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The Madden and NCAA Football series have both been criticized for their lack of innovation upon release of the next iteration of the game for years now; NCAA Football 11 did some to change that perception, but NCAA Football 12 kept the same outward appearance, although it did change some gameplay features on the inside. In place of another major overhaul, however, NCAA 13 opted for some new features and animations, making the game more immersive than ever, but doing little to change the game's usual formula.
The new feature this year is Heisman challenge, a glorified Road to Glory mode that allows the player to step in to the shoes of a former Heisman Trophy winner such as Desmond Howard, Barry Sanders, or Charlie Ward, and compete in seasons on any team you wish. Inevitably this will lead to some disgusting combinations, such as Archie Griffin on Michigan or Carson Palmer on Notre Dame, but dwelling on that will only make matters worse. The Heisman Challenge's staple is reaction time, or bullet time, slowing down the game so the player can make cuts or throws with their head instead of quick reactions. In some cases, this is extremely helpful, but it also makes gameplay a little too easy at some levels. Heisman Challenge is definitely something to check out, but it won't keep you entertained for too long.
Dynasty has also seen some under the hood improvements. New recruiting options and features make each game in the season more important, as an underdog win over a top 25 opponent will net you some well-earned popularity with the recruits. This is a very welcome addition, and something which many have been wishing was part of the game for a while. More recruiting options are available for the player as well; Scouting is now an essential part of recruiting. You can see a player's ratings through the season, and target recruits based on your findings instead of being given a base grade. Calling recruits also leads to new gameplay options, and can help swing a recruit towards your school, if you're good enough. In game studio updates, provided by Rece Davis, improve the game's ESPN atmosphere, making it feel even more like you're watching the big game on television; the ESPN ticker gives you the scores from around the nation, and priority score alerts make it even easier to follow the big upsets of the heavy hitting game between top 5 teams.
Road to Glory saw some minor attention this year adding in new challenges as a college player. Despite the lack of a major overhaul it is still as fun as ever; leading your own high school player to the starting spot on a college team is extremely exciting. RTG may even be a little more difficult this year if you choose. It also touts the new reaction time used in the Heisman challenge, and contains better goals to pursue than past iterations, creating a more challenging game.
EA is touting the new animations that have been added to the game, with new receiving and throwing animations being brought into the game to improve realism, and motion blur being added as well. The new animations make the game more lifelike to be sure, and make the players look and feel more athletic, instead of moving about the field in a fashion similar to robots attempting to play American football. Motion blur never seems to be an integral part of the game, however, only popping up on replays and in between plays. Fans do have motion blur, but that seems less important than introducing motion blur in gameplay, and seeing a fan pump their fist with motion blur never made me gaze in wonder at the feat that EA achieved. Defenses are not the omnipotent beasts they once were, and neither are receivers, for that matter. You need to make sure a receiver is looking for the ball before you throw to them, made easier by the grayed out icons that indicate your receiver is entirely oblivious to the fact you are attempting to throw them the ball. However, defensive players that aren't looking can't block the pass either, a problem that reoccurred throughout NCAA 12.
The biggest lacking feature for this year's NCAA football was the Infinity engine offered by Madden 13. Now, Madden 13 has not come out yet, and thus there has been no clear reference for its engine, giving us no clue whether it is another useless "innovation" provided by Madden or if it's actually a fantastic addition for the game, but it certainly is disappointing that it was not included in this year's NCAA. This is especially disappointing given that, at least in recent years, NCAA had surpassed Madden in being the elite football title produced by EA in terms of gameplay and reception.
The previous iteration of NCAA Football didn't do too much to separate itself from the line of other NCAA's, at least not in a manner similar to NCAA 11, and NCAA 13 doesn't do too much either. For fans of college football and folks who have picked up each and every other game before it, it's a good buy, but for those simply looking for a recommendation to upgrade from NCAA 12, there's not much reason to spend the extra money for a the Heisman Challenge, new animations, and a roster update. As an individual who spent hundreds of hours on NCAA 12, I picked it up and loved it.
EDIT: I have recently had a lot of trouble loading my dynasty, as it constantly freezes during the game loading screen. I haven't been able to touch my dynasty mode after this, and it's extremely frustrating. Hopefully it will be patched soon, but as of now, with dynasty mode unable to be played correctly, I switch my position to don't buy. Wait until it's patched to buy or just save the money and continue to play '12.
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I love college football. It is probably my favorite sport. As seen in a lot of reviews this is just a rehash of the previous installments with minor changes. Not really a fan of the Heisman feature. I don't have much of a desire to take those guys and put them on other teams. Gameplay is pretty similar to earlier years. What I am impressed with is the recruiting. It's probably my favorite part of owning these games and this is the best I have seen it. It gives you the opportunity to "scout" players while recruiting them. This discovers their true rating and you don't end up having to stick with 4 and 5 star players to succeed. This makes it much more realistic as schools like my own (Kansas State) are able to find those gems and still do relatively well.
One gripe is that I have recruiting on the Heisman difficulty, but it is still relatively easy. I notice that there are numerous highly rated players (4 stars mainly) I recruit that only have a scholarship offer from my school at the end of the season. That is very unrealistic and makes it way too easy to get them. In real life, if a guy is a 4 star he is most likely going to have multiple offers from rather large programs.
The one HUGE ISSUE I have with this game is that it stalls after long periods (couple hours) of playing it. Therefore, I have to make sure I constantly save it or lose my progress. That is very annoying and disappointing.
As we all know, EA has a monopoly on this game so we probably won't see major improvements year to year. All in all, it's a fun game. Minor improvements on the previous installments, but still a worthy buy for the college football fan.
Update: As of 7/17/13 EA has long since fixed the freezing issues I mentioned. I know everyone has most likely moved on to the new game, but I thought I'd mention this. One other thing I'd like to mention is that the flow/movement navigating through menu items and the like is very laggy. This can make for an annoying experience in recruiting if you are very in depth about the players you are recruiting (i.e. constantly looking at the schools recruiting them, switching out recruits for others, etc.)
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I love the game as I always do but I am not happy with EA decision to take away the link between NCAA and Madden. I don't like not being able to save my draft class and having them appear in Madden.
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I haven't played NCAA in years. I was hesitant because of all the negative reviews. I don't play online. Other than the usually freezes a game has, I am pleased with it. It's a little addictive as well.
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I bought this game for my self and was able to download rosters and have enjoyed playing it contrary to what others have said
