Regarding NCAA Football Series/EA Sports

[MNHuskerman]

Thanks for the responses.

Sundown, warts and all, I do enjoy the demo and look forward to buying and playing the new game. I have not bought an NCAA Football title since the 2011 game, but see enough improvements in the 2014 version to warrant a purchase. I think the good will definitely outweigh the bad in this years' game.

The game does feel fresh and I attribute that mostly to the IE 2.0. Also, the improvements in the line play and particularly the improved option play really have me believing the game play can and will be better than ever. I just wish that wasn't at the expense of the graphics. We should be at a stage now where we can have the best NCAA Football game ever, in all areas not just a few.

I will buy the game day one, and will most likely enjoy it. I do also look forward to playing in an online league with my brother and cousins. I just wish for once I could believe that EA put their absolute best foot forward and gave us the best game they could possibly make. I believe they can and should put out a better product. Lord knows they have taken plenty of our hard earned $$$ over the years and should have the resources available to give us a better game. Perhaps the Ignite Engine and next gen technology will provide the missing ingredients needed to make this game truly great. And believe me when I say this, when they do put out that truly great NCAA Football game we all want, I will be one of the first ones in line to sing their praises and give them props for their efforts.

[buickbeast]

Quote: Originally Posted by Sundown2600

Why buy a game knowing you're gonna play it with mixed emotions?

Dude, it's college football. It is by far my favorite sport, I love basketball, but it's not even close. During the season, my Saturdays consist of me watching the games from noon until whenever the last game is. Honestly, I don't even care who's playing. Maybe it's because I live in the South and in a college town, it's just a way of life down here.
That being said, I think it is a travesty that NCAA is still years behind The Show and NBA2K series in terms of gameplay, audio and just being fun.

[MNHuskerman]

Sundown,

Not trying to go too far off topic, but may I ask which games you play that give you 100% satisfaction every time you play them? When I look in my library of games, I can maybe pick out 3 that fit the bill. NBA 2K11(yes, still the best 2K basketball game and possibly best sports game ever made IMO), Skyrim and Red Dead Redemption are the ones for me. Every time I play those games I can be 100% sure that I will have a great time and see or do something I have never done before and have an "Oh Damn" moment!

I wish I could place an NCAA Football game on that upper echelon of greatness, but would be lying if I did. And that is mostly the reason for me starting this thread. NCAA Football could be great, it just never is and I fail to see any valid reason (or excuse) why it isn't.

[LastExit]

Quote: Originally Posted by buickbeast

Dude, it's college football. It is by far my favorite sport, I love basketball, but it's not even close. During the season, my Saturdays consist of me watching the games from noon until whenever the last game is. Honestly, I don't even care who's playing. Maybe it's because I live in the South and in a college town, it's just a way of life down here. That being said, I think it is a travesty that NCAA is still years behind The Show and NBA2K series in terms of gameplay, audio and just being fun.

I'm with you on that - I've bought this game since I don't know when because I just love college football. Like yourself, I can sit all Saturday and watch games that I have no interest in just because of the atmosphere and excitement and all of it. Some of the best games I've seen have been west coast games that I couldn't care less about as far as the teams playing but it's great to catch a big upset or whatever. This is why I never want my criticism to reflect any sort of animosity towards EA - I want them to make this game better because I've gotten so much enjoyment out of it in past years.

[LastExit]

Quote: Originally Posted by HozAndMoose

That right there is why this series will never live up to my expectations. I just cant make a game feel like i did watching this game. Thats one of the best games i have ever seen. Even playing that rivalry in the game isnt the same. I love NCAA games. Ill but 14. But no matter what. NCAA will never be perfect. And if EA somehow found a way to show that tradition, rivalry, pageantry and excitement. They could put any price tag on the game and id buy it.

I don't expect a perfect game that captures real college football....in the end it's just a video game. That said, there's been a pattern of both ongoing problems and things that they've gotten right going backwards that shouldn't happen. I'm not too big on equipment but I understand the frustration of those who pine for that Revo facemask year after year and don't see it in the game. I think the folks at EA do a great job with many factors of the college atmosphere but some just leave you scratching your head (i.e. the thorn in my paw....the crowd noise). I think the best way to put it is that I don't expect perfection from the game but there are the elements to football that have been lacking that the current technology should prohibit. Tecmo Bowl had a chain gang.....why it's left out of this generation is beyond my comprehension.

[merchant1874]

I actually think the crowd noise is a wider sports game thing and not just NCAA.

Maybe NBA is ok? Not sure as I have never been to a game, but I have been to football games, MLB games and soccer games in Europe and I have to say all of the games that represent those sports don't recreate the crowd noise very well.

It's very hard to recreate the sound of real live games not to mention that the atmosphere can be very different from stadium to stadium.

[noplace]

Quote: Originally Posted by MNHuskerman

Let me preface my comments by saying, I am an "EA Fanboy" and can appreciate many aspects of the sports titles they put out. I enjoy the games for what they are. But with the NCAA Football series I always find myself wishing for more, and wanting a better product. Perhaps it's the fact that College Football, in my opinion, is the best sport on the planet. The tradition, rivalry, pagentry and excitement that is College Football is hard to convey to a video game. The excitement that many of us feel when waking up on a Saturday morning and waiting for our team to play is only surpassed by the feeling we get when the ball is teed up and kicked to start the game. So, knowing that this experience is possibly the best in all of sports, perhaps it is simply not achievable for EA to put out an NCAA Football game that approaches the "real" experience of game day. Perhaps our collective expectations should be lowered? On the other hand, if I look at the collection of EA College Football games, I could pull certain aspects from several games and envision a true "AA" College Football title. If we were able to magically combine the gameplay and extra details from NCAA 06, the graphics (player models, fields and stadiums) from NCAA 11, the recruiting from NCAA 13, and the Infinity Engine 2.0, improved line play, option game and camera angle options from NCAA 14, what a game we would have. I also look at the advantages EA has in "owning" the market, and cannot understand why they do not fully implement the ESPN rights they have? Why do we not have a College Football Gameday pre-game show? Why do we not have a fully functional half-time show? Post game show? Why do we have camera angles that look little like the real thing? And why does the community have to continually point out the "small details" EA misses that would fully immerse us in their product? I'm talking updated equipment; helmets, facemasks, gloves, sleeves, socks, shoes, etc. I'm talking realistic crowd noise, swells and eruptions on big plays, silence when the away team is beating the home team down, correct band fight songs, cheers and chants. Being able to distinguish the Texas A&M crowd from the Minnesota crowd just by listening for 20 seconds. And for the love of everything sacred, why can't EA give us a fully adjustable camera option like FIFA or that other companies basketball game??? A little extra effort by the EA team in these areas alone would really go a long ways to improving the product. I could go on longer, but have ranted long enough. I hold NCAA Football 11 at the top of this generation of EA College Football titles because of it's combination of solid, grounded gameplay and incredible graphics (yeah I said graphics and if you don't believe that pop it back in your tray and compare it to NCAA 14). The two main areas I hold in highest regard are graphics and gameplay. When I turn on NCAA 14, I should be blown away by the entire package in comparison to a title over 3 years older! I'm sorry but NCAA 14 graphically is not on the same level as NCAA 11. NCAA 11 has better player models, more realistic color, better grass, better stadiums, better crowds...it's really not close. And for me, that is disappointing. In fairness, I think NCAA 14 may win the battle in gameplay. NCAA 14 is very smooth, and the line play, run game and option game are light years ahead of NCAA 11. I will be buying and playing NCAA Football 14, but will play it with mixed emotions as I believe EA could put out a truly astonishing College Football game if it wanted to. The Ignite Engine and next gen gives me hope, but I'm not sure EA really believes that NCAA Football can or should be great, and that is where we as a community lose.

I approve this message.... I look at other developers and the efforts they've made to really capture the little things that make sports titles great, then look at this dev team and it seems they either don't care or just cant do it.. We ask for the same thing year in and out and get ignored or lied too...Its really getting old...

[majesty95]

I think it all boils down to expectations.

I can pop in NBA2k13 and have fun and not really think about what is missing. I can do the sane thing with TW14 and COD.

When I sit down to play NCAA (or Madden) my expectation level changes. I LOVE football (especially college). I've played the game, I've studied it and in some aspects I've mastered it (in gameplay terms).

My entire gameplay experience changes with football games. I can nitpick at every detail because I'm so engrossed in the real life equivalent. I've never been in the military and haven't played a lot of basketball or golf. So those games I can sit down and enjoy much more easily because I don't know what I'm missing.

I'm trying to have a more open mindset going into football games now. I've realized how much less those other games frustrate me. It's not because they are that much better. It's because I don't expect as much and don't know enough to care about what I'm missing.

I think we'd all be better off taking a step back and thinking about what we have and the enjoyment it gives us before we try to tear apart every little thing that it is not. We can certainly provide feedback and let our voices be heard about the really critical issues. But let's try to appreciate the strides they've made and the things we do have...and maybe not expect it to be a 100% accurate recreation of the game we love so much on Saturday.