Honest Assessment of NCAA 10

[kindella2]

whats funny is that regardless of whether the game is great he and others will start playing with the opinion that the game is terrible and wont get past that no matter the changes/upgrades that are included. Its a mindset thats already established with no chance for change.

[GatorFan1963]

Quote: Originally Posted by doctorhay53

This must be the horrible analogy thread now. But seriously, I am going to laugh so hard when the over-hype machine for Madden comes crashing down. From the videos I've seen, I really think it's funny that people are thinking Madden is so great, yet NCAA is not going to live up to what were already low expectations for most people. Rent it, read some reviews, something, but don't write it off. And don't crown Madden the king of all video games. That's all I'm asking, for a little more sanity and a little less stupid drama.

I don't think this is a NCAA vs Madden comparison. Well to some people it is. The main thing to me in your post is the reference to "low expectations". That right there pretty much sums up NCAA. It's the low expectations that's driving people to write these posts. You are right...Madden could suck completely, but it at least looks like they are putting some sort of effort into trying to get $60 out of me. NCAA on the other hand is going to write 3 blogs about how Season Showdown is so great. Really? It's that great it deserves 3 blogs?

Sometimes I think we lose sight of the fact that these boards are purely subjective. Nobody's opinion is fact. If you like the game...fine. If you don't like the game...fine. But what I find funny is that we argue about giving our "honest assessment" of this game before it has come out, but yet we are all college football fans. Meaning there are tons of PRESEASON top 25 polls...which means the teams haven't played one freakin game and yet they are being ranked (according to their performances last year, players leaving, etc). So when a college football fan tells me I can't rate the game...a game in which I have played the previous version and have seen gameplay footage of the new version...I find that hilarious.

[leetdemon]

Quote: Originally Posted by 2krules

An honest assessment of NCAA 10 cannot be made by anyone who has not played it.

exactly.....op stfu until you have actually played the game...just QFT

[doctorhay53]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bootzilla

Ummm..........I haven't written off anything. Sanity? Stupid drama? Crowning video games? Huh? You seem to be predicting eminent doom for Madden by saying how hard you're going to laugh when the "over-hype machine for Madden comes crashing down." Okay. I just think that everyone who jumped all over the original poster for being able to form an opinion based on everything we know and after seeing actual gameplay video is silly. Question to you. From what you've seen which game has shown the greater on field improvements (this includes presentation) from 09 to 10? Madden or NCAA?

I fully admit that Madden appears to have more improvements. To be honest, though, the only thing that stood out to me was the player's speed. I hope they tweak NCAA before release to make it look a little more like Madden.

However, shouldn't Madden have more improvements? It's EA's bread and butter, the identity of EA sports in many respects. They probably have twice the people and twice the money of NCAA, easy. I can't possibly expect that NCAA could fully keep up. With their natural handicap in mind, I think they've done an above average job of improving the game.

This is what happens when so many people treat 'fluff' as a gamebreaking problem. If you're mad about team entrances, which you will skip or get bored of after 5 games, I don't think you really care about the same issues as me. Here is how I kind of break down their performance from the info I have so far:

Good:
CAS: Whether you personally like it or not, you have to admit that this was one of the most requested features. The web-based creation process is cutting-edge, fresh, easy-to-use, and quite fun. I don't usually use CAS either, but in this format, it takes me almost no work to set it up, I have fun doing it, and I will have fun playing it.

Recruiting changes: A little extra depth added to a fairly deep system. Got a player who just won't ditch Florida for you? Recruit against them, if you can find something...Any new depth in dynasty is good for me.

Gameplay: Many of the gameplay features I think are tough to see in a couple videos. It will take some time to really get a feel for how different the WR/DB and OL/DL interactions really are, as well as the QB pass changes. The plus here is that they made ALOT of gameplay changes. They improved AI in a number of ways, both on the field and in playcalling. They touched on and made an effort on virtually every issue that was brought up with last year's game. Whether or not they actually fixed it will have to be seen, but at least I don't feel like they didn't listen. Pursuit angles, not running out of bounds, improved CPU option play; all these things are very important to me and much of the community; just remember how the board was last year. But they also added some depth by adding setup plays, gameplanning, and improved CPU AI. It's a win-win. I also like the new camera angle.

Bad:
Season Showdown: What a horrible waste of space that is going to be on my NCAA 10 disc.

Gameplay changes:Is it weird this is on both lists? Yeah, probably. But I am putting it here because I do admit that compared to Madden, NCAA could have used a little more touch in this area. Again, though, I haven't played the game so I have no idea how much of a negative this will turn out to be. Only time will tell whether or not the improvements they made are enough.

Lack of dynasty depth: While recruiting changes are nice, it seems that dynasty will still be very static. Formation subs would be a huge plus, but it would also be nice if CPU coaches would change teams, if there was some reason to gameplan against your opponent, etc. Hopefully there are some depth additions that haven't been discussed.


That's how I see it, and it's my opinion. Typical of human nature though, as much as they've given many people have already taken and said 'yeah but....what about X?' To you I say: I feel your pain, there are things I want that aren't here. But I respect the effort they've put in to listen to the huge range of 'gamebreaking' requests they've had. They touched on many of my issues still, and I will play the game. They don't have the resources of Madden and as hard as it is, you have to try not to compare the two when making your decision about NCAA. Enjoy it for what it is. However, lack of player entrances and such I will never understand how that could be a gamebreaker. Is there really anyone out there who doesn't get bored with that after watching the exact same thing 50 times?

[BigDofBA]

Quote: Originally Posted by boxtrev

From what I have seen and read. I am not anti-EA or anything. I am anti-crappy games like the NCAA series has become. I love EA games that are made well. And Madden 10 looks to be shaping up to be one of those games. Honestly and objectively compare Madden 10 and NCAA 10 and you will see that NCAA 10 is just a dud. I just watched another gameplay video. It looks like the broken screen play has made a return. The guy threw a HB screen and ran all the way for a TD. Great.

How can you judge a game you haven't played?

[ODogg]

Quote: Originally Posted by BigDofBA

How can you judge a game you haven't played?

Because with EA's track record and the videos, screens and info released so far it's pretty easy to judge a game, with probable unerring accuracy, that you haven't played.

[SHO]

Quote: Originally Posted by ODogg

Because with EA's track record and the videos, screens and info released so far it's pretty easy to judge a game, with probable unerring accuracy, that you haven't played.

This.