Quantcast
Channel: PS4 Reviews – Terminal Gamer – Gaming is our Passion | PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch

Assetto Corsa Competizione Review – Sim Racing Refined

0
0

Developer Kunos Simulazioni has released their eSport centered racing simulator Assetto Corsa Competizione onto consoles worldwide. We have been putting in track time for over a week and are ready to share our thoughts.

Is the game track-ready or should it be sent back to the pits?

Read on to find out

Developer Kunos Simulazioni has been creating racing simulators since 2006. As a company, they were established in 2005 at the ACI Vallelunga Circuit near Rome, with the goal of developing software for varying needs from solutions for professional racing teams to consumer software. This has translated well into the physics and gameplay for past racing games such as the original Assetto Corsa title released in 2016.

Racing at its Finest

For racing video games, titles fall into two general categories: Arcade and Simulators. Assetto Corsa Competizione clearly falls into the simulation category, and sets the bar in realism in the physics of car handling, tire wear, car damage, and fuel consumption (when those are enabled). You can also use a dynamic driving line to help you and we strongly recommend you start with it tuned on. The line not only changes color as needed, but also has a 3D effect to assist you in throttle control. As the line gets thicker, you need to give more throttle, and vice versa. With enough practice, you should be able to memorize each track, or at least just need a few refresher laps to jog your memory. The game does a great job of allowing you to set the depth of simulation you desire, and you can always adjust it later, as you learn how to better handle each vehicle and how to better handle each track.

The Race Cars

Assetto Corsa Competizione has a decent variety of vehicles to choose from, but their previous title had considerably more. This release focuses on vehicles mainly from the GT World Challenge, and as such you won’t be seeing anything from American manufacturers. There are 24 different vehicles to choose from, though, so it’s not like there isn’t some variety. Names like Lamborghini, Ferrari, McLaren, and Porsche are represented so there are plenty of power house cars to drive around. It would have been nice to see some other manufacturers represented, though, and maybe they’ll add them in later via DLC. One could hope.

Each car has its own identity, and they handle differently much like in real life. We found that if we stuck to one vehicle, and try it at several different tracks, it led to better and better lap times. We went with the 2019 McLaren 720s GT3 because we loved the acceleration, braking, and overall handling. The 2018 Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 was our second choice. For those that don’t own a racing wheel and decent pedals, you may have a hard time with precision throttle and brake control. We tried the game first with our Dualshock 4 just to see how it handled and then plugged in our Thrustmaster based racing set-up to get down to the business of actual racing. The T150 wheel with the three pedal T3PA add-on coupled with the nifty Wheelstand Pro gave us the ability to better control the car through the many twists and turns of the varying of venues.

The Tracks

Assetto Corsa Competizione focuses on the GT World Challenge so we weren’t too surprised to only find 15 different tracks. These are from the courses used in 2018 and 2019. Not exactly a huge number of tracks, but as with the cars, we can hope more will be added with DLC later on. As in real life, each track has its own unique characteristics and can change based on weather, time, and temperature. From the famous cork screw at Laguna Seca in California, to the 571ft vertical difference of Mount Panorama in Australia, each track requires different set ups and varying techniques. The tracks are recreated using laser scanning, and as per personal experience at Laguna Seca, they did an incredible job.

Each car has set-ups pre-designed for three different settings at each track. There’s a Safe set-up, an Aggressive set-up, and a wet set-up. Each have varying settings which you can alter yourself, or just jump in as-is. The level of realism here, again, sets this game apart from any other racing sim on the console market. You can adjust alignment, suspension, body roll, shock strength for dampening, aerodynamics, brake power, brake bias, and more. The level to which one can deep dive into the settings is as close to real life as we have ever seen on a console.

Career and Championship Modes

Once you feel like you can be competitive enough, you can jump into either Career mode or one of three Championship modes. Championship mode gives you the options of racing the Intercontinental GT Challenge, or the Blancpain GT Series from either 2018 or 2019. In this mode, you can choose which car to race with using either a customized livery or team livery. Career mode will start you out at Monza in a Lamborghini Huracan GT3, needing to get a good lap time in order to determine your skill level. Both modes can be adjusted to be as sim as you want them to be.

