Since 2013, there hasn't been a college football video game released, but that is finally changing over six years later.
The last time there was a college football game released was July 9, 2013, when EA Sports released their final installment with NCAA Football 14. But at the end of September, we were blessed with Doug Flutie's Maximum Football 2019.
For the past six years, the only way to play as your favorite college football programs was to have a Playstation 3 or XBOX 360 and NCAA Football 14. The demand for the last college football game has become so high that a copy costs over $100 on Amazon.
EA Sports probably would have continued to make installments in the NCAA Football series if not for the lawsuit they faced from former collegiate athletes over the use of their likenesses in the video games.
Maximum Football 2018 was released last year but did't receive much attention, so this will be the franchise's biggest game yet.
Maximum Football 2019 College Teams
RELATED: College Football's 10 Greatest Teams That Never Won a Championship
Not only did the creators of Doug Flutie's Maximum Football avoid lawsuits from players who saw their likenesses being used, but they also found a way to not worry about the colleges themselves. Each of the 130 schools have been given different names and logos, though many are so similar, it is obvious who the program was modeled after.
For example, a school based in Western Carolina with orange and purple as their color scheme are also the Tigers. A great feature is also the ability to edit the school's name, logo, and players to match what you want.
Getting all 130 teams to match the real rosters, names, and mascots may take some time, but just think you could also just never get to play a college football game again.
One of the toughest parts about attempting to play the last college game is they aren't on any of the newest consoles. Most people don't have any of the older generation systems anymore. But Maximum Football solves that.
Maximum Football 2019 Gameplay
Upon the game's release, it was available on the SONY PlayStation 4 and XBOX One. The graphics may not look top notch, but remember, this is a small indie group making this game, and they don't have the crazy budgets of bigger studios. I am thankful there is someone out there doing this work, even if the graphics are no better than those of NCAA Football 14 on an XBOX 360.
In the gameplay trailer, it may not look as good as the past few Madden games, but EA Sports has millions of dollars in a budget to make their NFL games. Aside from play now and college football dynasty modes, there's also The Spring League practice mode to adjust to the new gameplay experience and tackling system.
And for any fans of the Canadian Football League, there is a "Canuck Play" mode for you as well. You can play with teams based off Canadian teams with the rules and field from the great white North.
When Does Maximum Football Come Out?
With the college football season already in full swing, gamers are definitely dying to start a college dynasty mode and get on the recruiting trail as soon as possible. The game was originally released Friday, September 27 via download. Those worried about spending money on a game you may not enjoy as much as you'd like, it was also only half the price of most video games, releasing at just $29.99.
Hard copies of the game released in February 2020, but it didn't exactly live up to the hype.
Doug Flutie Maximum Football 2019 Reviews
While some critics praised the game's customization levels and ability to create a deeply-rooted dynasty mode, others weren't so receptive.
This review was submitted to metacritic.com:
"Gameplay is some of the worst I've ever seen in a football game. I always thought a game had to at least be at a certain level of quality to be sold on live/psn, but obviously not. And enough of the '3 man team' excuse. That does NOT excuse such a terrible game in all aspects(gameplay, graphics, sound, menus, goofy player models), especially when they actually RAISED the price of this year's game to $30, when it wasn't worth $17 from last year's game."
So, it's not perfect. But hey, it's football and we'll take it.
This article was originally published September 17, 2019. It was updated after the game's release.
