NCAA Football 12

[Danimal]

I played my first 2 games and I was kind of like meh.. same thing as last year.

Then I played more and paid attention and the game just feels a lot better. No suction like Terry said or at least I noticed in about 5 games. Typically I can't go 5 plays without seeing it. The tackles just seem more realistic, they aren't mind blowing like look at that sweet new animation they just seem more natural. I saw a lot of guys go down and said to myself that looks like it should.

A dominant DT can really wreak havock so that is nice. The coverage in the secondary is vastly improved. I used to be a DB coach and this is always my pet peeve with EA games the secondary play. Well I may have to change my tune. The only thing that is still in there is the dropped interceptions but I can live with that to keep the numbers realistic. The blocking on runs appears better.

I think the best thing I noticed revolved around the CPU QB play. They scrambled for yardage, they got rid of the ball at times they should have and there were not a lot of those I hit the guy but he got rid of the ball. In fact i saw several plays where the QB got hit and coughed it up.

Like I said I was not blown away by anything but the game just feels like it plays more like a football game in my short sample size. It's possible EA was telling the truth and this years versions were made for the hard core guys who wanted a more realistic game.

As always YMMV

[TCrouch]

That's what I was seeing, Dan.

It's almost like they focused on individual battles and the entire game ended up being a lot more realistic for all 22 guys on the field. The individual battles were being won or lost from play to play realistically, and plays were being impacted by those battles. If a DT crashed through the line, it wasn't because an offensive lineman didn't know how to play, but usually because the guy made a good move or powered past.

I didn't see any of the LB's make huge leaps for lobs over their heads, nor DB's turn to look at balls that they shouldn't be able to see. But the rainbow deep lobs that were too easy to complete before actually turned into jump balls for BOTH sides, instead of just me. It was nice to see a wideout stop short as I was racing to the marker and use his body to get the jump ball when I ended up behind him. The tackling animations really looked good, as I got out of one on a 3rd and 1 that I thought for sure was the old "EA Stumbling forward" animation, but the guy righted himself and was able to turn up field for another 6 or 7 yards before being taken down.

All in all, I think it's improved across the board, but not in the traditional "let's put this on the back of the box with a catchy nickname!!" sense that EA usually does. It's a bunch of small changes that add up to a big improvement IMO.

[Danimal]

Yeah Terry in short it gets me excited for Madden because i think the bigger leaps were made in M12 this year.

[Teal]

Pretty damned impressed myself. No, it's not the 'leaps and bounds' that so many people seem to want to see, no matter how good a game is before, but that's never bothered me. The suction blocks are gone, the running game has improved, the defense has REALLY improved, the atmosphere is even better than last year...I think it's gonna be another good one.

[sportdan30]

this is probably unfair since I'm not into the football mood but only thing I noticed was you could see the blades of grass this year. The gameplay was sort of boring to me. Maybe I'll be more excited later next month.

I feel the exact same way. Then again, I routinely feel less than excited when it seems that the football season is still months away. Hopefully my mindset will change as the weather cools and college football is the focal point. Still, while I saw many positives in my brief playing time, I can't help but feel cheated by the same boring a** commentary year in and year out. The atmoshphere is better, but that feels more like sprinkles on a sundae. EA Sports needs to put more emphasis on the broadcast. There was way too much dead air during the demo. Hopefully, the final build will flow a lot better.

[Rodster]

This is basically the same commentary that was first introduced in NCAA Football 2001 on the PS2.

[sportdan30]

This is basically the same commentary that was first introduced in NCAA Football 2001 on the PS2.

That is inexcuseable!! I'm not saying the focus should be put squarely on the commentary, but how about an attempt at improving an area that hasn't been touched in years???

[seanmac31]

The first thing that popped out at me was that the framerate has taken a substantial hit. There is noticeable choppiness on the kickoff returns in particular, which is really too bad, as NCAA 11 was a wonderfully smooth game to control. Aside from that, I'm not seeing much, but I'm not squinting my eyes and looking at the fine details. I have had success controlling a DT and getting through the line.

[Danimal]

This is basically the same commentary that was first introduced in NCAA Football 2001 on the PS2.

That is inexcuseable!! I'm not saying the focus should be put squarely on the commentary, but how about an attempt at improving an area that hasn't been touched in years???

Commentary was not touched this year. Apparently the spent the cycle implementing the commentary engine from FIFA and it should get updated in the future. As i said people want what they want personally I could care less about the presentation. I like the little cut away they do at quarter breaks and featuring a player during the game but I skipped the inro stuff by my 2nd game.

IMO anyone who doesn't see the substantial difference in the game play is simply looking for something different then I am looking for. I had Ingram break a 68 yard run on me last night that looked so realistic and was highlighted by that top down replay camera. I had the Oregon QB constantly avoiding my rush and scrambling and making plays. While the Texas QB just constantly held the ball too long looking for a big play and kept getting sacked.

