NCAA Football 13 Gameplay Video - Oregon vs. USC - Part 2

[gator3guy]

Re: NCAA Football 13 Gameplay Video - Oregon vs. USC - Part 2

When I watch that video I get the impression that '13 will be an improvement over '12. A marginal improvement, but an improvement nonetheless. That's nice and all... But when I think back and try to assess '12, I think of it as a decent-to-good VIDEOGAME and a below average FOOTBALL SIM that I kinda enjoyed for a (very) short while. Basically, my ability to enjoy the game lasted as long as the realization of what this series has(n't) accomplished on this gen remained suppressed. Once the memories of all the times I told my self that '11 or '10 weren't "THAT bad", or how I felt the night '09, the year I really thought was going to bring the series back to last-gen levels of enjoyment, came out and I mistook the new "WIDE-OPEN OFFENSE" for someone taking a rather sizable dump in my house with a "WIDE-OPEN BATHROOM DOOR", I just can't enjoy the "new" iterations of the series anymore. To put it eloquently, when I think of NCAA '09, I think of ca-ca doo-doo elephant pharts. I don't see '13 doing much of anything to keep those horrible memories at bay.

The series just hasn't done anything special this gen. The hardware and, I assume the potential for specialness, has improved but the game itself is just.... Bleh... The first three years of this gen, in my opinion, were headed in a terrible direction. Then they took a hard turn towards a better place, and have been coasting along at 20-below the speed limit ever since.

Commentary? Probably the worst of any sim-style sports game this gen. Perhaps only marginally better than their commentary from last-gen. I don't know if it's a lack of something on the part of the guys at EA, or a lack of give-a-damn from the hired talent, but it just isn't working.

Gameplay? Super bleh. Ultra-mega bleh. I can't think of anything they've done or added to the gameplay thus gen that could be described using an adjective that belongs in the same dictionary as "revolutionary". Issues remain in year after year. Line play has went from laughably bad in NCAA '07, to just plain ole bad today. The gameplay has been buried so deep in mediocrity for so long that I actually get excited when I hear about tweaked pass trajectories or 3-5-7 step drop backs (which look awful to me) until I realize that these are fundamental aspects of the game of football that should be refined each device cycle, without the need to sound the trumpets and act as if they're some sort of triumph. I should notice these improvements when I pop the game in, not when you're hyping it up months before release.

Graphics and player models are adequate, for the most part. Although I feel like they're freaking taunting us with the "Dreadator". You know, the monstrous beast that crawls up under the helmets of a few players and (I can only assume, given its frightening appearance) sucks their innards out through a hole it bores into the unfortunate student-athlete's skull. Seriously, who the hell looked at and said "yep, that's a thing that exists. That'll surely please our fans who requested we add dreadlocks"?! And the beast has remained, his quest for blood unimpeded, for years despite our numerous cries for help/mercy.

The animations? Robotic. It's like watching a physical manifestation of a T-Pain song. It tries to act like it's football, but we know it's not football. Not even close.

The series, to me, is reminiscent of a fat guy at the gym who just hopped on a treadmill, set it to "elderly turtle" and just went to town. "At least I'm in the gym!" he says to which someone responds "Yeah, I guess. But you're still fat and nothing I'm seeing is going to change that anytime soon. Also, the exclusive rights to that treadmill you currently have are preventing someone from getting on it and doing something worthwhile. So, please, start running or get the hell off."

The studio update thing seems like a relatively big addition (in the dev's eyes, at least). When I heard about it got an idea of how it'd be implemented in my head, and I made sure to keep my expectations in check. But then I saw it... And it was literally about as plain/white bread/generic as I could have possibly imagined. I mean, it's nice that it exists and all... But that's about the only positive thing I can say about. It's there. It exists. And that's pretty much it. It sort of epitomizes the overwhelming "ehhhh..." feeling I get from NCAA now. And I'm tired of saying "ehhhh..."

/ridiculous rant

Completely agree man.

I think you and me are in the same boat. Hoping one day NCAA brings back the replay value that NCAA 03-06 brought. I highly doubt we will see that on this generation. This generation was an utter disaster in my eyes. Only way I think they get away from the staleness is moving to the next gen and/or gut the whole dev team and getting fresh and innovative minds in there.

[jmik58]

It really does look basically the same on the field to last year, which isn't a great thing in my opinion.

The very first play the CPU defense was misaligned horribly. An audible to a run play to the right would have been a guaranteed 20-yard gain.

I also noticed the corner on that touchdown. He dropped back into a deep zone so everything should have been in front of him. He acted like he never saw the pass. His back wasn't to the play; it made no sense.

Finally, I notice the LB and secondary react instantly and perfectly to whether it's a pass or run. There is no "read and react defense" by the true sense of the word. The defense is still going to know your play.

Write it down now. Instead of psychic DBs, people will turn their complaints to psychic defenses in general.

