NCAA Football 11 hit shelves last month, but if you’re like me July isn’t exactly your favorite month for spending money. Now it’s August, and it’s time to use your savings from the summer and your student loans on what some video games.
Just kidding of course, mom and dad.
Growing up I was a huge fan of the NCAA Football series. I purchased every year’s incarnation for six or seven years in a row. Perhaps I just got burned out, but a few years ago I decided to skip out on the new game, and I hadn’t played any since, so this review may reflect some of that. Even so, I’m extremely impressed with the improvements made to the game.
First of all, it looks fantastic. Player models finally look like football players, and the stadiums I’ve played in are incredibly accurate.
Case in point is our own Jones AT&T Stadium. My complaints with the Jones? The band is too small and the visiting fan section is too large. There’s no Masked Rider leading the team out and patrolling the sidelines, and they’re missing one advertisement.
Seriously, that’s it. That’s all I could find. Other than those things, it’s flawless. The east side expansion is in, the dimensions are true to life, the hill with the Double T looks good, the closing lines of the alma mater past the end zones are correct, the Coke sign with the clock is behind the student section and the scoreboard is spot on.
In fact, pretty much every presentation point there is about Teas Tech is accurate, with every imaginable Red Raider uniform combination available. I was a bit disappointed to find the fight song seems to be absent, but others have told me it’s in there, so perhaps I’m just imagining things.
The realism in the presentation is mirrored by the on-field gameplay, and it’s finally noticeable when you’re playing with Tech or any other school. When you’re playing as the Red Raiders, it feels like you should be slinging the ball around and playing a 3-4 base defense. Play with a team of a lower caliber, it’s tougher. Play with a team who grinds it out, you’ll notice that too. This is something that is lacking in many sports games, but with NCAA you notice the subtle differences when playing with each team.
Not only do different teams play differently, the game really has the feel of a real football game. Part of this is the ESPN graphics and transitions, but some credit has to go to the way the game itself plays. Like any other version of the game you can do anything you want to from the line of scrimmage, and once the ball is snapped the realism continues.
On any given play you might see sideline catches, missed blocking assignments, gang tackles or a variety of other things you’ll see unfold in full view on a Saturday in October. Playcalling is a dream as well, with an advanced mode that allows for tweaks only the extremely dedicated college football fan would demand.
The game modes are pretty typical. You can do a multi-season dynasty or create a player who starts in the high school playoffs and try to make him the next Reggie Bush, or perhaps even retain your Heisman Trophy.
This mode is fun, but has become kind of expected for sports gamers. EA tries to spice it up a bit by throwing Erin Andrews in to narrate your player’s career, but the bits she does are very generic.
Andrews is also on the sidelines during the game, but in a shocking parallel to real life adds far more aesthetically than substance-wise. Perhaps I’m just bitter due to the number of times she gives an injury report while I’m dashing to a touchdown, which surely is measured in the dozens now.
Dynasty mode is pretty incredible, with expanded online features I’ll expound upon at a later time. You can also do your recruiting and such online or on your iPhone, and even get real-life e-mail updates. These are cool features, but I haven’t set it up, as I simply can’t have my life revolve around whether or not I grab that 3-star linebacker in 2016 (but we won’t get back to the Sun Bowl without him!).
Also, during these modes I quickly found myself in the settings to up the difficulty. Perhaps this is because I’m a veteran of the series, but especially when going for the Heisman I found myself wanting for a bigger challenge out of the box. Upping the level worked fine, so it’s an easy fix.
There is a “single button mode” which is pretty much what it sounds like, and that coupled with how easy the game is to pick up makes it the perfect game to force your girlfriend (or boyfriend) to play.
All in all, NCAA Football is an extremely enjoyable offering for anybody from the casual fan to the die-hard who can tell you what Eastern Michigan’s record was last year (Yes, 0-12. I’ll have to give you a tougher one next time.). If you play video games, and your Saturday routine includes watching college football you must pick up this game.
The DT will have more fun with NCAA Football later this month and throughout the year, including thoughts on online dynasty and all the multiplayer fun you can have with your roommates, so stay tuned.