I don't know the more I play the more I am impressed with how the game plays. I'd still rather play Madden then college ball but I was not going to pick this one up and now it's a no brainer. Dan are you playing on the PS3? I recall hearing that the PS3 versions looked worse then the 360 ones at E3.

[TCrouch]

Yeah, I'm actually excited now. I didn't even know when it released--looked this morning and it's 2 weeks away

[JRod]

Since I usually play Air Force, I hope the blocking is fixed for it to play better in the option game. Still too video gamey if you like the option. The game in the past has been suited for the 5-wide teams. It was better last year but still option plays seemed a little too feast of famine.

[sportdan30]

Regarding the PS3 version, I was not too terribly impressed with the visuals. To me, the graphics looked rather grainy, most notably the camera view that pans over the entire stadium. There were a couple "cool" moments (the Texas Longhorn animal), but other than that it didn't strike me as very polished. I read where some claim by putting the game in 1080p cleans up the visuals, but I don't anticipate that to make a dramatic difference. It did seem rather obvious that the devs were trying to show off the new grass in the introductory scenes.

I will say that the one thing that impressed me more than anything was the tackling. I saw multiple hit tackles and more realism with regards to tackling than I have ever seen. I look forward to playing more this evening and getting a better all around feel of the gameplay details many of you are seeing.

[Naples39]

Since I usually play Air Force, I hope the blocking is fixed for it to play better in the option game. Still too video gamey if you like the option. The game in the past has been suited for the 5-wide teams. It was better last year but still option plays seemed a little too feast of famine.

I agree. Last year the option didn't work right. For one, triple option plays were completely useless, because the hesitation to the fullback took too long. D-lineman would be on your QB before he could move. The only option plays that worked were the "speed option" plays where there was no option to the fullback, and they were mainly a matter of speed and pitching it around the defense. 60 and 70 yard pitch plays were common just running around the defense.

[Danimal]

As I sit here eating my lunch I read a post elsewhere that summed up my feeling on presentation. Why does EA concentrate on the static presentation that gets old fast? Sure the team entrances are cool but they get boring real quickly for me. I never understood the griping for this or for dread locks or for half time shows.

Give me dynamic presentation.

Give me stat overlays, cut to injury reports and highlight from other games. I want things that don't get old and are useful information. I still remember in 2K5 when it used to pop up Urlacher has 12 tackles. Sure the EA games do it by a little text bar on the score board pip but I'd rather have more immersive stats packages like 2k11 does in their game.

[toonarmy]

Give me dynamic presentation.

Give me stat overlays, cut to injury reports and highlight from other games. I want things that don't get old and are useful information. I still remember in 2K5 when it used to pop up Urlacher has 12 tackles. Sure the EA games do it by a little text bar on the score board pip but I'd rather have more immersive stats packages like 2k11 does in their game.

Bingo! Hell, even EA's sports games on the PSX back in the 90s did a better job of such things as stat overlays than they have this generation. Some of the NBA Live games on the PSX, for example, were brilliant with their constant stat overlays and charts and graphs. It seems like it wouldn't be too hard to program such things into a game.

[XXXIV]

Yeah, I'm actually excited now. I didn't even know when it released--looked this morning and it's 2 weeks away

Im excited too....Its only two weeks til you start giving me my annual beat downs.

[vader29]

I'm going to try to hold out on NCAA this year and just go with Madden, would be much easier if the demo would have sucked.

[MizzouRah]

As I sit here eating my lunch I read a post elsewhere that summed up my feeling on presentation. Why does EA concentrate on the static presentation that gets old fast? Sure the team entrances are cool but they get boring real quickly for me. I never understood the griping for this or for dread locks or for half time shows.

Give me dynamic presentation.

Give me stat overlays, cut to injury reports and highlight from other games. I want things that don't get old and are useful information. I still remember in 2K5 when it used to pop up Urlacher has 12 tackles. Sure the EA games do it by a little text bar on the score board pip but I'd rather have more immersive stats packages like 2k11 does in their game.

I'm with you.. the first time I saw the Texas mascot, Bevo.. I thought it was cool, now I skip it.

DYNAMIC presentation, aka "REAL TIME" is what they need to work on. Everything you said is spot on!

[Teal]

As I sit here eating my lunch I read a post elsewhere that summed up my feeling on presentation. Why does EA concentrate on the static presentation that gets old fast? Sure the team entrances are cool but they get boring real quickly for me. I never understood the griping for this or for dread locks or for half time shows.

Give me dynamic presentation.

Give me stat overlays, cut to injury reports and highlight from other games. I want things that don't get old and are useful information. I still remember in 2K5 when it used to pop up Urlacher has 12 tackles. Sure the EA games do it by a little text bar on the score board pip but I'd rather have more immersive stats packages like 2k11 does in their game.

