We review the sports video games that are yet to come in the coming months, an alternative to take into account in the face of the threat of the coronavirus.
Under normal circumstances we would be talking about that the seasons in the main team sports are about to start, but as we know, what we have experienced in recent months is anything but normal. The coronavirus crisis has forced the cancellation or postponement of various competitions, and although some such as La Liga soccer or Liga Endesa basketball may have concluded under special rules, the NBA is now ending in the bubble and the MLB has started with one season reduced, there are still unknowns about the immediate future. Luckily, and although it is not the same, we will always have video games: FIFA 21, NBA 2K21, Madden NFL 21, PGA Tour 2K21 … From here to the end of this strange year that we have had to live, a considerable amount of sports titles that will surely have to resort to quench our thirst for competition in case some of them are left in a hiatus. Let’s see them:
FIFA 21, October 9
With its latest release in many years – it is usual for it to arrive in September – FIFA 21 is preparing to lead the virtual football season with the real one on the wire. In the absence of news about gameplay, this new installment will be marked by being between generations, knowing that we can improve it for free – something that EA will implement in all its sports franchises – when we get a PS5 or Xbox Series X. There will be no lack, as it could not be otherwise, the usual modes such as Carrera, Pro Clubs, and of course, the jewel in the crown, which each season brings huge benefits to Electronic Arts and hundreds of hours of gameplay to players.
eFootball PES 2021, September 15
Konami’s policy for a new generation will be very different, and is that on the basis of eFootball PES 2020, it will add a content update, known as the Season Update, at the price of € 29.99 to become the edition of the next season. This measure has been carried out mainly by a change of engine, from the Fox Engine to the Unreal Engine, with an eye toward PES 2022, which will be, this time, for the new generation. It will arrive with a good number of licenses, although some important leagues such as the Premier – exclusive to EA – or the Bundesliga will be missing, but we will have some of the most powerful in Europe available, such as the Spanish, Italian – with some exceptions – or the French .
NBA 2K21, September 4
2K Games and Visual Concepts will give us this season not only the best basketball simulator, but the only one, and it will be a completely remodeled game on PS5 and Xbox Series X, hence its controversial price increase of 10 dollars / euros. Equally controversial has been the decision not to have a free improvement in the generational leap, something that will only be possible by buying both versions or by getting the Mamba Forever edition starring the sadly deceased Kobe Bryant. There are still many details to be known, both gameplay and modes, but we will certainly enjoy one of the best sports simulators of recent years on the field, while presenting a huge content offering where the Mi modes Team and My Player stand out greatly. That said, the progress in the first of them will be fully preserved when we give that desired by many generation leap.
PGA Tour 2K21, August 21
The most imminent release of all on this list is the PGA Tour 2K21, developed by the creators of The Golf Club but now powered by 2K Games, which can give a major boost to a sport once very well treated in video games with titles like Neo Turf Masters, those released with the license in the hands of EA, or other more arcade proposals such as Mario Golf or even the peculiar Golf Story. PGA Tour 2K21 will have the official license of the 15 courses of the circuit, boasting a complete Career Mode with the presence of Justin Thomas and 11 other professional golfers, in addition to all the essential aspects such as challenges, personalization elements of our player or the experience, being suitable for scholars of this sport or for those who want to start little by little.
Madden NFL August 21, 27
The best-selling sports game in the United States and increasingly popular outside the United States will arrive in just a few weeks on PS4 and Xbox One with Madden NFL 21, a delivery that seems conservative in the face of the future of PS5 and Xbox Series X. The main A novelty introduced in the playable section is the skill stick, useful for making different evasive movements both for the ball carrier and for the pass rusher or the tackler, in addition to having an adaptive AI that will study our most repeated and effective plays and will react in relation to stop our attack. As for the modes, an important advance is promised in Face of the Franchise, which in fact will have the subtitle Rise to Fame and this time it will arrive in documentary format, rather than narrative, and of course, the ubiquitous Ultimate Team with a lot of content every week. A good way to quench your thirst for football if you don’t start the season on time, something that seems increasingly possible.
Tennis World Tour 2, September
Tennis is another sport that despite having had franchises of the prestige of Virtua Tennis or Top Spin in the past, it has been years without much luck in the field of video games, and neither Tennis World Tour nor AO Tennis were able to revive old laurels. In fact, this second installment of the first one is not even an evolution of that one, but it was developed from scratch so as not to repeat mistakes, in addition to implementing more content such as doubles matches and almost 40 licensed tennis players, among which there will be no shortage Rafa Nadal or Roger Federer. Among the most notable changes are the renewed service system, and a considerable number of game modes, among which there is no shortage of the deepest Career, plus the traditional online matches, friendly and ranked and the main novelty in this regard: Tie Break Tens, short matches whose winner will be the first player to reach 10 points.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2, September 4
Fans of extreme sports will also have an inescapable date in just a month with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2, and it is that shortly after Vicarious Visions gets the remake of these two games as it did with Crash Bandicoot N Sane Trilogy, We have fun for a while and as a button shows: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 is the highest rated PSX game on Metacritic, with a spectacular 98. A bomb-proof gameplay that emphasizes player creativity, a myriad of challenges and challenges , an original soundtrack with authentic punk and hip hop themes to which 37 new themes are now added, a wide variety of scenarios designed for the player to exploit all his abilities … The virtues of both titles are so many that we can only wish that both remakes keep them to be able to enjoy two of the best games in history among those based on risk sports.
Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions, August 28
Impossible shots, charismatic characters, ridden by the eternal band … Everything that delighted young people in the 90s is back with Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions, which will curiously feature two different stories. On the one hand, in Episode Tsubasa we will put ourselves in the shoes of Oliver Atom, remembering his career from his beginnings in the New Team to reaching FC Barcelona, with the presence of colleagues and rivals such as Benji Price, Mark Lenders, Tom Baker, the twins Derrick or Ed Warner. Meanwhile, in Episode: New Hero we will create a character from scratch to bring him to the top of world football through good decision-making and a progression system to improve his attributes, always through the dispute, of course, of great number of matches and training sessions. But we will also be able to compete online in 1 vs 1 or 2 vs 2 matches, in addition to tournaments in which we can customize our team with a group of players of our choice and thus get new items and unlockables.