[See image gallery at terminalgamer.com]

Beautiful Game with Flaws

The original Assetto Corsa game used an in-house gaming engine that was improved over time, but lacked the complexities that the developer desired. Assetto Corsa Competizione switched over to the Unreal Engine 4 for better support for night races and realistic weather conditions. The graphics for the game really are top notch, with only a few exceptions. Cars are replicated beautifully, with spot on curves and eye catching grills. Carbon fiber parts are incredibly detailed, matching up to steel and fiberglass, leaving us with vehicles that almost look like they could drive right out of our 4K TV. The fatal flaw, and weak link comes when you have sponsor stickers and driver names on the car. All that attention to detail that was spent making these cars look gorgeous, is marred by the pixelated stickers that look like they were copied over from an old PS2 game. It’s these little details that make the game look sub-par, even though if you played the game with zero stickers or fancy paint jobs, it’s clearly not.

 

With Assetto Corsa Competizione developer Kunos Simulazioni has created a game that not only sets the bar for other racing simulators, but also leaves room for growth within itself. Their expertise in racing simulation is clearly evident in every aspect of the game.

8


Assetto Corsa Competizione review code provided by publisher and reviewed on a PS4 Pro using Thrustmaster peripherals. For more information on scoring, please read What our review scores really mean.

The post Assetto Corsa Competizione Review – Sim Racing Refined appeared first on Terminal Gamer - Gaming is our Passion | PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch.


Maid of Sker Review- Patience and Silence Required

0
0

Developer Wales Interactive is ready to unleash their survival horror title Maid of Sker upon the masses, but we have been trying to survive for more than a week. Is the game ready for its debut, or should it be left alone to die in the dark?

Read on to find out

 

 

Maid of Sker is a first-person survival horror, set in a remote hotel with a macabre history from Welsh folklore. Based on the haunting true story of Elizabeth Williams, a girl who was locked in her room by her father and is said to be one of two ghosts that haunt Sker House today, you play as Thomas Evans, a musician who is thrust into a terrifying battle to save the woman he loves. Set in 1898 in and around Sker House, a real dwelling that still stands to this day and is said to be one the most haunted in Britain.

Developer Wales Interactive took inspirations from R.D. Blackmore’s 19th century novel, The Maid of Sker, and the original Welsh ballad, Y Ferch o’r Sger, but are telling the story in a truly sinister way, with multiple endings that will be discovered depending on the player’s actions. Expect to play a truly terrifying survival horror that reignites one of the most haunting tales in Wales.

Sound is Your Friend & Your Worst Enemy

To say the game is dark and twisted would be an understatement. The story is told through billboards, posters, notes found lying around, and through telephone conversations between you and Elizabeth (?) who is hiding in the attic. You start out in the main lobby of the grand house, and it is seemingly empty and quiet. Once you find your way into the bowels of this grand place, you’ll realize that you aren’t alone.

The bad guys that are roaming around the house all have potato sacks on their heads and can’t see. This is story related so we won’t tell you why, but what that means is these guys can’t see you, but their hearing is pretty darn good. If they find you, they will beat you senseless and you’ll be sent back to your last checkpoint. Level design is maze like, and these guys make the mazes considerably harder. While these guys can hear you, walking and even bumping into furniture and items hanging around, you can also hear them. The game uses 3D audio and we strongly urge you to turn out the lights, put on your favorite headphones, and play the game that way. You can even hear the guys behind doors, so always pay attention before opening them.

Hiding and Defense

As you work your way through the house, the gardens, and even the cemetery, you have very little in terms of defenses. If these guys get close, you can hold your breath for a short period of time by covering your mouth and nose, or if you have found the Phonic Modulator and a one-time use cartridge, you can send them into a tizzy and get away quickly. these guys aren’t one-hit knockouts for you, though, as you can take a couple of punches before you get knocked out. There are bottles of elixir sparsely lying around that you can drink to replenish your health, and when injured you do make more noise, so be sure to use them when needed.