I'm with you.. the first time I saw the Texas mascot, Bevo.. I thought it was cool, now I skip it.

DYNAMIC presentation, aka "REAL TIME" is what they need to work on. Everything you said is spot on!

Give me both. Why should we only get one or the other? In that vein, they HAVE done a little more in the dynamic presentation department. It isn't a whole lot, to be sure, but it's there. I want the pageantry of college football, too. I want to see Florida State's mascot drive the spear into the ground. I want to see the eagle fly around Jordan Hare stadium and land at midfield, to the cry of waaaaaaar eagle. I want all that. But I also see what you guys are talking about with the dynamics. It doesn't seem to be a difficult thing to incorporate, seeing as how the NFL 2K series did it years ago.

[Lancer]

I may just go with Madden this year as well. I usually get both games, but I am not into football at all right now. Ironically, i think all the NFL Lockout talk during this offseason sort of didn't give me the proper break from football I need in the spring/summer months to re-energize my football batteries. Plus all the negative news from USC to OSU this summer also put an end to any excitement I had for college football in general.

[Brando70]

As I sit here eating my lunch I read a post elsewhere that summed up my feeling on presentation. Why does EA concentrate on the static presentation that gets old fast? Sure the team entrances are cool but they get boring real quickly for me. I never understood the griping for this or for dread locks or for half time shows.

Give me dynamic presentation.

Give me stat overlays, cut to injury reports and highlight from other games. I want things that don't get old and are useful information. I still remember in 2K5 when it used to pop up Urlacher has 12 tackles. Sure the EA games do it by a little text bar on the score board pip but I'd rather have more immersive stats packages like 2k11 does in their game.

I'm with you.. the first time I saw the Texas mascot, Bevo.. I thought it was cool, now I skip it.

DYNAMIC presentation, aka "REAL TIME" is what they need to work on. Everything you said is spot on!

Exactly. I love the way The Show does it -- there is still a lot of canned commentary, but they also show stats, mention streaks, performance during a game, milestones, etc. It would be great if EA did this, maybe mentioning if a player had a huge game the week before, if they were going to break a school record, and so on. It adds a lot to franchise modes.

[Danimal]

but they also show stats, mention streaks, performance during a game, milestones, etc. It would be great if EA did this, maybe mentioning if a player had a huge game the week before, if they were going to break a school record, and so on. It adds a lot to franchise modes.

Well Madden added all that dynamic player performance, hot and cold streaks etc. If they didn't accommodate for that in the commentary someone should be punched in the face.

[MizzouRah]

but they also show stats, mention streaks, performance during a game, milestones, etc. It would be great if EA did this, maybe mentioning if a player had a huge game the week before, if they were going to break a school record, and so on. It adds a lot to franchise modes.

Well Madden added all that dynamic player performance, hot and cold streaks etc. If they didn't accommodate for that in the commentary someone should be punched in the face.

Madden is probably the football game to get this year.. considering all the time it seems like that's been put into it.

I may actually skip NCAA 12 - I'm still playing NCAA 11 and I think I'm going to pick up Madden for the first time in many years.

The NCAA demo thus far feels like NCAA 11.5 to me, which isn't really a bad thing, but I'm not sure it's worth $60.

[JRod]

but they also show stats, mention streaks, performance during a game, milestones, etc. It would be great if EA did this, maybe mentioning if a player had a huge game the week before, if they were going to break a school record, and so on. It adds a lot to franchise modes.

Well Madden added all that dynamic player performance, hot and cold streaks etc. If they didn't accommodate for that in the commentary someone should be punched in the face.

Madden is probably the football game to get this year.. considering all the time it seems like that's been put into it.

I may actually skip NCAA 12 - I'm still playing NCAA 11 and I think I'm going to pick up Madden for the first time in many years.

The NCAA demo thus far feels like NCAA 11.5 to me, which isn't really a bad thing, but I'm not sure it's worth $60.

I wish it was more widespread known the NCAA and Madden seem to be on two year dev cycles. It was NCAA the most improved last year where Madden trailed. This year seems Madden. It's been this way since 04-05.

[Brando70]

but they also show stats, mention streaks, performance during a game, milestones, etc. It would be great if EA did this, maybe mentioning if a player had a huge game the week before, if they were going to break a school record, and so on. It adds a lot to franchise modes.

Well Madden added all that dynamic player performance, hot and cold streaks etc. If they didn't accommodate for that in the commentary someone should be punched in the face.

I will be shocked if they added that. They are already at least 5% over their quota of adding 10% new stuff per year

I know for sure I'm not ready to buy a football game in July. I took a year off from Madden last year and picked up NCAA for the first time since NCAA 2006 and really enjoyed it, but I'm an NFL guy at heart. I'll probably pick Madden up instead this year and just continue my Mizzou dynasty in NCAA 11 if I need a college football fix.

Good to hear EA has addressed some fundamentals, though.