Emeka Nweze
EA recently revealed features, including ratings of the 2021 edition of one of the worlds most popular games, FIFA. This will be the 28th installment in the FIFA series and it is scheduled to be released on October 6.
Every year, there’s usually a lot of criticism from the insatiable public concerning various aspects of the game, and this year is no different. EA has received backlash from the fans and players concerning some of its features, unattended problems and especially player ratings.
Below are five major talking points.
1. UNCHANGED FEATURES
A lot of gamers feel the game is not changing much year on year, at least not to the point where it validates the prices that are applied to the new titles.
Some gamers argue that, with few significant gameplay changes or new additions, some new editions of FIFA have simply become “glorified re-skins” with new kits and updated squads.
Of course, EA Sports would strongly dispute this and the company can certainly point to the inclusion of Volta football in FIFA 20 – the small-sided game mode – as evidence of their new work. However, complaints persist among the community of gamers regarding things such as Career Mode, which many feel continues to fall short of expectations.
2. Romelu Lukaku’s criticism of this year’s ratings
The former Manchester United striker has a conspiracy theory about the player ratings, claiming EA “mess” with them in order to get players complaining about the game “and give them more publicity”. Well, Lukaku’s on to you, EA. He “ain’t with this sh*t”, he said. “I know what I do.”
Lukaku, clearly, is upset with his player rating in FIFA 21, and we can understand why. Lukaku is ranked the 65th best player in the game, with an overall rating of 85. This is the same overall rating as the current Inter goalscorer’s card in FIFA 20, and therein lies the problem.
Other players like Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte and Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also took to social media to show their disbelief at their ratings.
3. Pay-to-Win Element in Ultimate Team
Another contentious issue among FIFA gamers is the controversial pay-to-win element of Ultimate Team, where players are essentially rewarded the more they spend on in-game purchases of packs.
EA Sports has clashed with authorities in Belgium over the perceived gambling dimension of so-called “loot boxes” in FUT, while the issue has been discussed by parliament in the United Kingdom.
For online FIFA gamers, server issues have been ongoing for a number of years, with lag time and outages causing disappointment among gamers.
4. Neymar Drops Down to 5th Spot
The top three may be out of reach this year, but Neymar would have expected to rank at least on par with Lewandowski and not with Kelvin Debryne. His spot among the FIFA 21 ratings elite used to never be in question. Entering his age 28 season, the Brazilian nabs scores of 94 acceleration, 89 sprint speed, 95 ball control and 95 dribbling. There has been heated conversations since the release and numerous outcries to EA for them to fix this.
5. Paul Pogba’s “86” rating
This is a rating nobody on earth expected to see at any point in time in the football world. This bizarre rating puts arguably one of the best midfielder in the game on par with players like Jordan Henderson, Yann Sommer and Dani Carvajal. According to Manchester United fans and a lot of football enthusiasts, this is completely unacceptable.