[See image gallery at terminalgamer.com]

A Dark and Gorgeous Game

Maid of Sker is a very dark game, not only in the story but in the overall graphics for the game as well. The story plays out entirely at night, and with lighting from the late 1800s there isn’t much light. This plays into the ambience of the game well, and makes for more than a few pretty good jump scares.The music tends to be pretty dark, and changes when one of the bad guys is honing in on you. You can outrun them, but often that’ll just have you running into the fists and feet of another bad guy around the corner. Patience and a good memory, coupled with knockout failures, will slowly get you through the game.

Developer Wales Interactive has done a remarkable job of creating a survivor horror game that feels unique and intriguing, all the while scaring the hell out of us.

9


Maid of Sker review code provided by publisher and reviewed on a PS4 Pro. For more information on scoring, please read What our review scores really mean.

 

The post Maid of Sker Review- Patience and Silence Required appeared first on Terminal Gamer - Gaming is our Passion | PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch.

PGA Tour 2K21 Review – Dominating the Green

0
0

Developer HB Studios has partnered with 2K Sports and the PGA Tour to bring us their latest golf endeavor PGA Tour 2K21. We have been hitting the links for over a week thanks to 2K giving us early access to the title and we are ready to answer the question everyone wants to know: Have the greens and fairways been groomed to perfection, or is this game heading for the rough?

Read on to find out

HB Studios has been in and around games development on multiple platforms since 2000, with its first title being Cricket 2002 for PC and the original PlayStation and the PlayStation 2. They went on to partner with different publishers like EA and 505 Games and created titles for the Wii as well as the PC, PlayStation Portable, and consoles. Fast forward to 2014 and they released their first golf simulator The Golf Club. What was originally going to be a contracted title, possibly for EA’s PGA Tour series, ended up being HB Studios’ excellent golf game, and the birth of a great golfing franchise. EA’s loss is clearly our gain.

In 2018 2K Sports partnered with HB Studios to publish what was essentially the 4th generation of The Golf ClubThe Golf Club 2019 featuring PGA Tour. Bringing with it all of the bells and whistles from the previous titles (minus some big names) the series continued to improve the quality of play and graphics. Here we are now in 2020 and, thanks to 2K’s early press access, we can now share our experience with PGA Tour 2K21.

No Clicking, Just Swinging

If the last golf game you played was an EA title, you are probably expecting to be able to swing using a 3-click system. As with The Golf Club, and now PGA Tour 2K21, they use the right stick for a more accurate swing system that can allow you to hook or slice a shot when needed (happens to us a lot when not needed though). You pull the right stick back for power, then push it forward quickly for timing, and the side to side movement will determine if it’s straight, hooked, or sliced. A very nice feature is the ability to fade your shot left or right prior to your swing, which in essence is a hook or a slice. It’s perfect for driving around corners or trees. Your difficulty level will determine how much leeway you have to the left or right on your swing meter, so you’ll need to practice on the driving range to calibrate your swing.

Putting uses the same mechanism as driving, but depending on your difficulty level, can be an entirely different animal. On the easiest setting, you can line up your putt and use unlimited putt previews to see if the ball will drop in the cup. As the difficulty increases, so does the number of previews you’ll have available. Going into a course, if you know which greens are the hardest to read, then you’ll know which greens to use your limited number of previews on. The curve between Easy and Legendary difficulties is HUGE. Easy is just that, really friggin easy, while legendary is pretty friggin hard. Legendary is pretty much just you and your golf bag, with very little information available to you. This difficulty is really only for the seasoned gamer that has quite a bit of time in the franchise. There are enough difficulties in between to find one that best suits your level of experience, so don’t feel too discouraged if Legendary seems too daunting. We found ourselves somewhere between Amateur and Pro, even though we went the easy route on the PGA Tour.

