This is especially sad because Franchise mode is 1 place where Madden can make strides -- and wants to make strides. The on-field gameplay is Madden 21 coins generally solid, so perhaps the dev team did not need to mess with a good thing. Franchise mode isn't strong. It lacks drama, fails to mirror the intrigue of free service and holdouts and the coaching carousel. Why don't you bring back retired players as trainers, as NBA 2K does? Or create team chemistry a larger thing? Or introduce rivalries with groups that reduce celebrity players? Anything? Please?

At least gameplay is solid. Players control with decent sharpness, and this year in particular, blocks set more effectively, making an enjoyable rushing experience. Pass-rushing too has received a boost, so playing protection is a bit more fun. But by and large, this is the specific same game automatically that it's been in years past, except with more small difficulties. Framerate issues plagued me on kickoffs on three variations of this match, and the character models are aging, also. Even commentary feels mailed in, with neither pregame nor halftime remarks ever feeling impressive or interesting. As beautiful as the game looks, the on-field experience feels synthetic.

The saving grace of Madden NFL 21 comes at a new mode, which essentially returns you to park football days, with no kickers, four-down land everytime and 1st-and-20s that require you make big plays. It's an enjoyable respite from real football, using its own funky rules, and it does remind one of after-school football. It is also not nearly enough to take this game. And it is a strange choice to add a diversionary style into a game whose center manners just have not seen enough advancement this year -- or over the last several years.

Even in a tough year, it's a competent but unsatisfactory work. Yes, it is hard to generate a sports game when you are also expected to deliver another title on a next-gen games console in a few months, so perhaps Madden is holding something back. That could be a great deal easier to swallow if the sole NFL video game in town had not been fighting for the past several decades, also.

'Madden NFL 21' glitches are far more fun than the real game

With the launch of Madden 21 comes among the strangest times of the year... MADDEN GLITCH SEASON BABY! This amazing, annual tradition takes us from the realm of extreme NFL simulation, and imagines a universe in which Jon Bois had full control within the physics engine. Just take this glitch for instance, which should be a feature -- not a bug.

This should be a new NFL rule, imo. If a team can work together to carry a ball downfield lodged between their helmets to the end zone it should be rewarded with an immediate 21 points. I know it's dumb, but you're lying if you say you do not want to watch NFL players try to buy Mut 21 coins run the ball downfield using their heads as time expires after an onside kick.