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NCAA Football 13 Preview

With all of the hype surrounding Madden NFL 13 and its new Infinity engine, most people are forgetting about the other football game: NCAA Football 13.

Though not as big of a drastic gameplay change as Madden, NCAA does plenty of things right that should keep you entertained.

First of all, the gameplay has seen a few tweaks and adjustments. You notice the new pass trajectories, which is good since it proves it’s not a gimmick. The play-action fake is brilliant; arguably one of the best “little things” I’ve seen in a sports game yet. It also changes the way options work. Gone – OK, not entirely gone – are the days when options were pointless. As an Oregon fan, this is a huge upgrade and game changer. The running game is more polished which can allow a bit more freedom in the lanes. The new animations are noticeable, and the trajectories really help out. But once it’s all said and done, NCAA still feels the same, which isn’t really a good or bad thing in my book. I’m sure, as we play the demo more and the retail version releases, we should all notice some more of the tiny things.

Now on to what will make people stick around with this game: Dynasty.

The biggest improvement is without a doubt recruiting. It has taken a pretty large leap in a very positive direction. Now you can not only call the recruit, but also you can also scout him. Scouting will give you specific ratings for the chosen athlete, which will ultimately decide for you if you want to offer up a scholarship. Also, three- and five-star athletes won’t necessarily become what they’re played out to be; some five-star kid might end up being the biggest bust you know. Then again, that three-star kid who isn’t getting any letters of intent from outside his home state may as well be the next RG3.

Also, when you call a recruit you no longer need to deal with the dreaded pitch carousel. Instead you have the option of pitching whatever the hell you want, or you can gamble and actually ask the recruit what he is interested in. Weird when games implement common sense, right? It’s about time.

Each pitch is based off of how well your team performs on and off the field. For example, if your quarterback is drafted No. 4 overall in the NFL Draft, the Ducks instantly have more pull when it comes to the pitch “Pro Potential” or when recruiting a new quarterback. Also, recruits know the kind of play style you run with. If for example you want the top rated FB, he will only sign on with you if your current FB is actually seeing some reps on Saturdays.

The further you get along with your recruiting, you’ll slowly see the player’s overall rating (yes, the actually overall rating).

One last thing that I saw that deserves mention is the presentation. From the commentary to the ESPN bottom line, EA did a pretty good job. During the game you’ll get dynamic updates which features scores and stats of other important football games. But one thing that isn’t there, that feels like it should, are video highlights. I’m not trying to bring up the old NFL 2K5 argument, just stating that these dynamic updates need those videos. I was told they didn’t want to create fake highlights to avoid repetition, which makes sense. But at least they have actually put the topic on the table and talked about it – something we’ve never really had confirmation of before.

Some of you may be turned off by this preview, especially since the gameplay didn’t get a major overhaul, but with all of the new recruiting tools I’m personally pumped.


NCAA Football 13 Videos
Member Comments
# 1 TDenverFan @ 06/08/12 04:30 PM
Glad to hear the Dynasty improvements work! Do recruits still have illogical responses? Like when they have a Very High interest in something, but when you talk to them about it, their response is 'Boring' or 'Who Cares'?
 
# 2 JoBo513 @ 06/08/12 04:46 PM
The one thing NCAA does do right for the most part is create a deep, enjoyable dynasty experience. Offline or online.

Sent from my cheap *** phone
 
# 3 darren1024 @ 06/08/12 04:55 PM
Any word on TEAMBUILDER? TBs release date?
 
# 4 BA2929 @ 06/08/12 04:58 PM
I'm REALLY excited to see how the Mock Draft works. I've always wondered how that 78 overall FB who left early (and that I couldn't talk back) fared in the NFL Draft.
 
# 5 Goodolboi55 @ 06/08/12 05:08 PM
Dose anyone know if there's new facemasks
 
# 6 malky @ 06/08/12 05:12 PM
At least NCAA football is delivering the goods and not subtracting. F
First day buy for me
 
# 7 MrCWS83 @ 06/08/12 05:23 PM
It mentioned if the quarterback from Oregon is drafted #4 overall in the NFL, that improves the pro potential pitch. Is there a simulated draft or is this just based on projections, such as overall ratings QB Oregon = 90 overall opposed to QB Florida State = 88 overall?
 