Joining the PGA Tour

Starting your PGA Tour career will find you first in the Korn Ferry Tour. Getting promoted requires you to either finish in the top 25 points rankings at the end of the season, or you can get instantly promoted by winning any 3 of the events. The instant promotion then skips the rest of the season and you’ll get to start fresh with week 1 on the PGA Tour. PGA Events are on licensed courses and a few require you to meet certain criteria. If you miss out on one, an alternate event will become available, so don’t expect a week off.

Once you are on the tour, you can take on sponsored contracts from a variety of name brands like Adidas, Ben Hogan, Callaway, and Taylor Made. You’ll get to choose between fairly easy tasks like making the cut to harder tasks like earning 700 Fed Ex Cup points in 3 tournaments or scoring 5 birdies in a row. Earn enough points to level up a sponsor and you’ll unlock new gear or clubs you can use. It’s basically free equipment, as long as you are reaching their goals, so be sure to always have an active sponsor contract.

Winning the Fed Ex Cup and Other Awesome Trophies

PGA Tour 2K21 uses the Fed Ex Cup Points system to track your overall rankings during a season, and uses the final three events for the playoffs. Winning the Fed Ex cup should be your ultimate goal on tour, but some of those tournament trophies look pretty sweet as well. There are twenty different trophies to be found in your trophy room (not to be confused with PSN Trophies as those are different) and each one represents specific events.

Nothing Like a Good Rivalry

Once you’ve earned you way on to the tour, you’ll earn your first Rival. There are twelve different rivals you’ll match up against throughout your career, and you can best them in up to seven different items in each tournament. These are things like a better single hole score, longer average drive distances, finish ahead of them in the tournament, and fewer putts. For the first couple of rivals, it’s possible to defeat them in one tournament, but as you progress through the list of rivals, the number of things to beat them at increases. The last Rival is the cover star Justin Thomas and you’ll need a minimum of four tournaments to defeat him. Each rival has specific rewards for beating them, so there’s more free equipment waiting for you there.

[See image gallery at terminalgamer.com]

Online Societies

PGA Tour 2K21 brings with it Online Societies which are a place for you to play with other users in a relaxed, but competitive environment. Join a society or two and compete against fellow society members in the events set up by the Society Admins. Event rounds can be completed at your leisure during the event’s specified timeline, and you can set up seasonal events as well. Anyone can create a society and you can even relegate authority to other people by making them an admin. You can set up tournaments with or without an entry fee, and you can also donate your in-game currency if you wish to use as a bonus for the winner. Rounds can be set to be played within time limits ranging from a day to a week, so no one has to rush online to play. It’s a pretty cool feature that was well thought out.

Build Your Own Course

HB Studios previously introduced their course designer with The Golf Club 2019, and they polished it up a for PGA Tour 2K21. Here you’ll find a full fledged course creator, originally designed to create and show off real world course designs to potential clients. For those returning players, you can import your legacy courses into this version of the game, so upgrading to PGA Tour 2K21 doesn’t mean you’ll lose any of your previous creations.

For a new course, you can start out in one of eleven different themed areas ranging from the desert to tropical to the highlands. While the game already has 15 licensed TPC courses, you can create as many other courses as you wish, or download courses others have created. You can even set up tournaments in your society using your created courses. (Nintendo Switch version doesn’t have the course creator yet)

Developer HB Studios continues to bring their ‘A’ game when it comes to golf simulation, and PGA Tour 2K21 truly sets the bar for any and all golf sims. With a broad range of difficulty settings, multiple online modes, and The PGA Tour, this is a golf lovers dream game.

 

9


PGA Tour 2K21 review code provided by publisher and reviewed on a PS4 Pro. For more information on scoring, please read What our review scores really mean.

The post PGA Tour 2K21 Review – Dominating the Green appeared first on Terminal Gamer - Gaming is our Passion | PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch.

Hands on With Madden NFL 21 The Yard – Childhood Remembered

0
0

We have been lacing up the cleats for a week with Madden NFL 21, and while the review coverage drops Friday, we will let yall peak inside The Yard. A brand new, 6v6 mode that you can play with friends, or all by yourself against the CPU.

