I’m on the hype train for Doug Flutie’s Maximum Football and I’m not getting off, hell I might be the conductor. I see the potential this game has and the dedication of everyone on the development team. Canuck Play is a small Canadian company and I’m rooting for them all the way. They have an amazing product and it’s only getting better from here, I believe that Doug Flutie’s Maximum Football 2020 will be a better game than Madden 21 and that Canuck Play is a better company than EA.
Game Features
Look, I’m not going to keep beating the dead horse that is EA’s disgusting lack of features for Madden 21’s franchise mode but it’s just embarrassing for a company as big as EA to add literally nothing to their signature mode. It’s a very different case with Canuck Play and Doug Flutie’s Maximum Football as they have done an amazing job adding new features as well as fixing other components to their game. In my interview with the development team we touched upon the brand new play designer. The play designer allows players to create their own plays for offense and defense. Users are also able to create plays for NFL, CFL and College rules making the possibilities almost endless. This single new feature is more than what EA has implemented in at least the past 3 years. Not to mention, they created their entire college dynasty mode from scratch. They’ve been making improvements and do not stay complacent.
Community Involvement
When it comes to involvement within the community, Doug Flutie’s Maximum Football comes second to none. I reached out on Twitter to see if I could interview the development team and within the same day I got a response and setup the written interview. Meanwhile Madden hasn’t listened to the franchise community in years, the initial blog about Madden 21 franchise was an absolute joke. The Doug Flutie’s Maximum Football development team prides themselves on community involvement. The community expresses what they want in the game, such as new features, fixes and overall feedback on the current game. The community drives development when it comes to Maximum Football, the developers feel like they’re part of the community as well, they said themselves that Maximum Football is a community driven game, the same cannot be said for Madden developers. I understand that it is a business, but it is also EA being lazy and not listening to their fans. The Maximum Football development team listens, they go above and beyond what we expect and I commend them for that.
Year to Year Improvement
It is no surprise that myself and other writers at Vendetta Media are pissed off with EA not only failing to add features but even removing features from Madden. In a post, I wrote about how EA can fix franchise mode and I brought up multiple features that appear in Madden 07 on the Playstation two. Games are meant to get better and improve over time, not worse. Not only features but customization as well, EA hasn’t added new relocation teams in multiple years, the high school logos in face of the franchise for Madden 21 ARE the relocation teams, just recoloured a bit. Graphical improvements can only go so far especially in 2020, actual improvements in terms of gameplay and features are needed. The team behind Maximum Football has more customization in Doug Flutie’s Maximum Football 2020 than the past 5 editions of Madden combined and Maximum Football isn’t done. When I asked the development team about the customization and how it will be expanded upon, they had this to say:
For 2020, we’ve added in a brand new play designer, so users can now customize the offensive and defensive plays they want to run. We’ve also added a new 32-team league structure into the game, which allows users to customize all the teams within the league.
For 2021 and beyond, we are looking at adding new player models, which will open up additional customization options (i.e. various equipment styles).
It is worth noting that the Maximum Football Development Team consists of 5 people. Those 5 people are kicking EA’s ass, just wait until Canuck Play gets the size of a team as EA’s. Canuck Play is dedicated to providing football fans with the game that they want. I have more faith in Canuck Play as a game company than EA, Maximum Football will be a better than Madden 21. EA has been complacent with their game for too long, Canuck Play will surpass them.
