Madden 21 Beta Final Impressions

[ChaseB]

I dropped my early impressions of the Madden 21 beta on Friday. My early impressions were...

Written By: Robert Kollars

Click here to view the article.

[Kanobi]

Good article, Chase.

I played some games as well as watched some cpu vs cpu games...all on default all-pro with untouched sliders and 10 minute qtrs.

Overall, the beta left a lot to be desired despite some noticeable graphical upgrades and new animations.

The game itself simply does not capture the violence and physicality of football.

Beyond arguably the hit stick tackles, there is no real sense of suddensess, velocity or explosion upon impact.

In the beta, the tackling and blocking still seem "soft". Too often defenders seem to almost ease ball carriers to the ground. The underwater, "cushioned" feel to player contact continues to detract from immersion and has plagued the series since seemingly forever.

Even with its impressive graphics on the surface, skeletal hints and traces of the player models, interaction and movement from the Madden 00's remains further hurting the game's ability to capture the realism of the sport.

In short, what plagues Madden arguably can't be addressed in two years, let alone two months. Tiburon continues to build on a flawed foundation when the game needs to be demolished and rebuilt.

In the end, for those that enjoy Madden and simply accept it for what is...then M21 likely won't disappoint but nor will it impress. For me however, the beta, coupled with the franchise mode debacle, cemented my non-purchase this year.

[canes21]

It's still Madden. I saw the CPU still struggling to run. They move horizontally more than vertically. As the user you're going to run for 7+ yards per carry on default All Pro. The game is still way too animation driven and doesn't feel organic. The majority of 2-man animations are not good. The new animations this year look pretty good, but the past animations, like most blocking animations or practically all WR/DB animations are just poor at best and don't make sense half the time.

Locomotion felt great. It looks like a game that will play out decently H2H if there are no meta plays, but the experience vs the CPU is still lacking big time. The CPU just about has no brain and it never feels like you're playing an actual opponent that is making decisions with a purpose. It just feels like you're playing against an opponent that is limited and makes play calls based off of an RNG mechanic.... which is basically what EA has the CPU doing.

The gameplay isn't terrible, it's not that great either. It remains Madden. A pretty game that does some things well, plenty bad, and overall is an okay product at best, a frustrating and inconsistent product at worst. I'll give it more time with EA Acceas Premier, but I'll likely stick with older football games for the most part outside of continuing to support Maximum Football.

[roadman]

Holy Beta Impressions, Kanobi, every thread I go into, I'm reading your impressions. (lol, just giving you a hard time, bud)

Very good article and this is the way I feel too.

They need to tweek and not majorly change game play issues before the game arrives.

I mean, after all, it's still Madden.

[allBthere]

I haven't played madden in about 10 years - can you change the default camera yet? (I feel like it's way too zoomed out)

[Darth Aegis]

I think Robert's well written article pretty much sums up how I feel. If you liked Madden 20 (I think I'm over 600 hrs) you probably will like M21 from how the beta played. Some are saying that Madden 21 feels the same as 20. I disagree with this- with the difference in speed, movement, weight. The feel & visual look of M21 during tackles is a different feel for the better from M20. The DL/OL interaction has been well done imo & kudos to Clint. The reach with the football is a nice added touch. I mean if ppl come in & think they're going to play a drastic different game from yr to yr gameplay wise, will be disappointed & not sure why they're expecting that tbh. I'm obviously buying M21(not a suprise) and it won't be without it's warts, but for me gameplay wise the positives out way the negatives with the beta. Room for polish before release for sure, but I'm looking forward to the final product.

[Nickda55]

The problem is, no matter what the beta impressions are, it's going to play like a whole different game by the end of this game cycle. EA/Tiburon, every year, patches this game to death.

Sometimes for the better, to fix some of the bugs, but other times it just ends up breaking mechanics, AI, and exasperates other issues that weren't previously a problem.

[K_GUN]

Good Read Robert!

Here are mine.....and before I divulge..here is where I am as a Madden Gamer:

* 50ish Gamer, been playing Madden since 2k faded away into the night (2k Fanboy back in the day)

* I have really enjoyed M19/20 the past two years...i think the past two years versions have come a LONG Way for Madden compared to the dark times about a decade ago.

* Inferior stick skills compared to most gamers

OK...so, onto the impressions...oh and...Mad Props to Steve/OS for the code..much appreciated!

* DL Line play is really fun....in past versions, it was pretty much pointless to play DLine as I rarely felt it accomplished anything. There is a learning curve. I did notice more success getting wins on the DLine in *competitive* mode versus *sim* but...that sounds how it should be as Comp is more about Stick Skills. Playing with the Defensive Cam is great for these new DLine RS controls....while there may not be the violent attacking of lineman as Kanobi points out....they no longer play pattycake like past Maddens have. I do wish the Defense Cam could be re-worked a bit...not sure why the camera view is angled rather than be straight up like when on the offensive zoom camera. The problem with playing on Defensive Cam is that the play behind the DLine seems awful...feels like too play big plays are given up...more on this....

* On several it appeared that AI defenders (both my team and CPU) took way too long to make a tackle or even try to close on the ball carrier.....really noticed this with CBs/FS/SS....I think this is why using DCam was almost worthless as you would get gashed by the lack of field awareness from the AI

* Lighting appears warmer/softer for the 4:15 games......nice and bright for the 1pm games.

* Played A LOT of Ravens at Bucs games....felt the other teams in the demo the 2ndary was weak...wanted to really see how CPU defense was (BAL has a legit team). As noted before, Im not a hardcore/elite gamer....I played mostly as Bucs/Brady....played on both Sim & Comp.....I found my games against BAL to be really tough...lost 37-9....34-22....44-35

* CPU Ravens play to their real life counterpart...a LOT of LaMar/Ingram running plays...and, LaMar's Go-To receiver was indeed Andrews the TE....a lot of throws to him

* Saw the receiver awareness animations...in particular, Mike Evans while being tackled, reaching fo the GL with the ball...TD Bucs!!

* Tom Brady in those creamsicle throwback TB jerseys are a sight to see! haha!...oh and his *No Hi-Five* cutscene does travel to TB with him

* Saw the Ravens losing 28-21 to TB with 7:23 remaining in the game on the TB 20 go for it on 4th inches...very aggressive...I liked it!

* Overall, game speed does appear slower/smoother than M20...I like it.....the dead-leg animation is great.

* post play user celebrations are great

* Not a fan of the Instant Replay wipes (IE Move The Chains)

* There is an animation that is carried over from M20 that I loathe...SteveOS brought this up in one of his impression posts....its the one where a receiver jumps up for the ball and a defender will jump up and tip the ball out of receivers hands but in doing so, the receiver jumps a little higher or stays in the air....i can't describe it..but.....it looks bad....does not look natural at all...wish they would remove/re-work that animation

* Overall, I enjoyed it.....I like the DL moves on the RS now....at least validates playing as a DLineman now in Madden.

* Also...as noted by other posters.....it's likely the game I played this weekend will NOT be the game we all play in August....so.....take these impressions with a grain of salt.

If it wasn't for PS5/Next-Gen, it would be an automatic purchase for me but...curious to see what Next-Gen has to offer.