 

 

The Yard is a brand-new backyard football-inspired mode in Madden NFL 21 where wild gameplay moments, house rules, and a fearless attitude are the name of the game. You play on an 80 X 40 yard field where it’s 1st and 20 on your first snap and first downs are a long ways off.

 

Getting Busy in The Yard

The Yard pits two teams of six on the field with each team controlled by either one, two, or three users. Players control their one-of-a-kind avatar plus the NFL superstars who team up with them on the field. The Yard is a small-sided 6v6 experience where you can play solo or co-op with up to two friends against other users (1v1, 2v2 or 3v3) or AI. Mind-blowing gameplay highlights in The Yard are generated by new trick play animations – behind the back throws, multiple passes, the ability to snap the ball to anyone on the field, and more, make the gameplay unlike any seen in Madden before. You’ll be playing both offense and defense with your squad.

Everyone is a 2-Way Player in The Yard

When you first jump into The Yard, you’ll have to make some decisions to determine what Prototype of player you are going to be. Do you want to focus on throwing, running, scrambling, maybe defense? You’ll have to remember that in The Yard, you’ll be on defense just as much as you are on offense. If you only focus on your offensive prowess, the opposing offense may rip you to shreds. You may end up swapping out your style as you learn the ins and outs of the new mode, so don’t get too locked in to the first one you try, as others may get you a little more balance.

Playbooks are for Noobs

While on offense or defense, you’ll have the exact same playbook as your opponent, but honestly, the playbook is only good for about 3 seconds, or whatever the Blitz Timer is at. Growing up we played a lot of backyard football and with no offensive line to protect whoever the QB happened to be, your rusher (we usually only had one) had to count three or four Mississippis, out loud for all to hear, before he could rush in for the sack. In The Yard, this is represented by the Rush Line, and it’s red until the timer counts down, and then someone can rush whoever is behind the line. This is where the real plays start.

QBs can take the snap, or not, totally up to you, while the WR takes off downfield, trailed by your HB. Long bomb to your WR who, right before getting smashed tosses the ball back to the HB, who then jukes and spins his way to the endzone for a TD. You can also play around behind the line for some razzle dazzle and points, so quick strikes may not win you the game. The Yard has a special scoring system for those that can master the mechanics

  • Touchdowns are worth the traditional six points, but…
    • Score a touchdown with a double pass or lateral – two bonus points
    • Score a touchdown longer than 40 yards – one bonus point
  • Interceptions earn you one bonus point.
  • Extra Points are up to you. You can choose to try one, two, or three-point conversions that get progressively further away from the goal line and kicking is never an option.

Where You Play is How You Play

There are four locations currently available (once you unlock them by playing) and each location has some unique rules and events to complete. The four locations at launch are F.O.B Nico, Miami Port, Brandenburg Football Festival, and Lambeau Tailgate. More locations will be added throughout the year. F.O.B. Nico is literally boot camp and is a great place to start and learn the intricacies of The Yard. They have a boot camp for both offense and defense, and in squad boot camp, you’ll get to choose your teammates. It’s a great way to get busy and learn the system.

 

Madden Mobile and The Yard

If you have a newish smart phone, you can download Madden Mobile and connect and login to your EA account to seamlessly swap from your solo The Yard: Underground experience on mobile to The Yard in Madden NFL 21. As long as you’re logged in, you’ll have access to your Avatar and inventory of earned rewards (Cred), progression (Rep, Madden Rank), and gear collection. It’s a fun way to take The Yard on the bus, train, or car ride, and you’ll have access to all your cool gear you’ve bought or earned.

[See image gallery at terminalgamer.com] Madden NFL 21‘s The Yard is truly a throwback to our childhood. It reminds us of Fall Sundays, either waiting for an NFL kickoff, maybe a half time break 10-minute game, or even a postgame replay of the NFL game we just watched, played out in our own backyard with childhood friends. This could have been a stand-alone title, and we would have gladly forked over the cash for it.

Well done EA Sports.

Stay tuned for our full review of Madden NFL 21 tomorrow.

