I had a great time on FIFA 21. EA has greatly improved the way the game is played on the court, added welcome quality of life adjustments, and provided a football manager-inspired makeover for the career model. However, none of this can conceal the fact that FIFA 21 lacks new modes or new features, and the old evil (Ultimate Team loot box) is as evil as usual.
There are many things to like on the court, which makes FIFA 21 mistakes even more frustrating. The game feels like an arcade game. Compared with FIFA 20, players are definitely quicker to react and pass the ball clearly (although occasionally it turns like a pinball). At least in the early days, fast forward was king. This is also an absolute goal. I’m not sure if this is the result of a much more complicated defensive feeling than in recent years, or if the defender sometimes feels sluggish, or if shooting from almost anywhere is reliable (returning from a long-range shot carefully), or the goalkeeper seems a little It’s useless, but I often score 5 or 6 goals per game, and want more people to admit defeat.
I think the whole process is totally unrealistic-let us remember that EA is trying to create a football simulation game here-but given the latest results of the Premier League, the developers may know the wind is blowing and think they will let go of their hair. The result is that FIFA 21 is interesting at this early stage because it is watching the Premier League this season, but to be honest, the defense is cruel and everyone needs to calm down. With so many targets flying by, after a while, you start to feel numb and hit the back of the net. EA may wish to adjust it.
What’s useful is that this year I did feel an interesting skill gap. In this skill, we have mastered some new mechanisms, such as creative running, and we will see excellent players defeating annoying meta-teams with low-skilled hands. The idea is that you can better control the player’s running style, which is great in theory, but there is a lot to consider in practice. You may end up getting lost in what you did, especially when the ball suddenly pounces like this game. But the key thing to point out is that after a while, you will feel that you have mastered the trick, which is very meaningful when the player runs to you and instructs you to enter the goal. After a long period of banality in FIFA 20, this combined with better scoring diversity (cross again, yes!), providing FIFA 21 with freshness.
However, I still feel that EA is struggling with the ball. The FIFA 21 ball, like its predecessor, feels flat. It moves in a manner almost similar to a laser, usually violates the laws of physics, and is in direct contrast to the digital art work PES football. I think FIFA 21 doesn’t look much in general. Of course, many players’ faces are very detailed, but if graphical improvements are made on the court in FIFA 20, I can’t see it. The stadium looks like plastic, with lights on the surface and a crowd of robots. In the process of integrating FIFA into the next generation of game consoles, if I am looking for one thing, it is a brand new look and feel, which is more solid and tough. Less Subbuteo, more San Siro. I want to feel the kick of the ball through the controller and actually see it flying in the air. The FIFA 21 ball feels like it is made of magnets, and it is close to the zero point behind the curtain.
In other places, the improvement of the quality of life is increasingly important. EA abandoned the Ultimate Team fitness program, which means you spend more time in the game, and spend less time unconsciously using endless consumables. EA cancelled fierce celebrations to fight toxicity and played better online, although I believe that in the near future, other celebrations will be known as “everyone will be annoying.” Nevertheless, after scoring a goal, you will soon return to the center circle, because now there is no retreat cinematic, which is great. EA, well done here.
In my opinion, Volta is the FIFA street style mode introduced in FIFA 20, which is still not suitable for gameplay, but the mode of operation of this mode has been gratifyingly improved. The new Volta Squads system finally allows you to play online with friends. It was a crime omission in the game last year. For the career model, this is a similar transaction (when FIFA 20 was released, EA obviously did not like the bad news). The new headline news feature here is a football manager style interactive game sim card that allows you to switch between the standard FIFA game view and the new sim view at will. It’s beautiful, but hardly revolutionary. This means you can jump in and out of career mode games to control key moments, such as penalty kicks and free throws. You can monitor the game data and make changes directly from the SIM card based on the game statistics and the player’s performance level and endurance. Of course, it is not as detailed as the football manager’s game simulation card, but it is an improvement for FIFA.
Even FIFA’s forgotten son professional club has some TLC. Finally, you can customize the appearance, name and kit of the AI player, and now you can also customize up to five preset strategies. It’s worth mentioning that you can now give instructions to AI players to force them to adapt to your team’s playing style with brute force. Considering how flexible AI is in Pro Clubs, this is a good thing. However, despite the addition of these modest features, it is clear that professional clubs are not high on EA’s priority list. After being criticized last year, with the huge popularity of Ultimate Team and the impetus to improve Volta and Career Mode, Pro Clubs is still a model with unlimited potential.
