If a game not having the NFL license and all it comes with is not a dealbreaker, you may want to try free-to-play effort Maximum Football. It has launched its fourth season, a loving tribute to the football of the 80s with a great trailer.
For youngsters that have no idea what's happening there, the 1985 Chicago Bears released a bad rap video called the Super Bowl Shuffle. It actually sold more than 500,000 copies because the Bears were really popular, and inspired lots of other teams to try the same thing. After all, recreating the 46 defense and Walter Payton's Hall of Fame rushing stats are difficult, making bad music videos is easy.
Season 4 of Maximum Football also introduces major gameplay updates, including:
- Smarter CPU playcalling to enhance realism.
- The first iteration of option plays, laying the foundation for more dynamic offensive strategies.
- Gameplay rebalancing, tightening mechanics, and fine-tuning competitive play.
- Plus, more quality-of-life improvements and bug fixes.
There are also two brand new stadiums, a horseshoe style one and a multi-use venue with a visible baseball diamond on the football field. The new season pass features 50 levels worth of stuff to unlock for your virtual football champions.
One of the things fans have clamored for is more option plays, and this update grants some of those. In a developer blog, Maximum Football details plans to implement all the options that are currently taking over the sport, including RPOs, triple options, and speed options. They'll be rolled out in phases so they can be properly playtested and balanced.