As always, this year saw a new release from EA’s FIFA series. FIFA 21 was solid enough even if there wasn’t a lot of noteworthy changes and improvements. You can read our full review through here for the full breakdown. The game already hit all current consoles and PC, and now it’s time for the next gen versions to come. Today we got two shots from each system family.

It was revealed recently that the next gen versions would be coming at the beginning of December. EA Sports took to the official Twitter to post up two screenshots from them. They are labeled as from all three systems, though neither specifies which console it’s actually captured from. It’s obviously difficult to parse much from just a single screen, but it does look quite sharp.

FIFA 21 is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch and PC. The PS5 and Xbox Series X and Series S versions will release December 4th.

https://twitter.com/EASPORTSFIFA/status/1326193103674486792?s=20

It’s that time of the year again for you to strap on your skates and hit the ice with EA’s NHL 21. The game is another one of the company’s annual sports titles and, while we’ve known about it for awhile, they have kept it under wraps. But now it’s time for the grand unveiling, as well as the cover athlete that will grace this year’s unique cover outline.

The official reveal trailer is below, and as you’d expect, there’s lots of hockey sticks and pucks flying. The honor of being the cover athlete this year around goes to Alexander Ovechkin, a Russian born player who is currently the winger and captain for the Washington Capitals. The game comes in three different editions as per usual: standard, deluxe, and ultimate. You can also pre-order to get 2 HUT Diamond Player Choice Packs and 1 Unlocked Hockey Bag. You can see more details and preorder information in the video below.

NHL 21 will release on October 16th for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but it has been confirmed that the game will also run on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X as well.

The argument could be made that I’m not the best person to be reviewing this game, and I would have agreed before I played it. However after spending about 14 hours with the game I can say that going in with a fresh perspective may have made me enjoy the game more than I would otherwise.

"However after spending about 14 hours with the game I can say that going in with a fresh perspective may have made me enjoy the game more than I would otherwise."

That isn’t to say that the “same game every year” reputation is unearned, after 26 entries into the series and being a game based on a real sport with set rules, it makes sense. Games like Blitz and Backbreaker try to mix it up by being more of an arcadey experience, but without NFL licensing who cares? People want to play as their favorite teams and players, simple as that.

If you’ve played Madden in the last few years the gameplay of Madden 15 is going to be standard fare. EA has been putting emphasis on defense this year, which many have felt was a lacking aspect in the series. After talking it over at length with Madden fans, I get the feeling that the changes are largely superficial. They don’t actually change the dynamic all that much. Added to that are the new camera angles for the defense, which seems like a larger improvement to me.

With that said, I can’t help but feel like having an alternate view for the defense after 26 entries is pretty poor. The problem is that Madden has no competition, and it has stifled the growth of the series since 2004. Unfortunately this wont be changing anytime soon so players looking to play a football videogame have no other option.

" EA has been putting emphasis on defense this year, which many have felt was a lacking aspect in the series. After talking it over at length with Madden fans, I get the feeling that the changes are largely superficial."

The tutorial in Madden 15 does a pretty good job of explaining mechanics and concepts to new players. I can honestly say that I would have been completely lost without it, and it made the game seem more accessible than it has been before. I remember sitting down with my brother in Madden 10 and being so overwhelmed with the mechanics that I didn’t have any fun at all. I asked him if there was a good way for me to learn the game and he just chuckled.

I spent most of my time with the game playing a connected franchise with my own created player. I started off as a late round draft pick QB with low expectations on the Texans, but quickly outranked the old QB in stats by the end of the first season. I didn’t make the playoffs that season but the experience I gained was invaluable. I learned the strengths and weaknesses of certain plays and certain players and shaped my strategies around that.

Going into the second season I was pretty pumped up. I had the game simulate the off-season so I could get right in and start playing. My performance was night and day compared to my first season, and my player was noticeably better at certain things due to having been leveled up with EXP gained. I eventually went 12-4-0 and won the AFC Championship, which meant I got to play in the Super Bowl.

" The tutorial in Madden 15 does a pretty good job of explaining mechanics and concepts to new players. I can honestly say that I would have been completely lost without it, and it made the game seem more accessible than it has been before."

Unfortunately I didn’t win the Super Bowl against the Vikings, but the score was 27-31 so it was pretty close. If only I could have pulled off that last touchdown from the 10 yard line… But I digress. This was an extremely fun experience to have with the game and the feeling of being an underdog coming up and getting to play in the largest sporting event in the USA? Probably one of the best gaming moments for me so far this year. But I am reminded by the fact that for long time fans, this feeling has become commonplace or non existent at all due to franchise fatigue. Its certainly not a new thing for the series by a long shot, and I was only affected this way because I haven’t ever gotten to a Super Bowl in Madden before.

Like most EA Sports titles these days, Madden 15 has a mode heavily based on monetization through micro-transactions. I won’t go on a tangent about the damaging nature of such things in a full priced title (especially in an annualized series) right now because this isn’t the place for it. However the mode is pushed on the player in most of the load screens, and can even take an advertised spot in up to four of the menu spaces at any given time. This is the most uncomfortable thing about it, because it almost felt like they wanted me to play that mode more than the main game. You can imagine the reason why that might be the case.

