NCAA 2005 First Impressions

Blublub · Post by **Blublub** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 10:08 pm

Thought I might start an impressions-only thread here to separate it from the other "where did you get it?" one.

My quick take after three games:

Things that are better this year:

- Speed: it's much slower, which allows more time to actually read the D, spot holes, react with DBs, etc. I love this, but I know others hate it just as strongly.
- You can finally edit I-AA rosters and classics. Beautiful!
- The sign editor is a nice little touch.
- Create-a-playbook, but not plays.
- Speedburst no longer requires Konami Track and Field-esque button tapping
- In general, interface is easier to read this year.
- PAs actually work.
- Ability to coach segment of team during a timeout.
- Seem to be more blocked passes at the line.
- Fumbles seem to be toned down to more realistic levels.

Things that seem worse:

- Graphics. As I mentioned elsewhere, under my setups it looks worse than last year on a bigscreen using 480p and better on a 27" low-def. Very troubling are the spots of slowdown. Not too bad so far, but hope this doesn't become an issue. Last year had none, ever.
- The playcalling screen. Could be me, but it seems smaller this year. Also, what is up with the alternate play at the bottom of each play diagram (in very tiny text)? Why couldn't they include more pages under each formation? I could very well be missing something here as I have yet to RTFM.
- Speaking of which, the manual this year I think takes the crown for most pathetic attempt at documentation, ever.

Things I can't believe they still haven't fixed:

- still no blocked punts or FGs
- all teams still seem too pass-happy. Air Force is definitely hosed - I beat them in a close game (21-16) but they still passed about 60% of the time. Then again, not sure if it is just them, as Rhode Island passed about 20% of the time in a 52-0 blowout.
- still can't play against I-AA teams in dynasty
- still no team-specific defensive plays/formations
- receivers still drop way too many short passes and like 50% of all screens and dumps in the flat.

Things I'm not sure about, yet:

- the tipped passes. So far I've only had one ridiculous one (three tips ending in an INT). I can live with that if if it's as bad as it gets.
- Seems like the new hotroute system is going to be a little too powerful online.
- the new celebrations look nice, but I can't say I ever really remembered to use them last year.
- oh yeah, the "matchup stick." It's told me exactly nothing so far, but maybe there is something there. I do see a lot of delay-of-game calls if you try to use it too often, though.

Things I hate so far:

- That stupid pulse meter just looks ugly. Also, I have a feeling too much of the homefield advantage thing is either going to cause me to puke or to have major repetitive stress injury issues from the vibration.

Gotta get back to playing, still no dynasty or online games so can't comment on those.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 10:14 pm

What do you mean by the new hot route system?

The main thing I've heard is that with HFA and the Matchup Stick, "rattled" WRs may not run the Hot Routes called by the QB. Or not even hear him.

Blublub · Post by **Blublub** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 10:18 pm

Looking at that little "what's new" video you can change the direction of the run without changing formation, and do a bunch of other stuff I don't think you could last year. I never used hotroutes last year so I'm not the best judge of this.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 10:24 pm

Umm...speed burst is just holding a button in NCAA. Unlike the Sega games which are tapping the button.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 10:30 pm

Flipping run direction without flipping the formation was one of the Playmaker hot routes in Madden last year, using the right analog stick.

It wasn't cheesy at all online. Just forced defenders to not overshift the DL or LBs too much one way.

Yeah speed burst on EA football in this generation has always been holding down an analog button. The harder you hold it down the faster he goes.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 10:33 pm

This puppy is going to take massive slider tweaking again. On default All-American the CPU cannot run on me worth a damn and I am playing Penn State vs. Michigan State and Auburn.

Blublub · Post by **Blublub** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 10:33 pm

Oops, yeah, I think I got speed burst of 2004 confused with ESPN football last year.

Blublub · Post by **Blublub** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 10:56 pm

Wow, I just simmed a franchise season and while the rankings and results were plausible, although a little suspect in spots (Oklahoma vs. NC State for National Championship?), the scores were all way too high. In fact, I've gone through nearly every school and there is not a total score under 20 anywhere. I don't remember anything like this last year. Anyone else seeing this?

