Ok, just played my first game with it, my first impressions:
First off, this game is without a doubt
THE best current gen version yet. There's no way I'm popping '08 back in before July 15th. Its clear the dev team had much more efficient dev cycle than last year.
I don't wanna speak too soon..heck, i'll just say it now (if anyone experienced otherwise then let me know). At least on Varsity, the ability to effectively pressure the QB has been FIXED on both sides of the ball. One of the first plays I ran was a PA pass (we all know how those usually end up), and I was indeed sensing pressure after rolling off the fake, especially from the right DE who was fortunately held up by my tackle. I was sacked twice and pressured multiple times. I sacked the CPU 3 times and kept consistent pressure on him with various blitzes.
NO TURNOVERS!!!
Not single INT or fumble!!! WHOHOO!!! CB and safety A.I. as well as LBs in zone coverage all defend the pass realistically. Receiver route running is also very good. Perhaps to my most pleasant surprise, the receiver A.I. when running a route/catching a ball near the sidelines is MUCH improved. Quick slant and out routes that would have resulted in the receiver going into a catch animation that drove him out of bounds in previous versions now results in the A.I. wisely halting on their toes and stretching out for the ball, making the catch, then falling out of bounds if they're off-balance. And this finally happens consistently it seems. Excellent EA!! Finally, thank you!!!
CPU quick snap is not bad. Honestly, the amount of time the CPU QB took to snap the ball felt realistic overall. I was ALWAYS able to make defensive pre-snap adjustments. Overall, I can't complain here.
Ball Carrier controls feels great! I must say wide-open gameplay is a VERY welcome addition so far EA! Running with the ball feels much more fluid than before and I can see this making the running game exciting with a fast and dynamic RB. Darren McFadden was indeed the right cover boy to represent this! But honestly, perhaps moreso than the this, wide open gameplay is welcome with me because the defensive seems to have not been neutered to help it stand out. I admit, Chris Wells did (somehow) break containment and get into the open field after first trying to run up the middle on a LB blitz that he'd otherwise have no chance if one of my defenders didn't allow themselves to get stiff-armed. But thats Chris Wells for ya, and I am happy to say that beyond that 25-yard TD,
I SHUT HIM DOWN!!! So again, at least on Varsity so far, thank you EA for maintaining effectiveness of wise defensive schemes while implementing a new dynamic of the offense.
Crowd dynamics seem ok so far. Nothing about it really blew me away to be honest, but again, I didn't exactly have the volume cranked up given the time. I do like the new emphasis on stadium hostility with the route map shaking and/or QB getting rattled and forgetting which button was assigned to which receiver which can result in the player calling a hot route/putting in motion the wrong receiver and possibly screwing up the play. Nice! I have to be positively negative here. The presentation still needs work. It still leaves a lot to be desired. Cheerleaders are ok, but there are more important and effective elements to college stadium atmosphere and presentation than them. Pre-game entrances by both teams (making them authentic would do wonders for the immersion but even generic ones would be a huge improvement), actually seeing the players warm up during pre-game commentary, shots of the sidelines, shots of coach reactions to play on the field (watch just ONE college football game and tell me that doesn't happen at least 10 times), referees actually feeling like a part of the game, chain-gangs, pre-snap communication by defensive players, crowd pans showing their reactions (you don't have to increase the LOD of them during gameplay, just during the pans) all of these are but a subset of things that I would not only notice more, but would immerse me a heck of a lot more than cheerleaders.
I appreciate the new method of hiding your playcalling by assigning each play on screen to a button on the controller while allowing you to visibly toggle specific plays. Thats probably the best method since the Dreamcast NFL 2Ks (VMU playcalling was one of the coolest things ever implemented for competitive football gaming)
Lastly for now, oh so thankfully, the programmers (i'm assuming algorithmically) improved the menu funtionality!!! But still, I can only say this for in-game menus so far. There's really nothing to do menu-wise otherwise. But man it feels good for them to be fluid again.
I have yet to play this game on Heisman so all these positives are tentative. However, EA, you do deserve this because I am confident this is your best NCAA Football installment yet:
