Submitted on: 07/17/2013 by
What is your review of NCAA Football 14?
Ben Vollmer: My experience with NCAA '14 thus far is actually pretty easy to describe: the game is fun to play for the first time in years. Ultimately, that's what it all comes down to for me. The fact of the matter is that the series has been incredibly frustrating since NCAA '06, and that has been heartbreaking to me as a huge fan of college football. It didn't need to be perfect, it just needed to be fun again.
There are a lot of improvements that I've really enjoyed thus far. The first of which is that just about every play actually works this year - at least offensively. Not only is this great for the replayability of NCAA '14, it helps the CPU give you a competitive game of football. When I think about college football, I think about opening up the playbook and getting it to your playmakers. That's exactly what my experience has been like thus far, and I'm loving being able to use every play and every formation in my playbook. Defensively, EA still needs to tighten up the zones a little bit. Especially when you're playing against the CPU, the middle seems too soft and can be a little too easy to exploit. Not to mention, the defensive back glitch has made its way over from NCAA '13 in a slightly less pronounced manner, so we should keep an eye on that as well.
NCAA Football still hasn't reached the heights of some of the more prestigious sports video games, but it has taken a few steps in the right direction. We're looking at a game that finally works in almost every aspect, and delivers on all of its promises. This is the first year where expectations have been exceeded for me, and I'd like to think EA can take that momentum into the next generation of consoles. Thumbs Up
Matthew Coe: In limited time with NCAA Football 14, I've had great experiences initially. I have to say that I'm very pleased with this year's effort. I'm generally happy with the line play, new ball carrier moves, new spread option plays, and extremely adjustable difficulty settings. NCAA 14 is a really good game and the best since NCAA Football '06. This year's game just feels good to play and is a breath of fresh air.
One theme I have felt in playing this year's game however, is there is still room for improvement in NCAA.
This game is a great most of the time, but there are so many little things that could have made it an all-time instant classic. I'm still looking forward to the updates in the uniform store, still looking forward to (hopefully) seeing a patch to address aggressive defensive backs on All-American and Heisman difficulty, and I'm watching all of the slider threads on OS closely. In the past I've been guilty or tweaking sliders as much or more than I have played the game, and I don't want to let that happen again this year. I'm gonna try to find a decent set that fits my play style and roll with it. I hate to come back to it, but I see so much room for improvement in recruiting, roster management, AI decision making, presentation in dynasty mode (not just commentary) and so much more that I'm hoping to see in the next couple of iterations, especially on next-gen hardware. While I would say that I'm satisfied with this year's effort for the most part, I'd like a patch to address overly aggressive DB play, and I'd like a renewed focus on RTG mode and a overhaul of recruiting as well as an expansion of the skill trees next year.
For now, I'm happy with NCAA Football 14 and I see myself putting in a lot of hours this year with Infinity Engine 2.0 driving much of the gameplay. Overall, I'd give this year's game a big thumbs up so far! I'm playing the game more often and more frequently early on than any other NCAA Football game on this generation so far. Ultimate Team is a fun little addition too that I've spent quite some time with. Thumbs Up.
Chris Sanner: This year's NCAA Football has been released and I'm honestly pretty happy with this year's edition. There are some quirks which will probably not be fixed until next-gen, if then even, but this year's game seems to play the best version of NCAA Football yet on next-gen consoles.
The gameplay this year is about as good as this series has had, although I'm finding the defenses are sometimes powerless thanks to the variety of options (literally) the offense can employ. Defense needs serious attention in EA Football as a whole, if only to make it more fun and to put some power back into your hands -- zones just seem to be off still largely, despite huge advances in the past few years over the defensive AI.
Dynasty mode is good, the recruiting is good but different. You have to adjust your tactics to get the players you want. It's a good streamlined system, and I hope it's refined moreso than revamped in coming years.
While NCAA Football 14 can't be mistook for perfect, it's a solid game worthy of your attention. If you are a fan of the series, this is the best it's had to offer on this generation of consoles. You should buy it and enjoy it yourself before making the jump to next-gen football this winter. Thumbs Up.
Submitted on: 07/17/2013 by
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