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 11:04 pm

I hope we don't come to the point where we need Bill Abner to develop some sliders again this year.

Geez, its seems that a game a year from EA Sports just means new problems and new fixes but just a glossy new cover.

If Air Force is pass happy that surely is goign to suck. I shouldn't say this but I hope its an All-American thing, maybe on Heisman its different. Ya right.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 11:33 pm

I played on the road and the CPU can run on me. I hope there isn't a *huge* HFA as I would hate to turn it off or rely on home/road sliders...lol.

I think passing is a lot harder, although it usually takes a little while to find the "money" plays anyway.

I love the atmosphere and crowd noise.

If you like the NCAA series then you will probably like this game. If you have been playing a lot of ESPN then it might take awhile to adjust. Playing NCAA just reinforces my ESPN preference though...at least so far.

Blublub · Post by **Blublub** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 12:26 am

Couple of other little things that really bug me so far:

1. Those are some SERIOUS grass stains. Guys end up looking like the Incredible Hulk by the half. I hope to god this doesn't happen on artificial turf as well

2. WTF is up with all the ads this year? "Drive summary brought to you by Pontiac" and the "Old Spice Red Zone Report." There is even ads on the pennants you collect. Highly annoying. Yeah, like your margin on this wasn't high enough already, EA. Gotta love the NCAA - everyone gets rich but the players.

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 12:56 am

Blublub wrote:Couple of other little things that really bug me so far:

1. Those are some SERIOUS grass stains. Guys end up looking like the Incredible Hulk by the half. I hope to god this doesn't happen on artificial turf as well .

ditto.

- i turned off all the vibrating controller and screen s*** too. more in the am.zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

azmark · Post by **azmark** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 1:17 am

Just out of curiosity..what was the score of the OU NC state game? and stats...What level and all? I am not discounting a OU NC State matchup at ...for all I know..NC state might be in major bowl

azmark · Post by **azmark** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 1:18 am

oops..mistell..sorry

azmark · Post by **azmark** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 1:32 am

Well...I am sure that a lot of people will take AirForce as their team..lol...yes.major wishbone team..and tricky team...but.............they do not win the big ones..I am not defending EA Sports at all...and I do not have NCAA 2005 yett...but.it is oly a video game..for fun and all.I think that the critics here who are already knocking the game should just relax and take the game for what it is.Hmm..btw..pac ten stats were pretty close

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 8:07 am

In my games the CPU seemed to run enough to keep me happy........but maybe I was so rattled and disoriented by the HFA that I didnt pay close enough attention..........

For some reason they have downgraded the graphics.....maybe its so that bing dildo can remain console agnostic..........

kevinpars · Post by **kevinpars** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 8:34 am

While I like the HFA thing, I honestly don't think I can keep the vibration turned on for a whole game. After playing a road game in Knoxville, my hands feel like a test case for a repetitive motion injury lawsuit. Being a tech writer, I simply can't abuse my hands that much while playing.

The CPU ran a good bit during a game between Vandy and South Carolina. But then I thought about it and remembered that the new Vandy coach was at Georgia Southern (I think) and has a run first philosophy. Either way, I have to mess with the sliders. I know Vandy sucks, but I was able to sit back in nickel and dime defenses and never get burned with a run longer than 5 yards on default AA.

I wouldn't say that the visuals (Xbox) are worse this year. Actually, it looks like some things improved while some things got worse. Aliasing is worse or certainly no better. Grass textures are still pretty blah. Sky textures are better. Stadium crowds look shimmery and I can see where this could hurt your eyes a bit until you got used to it.

The grass stain textures are way overdone. When I played a game at Vandy, by the end of the game Vandy's doo-doo brown jerseys looked as green as the Notre Dame green jerseys. And that is no exaggeration.

The way the option controls are set this year and the blocking makes the option a blast to play. Running overall is a lot of fun. But Mario running is still in the game. That feeling of hitting a wall and running in place is as prevalent as it ever was in past versions.

