GameTech: Fifa 21 opts for tweaks rather than a big overhaul
Fifa 21 has recently been released.
The Premier League has restarted without fans in attendance. Perhaps FIFA 21 deserves the same fate – because unlike football itself, nothing much has changed for FIFA this year.
I don’t play FIFA much any more, due to the emphasis on microtransactions over gameplay evolution, but we can at least admit that EA usually do a good job of selling new versions each year. There’s always something to justify opening the transfer kitty annually, whether it’s a new story mode, or the introduction of a street football mode, or changes to online gameplay and career modes.
This year, however, EA have pulled a Manchester United move. Instead of adding a big signing, they have made a few short-term tweaks, and pretty much deferred everything until next season.
The major change in FIFA 21 is the addition of some minor dribbling skill additions called ‘agile’, ‘face up’ and ‘strafe’. They do allow for some nice footwork and can be used to flex skills against online opponents, but their impact on gameplay doesn’t appear huge. There are a few other small tweaks, like the ability to control off-the-ball runs better and a feature where clicking both sticks at the same time ‘locks’ control to your current player, allowing for better receipt of passes.
These minor additions are well and good, but they fall under standard FIFA gameplay tweaks, the kind of minor changes that EA incorporate every year to make the game feel a little fresher. The problem lies with the lack of other major features or additions, the ‘big signing’, making FIFA 21 feel more like a rehashed version of the same experience than ever. It’s a little bit like putting a Brazil jersey on the Irish squad – you might get a few stepovers, but they’re still Ireland.
If you didn’t buy last year’s version, then perhaps FIFA 21 is worth a look, as an upgrade from FIFA 19. In saying that, much like real football at the moment, this year’s entry feel a little hollow. Let’s hope FIFA 22 (and the sport in general) make a proper return to life next year.
Virtual reality has taken a backseat recently, but your backseat can have an R2 unit it now, thanks to Star Wars: Squadrons. This highly entertaining experience puts you in the cockpit of X-wings, TIE fighters and more, with the option of doing so in full VR.
Squadrons takes place after the original trilogy finishes, showing what happens in the aftermath of Return of the Jedi. You play a mute main character across a relatively short, but well-written story campaign that has a few memorable characters. It’s not the greatest Star Wars tale ever told – more like a vignette or a glimpse into the lives of the average pilot – but it’s certainly atmospheric.
In fact, atmosphere is what Squadrons does best. While it’s not in the same landing zone as Microsoft Flight Simulator, there are nonetheless some lovely touches that make the Star Wars universe feel more tangible than ever. Across all 8 ships you can pilot (4 for rebellion and 4 for Empire), each cockpit and interior feels distinctly unique, and each ship requires a slightly different playstyle. You’ll also have to manage the energy of your ship, rerouting power from shields to target enemies, for example.
Where Squadrons really shines is in VR, allowing all those details to come to life in a way Star Wars has never done before. Although you can play both single player and online without a headset, it’s hard to go back after seeing a galaxy far, far, away suddenly become closer and more personal than ever.
Meanwhile, the battle for the world record run for Spelunky 2 continues. Derek Yu’s masterpiece, multi-layered platform game is a speedrunner’s dream, with two top players currently vying to be the first to ‘complete’ the game. Although Spelunky 2 has multiple ending, each one requiring more complexity and skill to unlock than the last, the ‘true’ ending seems to involve reaching the game’s 120th level, a feat that takes about 3 hours to do. Considering Spelunky 2 tries to kills you at every turn, it’s a nigh impossible feat. Despite that, the current record is just 23 levels shy of that goal, with Korean Nokduro and American Twigglesoft going back and forth on the attempt. Daily attempts are being made on Twitch, if you want to see history in the making.
