Pageantry and tradition, it is what separates college football from professional football. So why shouldn’t it be what separates college football video games from professional football video games? Such was the target of EA Sports’ latest edition of NCAA Football.
Gamers looking for realistic football simulation and tactics have often scoffed at the idea of purchasing an NCAA title, and stuck with Madden. In fact, NCAA 2008 was the last copy that I purchased. I was deferred by the annoyances that plague all football simulation games, but are more prevalent in the NCAA title.
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| Awkward Angle.. |
After playing NCAA ’11 for two weeks I can proudly say that EA Sports has cleaned up their act, and the developers at EA Tiburon can hold their heads up high as the praise showers in from video game critics around the country. NCAA ’11 offers the most realistic football simulation I have ever played. This title turns NCAA into more than just the little brother of Madden, this game is good.
NCAA ’11 offers you the classic set of game types. Dynasty mode, in which you take control of a school of your choice and either lead it to glory, or run it straight into the ground. You control every football aspect of the program. There were no major improvements implemented in the offline dynasty mode, but it is still just as enjoyable as it was when I last played it. Dynasty mode has a major edge over Madden’s identical Franchise Mode. Every year you have players graduating, transferring, or entering the NFL Draft, meaning every season you are filling holes in your depth chart to give your team a chance to compete.
What is new and improved in this NCAA title is the Online Dynasty mode. Up to 12 users can compete in one Online Dynasty. They are fighting for the same national championship, and the same five star recruits. Online Dynasty has turned recruiting into a game itself. What’s the best way to get your friend back for knocking you out of the National Championship race? Take the five-star high school quarterback that was interested in his school. New to the Online Dynasty mode is the Dynasty Wire. This feature allows you to create news article style stories about whatever you want. You can trash talk about an upcoming match up against your friend, or rub a tough loss into his face. The possibilities are endless, and I couldn’t be more impressed with how much fun the Online Dynasty mode has proved to be.
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| Online Dynasty Hub |
One of the new game modes that EA Tiburon included in NCAA ’11 is the One Button Mode. It is the whole game of football, controlled by the joysticks and the A button. I suppose EA’s dream was to eliminate the “learning curve” for new players, and spoon feed then first downs. What they got was a pointless game mode for players actually interested in football. It’s simple, in the passing game, the computer selects a receiver for you to throw to, and all you have to do is press the A button. I expected the A.I. to always choose an open receiver, but instead it sticks to the “pre-selected receiver.” Needless to say this game mode is for toddlers and should not be any kind of deciding factor in the game’s value.
Another game mode that has found popularity in the past few years is the Road to Glory. The idea is simple, you create a player graduating from high school and you play through the state playoffs while being recruited by college scouts. At the conclusion of your high school career you receive scholarship offers from a select number of schools and pick from there. From here you control this player throughout his entire collegiate career trying to become a legend for your school. The goal is to win as much hardware as possible. Sounds cool, right? Sure, it has its fun, but it gets boring, fast. Of course it would be criminal of me to not mention that Erin Andrews (that’s right I said Erin Andrews!!) is the reporter that tracks your career. Props to EA Sports for trying to use one of the sexiest sports reporters in the world to gain excitement for a pretty average game mode. Don’t get me wrong, I love Erin, but let’s be honest, nothing about her pre-recorded reports get me excited about Road to Glory.
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| Oh the things I would do... |
One of the features that NCAA has always held over Madden’s head is the depth of the Create-A-Team feature. Of course, this has now been renamed to Team Builder. With Team Builder you can create your own school from scratch, and customize virtually everything. From the patterns and colors of the uniforms, to the name of the student section. You create and edit the ratings of all the players, and this can all be done from a computer at the EA Sports website. It doesn’t stop there; you are able to download every team ever created straight from your Xbox 360 and play with them in unranked matches online.
That concludes part 1 of my NCAA ’11 review, in the coming week I will release part 2 which will cover the revolutionary new game play and my final verdict on the game. Does EA Sports’ gamble to remove the “turbo” button pay off? Is this NCAA title worth her price?
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| Superman Himself |
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Well I have always been a major fan of the NCAA titles compared to the Madden. When you play the games there just seems to be a different atmosphere because the players are playing for pride and glory instead of money as in the NFL( not saying they just play for money in the NFL). But I stopped buying the NCAA titles because it seemed to be the same thing every year just a couple new moves and things you could do. Also is the online dynasty as hyped up as you say it is? There was a lot of great things you said but what do you enjoy the most about the online dynasty or even the offline dynasty?
The no huddle seems like a neat addition and something I need to try out even though I hate running the spread.
The fatigue is a great feature hope he is right on that. It will be cool to auctally need depth
The recruiting looks to be much improved from the CPU. That may be because you have it set on All-American, but I like the looks of it. For instance, Wazzu had 16 commits. It looks like CPU teams are finally at least filling their boards instead of the last class only signing 5 guys. I think the last class had at least 10 1 stars signed. That's a very good sign!!
GeorgiaFan:
I am more of a pro-style offense minded player, so I too hate the spread. But, running new offenses is really fun, and adds more variety to the game. I love playing random matchups with my friends, and it is always a different game because of the unique playbooks.
Thanks for commenting!!