Overall, if you like NCAA football, the increased roster size, the added stuff in the dynasty and the HFA will make you happy. But there is still a "Is that all there is" feeling to the game. But I would bet that next year will be even worse as the game engine is probably maxed out on this generation of consoles.

Bill_Abner · Post by **Bill_Abner** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 8:40 am

Yes, it is going to take more slider work to make this game playable. Default AA is just ridiculously bad.

kevinpars · Post by **kevinpars** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 9:09 am

I am tempted to simply start with Bill's sliders from last year as well as doing the whole 'create a coach and change the sliders before each game' thing from the start. The offense may not need as much tweaking - although running may be too easy on default AI and may need to be turned down more than last year.

Blublub · Post by **Blublub** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 9:12 am

Bill, are you seeing simmed scores that are too high? If I had to guess off the top of my head I'd say that the average points per team across the board is about 35. In the bowl week of my first simmed season there were two results where a team scored more than 70 points. That just doesn't seem right. Granted, a lot of 35-28 results are fine, but I couldn't find a single 14-7 result or lower for an entire season in the whole of college football.

kevinpars · Post by **kevinpars** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 9:18 am

Here is a good thing I noticed when simming a few seasons:

In year 3 of the dynasty, Florida State’s ACC schedule changed and they played both Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. So conference schedules finally do rotate like they are supposed to do. That alone increases the playability. Unlike last year where every year you not only played the same conference teams, but played them in the same order.

Bill_Abner · Post by **Bill_Abner** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 9:20 am

Blublub wrote:Bill, are you seeing simmed scores that are too high? If I had to guess off the top of my head I'd say that the average points per team across the board is about 35. In the bowl week of my first simmed season there were two results where a team scored more than 70 points. That just doesn't seem right. Granted, a lot of 35-28 results are fine, but I couldn't find a single 14-7 result or lower for an entire season in the whole of college football.

I haven't touched Dynasty mode yet. I'm gonna wait until rosters are ready, but I can definately give that a look later today.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 9:22 am

Anyone else think it is too hard to pass on default AA? I REALLY like how the passes are offline, but the DBs appear to be too good.

If you think the game is running slow play FSU vs. Miami. That speed appears closer to the default speed from last year.

There are games where I am experiencing almost no slowdown. It was definitely there though when I first started playing and even my wife commented on it. Her first comment was actually "those graphics suck", but she is used to seeing me play ESPN football. I personally don't think the graphics suck.

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 9:23 am

now THIS game should be $20. In my opinion it is NCAA 2004.5.

Good:
-faster kicking meter(college kids are not as good as the pros)
-slightly deeper dynasty mode
-in game stats
-match-up stick is kinda neat. haven't really seen it have any effect

Bad:
-graphics seem slightly worse
-tip passes seem to bounce like a lightwieght volleyball
-the R and L icons are too big. you can't see around them.

Ugly:
-grass stains are like green paint
-screen shake pulls you out of the game
-the HFA meter takes up too much space
-VIBRATION! I turned off the HFA stuff and I wish i could turn off vibration all together. my hands hurt worse than writing ALL day
-slowdown in the game AND the menus. scrolling through the 100+ teams takes too much time!

overall, i wish i would have held onto 2004. I just don't see anything in 2005 that warrants an upgrade. $20 yes, $50 no.

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 9:23 am

kevinpars wrote: The way the option controls are set this year and the blocking makes the option a blast to play. Running overall is a lot of fun. But Mario running is still in the game. That feeling of hitting a wall and running in place is as prevalent as it ever was in past versions.

Overall, if you like NCAA football, the increased roster size, the added stuff in the dynasty and the HFA will make you happy. But there is still a "Is that all there is" feeling to the game. But I would bet that next year will be even worse as the game engine is probably maxed out on this generation of consoles.

I can't believe EA still hasn't gotten rid of Mario Running. May not be a big deal to some, but to someone who has been bugged by it for years, that really sucks to hear.

Thanks for the impressions though, fellas, both good and bad. I've still got a few days to wait for my football fix in ESPN.