FIFA 21 is the next aging, limping towards retirement

The world may seem strange and confusing, but there are still some things you can count on. Every autumn, the cold comes into the air, the leaves begin to change color, and EA releases new edition of FIFA, all-conquering football simulation franchise.

FIFA 21 to arrive at the slightly odd for the football world, which has been without fans for more than six months in most countries. In fact, for some broadcasters, piped in crowd noise they use to mimic the presence of a real fan actually comes from video games - which is one way to ensure the simulated sound like the real thing.

In another way, though, the game feels further away from real football rather than have the time - especially at the top level, where Video Assistant Referee has fundamentally changed the way the goals scored and how defenders move around the field. None of that is reflected in FIFA 21, which is probably a good thing on balance.

As usual, EA has made some minor gameplay tweaks and packaged them as exciting new features. The main news this year is 'mercurial dribble,' which allows gamers with deft mother to press the right bumper and pull off fancy footwork kind that goes viral on social media. Which in addition to face up to dribbling 'and' dribbling strafe '. I'm not entirely clear where the situation you are meant to use different types of dribbling in, but I know that playing against someone who knows how to use it properly is really annoying.

There is also an emphasis on the position - both AI players will make better use of space, dropping into the bag to make room for a shot like they might in real life, for example. Gamers will have full control over ball goes also - by flicking the right stick you can trigger a teammate to go exactly in the direction you imagine before playing a killer pass. In fact, there is an option to lock into current player by pressing on both sticks at the same time - ideal for surging forward to give fast and gos.

In the field, the same graphics as usual, but there are some neat new animation to bring the action closer to real life - in a fun new tidbit, I see Kylian Mbappe controlling chipped through ball on his thigh before racing through the score. Collision system has been tweaked so players will jump out of the way to handle the slide, and so on your own advocate will not do an impromptu slapstick routines during the chaos in the goalmouth.

As usual, some of the routes to the destination seemed very controlled - chip deft seems to be a dangerous weapon this year (or maybe I was just too excited to bring the keeper out), for example, and the developers have tried to make a goal towards more things after they are almost impossible to scored from the last edition. It will get tweaked and fiddled with over the next year in response to complaints from the players - EA has taken the unusual step of preparing Trello boards so that fans can view the status of certain issues in the game and their progress toward improved.

One gripe, and maybe this is just me raging against change, is that the commentary team of Martin Tyler and Alan Smith - comfortable and reassuring, like an old sofa - seems to have disappeared from the game. They have been replaced by a pair of lattice of Derek Rae and Lee Dixon, in charge of the Champions League in FIFA 20, but now do every game. I think they do work really well for BT and ITV Sport in real life, but Rae may have a little too much coffee in the morning for this record, because he shouted everything, and have an annoying habit of over-pronounce the name.

Tyler and Smith has built a huge library of clip comments over the years, so it was varied and natural, with fewer repetitions. It just yet for Rae and Dixon - so you end up hearing the same audio snippets repeatedly (with one exception: Rae seemed to have about 17 different ways to say 'Bruno Fernandes').

In terms of game modes, there are minor tweaks to the career mode (you can simulate the game and jump to take control if it will be pear-shaped) and small mode-side Football Volta, which certainly is not long for this world. But EA has poured most of the resources into a money spinner big, heavy box treasures FIFA Ultimate Team, which has a new co-op mode, and the ability to build their own stadium.

Overall, this game ... well sort of. If you already bought some last FIFAs, you will probably end up buying this one as well - especially since you can get a free upgrade to the next-gen version if you take the plunge in the PlayStation 5 or the new Xbox. If you're just a casual player, or do not play for a few years, it's hard to recommend this edition over its predecessor.

There is a definite sense that the franchise is in a holding pattern as this console generation is over, and that any new innovations most likely to be saved for the first edition came to the new console. It still does the job better than anything else in capturing the joy of football, but it's a bit like aging Edinson Cavani joined Manchester United - fun for sure, but probably not the best use of funds.