Many sports fans have been longing for a genuine, effective alternative to the Madden American football series for an extended period of time. There have been some sports game initiatives that have appeared and disappeared, but real competition has been lacking for years. One of the initiatives that has caught my attention for quite some time (despite numerous delays) is Maximum Football. Its initial videos and previews were promising (albeit slightly rough), and most importantly, the folks at Maximum Entertainment intended to release it as a free-to-play (F2P) game.
If you’ve been excited about trying Maximum Football as well, today’s your day. Early access has started on Steam and yes, it remains free. There are various purchase options too. Different packages provide diverse modes and items so if you’re interested in the Franchise or Dynasty modes, you’ll need to buy the DLC—these modes are not part of the F2P deal. Oh, and planned card packs persist, typical of some persistent features, right?
Rest assured, if you just want some free play, the free early access version will do fine.
Having said that, I’ve tried it a bit and I must admit that while it appears as a good effort, it is exactly as it is shown. There’s a range of problems from bugs to a lack of support for ultrawide screens for now. The gameplay can also be rather clunky now and then. For example, I managed to intercept passes even when I was not in the right spot, the animations can be odd in parts, and I find it strange not being able to view the offense’s formation while selecting my defensive play.
The game’s presentation has its peculiarities as well. The commentators often repeat themselves, and it goes beyond the typical repetition seen in most sports games. These commentators sometimes parrot the same sentence twice in a row. It can get a bit strange at times.
Despite this, I’m remaining hopeful for the game’s future progression. It’s not due to release until 2025, and this will involve a console release that supports crossplay. I just wish that the team was not monetizing and gating modes behind payments for a project that still has rough edges and even features misspelled words in its “Welcome to Early Access” bootup message.
Yet, here’s keeping fingers crossed! I’m not too thrilled about the existing monetization strategies for what is effectively more of a beta test than early access.