For even more on this game mode, head on over to the Gridiron Notes: The Yard

 


Madden NFL 21 review code provided by publisher and previewed on a PS4 Pro.

 

The post Hands on With Madden NFL 21 The Yard – Childhood Remembered appeared first on Terminal Gamer - Gaming is our Passion | PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch.

Madden NFL 21 Review – Become the GOAT

0
0

Another NFL season is rapidly approaching (we hope) so that means it’s time for another edition of Madden NFL. We have been marching up and down the field in Madden NFL 21 for a week and we can now share our thoughts and opinions on the matter. Does the game warrant a purchase, or should you drop back ten and punt on it?

 

Read on to find out


 

John Madden Football Circa 1988

John Madden Football Circa 1988

In the Beginning There Was….

EA Sports has been publishing Madden NFL games since 1988 and have come a long ways since John Madden Football first released. As technology advanced, so did the developers and so did the franchise. As long time fans of the series, every year we have to ask ourselves what can EA do to grow a series that seems to be at its peak already. The in-game graphics have been top notch for years now, so there’s not too much room for growth there. We thought the animations and controls were pretty much at their peak as well, but it turns out that EA Sports didn’t think so, so they added in some pretty cool features.

Madden NFL 21_20200826104924

The Skill Stick

Just when we thought we knew all the moves on offense and defense, EA says hold-em-up boss. The new Skill Stick takes the right analog stick and your gameplay up a notch by giving you more control of what your guy is doing.The Ball Carrier stick gives you some pretty cool moves and combos if you pull them off, and you can create some pretty cool replays if you pay attention to the on-screen prompts. First time we saw dead-leg on the screen we thought our RB had an issue, until we pulled off a dead-leg spin juke combo that took us an extra 20 yards downfield after first contact. Pretty damn slick.

On defense, rush moves can be more specific depending on which direction you move the stick while holding down your trigger button. O-Line men will build a resistance to moves if you repeat them over and over, so be sure to learn your moves and mix-em up. You can now pull off combos on your rush mechanics, so pay attention to the on-screen prompts. You’ll be smashing QBs in no time.

Adaptive AI on CPU Controlled Teams

The AI is much smarter this year and has a pretty good memory both on offense and defense. We were playing through a game like we did in the past, sticking to what plays worked well, but midway through the game, the defense started adjusting to our play calling. Plays that worked well before started losing yards. The better the players are on defense, the smarter they are and the CPU will make key adjustments to slow you down. Even with a RB like Zeke, if you run the same few plays over and over, the defense will put a hurt on him and smash him behind the line, and make him ‘fold like a lawn chair’.

Offenses use this same memory technique if you run the same defense too often. We ran cover 2 a lot last year, with the occasional outside blitz, but midway through our first game in KC, Mahomes started carving us up when we showed blitz with quick passes, and kept killing us in the flats with no blitz. We had to start mixing up man coverage with zone coverage or the guy would walk his team down the field on a leisurely stroll. The smarter the QB, the smarter the AI.

 

Face of the Franchise

Madden NFL 21‘s career mode is now called The Face of the Franchise and follows your created character from High School all the way through the NFL, and finally into Canton and the Hall of Fame. It’s an interesting take on a career mode as it uses a documentary style of story telling, where one of your high school buddies, who wrote for your school paper and has been a life long friend, is now a sports reporter and is doing an in-depth interview with you after you’ve retired and are being honored at your High School. Games and cut scenes are played out via flashbacks, so a predetermined outcome is inevitable.

You start out in High School, getting to not only name the school and location, but also add a mascot name and the team colors. You can really make this mode your own by going back in time to your own High School glory days, if you had them. If not, get ya some now. The mode is full of drama, and you’ll be challenged by your frenemy Tommy for the QB1 role, who you replaced due to health reasons. Tommy seems like a lost puppy dog at times, who follows you almost everywhere, and we aren’t really sure why he is even a friend. The guy seems to never want you to succeed and wants the limelight all for himself. He’s literally a me-first kinda guy and your character shouldn’t put up with his shit, but does.

