It is amazing how bad EA has gotten at telling football stories in such a short amount of time. I threw five touchdowns in the semi-finals and my coach still told me I'd be lucky to be a third round pick. The narrative never gets off the rails it sets out for itself. You're the new star on the block, who used to play hockey, and now you're about to supplant the golden boy starter from his perch! That golden boy happens to have an entirely undefined congenital heart condition, and you both are joined at the hip through toils at the state championship level, the College Football National Championship, and beyond without a single moment of meaningful character development or resonant moral complexity. You create a fresh new quarterback, and quickly find yourself mired in an absurdly bland high school football drama. But the cracks were beginning to show already, and this year's edition is a complete mess. (The whole drama was anchored by Mahershala Ali, who adds prestige to anything he touches.) I kinda enjoyed the second chapter of Longshot in 2018, where Wade continued his journey as the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. This tradition began in Madden 18 with Longshot, a well-executed saga of trauma and the restorative power of sports, as we watched Devin Wade slowly rehabilitate himself into a leader and a star. The only true tragedy of Madden 21 can be found in the Face of the Franchise mode, which represents the death knell of EA's belabored attempts to bring a story mode to their football games. Why would I want to play with running backs with a 75 overall rating, when I could switch over to any of the other modes and run around the field as Saquon Barkley? Whenever I watch yet another video of a teenager opening $1,000 worth of packs my eyes roll into the back of my head. The barrier of entry to actually competing in Ultimate Team is so wide, that I simply cannot muster the time or energy to commit.

I traded him in for a small bounty of points that, eventually, will allow me to increase the speed of a wide receiver by a fraction of a percent. I booted up the mode, completed the first challenge, and was immediately rewarded with a Blake Bortles card, who is most famous for being the worst starting quarterback for a playoff team in recent memory. The same can be said for Madden Ultimate Team, the infernal card-collecting closed economy that asks players to assemble a top-tier team through either a boatload of microtransactions or an absurd amount of grinding. There are times where I wonder if perhaps there is a way to offer a sports management experience that is a little less stuffy than the deep recesses of EA's spreadsheet morass, but then again, negotiating contracts with veteran linebackers is supposed to be a little bit boring. I've never been the type to go deep into the nuts and bolts of Madden's more sim-y qualities, but it's nice to know that the option remains on the table for the world's armchair GMs. Take control of an ailing franchise-the New York Jets, the Detroit Lions, whatever-and attempt to whip them into respectability with cornerback drills and intensive scouting reports. This is supplemented by a storyline with cut scenes requiring you to make decisions.Franchise mode is back as a near-perfect facsimile of its past incarnations. The intent of the career mode was to allow players to track a career from high school, to college, and finally getting drafted in the NFL. The most glaring was how terrible Face of the Franchise was. The ability to choose celebrations after big plays allows players to taunt opponents.īesides these gameplay adjustments, there aren’t many positives to the game.

The newly-added pass rush moves make playing the defensive line realistic and fun. The general changes to gameplay are noticeable and good for the progression of the game. They teased a backyard football-style game mode called “The Yard,” and a fully immersive career mode titled “Face of the Franchise.” Both game modes were overhyped and drew light to a lack of commitment to the fan-favorite “Franchise Mode,” that allows fans to control an NFL Franchise.

Madden 21 might be the worst it’s ever been.ĮA promised major upgrades to gameplay with new and improved game modes for Madden 21. This is typically short-lived with a major let down once football fans actually play the game. Every year, fans of EA Sports’ Madden franchise eagerly await the release of the new game with the expectations of vast upgrades and new game modes.

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