I only have one shot this year..help me decide

[jestep123]

Here is the deal. Usually, I get both EA games every year. I love both college and pro football. This year however, I recently lost my job so I am under strict order from the wife that I can only get one of the two games this year.

Which one do you choose based on the retail copy of NCAA and the demo and all we know of Madden?

Also, do you ever make this choice, either this year or in previous years, based on who is going to be on your roster and how good the teams that you are planning to use are projected to be in real life?

For instance, I graduated from the University of Louisville and I am a Bengals fan. 3 years ago U of L was one game away from the NC game and the Bengals were still mediocre. So that would have been a slam dunk to get the NCAA game. Now the Bengals are decent, they signed TO and U of L is picked to finish dead last in the BE. I still want opinions on which one I should pick up based on gameplay but I was just interested to know if people make decisons based on how their team is projected to be in real life.

Thanks for the Help.

Edit: Sorry, I should also add that I have NCAA 10 and APF 2k8 already.

Edit: I trust the knowledge of the community more than my own, so vote in the poll because I am going to let you guys decide. Dont worry. I am sure I will like either game, just looking for opinions leaning either way.

Also, sorry if this isnt the right place for this. It can be moved if necessary.

[ODogg]

I have retail copies for both Madden and NCAA. They are both very good football games. Not perfect but very high quality IMO. Honestly I think both are neck and neck but I would get NCAA because I'm a college fan. So I think to answer you question you need to ask yourself which you look forward to most in the fall, Saturday's or Sunday's?

The only other thing I think you might need to consider is this; are you interested in an online dynasty/franchise? If you are then NCAA 11 is by far the way to go. But aside from that both games are great and I think you'll be happy with either one.

[ODogg]

Oh and I'm an NFL fan too, I should have said I'm more of a college fan both in the real world and also in the video game world. I say in the video game world because there are many more teams with a much greater variety of how they play.

[jestep123]

Quote: Originally Posted by ODogg

Oh and I'm an NFL fan too, I should have said I'm more of a college fan both in the real world and also in the video game world. I say in the video game world because there are many more teams with a much greater variety of how they play.

Really good points here. I was actually LEANING towards Madden because I played the demo and I was impressed. Peyton Manning faked to Addai in the shotgun and threw to Clark for a TD and it was SPOT ON. I have seen that play before in real life and I dont even follow the Colts. Very impressive. However, you make a GREAT point about the play styles. That really has me thinking.

[speedkills]

Since Madden is using the same engine the two retail builds should be the same quality on the field. Off the field stuff, NCAA is more robust by far but both of these titles are going to be the best ever in their series IMO.

It comes down to which do you enjoy MORE - the NFL or College.

For me, it's a no brainer. College football is way more compelling. The NFL is boring to me.

[ODogg]

Yeah jestep - I think you'd get more replay out of NCAA 11 considering playing as Army is so different than playing as Ohio State. Both in dynasty and how they play in regards to style of play. Much different than say the Browns vs. the Saints. The NFL is just more homogenous (sp??) in regards to teams being much more similar in how they play, with the difference being a gap in talent. But even then the talent gap isn't even that small, as you can see each year in the NFL when teams go from 6-10 one year to 13-3 the next.

With all that being said though, if you love the NFL more then that may be right for you over NCAA 11. Not trying to convince you of what I find most interesting, but that is just my opinion. Either way I think you'll be happy as both games seem great.

[jestep123]

One of my biggest concerns is pro-tak. This is a good idea but man was it overused in Madden 10. I assume this is NCAA 11 first real shot at Pro tak. Is it overused in either game?

One thing I noticed about the Madden demo is that their seemed to be less pro tak moments and that made it feel alot better.

[Mack Attack 11]

Just my two cents but keep in mind that your poll is being posted in the NCAA forum so your results will probably be slanted that way. Just saying.

My opinion is this year Ian and his friends decided to do nothing to online or offline franchise. Therefore, I wrote off Madden at that point and went with NCAA. I am a franchise player...more offline than online. However I did the online franchise in Madden last year and must say it looked like a Commodore 64 program compared to NCAA online dynasty this year. Realizing that they did not touch this feature in M11 sealed the deal.

Also, the way they have redesigned recruiting this year is unbelievable. I always enjoyed it in the past but this year doubled the enjoyment factor. I know some people don't like it but I love it. The demo for NCAA does not do it justice. The full version is an excellent game because you can customize to your liking. I think for replay value NCAA is your best bet.

But as Odogg says I think it come down to your preference. However, I enjoy the NFL more so in real life but prefer the NCAA game. I have always thought NCAA team made a better game than Madden for 15 years now. Just a much deeper game.