# 8 BA2929 @ 06/08/12 05:26 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrCWS83
It mentioned if the quarterback from Oregon is drafted #4 overall in the NFL, that improves the pro potential pitch. Is there a simulated draft or is this just based on projections, such as overall ratings QB Oregon = 90 overall opposed to QB Florida State = 88 overall?
There is a new mock pro draft in the game at the end of each season.
 
# 9 Feldman011teen @ 06/08/12 05:30 PM
I like how people will preach about something like the recruiting carousel, and then throw it under the bus a year later. It was like a separate mini game, I liked it. I'm still hyped for this game, and don't forget you can get day one from amazon for $45.
 
# 10 Feldman011teen @ 06/08/12 05:34 PM
I also thought 12 was the best ncaa game yet. 11 was good, 10 was the worst, 09 was ok, 08 was good at the time, 07 was a joke. The gameplay is a bit fast, but overall the game is smooth and looks great, there's a huge sense of immersion this year, atleast in heisman mode, and the dynasty will make this the best college game of all time. And i'd take generic video highlights over nothing.
 
# 11 Dazraz @ 06/08/12 05:39 PM
With no Multi-User Offline Dynasty in Madden this year it's a relief that NCAA 13 seems to have enough on offer to satisfy my Football gaming for the next 12 months.
 
# 12 rudyjuly2 @ 06/08/12 05:42 PM
Totally agree on video highlights. When they cut to the studio in real life they often show a scoring play. 2K5 was very cool in this area and apparently way ahead of its time.
 
# 13 mercalnd @ 06/08/12 05:44 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by rudyjuly2
Totally agree on video highlights. When they cut to the studio in real life they often show a scoring play. 2K5 was very cool in this area and apparently way ahead of its time.
2K5 did not feature updates about other games or highlights while you were playing a game though. It was only during the weekly SportsCenter show.
 
# 14 jaider @ 06/08/12 05:58 PM
Yeah...if they could implement 2k5s presentation..that would be awesome!!!
 
# 15 jyoung @ 06/08/12 06:23 PM
Honestly, after playing the demo, I'd prefer to have all the studio updates confined to a half-time show and post-game show instead of them coming up during the game and interrupting the flow.

I just wanted to skip through all the studio updates in the demo and keep playing, as Rece Davis comes in way too much.
 
# 16 Sydney Deane @ 06/08/12 06:29 PM
Can we actually play as recruits at camps, combines, 7 on 7 etc. in dynasty, so we'd get a feel for their strengths and weaknesses. Is it strictly talk to recruits and obtain attributes, see you on campus.
 
# 17 bobtrain @ 06/08/12 06:44 PM
To bad you cannot export draft classes or Road to Glory into Madden. That stinks!!
 
# 18 BA2929 @ 06/08/12 06:45 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by jyoung
Honestly, after playing the demo, I'd prefer to have all the studio updates confined to a half-time show and post-game show instead of them coming up during the game and interrupting the flow.

I just wanted to skip through all the studio updates in the demo and keep playing, as Rece Davis comes in way too much.
I totally agree. I'm just hoping one of two things was happening in the demo:

1) EA was just showing them off in the demo so they stuck so many of them in one game

2) By playing 8 minute quarters they won't seem so intrusive.
 
# 19 spanky911 @ 06/08/12 07:25 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by jyoung
Honestly, after playing the demo, I'd prefer to have all the studio updates confined to a half-time show and post-game show instead of them coming up during the game and interrupting the flow.

I just wanted to skip through all the studio updates in the demo and keep playing, as Rece Davis comes in way too much.
in Dynasty I'm hoping these updates are more meaningful, as they should have more implications in the season. In the demo they are just annoying, though.
 
# 20 BostonsDaBest @ 06/08/12 07:45 PM
Have you seen anything about Triple Threat athletes in your previews? I'm hypedfor this because I want to have a team of interchangeable QB's, RB's, WR's and DB's this year.
 

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