You could say that from year to year, especially in this “next generation” of XBox 360/PS3, not a lot of changes to the game are made, except for rosters. This year EA really gave it their all and revamped tons of features.
The first thing you will notice is the presentation is a lot more like watching a game on TV. There is a really neat pre-game intro where it shows the home team gather inside of and then run out of the tunnel. Brad Nessler even says “and here, come the Cougars!” as we make our entrance. Somewhere, Glenn Johnson is smiling. But it isn’t just teams running out of the tunnel. If said team has what you would consider a “signature” entrance? They nail that too. Check it out:
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The new hurry-up / no huddle offense allows your offense to race back to the line while giving you an abbreviated playbook to choose from. The players then pause and look to the sideline for the call.
As far as running your offense, it’s similar to years past. The control scheme has added a nice new feature though. Instead of your basic juke and spin while you have the ball, there is a sweet double joystick function that makes the ballcarrier do a Barry-Sanders-like shimmy that has to be seen to be believed!
And after you score a TD, in addition to celebrating with just your teammates, there is a command to interact with your mascot or execute a “team animation”. While you can run out of the end zone and go celebrate with Butch, unfortunately Wazzu doesn’t get a team-specific animation. But there are many others out there. As Sean and I found out last night while having Ohio State and Miami face off in a preview of their early-season showdown, the ‘Canes will throw up the “U” hand sign after TD’s. Very cool (but I’m not sure if Oregon players can toss up their IQ as an animation??).
As for our Cougars…plus Sean’s view on the game….read on for more….
I know the game has only been out for a few days, but I am already 7-1 and ranked in the Top 15 in my dynasty! The lone loss was a close shave vs. Arizona, but that’s it. Wish I could say there was some foreshadowing there?
Tuel is rated a 78, which seems a little low, but he is extremely swift on his feet. Both Nico Grasu and Reid Forrest have monster legs; it’s nice to see them get their due respect.
Martin Stadium was updated for the first time since the 2005 edition. No longer is that big, white banner hanging in the background, east of Stadium Way. EA incorporated the new sign on Stadium Way, as well as the new jumbo tron! Check out the comparison on Martin from last year to this year:
NCAA ’11:
NCAA ’10:
NCAA ’11:
I guess aside from a few small glitches here and there, there isn’t much at all to dislike about this year’s game!
Sean, what are your thoughts?
Sean says: I have to say that while I am a fan of the series and have been playing some iteration of it since the old Sega Genesis days, I am not the diehard that some of you might be. I don’t get into the dynasty mode, or all that goes with it, like recruiting, etc. The problem is while these modes are supposed to be pretty immersive and amazing, I no longer have the time to really get into it. That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the gameplay experience, I really do, but the extra modes just aren’t for everyone. But I am glad to hear that they are great modes of play this year!
The first thing I took from the game is similar to what Lucas mentioned, and that’s the presentation and graphics. The game absolutely POPS off the HD screen! From the ESPN presentation all over the place, the pregame entrances, to the player models, uniforms, revamped stadiums and the lighting of the game, it’s a wonderful presentation from top to bottom. EA Sports was criticized for their lack of presentation in this series, and there is little doubt how much emphasis they put on this part of the experience in this year’s release!
The next thing that stood out was the actual flow of the animations, as well as the game speed. This year, at least for the first time since maybe NCAA ’06 on the old Xbox, the game has a really good “feel” to it. The players move and react in a very realistic manner, and the added things like realistic gang tackling is really impressive to see. For the first time, you see defenses rally to the ball and dogpile on the opponent, and it just seems right. And in the game speed department, a big criticism from last year’s game was that the game just played way too fast, in a very unrealistic manner. This year they have slowed things down a bit, right out of the box, and it plays much smoother and cleaner than before. But if you don’t like the speed of this year’s version? They also added a game speed option, where you can slow things down or speed things up for your liking. Very cool!
Teambuilder is back for this year, and it’s just as good as ever. Teambuilder allows you to take user-created teams from the web, download them into your game, and then play them on your console. Want to see the ’97 Cougs take on Michigan again in the Rose Bowl? You can do that.
They even have other classic WSU teams, like the ’88 team, the ’92 team, ’94, ’97, ’01, ’02 and ’03. Again, very cool!
While there were some bugs-n-glitches that shipped with the game, EA was quick to fix things this year. They already uploaded a patch to fix numerous issues, and it was available for download on release day. Very proactive on their part, where sometimes you need to wait a month or more for the devs to make some fixes. You can find a list of what they fixed here.
Another point of emphasis this year is the style of play, as in the differences between schools and what you see out of their offensive style. Play SMU, and you see nothing but the run-n-shoot. Play Navy, you get nothing but the option, all game long. And schools like Oklahoma State and Oregon will be in the no-huddle for long stretches of the game. Nothing adds to the authenticity of the game like playing a school in the game that actually plays like the real thing.
To wrap it up, two huge THUMBS UP for this year’s game. I have seen some claim it’s the best football game ever made. I don’t know if one should go that far, but, I think it’s safe to say that it is the best football game released for either the XBox 360 or PS3 generation. Well done EA!
All for now. Enjoy your Friday, and as always, GO COUGS!
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