" Like most EA Sports titles these days, Madden 15 has a mode heavily based on monetization through micro-transactions."

Overall Madden 15 seems like its exactly what you would expect to get from a new entry in the series. A few upgrades here and there, new roster lists, and prettier visuals. When it comes down to it, I found it fun to play when I was in a game. The menus are kind of a mess and can be somewhat confusing for newcomers, but they are easy enough to learn.

Unfortunately the experience was a bit soured by the relentless pushing of the Ultimate Team mode. Bottom line is, if you haven’t played Madden in a few years it might be worth checking out again on the new consoles, but if you are someone who bought the last entry and are satisfied with that, maybe wait.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.

Developed by Electronic Arts Canada, a developer that has previously worked on the NHL series of Hockey games and the Need for Speed series of racing games, FIFA 15 is set to be published by Electronic Arts Sports, a subsidiary of EA.

The game is set to launch on both last generation and current generation platforms that will include PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Wii [TBC – Please see the development portion of this wiki], Nintendo 3DS video game consoles and Microsoft Windows.

FIFA 15 is slated to launch on September 23rd in North America, September 25th in Europe and September 26th in the United Kingdom

• 1. Development
• 2. Gameplay
• 3. Teams

Development

Given the nature of games like FIFA, that is to say sports simulations where the fundamentals of the game rarely change, development details are always somewhat scarce. With that in mind, here’s what we know.

In keeping with the tradition of the FIFA series of games, the cover is to be graced by a whomever is considered a prominent player in the sports world at the time. Returning to the cover art this time is Lionel Messi (full name, Lionel Andrés “Leo” Messi Cuccittini) as well as a secondary player that will differ depending on the region of release. In New Zealand and Australia, Messi will be seen alongside Tim Cahill whereas North America and Canada will see Messi standing with Clint Dempsey.

The game has been said to be releasing on the Nintendo Wii, this however has proven to be uncertain given that the Wii is a 7th generation console, the game hasn’t been announced on the more recent 8th generation Wii U. The listing was first spotted on multiplayer.com, a French online retailer that lists the title at 29 Euros and 90 cents on Nintendo Wii.

Any build of the game that will be running on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows will be debuting the all new Ignite (IGNITE) engine. Internally developed by EA, the Ignite engine is designed with the goal of making sports video games look and feel “alive”. First announced at the Xbox One reveal event in May 2013, Ignite is already powering last years FIFA 14 and is set to power FIFA 15, EA Sports UFC, Madden NFL 25, and NBA Live 14. 7th Generation and handheld builds of the game will be running on a version of the Impact Engine.

The reveal of FIFA 15 was met with a lot of (very justifiable) criticism due to the inclusion of an unnecessary and unsavoury amount of buzzwords like “authentic”, “dynamic” and most of all, “Emotion”.

Despite this, a lot of the buzzwords are accurately tied to some new elements being featured in the game. One of which is directly tied to the power of the 8th generation of home consoles and the power of personal gaming PC’s.

The power of the 8th Gen, according to EA, will allows them to deliver the next step forward for football video games, a gameplay update reads, “The Next Generation football player is here. Player faces have an incredible level of detail, while character models look and feel powerful and athletic. Kits move realistically and change with the environment, becoming dirty with mud and grass as the match unfolds.”

Gameplay

As with all FIFA video games, gameplay takes place from a third person perspective with the player battling for control over the ball against the opposing team in an effort to score goals against them. Obviously, the player with the most goals is the winning team.

Players can switch between player at will to better allow for team tactics and improved gameplay control. Player control has been further improved to better reflect the abilities of modern day football stars and expectations of the fans, an EA update states that “Players explode into action with improved balance, cuts and closer touches when in possession, giving greater responsiveness and personality to the game’s superstars.”

One feature that’s always noticed is player reaction on the pitch. Given that the on-screen representations of the players are supposed to reflect their real life counterparts, players always take note of reactions on the pitch. EA are claiming that the players on the pitch will actively react appropriately to any given scenario, they’ve said “With over 600 new emotional reactions, players now respond to pivotal moments on the pitch – bad tackles, missed chances, epic goals – as they would in real life.”

The players AI controlled team mates will apparently be able to recognize the strategy that you adapt during the game. If you choose to run down the timer rather than risk loosing control of the ball and offering your opponent a chance to score, your team will adjust to your tactics and make rapid short passes to keep the ball in your possession.

Teams

At time of writing, there are no confirmed teams or released information regarding unlockable teams.

Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game.

Electronic Arts Sports has released a brand new in-game trailer that focuses on the goalies in the next entry of the NHL Hockey franchise. The trailer is two-minutes long and showcases some of the features of how the new goalie tech is improved in NHL 14. The developer in the video states that the new goalie system improves the overall A.I. of the goalies in NHL 14. The new A.I will make let goalies make more realistic goals and saves.

Check out the Goalies Gameplay Trailer down below.

NHL 14 is coming out for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on September 10th for North America and September 13 Worldwide.

Let us know what you think of the goalies in the comments section down below.

Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more news, updates and our review of the game in the coming months.