College Drama

After High School, you’ll get to choose between one of ten FBS schools to sign with and further your career, but Tommy makes sure the drama follows you by signing with the same team. The coach asks if you want to maybe try out as a wide receiver or a running back, and let Tommy be QB1, or challenge him for that role. It’s just one thing after another because of that guy. The head coach decides to use a 2 QB system where who ever has the hot hand starts and plays until he starts to do terrible, then the other guy steps in. This method makes the mode very scripted and we outperformed the games expectations several times, and still were treated negatively afterwards.

You would think that a guy that rushes for a buck twenty and passes for another 200 would be your starter, but the drama is forced and you’ll be on the bench by the National Championship game, which you’ll have to come in for the 2nd half and win because Tommy is having health issues again. Not long after the game, Tommy gets fixed up and, you being the nice guy that you are, visit him in the hospital to show him the trophy. He’s an ass and says he’s going to be gunning for that QB1 position again, and all you can do is stand there and take it. Couple weeks later the head coach confirms that Tommy will be QB1, and you can decide to either move to another college or enter the draft.

Madden NFL 21_20200822115749

Finally the NFL

We were done with college and all that drama so we entered the draft and were given the option of either letting fate decide the team or picking it ourselves. We chose Dallas, which meant Dak would be on the hot seat and we were now the Tommy in this scenario. We were next given the choice between who we wanted to be our mentor, having to choose between a WR and a HB. All of our choices defined our personality and either helped or hurt the team’s morale, which in turn affected how they played. Be careful of your words, because words can hurt your performance or help it.

After a hot preseason we were named QB1 of the Cowboys and Dak was moved on to Indianapolis. We actually only played one preseason game and that determined the outcome of the rest. The mode has a lot of fast forward schedules starting in High School, and with the script already written, the overall outcome is predetermined. It’s the little things along the way that brings this mode to life, though. At one point a line backer from the rival Eagles runs his mouth on social media and the Eagles are the focus for a while. You’ll have to answer questions in press conferences, and you can never seem to say the right thing, pretty much like in real life. The press hears what they want to hear and drama sells stories, so they’ll twist your words to create issues.

Madden NFL 21_20200826135256

Canton and Beyond

At the end of the day, after all of the selfishness of Tommy and the drama that ensued, you’ll eventually, hopefully, earn that GOAT status and make the Hall of Fame. We were disappointed here because we only played for 8 years and really felt like we should have been able to play for at least ten or more, but that wasn’t an option, as the script was written for eight and that’s all we got. The only other disappointment we had with this mode was the cut scene graphics. The quality was poor compared to the rest of the game and left a lot to be desired.

Madden NFL 21_20200820223712

The Yard

The Yard is a brand-new backyard football-inspired mode in Madden NFL 21 where wild gameplay moments, house rules, and a fearless attitude are the name of the game. The Yard pits two teams of six on the field with each team controlled by either one, two, or three users. Players control their one-of-a-kind avatar plus the NFL superstars who team up with them on the field. We published an in-depth preview previously, so be sure to check that out for a full review of that mode.

Madden NFL 21_20200820230638

Returning modes from last years game include Franchise, Superstar KO, and of Madden Ultimate Team. All three modes add an incredible amount of replayability to Madden NFL 21, and coupled with the new modes makes this the best Madden to date.

 

EA Sports continues to take the Madden NFL Franchise farther and farther down the road by not only adding in bells and whistles with new animations and controls, but also by going above and beyond by adding in the game mode The Yard and a career mode that follows you from High School to the Hall of Fame in Canton.

If you are wondering if Madden NFL 21 is worth a purchase, wonder no more. The answer is yes, and thanks to dual entitlement, a future PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X copy is included.

10


Madden NFL 21 (v1.04) review code provided by publisher and reviewed on a PS4 Pro. For more information on scoring, please read What our review scores really mean.

The post Madden NFL 21 Review – Become the GOAT appeared first on Terminal Gamer - Gaming is our Passion | PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch.





Latest Images