’s just a shame that we don’t get to hear Starks more in the game.

Thunder Rosa

This is a wrestler who has made a name for herself in other companies and stands out for a multitude of reasons, but the face paint certainly helps. Thunder Rosa has an excellent look, but she’s definitely had some better gear than what we see here — at least she gets her flag. This ferocious fighter from the graveyards of Tijuana has been a part of some brutal matches, especially against Britt Baker, and being able to recreate those encounters is a thrill. The former Women’s World Champion can be a force of nature, but she has sadly been dealing with injuries as of late. However, her absence may just inspire players to pick the unstoppable warrior in this game even more.

Sammy Guevara

Sammy Guevara was one of the fresh faces in AEW that stuck out. He was a part of the first match to ever take place on Dynamite and as I read up on his training with Booker T, I was sure Guevara was someone to keep an eye on. Now, as one of the pillars of the company and a couple of titles under his belt, the ceiling for the Spanish God seems incredibly high. Playing someone with such spectacular aerial offense is exciting, especially since missing one or two high-risk maneuvers doesn’t take the player completely out of the match. And for those matches, I don’t want to feel like a daredevil I just hit that GTH, because it has such a satisfying crack when it connects.

MJF

He’s better than you (and me too).

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AEW: Fight Forever Review (PS5): Empty Nostalgia

Tyler Treese — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 14:53:28 +0000

All Elite Wrestling was originally meant to provide a fresh alternative in the wrestling space and, in its own words, “change the world.” While it never quite lived up to its lofty initial claims, it eventually settled into a satisfying mixture of nostalgia and interesting young talent that is worth watching, even if it is rarely appointment television. Unfortunately, the wrestling company’s first console video game endeavor, AEW: Fight Forever, solely relies on nostalgia and has nothing interesting of its own volition to offer the genre.

AEW has teamed up with former WWE 2K developer Yuke’s, which slowly drove that series into mediocrity and showed few interesting ideas after making yearly wrestling games for nearly two decades. Switching brands and losing its framework hasn’t helped things any, as Fight Forever makes a rough first impression as the game is rough in nearly every area. Almost every character looks wonky, the presentation is lacking, and the gameplay is rough right off the bat, especially since characters are invincible anytime they initiate an attack animation.

AEW: Fight Forever only starts getting slightly better once its limitations are clear and after it becomes more evident that it is trying to conjure up memories of WWF: No Mercy and other wrestling games of yesteryear. While the action is quite limited, there’s actually a surprising amount of small details in its wrestler skill system that allows for certain characters to perform springboard attacks and bounce off ring ropes. Sometimes, the quick action clicks and matches start becoming entertaining.

However, these moments are pretty few and far between, as they can only take place in one-on-one battles. Any match with three or more participants in it is a total drag. Tag matches are constantly interrupted after every tag since all four men enter the ring and can last entirely too long since it’s difficult to get a pinfall. The Casino Battle Royale mode is a joke that can’t replicate its real-life counterpart because the game caps off at four people and just turns into a Royal Rumble rip-off. Rather than being engaged with these matches, you have to play in specific ways to get wins, which is limiting. Some of these win conditions include going for a pinfall right as an opponent locks in a lengthy move that stops them from breaking up a pin attempt and using weapons to quickly knock out every person in a four-way match.

So much of the game is dated, and that’s by design, as nearly every poor element can be explained by the phrase, “That’s how No Mercy did it.” But it’s not the year 2000 anymore, and wrestling fans should expect better from a game than to hold up a 20-year-old release as the pinnacle of the genre. All that’s really new to the genre is a collection of mindless minigames that would be the low point of the worst Mario Party game.

Rather than trying to innovate, AEW: Fight Forever is content with playing a cheap nostalgia card. That’s not even an effective card to play, either, as No Mercy didn’t feel like a poor product when it was released. AEW: Fight Forever should’ve attempted to recapture the feeling of first playing No Mercy rather than basing so many decisions off a dated framework.

It all looks rather janky.

The only mode with any meat to it is its main single-player offering called Road to Elite. It’s a quick take on a career mode that only takes place over a year and can be finished in around three or four hours. The idea itself isn’t terrible: pick an existing wrestler — or create your own one via its severely limited creation suite — and then see how their first year goes.

However, there are only 12 story possibilities that are mixed in during each playthrough, and most of them rely on terrible multi-man matches (including one that was a miserable one-on-three match that I only was able to win via count out). It’s relatively neat seeing stories like The Inner Circle’s alliance with MJF and the first AEW Championship match play out inside the game, but there’s little in terms of replay value here.

With the only real mode being a total miss, players are left playing exhibition matches or facing off against others online. It’s severely lacking content and giving players a reason to play. Everything can easily be unlocked in the shop after just a few hours of play, so there’s no reason to grind out matches. It’s a shame since, even though the limited female roster mostly relegates them to intergender matches, the male roster is pretty solid, and there aren’t many ways to utilize them outside of repeatedly playing meaningless matches.

AEW: Fight Forever Review: The final verdict

AEW: Fight Forever tries its best to invoke one of the most beloved wrestling games, but it’s a pale imitation that doesn’t live up to that legacy. The occasionally entertaining match doesn’t make up for most of the game feeling like an annoying chore to complete, and this doesn’t even seem like a particularly strong core to build off for a sequel. Wrestling fans deserve better, and developer Yuke’s continues to deliver middling games within the genre regardless of the brand it is associated with.

Easy to pick up and play
Solid roster of male wrestlers
Any match with more than two people is a chore
Boring career mode
Minigames are a waste of time

Disclaimer: This AEW: Fight Forever review is based on a PS5 copy provided by the publisher. Reviewed on version 1.001.000.

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AEW: Fight Forever Tag Team Mode Detailed in New Trailer

Anthony Nash — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 15:58:35 +0000

THQ Nordic and All Elite Wrestling unveiled the tag team mode for its highly anticipated game AEW: Fight Forever on Monday.

What is AEW: Fight Forever’s tag team mode?

Much like the name suggests, AEW: Fight Forever’s tag team mode is simply a mode that allows players to put together tag team matches. In a new trailer for the mode, players can be seen duking it out in the ring with some of All Elite Wrestling’s most iconic teams, doing team-based attacks, and even attacking the referee.

Check out a new trailer for the game’s tag team action below:

Alongside the tag team mode, AEW: Fight Forever will feature a ton of things wrestling game fans have come to know, including a career mode known as “Road to Elite,” online co-op, tag team matches, wrestler customization, daily and weekly challenges, over 40 weapons, and “signature AEW arenas” and modes like Casino Battle Royale, Falls Count Anywhere, Unsanctioned Lights Out, and Exploding Barbed Wire.

AEW: Fight Forever is set to release on June 29, 2023, and will release for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|C, PC, and Nintendo Switch

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