Then we come to the ultimate team. Okay, first is the good news. EA made useful adjustments to the structure of the EA cash cow, but it again refused to make concessions to win the (morally dubious) loot box. Both Squad Battles (against AI) and Division Rivals (online ranking) have new systems that will trigger diminishing returns once you reach the weekly game limit. The idea is that players who are pressed for time will not feel disadvantaged by not putting in the same number of hours as super irons. This is a great move and should help FIFA main mode, which still encourages players to tutor the weekend league matches in a short period of time, which is easier to manage.
You can customize the stadium right now. This is an interesting feature, confusing, but almost no breakthrough. You can unlock everything from target songs to crowd singing, club anthems to sideline trophies. The only thing I care about is TIFO. This ridiculously aesthetic product adds a huge picture to one of the stands. Now, mine is a big squirrel. Scary, don’t you think?
This year’s new feature is FUT Cooperative, which is indeed a good addition. You can participate in squad battles, and even participate in regional opponent cooperation, and get all exclusive rewards. Aside from the frustrating player switching, this is fun, but the lack of opportunities for online matches is disappointing. When FIFA 21 can be said to be the main new function of this year beyond my ability, how can there be no online cooperation and docking? According to the status quo, you must invite a friend to play the cooperative, but not all players can do this.
When we lack certain functions, the lack of cross-play (or even cross-save) in FIFA 21 is shocking in 2020. When I can play Call of Duty on any platform and keep my account alive, and when I can play Fortnite on Nintendo Switch with friends on Xbox One, the console lock of FIFA 21 is like a sore thumb Just as prominent. I play games on PlayStation 4 and I want to play games on PC, but I have to start again. In view of the fact that the running-in of FUT is very real, I will not do this. I cannot play FIFA with my brother and nephew, both of them are on Xbox. I know that FUT’s auction house has been hit by the black market EA for many years and seems powerless. This may be a stumbling block here, but cross-matching is really needed, if not FIFA.
Speaking of sticking out like a sore thumb, FUT’s cruel and ruthless loot boxes are back, and they work the same as before. I have seen many FIFA fans insist that you don’t need to spend a penny to form a good team in FUT. Although this may be right, it does not suddenly mean that the loot box no longer exists. . Because you can buy them with real money (through virtual currencies called FIFA points), they can create paid games. You don’t have to believe me-FIFA professionals think the Ultimate team can also win money.
FUT is installed under the observation of the government. In the UK, there is a very real danger: loot boxes may eventually be regarded as gambling. Whether you agree with this school of thought (I do), it is difficult to contend with the potential negative effects of FIFA’s “surprise mechanism” on children. EA arranged for FIFA influencers to have the opening ceremony of FIFA 21 on the day before the early access game. Some of these influencers spent thousands of pounds in front of fans to open packets of FIFA points, many of them children. If the government slaps on loot with a gambling label, then EA can really only blame itself.
And I just don’t need this. Didn’t EA receive the battle pass memo? Has Fortnite walked through the studio? The FIFA 21 season progress looks like this Want to Became a battle pass, but felt that EA withdrew from the game because of fear of injury. Get rid of the winning loot boxes and sell advanced battle passes. Sell meaningless items. Sale celebration. Sale kit. Do my best to sell the player’s hairstyle. The famous slogan of EA Sports is “It’s in the game”. Well, it’s time to take the winning payment method-and fight the appropriate battles.
It is difficult for me to consider it outside of FIFA 21’s evil liar background, but for the sake of argument, I will give it a try. Here, we played an interesting top football game, which contains many modes and comprehensive meaningful improvements. But there are no big new features. FIFA 21 is like a festival without headlines. There will be many people wondering why this game cannot be updated to FIFA20. I spent a lot of time thinking about this issue. As a dissatisfied FIFA 20 player, I have been trying to come up with an appropriate explanation in addition to money. I look at things like “Fortnite”, “Fortnite 2” doesn’t make much sense to anyone, and I imagine the ultimate team is a free indie game world. Would it be better?
las, although EA can still benefit from FIFA, even if there is an upcoming next-generation opportunity, I don’t see any changes. So, for now, we have another generation of FIFA, just like my generation, and I am worried about how it will develop.
