Review for Madden NFL 21. Game for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Google Stadia, the video game was released on 28/08/2020
Version for PlayStation 5 from 31/12/2020
Version for Xbox Series X from 31/12/2020
Version for Google Stadia from 31/12/2020
Madden NFL 21 has arrived. We wish we could say "finally", but let's go in order. The sport of the oval ball, better known as American football, returns to be talked about as every year on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The 2020 season is destined to mark an era, it is in fact the first not to see Tom Brady, the legendary quarterback, with the New England Patriots jersey. After twenty years in fact, “TB12” has opted for a change of jersey, moving to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It is normal to hear about players changing shirts, but the issue has been much more felt overseas. America, you know, is a strange place: it is that country where anyone can become a millionaire and, precisely, it is that country in which a nerd in pursuit of the bus in order not to be late at the chemistry laboratory can become the best quarterback in history.
The reasons for the farewell to a historic franchise like the "Pats" do not interest us, just as we do not care why the designated destination was Tampa, known "Olympus of the were" where players now close to retirement usually went to spending a season or two in the Florida heat before leaving. This ideal path of rise, ups and downs, successes and losses and then take the avenue of the sunset is common to many players, and is also common to the Madden franchise: the glories of the past now seem a distant memory, the showcases show trophies by now old and dusty and it does not seem that on the horizon there is the possibility of adding someone vaguely sparkling.
Do your job
Madden NFL 21's story mode, called “Face of the Franchise: Rise to Fame”, follows the classic story mode canvas of a sports title. In this case, the protagonist plays the role of Tommy Matthews' backup quarterback on the High School team. If you are not really passionate about American football, you should know that the reserve quarterback has a very low guaranteed playing time, being made to play only if the owner is injured or only during the so-called "garbage times", or in the segments in which the game is already in fact archived and we want to preserve the starting QB from a possible injury. The initial storyline actually revolves around the introspection of your character, torn between the desire to help the team and support Matthews and the desire to take advantage of the situation to get noticed.
The next step will see you engaged in NCAA collegiate championship, where you can play in the most famous universities in the United States. The note to keep in mind is that you can play the collegiate for as many seasons as you want: it is certainly a less difficult championship than the NFL, so if you are new to it it is better to take the time to learn the controls, the screens and, in general, the football game mechanics. As compelling as the story mode can be, the plot is a bit obvious and obviously pre-packaged.
At the plot level, wanting to spend more years in college has no effect, just as it doesn't have to play well or play badly to be drafted in the NFL. The other game modes are The Yard, new this year, in which two teams compete 6 against 6 in a small field with particular rules, the Franchise mode, Superstar KO, the classic Exhibition where you can choose a team and challenge another and Ultimate Team with related micro transactions.
In terms of playability, Madden NFL 21 has received some improvements compared to the past: the mechanics of the passing have improved and the game in defense is now more complicated and, at the same time, the attack has also suffered. Defenders are much more “bad” and effective, intercepting passages much more easily and quickly closing spaces in case a pattern is called late or timing and spacing are not optimal. This increase in defense aggression at times triggers particularly unpredictable situations, with very unrealistic lightning recoveries. The presence of particular skills attributed to the most representative and capable players of each team can easily influence a game or an action: the advice we give you is to make the ball spin in such a way that it can reach these players or, more in general, to be able to activate this type of skill whenever possible.
Graphics and Audio
The Frostbite behind the Madden series since 2017 has apparently been squeezed properly: playing a game is graphically satisfying, all the details are in the right place starting from the settings such as stadiums, stands and so on, the game is fluid as long as you pass over some drop in frame rate too much, It's a pity that once the scenic effect of the first impact is over, the details of the players' faces turn out to be approximate to the point of giving the players themselves an unconvincing expression. Looking elsewhere, the situation even gets worse: viewers, for example, have low-level details and, overall, the title deserves a refresh. The audio, on the other hand, is of a good level during the games, even the soundtracks of the menus are engaging and all in all well done.
Multiplayer
Madden NFL 21's multiplayer mode is mostly about The Yard and COURAGE (Madden Ultimate Team). We would like to clarify that the game is not cross platform, so you can only and exclusively challenge online players with the same platform as you. Ultimate Team, as well as on FIFA, is based on the usual cards to make up the teams, cards that can be acquired as well as with points, with the usual paid virtual currency. EA has included the possibility of earning points through the various challenges within the game, however we are not going around it: if you want a strong team, you will have to put your wallet in hand or it will be very difficult to compete. Is it ethical? It's not up to us to decide, what we can tell you is that the servers are stable and everything seems to be working fine.
Honestly? No, we are not there. Madden 21 is the classic sports game that, year after year, tastes more and more like heated soup. The problem is that in addition to being heated, the soup begins to lack salt. If until a few years ago it was enough to just update the rosters of the teams and give some refreshments here and there to create an acceptable title, limiting ourselves to the annual homework, in today's reality all this is no longer enough. Perhaps if some developer decides to throw himself on the market with a title on the NFL, EA would be inclined to make that extra effort to seriously put his hand to a title that has stagnated for at least three years, giving the idea of being the classic card stamped so much. to keep the series going. If you are a fan of American football or want to try your hand at the sport of the oval ball, give us a thought, otherwise with the new consoles just around the corner it is better to keep your money in your pocket and invest it in something much more attractive.
► Madden NFL 21 is a Sports-type game developed and published by Electronic Arts for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Google Stadia, the video game was released on 28/08/2020
Version for PlayStation 5 from 31/12/2020
Version for Xbox Series X from 31/12/2020
Version for Google Stadia from 31/12/2020
