EA SPORTS FIFA 21

What can you say about a game that's part of what's arguably the biggest video game franchise in the world? As it turns out, even though there are similar annual releases, quite a bit. We welcome EA SPORTS FIFA 21 as the year's entry into the globe's most popular sports series, following the last couple of games that have seen increasing criticism from various angles.

The inherent problem with being the world's giant football game is that the lack of competition drives little incentive for improvements. Everyone knows that EA SPORTS FIFA 21 will sell, but how long can you keep doing the same thing until you start to see a fan revolt? This might be the tipping point, with the developers promising more improvements to the game than ever. Let's see if they live up to that promise.

It's Football, Stupid

First, we'll get you to speed on where EA SPORTS FIFA 21 stands. Despite the core football gameplay being relatively solid, the broader player base has begun to criticize the lack of innovation, glitchy mechanics, and technical flaws where gameplay is hindered at a high level. Every release over the past few years has felt like a copy-paste job with the potential to make fan-driven improvements.

Career mode is the first thing to see a significant overhaul in EA SPORTS FIFA 21, with added interactive match simulation, an improved training system, and an interface to manage and monitor player fitness and growth. There's respect for these features being added. Still, it passes over that career mode feels unchanged, where these mechanics don't add much to the gameplay.

Yes, matches still play relatively well with decent control over players, an intuitive interface to form match strategies and 100s of playable teams worldwide. You can't argue that EA SPORTS FIFA 21 still retains its crown as a complete football game. The problem remains that the more intricate details of the title still tend to be competitively obstructive for top-level players.

Executing specific movements won't always happen as expected; animation glitches get in the way. Let's not forget those obnoxious microtransactions. The main point is that plenty of players build careers playing the franchise, and EA SPORTS FIFA 21 doesn't do much to fix the main criticisms that the world's best players continue to throw out into the field.

Back to the Drawing Board

There's no doubt that EA SPORTS FIFA 21 is still the king of football games, reigning supreme over its main competitor, the Pro Evolution Soccer franchise. Any casual game player won't see too much wrong with it, accommodating the general desires of improved visuals, smooth football gameplay, and more immersive experiences.

Round-Up - Pros & Cons

Pros:

• It's still the most immersive football gaming experience
• The improvements to career mode are significant
• Visually outstanding

Cons:

• The finer details of the game still feel glitched
• There are plenty of technical issues that hinder competitiveness
• Gameplay feels relatively the same as the previous entry

Released in October 2020, EA’s biggest sporting title came back with novelty for their fans. Available on Playstation 4 & 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X | S, Nintendo Switch, Windows, and Google Stadia, the game was met with a generally positive reception. The title developed by EA Vancouver in partnership with EA Romania was nominated for The Game Award title for Best Sports/Racing Game.

We Don’t Alter Winning Teams

Electronic Arts have found a very comfortable pace of yearly releases, and for the most part, they consistently deliver a great experience. This remains true with FIFA 21, and it looks even better because the eFootball PES, underdelivered on its promises. Here we get a game that is extremely similar to its predecessor FIFA 20 and only truly differentiates itself by small adjustments in gameplay.

Returning players can expect to find the FIFA Ultimate Team, Career Mode, VOLTA, and traditional modes again. One of the newest additions to the game is called “The Debut” a story mode, that plays like a movie and serves as a tutorial for new players to get acquainted with the new game. It displays a group of players playing soccer alongside Brazil’s Kaka, across the world, and is a very short campaign that lasts around three hours.

Nothing Truly Changes

FIFA 21 marks the first time in a couple of years where the game hasn’t brought any novelty to the franchise. While earlier versions of the game brought Women’s Soccer to the forefront, Street Football back, Alex Hunter’s Story to the fans. FIFA 21, simply relies on what it built throughout the years.

Gameplay features have minor improvements as always, but most notably dribbling has changed, a new tiki-taka manner to position players came through and a new collision system was put in place. On the back-end side of things, FIFA 21 has updated the AI to play more naturally, and be better positioned across the pitch. This sounds funny because it seems that AI improvements were unable to affect goalkeepers, and they feel clumsy whenever they stop a shot.

Conclusion

FIFA 21 is a game for the superfans of the game, EA should be more mindful of yearly releases and their promises since it becomes an overwhelming commitment to constantly buy a game with an “expiring date” of 365 days. The game now has become much more accessible, but for the casual gamer updating versions isn’t truly necessary.

PROS

• The Best Soccer Game of The Year
• Refinement of Controls and Gameplay
• New Game Mode Is a Great Tutorial
• Improved AI

CONS

• Extremely Similar To Earlier Titles
• No New Features Whatsoever
• Might Not Feel New Enough For Veteran Players