The calendar having obviously been upset by the health crisis that is plaguing this year 2020, the new US football season has only just started. Not enough to disrupt the release of Madden NFL 21, the EA Tiburon game having arrived in August, as usual, just to keep fans waiting until the outbreak of hostilities. A few months before the arrival of the franchise on next-generation consoles, what does this 2021 edition offer on current media? Place the test.
Madden NFL 21, Bugs Again and Again?
How painful the first few hours of play with Madden NFL 21 are. Not that EA Tiburon's title is fundamentally bad, far from it, but in memory we have never had to deal with so many bugs on release. of a Madden. At the time of this writing, things are a little more acceptable (and we trust EA to continue to correct the situation in future updates) but difficult to go under silence the problems we faced.
First there are the classic collision issues, with players hitting each other in a totally surreal way. Pass again. On the other hand, we are much more severe with this ball, which has a completely hazardous reception, which bounces off the backs or the helmets of the players for several yards before falling to the ground without the slightest chance of catching it. Do you want more ? It also happened to us to start a match on a ground without a drawn line. A green rectangle and that's it, with no markers. As if this were not enough, we also note the slow motion toolbar which sometimes remained frozen when the game resumed or, in scripted mode Face Of The Franchise, a total inconsistency between our jersey and those of our teammates ( as if we belonged to a different formation). In short, not very bright.
The repeat with Madden NFL 20
If you're a bit curious for a while, you've certainly seen how Madden NFL 21 has offended fans since its release. The main complaint? The copy is close, very (too?) Close, to the previous opus. We are not going to play surprised, with the next-gen episode looming we clearly did not expect a revolution and Electronic Arts proves us right.
On a technical level, beyond the visual bugs mentioned, we can not blame much for the Frostbite finish of the title. It is solid even if the surprise is no longer there, the general atmosphere is sufficiently worked out so that we let ourselves be caught up in the intensity of a game. The menus, although a little messy in their sub-parts, are relatively sober, the sound universe does not hardly convince and we can obviously count on all the official licenses (hello the Washington Football Team, while waiting for better ) to reinforce an ever-present immersion. Madden NFL 21 is essential without questioning itself, even if it means offering gameplay devilishly close to the version before.
If we wanted to be a bit of a philosopher, it seems that the choice of the headliner that is Lamar Jackson (quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens, MVP of last season) reflects this desire of EA Tiburon to offer a solid base without coming upset nature. In short, we provide the essentials without questioning ourselves, even if it means offering gameplay devilishly close to the version before.
In short, the panoply of combinations offered in playbooks allow us to practice all kinds of schemes, both in attack and defense, even if the stereotypical game of the license ends up encouraging us to opt for the schemes whose effectiveness is no longer to be proven. The classic therefore wins, especially against the AI, even if we note that the ground game is slightly less emphasized in this component although it remains easier to execute than a combination of pass with receivers harassed by the defense. On the other hand, coming to sack the quarterback is more complicated even if the quarterback position remains, of course, the one who stars in Madden NFL 21.
What to retain from this gameplay then? Quite simply, this new season Madden is content with simple readjustments that absolutely do not change the habits taken in the previous episode. If we would try to tap the developers, impossible not to remember that the franchise has a solid gameplay, certainly stereotypical against the AI ??but complete and able to reserve some surprises with its Superstar X-Factors of back to version 2.0. The surprise can even be even greater for those who know how to poke around in playbooks to punish their friends.
Face Of The Franchise, The Yard and the others
We mentioned it briefly, so the scripted career mode is called Face Of The Franchise this year. Like Streams 18 and 19 (unlike 2020 where it only served as an introduction to classic Franchise mode), Madden NFL 21 therefore welcomes a story in its own right. A priori good news, even if the quality is lower than for the scenario featuring Devin Wade. In Face Of The Franchise, we play as a young prodigy who joined his high school team a bit by default. Using low-level cutscenes and minimal interactions (dialogue choices, supposed to reinforce our colt's characteristics), we play key games with our avatar, we go to college and then quickly tumble into the NFL. Nothing very original and above all, we repeat, the staging is so poor that we just play without giving too much importance to the events.
New to this component, The Yard mode is a pleasant surprise. Like FIFA's Volta, EA Tiburon offers us matches on small, unusual urban pitches. In a damn messy menu, The Yard offers us to develop our avatar, to equip it with the famous super skills and to refine its profile (with complete customization) to then play online matches at 6 against 6. Or rather at 3 players associated with 3 AIs facing a team made up the same way. Too bad not being able to have games only between human players, but the intention is there, the gameplay is energized in an unprecedented way and the nervousness of these meetings is a pleasure to play.
For the rest, Madden NFL 21 is based on what it has already done in the past without changing the situation with in particular an Ultimate Team mode as complete as clutter and especially a Superstars KO mode capable of being addictive with its matches. online to be played according to precise rules, for a concept of sudden death quite successful although basic. This test was performed using a dematerialized version, provided by the publisher, on Xbox One X. At last MMOTANK is a reputable place to buy Madden NFL 21 Coins, If you need coins to improve the gaming experience!