Welcome to 2020, the year that almost put an end to all sporting events, or at least attending them in person, in a year where attending sports games largely isn’t an option this has made me even more eager to get my hands on all the sporting video games available this year, and seeing that one of my favourite sports is NFL football, this time of the year is one I always look forward to as the time to the annual Madden release draws closer. EA has faced a lot of flak over the past 5 years for resting on their laurels and in some cases removing functions from the game, have they managed to score a touchdown with the release of Madden 21? Or is it more a case of an interception?

EA and the Madden franchise has rightfully faced criticisms over the past decade for releasing the same game almost every year apart from a roster update, in some cases they have even removed past features and then added them back into the game years later under a different name trying to sneak them past as some innovative new game mechanic. Fans of the franchise are really starting to get sick of the half-assed approach to developing the game and the lack of focus on franchise mode that the game has received, this even led to the #FixMaddenFranchise going viral and trending on Twitter. You would think all of this would make EA very nervous especially where competitors are concerned, however, in April it was announced by both the National Football League and EA that they have now signed another contract to have exclusive rights to NFL simulation style games up until the year 2025, meaning basically that no other developer will be able to make simulation games until the license is up for grabs again in 2025, this is a pretty sad state of affairs, as without competition EA have no reason to put major efforts into improving the series.

As per the past few years, EA has brought back their attempt at copying NBA2K but putting it in football cleats with their ‘face of the franchise mode.” For those unaware, this is a mode where you get to create your own player and try to take him all the way to the NFL hall of fame. It is a mode that practically nobody has ever asked for where Madden is concerned, in saying that though I can understand where EA are coming from trying to push this mode down our throat for the last few years, they have obviously seen how the ‘my player’ mode in NBA 2K is one of the games most popular modes and figure that they can try cash in on that, the problem is that this mode in Madden is done absolutely terribly. Each year we get a cliche, uninspiring story about a young player trying to make it into the NFL and this year is no different, in fact, this year is the worst instalment in the entire series.

Entitled “Rise to fame” in this years face of the franchise you start off in high school as a talented athlete that hasn’t seen the football field in years, you join your high school team as backup QB to local star Tommy Matthews. As the story progresses you discover that Tommy is suffering from a serious medical condition that forces him to take time off football, this allows you to step in and take your team to the high school national championship. After this, you get to pick which college team you wish to go to and find out that Tommy Matthews has also chosen to go to the same team as you in order to compete for the starting QB job, what a toxic smeghead right? The story then takes you through a QB battle in college and through to the NFL draft where you can either pick which team you want to play for or leave the choice in the hands of the game. This then takes you through the basic my player mode in Madden with a few little add ons such as having goals to set. The story is absolutely boring and pointless as well because only one or two of the decisions you make in the story affect the outcome of it or anything to do with your created player.

There are also a ton of games you play to get through the story and I understand that this can serve as a tutorial or practice for new players but there is no way to change the difficulty of the games in the story so these become incredibly tedious to play through especially because they don’t really affect the story in any way at all. I really think it is time for EA to scrap the story part of this mode and focus more on improvements to the gameplay once you make it to the NFL, nobody wants to sit through a cheesy script like this every year.

Franchise mode…. the main mode I play and the source of a lot of attention this year especially with the #FixMaddenFranchiose campaign has basically remained untouched except for a few new X Factor features for players and other basic improvements. There is a new “skill stick” mechanic on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball but none of this is terribly innovative at all and seems to be a change made just for the sake that EA can list it as a feature. Also added is a new presentation package and stadium announcer at the start of the game announcing the team matchups which is fairly slick but the excitement of this wears off after a few games. Franchise mode is basically just a roster update and if you have Madden 20 you can already get that for free from the community roster share feature. Do yourself a favour and purchase a PS3 and find a copy of NCAA Football 14 (just be prepared its pricey!) and then sit down and experience football heaven, even though this game was made by EA more than 6 years ago it is leaps and bounds ahead of the current state of the Madden franchise and much more fun to play.

Madden Ultimate Team mode returns once again along with Superstar KO from last year, and this actually remains one of the more entertaining modes of the current iteration of Madden. A lot of people don’t like the prominence of Madden Ultimate Team mode over the last handful of years in Madden due to it’s loot box mechanics, but I have no problem with it being a cash cow for EA if people want to spend money buying virtual football cards then let them do it, the problem I have with the mode is that this is where EA tends to focus the most of its time instead of giving franchise mode a complete overhaul.

The Yard is a new mode for this year and it takes on a more arcade version of football, this 6v6 multi-player and offline mode integrates backyard football into Madden and offers a ruleset that is more street than the bogged down and sometimes confusing rules of standard NFL games. Here you and your mates can take on other teams and perform a bunch of trick plays, like throwing the ball between your legs and lateraling from side to side of the field in order to try get the ball into the endzone. This mode is a bunch of fun to play with some mates but can unfortunately feel like a soulless experience if you are playing alone,  though I am sure EA can find ways to tweak this if the mode is to stick around in future versions of Madden. Winning games and performing plays earns you experience and currency which you can spend on cosmetics for your player so you can take the field in style. I can't help but feel The Yard is a knee-jerk reaction to the recent news that another well-known publisher now has a license to publish “non simulation” NFL games, but EA does have a nice platform with this mode that they will hopefully expand in the future.

Overall, it is the same old story, another year of Madden, another disappointment. Franchise mode has been stripped of features over the years and once again it appears that this mode has been paid little to no attention. It is nice to see that EA are improving Madden through different modes such as The Yard but these are not features the community has been crying out for, EA seem to suddenly turn death in regards to any of the many franchise mode improvements that the community has been crying out for years now. One day, just one day EA might hear our cries, until then I will lie here clutching my copies of NCAA14 and NFL2K5.