![]() The window for pulling off effective jukes and spins took time for me to suss out - again. The combination of more deliberate speed and a streamlined skill stick makes it easier for players to chain moves, like a juke going into a stiff-arm if you’re dealing with multiple pursuers. That’s again the case, but running backs get better, and more context-appropriate, evasive moves on the right thumbstick. In the rushing game, I feel like every year Madden’s developers tweak the game speed a tick or two slower to allow players more time to spot holes in the blocking or make better decisions about where to move. Similarly, just focusing on wrapping up a runner and bringing him down pays greater dividends now, such that going for the big hit all the time (with the dive command, or the hit stick) is likely to extend the other team’s drive even if you make contact. ![]() ![]() With new animations helping runners gain ground even when they’ve been hit, it’s a better idea to go for a solid wrap-up tackle. Glancing blows lead to stumbles and stronger gains on a run between the tackles than I have ever seen before in Madden. The defense doesn’t feel overpowered, though, partly because defenders really need to be in position to make an effective tackle, rather than simply be in the neighborhood and run into the ball carrier or press a button in time. Still, for the defensive line (or with a pass-rushing linebacker), players get a streamlined action stick serving up context-appropriate moves to get through the blockers. It’s as much an assist to players with low defensive skill as it is an encouragement to try new things. Playing a defensive back or a linebacker lurking in pass coverage is a lot simpler now I get a callout of the receivers, or the parts of the field my player should be getting to, after the snap, as the play is developing. Others take a pass rusher and try to bull him through the offensive line every time, figuring that is the easiest task, or the one that causes the least harm if it’s not executed well. Many players avoid or simulate the defensive half of a single-player game, judging themselves to be more of a danger to their team than the AI. Streamlined sticks for defense and running That all being said, I found the two areas that always seem to catch users of average skill out - defense and running the ball - to be sharper and more sensible than ever. Still, the necessity of a day-one patch to take care of that kind of housekeeping, while also fixing typos in menus, doesn’t inspire confidence that this edition received the attention it might have needed. I also spied a number of glitches, hangs, and freezes during my initial sessions, but they seem to have been mostly cleared up with the game’s day-one patch. Or maybe Madden, like the real-life league, has had its plans altered - whether by COVID-19, or the development obligations of a new console generation. If you start playing Madden NFL 21 with Face of the Franchise, as I think many will, its lengthy, color-by-numbers onboarding gives the overall game a half-assed first impression. Plus, in the NFL, you can control the entire team he plays for while still going through his RPG progression.Ĭover star Lamar Jackson’s rushing and passing threat makes him a role model for the game’s big modes: Face of the Franchise and The Yard. No, you don’t get to give him a big football-factory alma mater, but you won’t miss anything. Just start a regular Franchise playthrough with your star already in the pros. ![]() But it appeals to so many known quantities - who doesn’t like razzle-dazzle plays or blinged-out customizations? - that it can’t be compared to things like Connected Franchise’s debut eight years ago, or the Longshot narrative in 2017.Īnd Face of the Franchise, the role-playing package that’s supposed to merge both of those things, has a story so eye-rollingly contrived and threadbare as to make itself unnecessary and skippable. The Yard, Madden’s newest mode, is a blast. You can still deliver a lot of fun without taking much risk. But Madden NFL 21 should also be called out for, once again, making incremental updates to its most-played components, rather than giving fans all-new features or a total overhaul. This is a fine Madden release, engaging in its own way. Over the course of a week with Madden NFL 21, I kept returning to an uncomfortable, unanswered question: If the pandemic wipes out the upcoming NFL season, does that make Madden more necessary, or less? ![]()
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