[Cane305]

Anyone have an idea of a release date for the demo? Forget when it usually comes out

[LionsFanNJ]

I have to play the game before I can judge it. The most touted features this year are gameplay related. You can't really see that in the 4 min vid.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I wouldn't completely give up on the game after a 4 min video.

I think more than anything I'm annoyed marketing chose THIS as video promotion of gameplay when all the gameplay enhancements they tout are not shown. I really hope in future vids we can see read and react defense and passing, as well as a capable CPU running the option and not panicking on screen passes. We shall see though.

[Ziza9Noles94]

Re: NCAA Football 13 Gameplay Video - Oregon vs. USC - Part 2

I'd like to see the game played on a level higher than Varsity before I judge the gameplay. That DB stand-still in the endzone looks very Varsity to me. I'll wait until I have at least a demo in hand to play on a real level where the AI matters before judging. I noticed a few differences in the video, but I agree, why show gameplay that doesn't specifically show off all the newly touted improvements.

[pirates946]

Re: NCAA Football 13 Gameplay Video - Oregon vs. USC - Part 2

Did look a bit smoother than last year, but did look almost the exact same unfortunately. The in game updates did seem choppy, but at least we have em so I like it. They made some nice updates to Dynasty, so I cant complain. Im 50/50 on whether I like the game or not, but Im 100 percent sure Im buying like always. Love CFB too much

[aerovt]

Re: NCAA Football 13 Gameplay Video - Oregon vs. USC - Part 2

I have to play the game before I can judge it. The most touted features this year are gameplay related. You can't really see that in the 4 min vid.

wait, what? The only real changes this year were the recruiting/dynasty changes. All the gameplay changes were basically just cosmetic other than read/react. And as much as read/react could improve the game, I have a feeling (with no evidence to deny it, and some hints to confirm it) that its the same as last year but where they add head movement for visuals.

I do have to agree though, I'll have to play the demo to totally give up on it. But its not looking too promising from what they've show thus far

[TheRegan]

Re: NCAA Football 13 Gameplay Video - Oregon vs. USC - Part 2

Man this game is sooooooooooooooooooo unrealistic looking. Oregon has worn that uni combo before, they would never ever do something like that in real life.

On a non-sarcastic note, is it just me or does the crowd look like it has more depth compared to last year?

[PVarck31]

Re: NCAA Football 13 Gameplay Video - Oregon vs. USC - Part 2

wait, what? The only real changes this year were the recruiting/dynasty changes. All the gameplay changes were basically just cosmetic other than read/react. And as much as read/react could improve the game, I have a feeling (with no evidence to deny it) that its the same game but where they add head movement for cosmetics only

20+ new pass trajectories. Proper drop backs, shovel passes, PA fixes, and proper alignment on D. That's what I remember off hand.

May not be the sexiest changes, but I think it practice they should make for a better game.

[Playmakers]

Re: NCAA Football 13 Gameplay Video - Oregon vs. USC - Part 2

I think they made the game $45 for a reason now lol

If only this was true.....

Honestly i'm not feeling good about spending $60 bucks again. The game was a marginal imporvement last year. It looks like a marginal improvement again this year.

I don't like to complain i just try to give feedback from both a positive and negative standpoint.

But EA makes it hard to defend purchasing their game year after year when they continue to take 1 step forward and 2 steps backwards.

Some games like NBA 2K12 and MLB The Show i can enjoy those games right out the box and therefor i hardly ever post in those forums because the gameplay, animations and atmosphere is basically what i expect out of the games after 5-6 years of developement on the XBOX 360/PS3.

But the NCAA series is turning into Madden for me......prior to Madden 12 i couldn't really enjoy the game long term because i felt it was stale and basically the same game year after year with marginal upgrades at best.

This series was once my favorite sports game but now between NCAA 12 and the upcoming release of NCAA 13 i just seem to have lost all the faith in EA to make this game fun and addicting for me long term.

[Spanky]

Re: NCAA Football 13 Gameplay Video - Oregon vs. USC - Part 2

Pretty disappointed myself

Agree wholeheartedly.

Come on Ben, who picked THAT clip to promote this game? Lifeless was the word that came to mind. You managed to turn a stadium that holds 90,000 into a library.

And don't get me started on the commentary. Dull, uninspired, lacking passion and pride. Way too much dead air. Ben, do yourself a favor and play NBA 2k. You'll be enlightened on how commentary should be.

A week's supply of Viagra couldn't get me up for that video.

[SageInfinite]

Re: NCAA Football 13 Gameplay Video - Oregon vs. USC - Part 2

Also imo that first past play shouldn't have been completed. The tight end's pass animation froze to catch the pass, other than that it would've been behind him. With all the catch animations I would've hoped we wouldn't see this type of ugly stuff.

I think this was just a bad video to show off the game. The trajectories looked exactly the same as last year, and we know that as well as the ball speed has been fixed. Couldn't tell from this video.

[sk]

Re: NCAA Football 13 Gameplay Video - Oregon vs. USC - Part 2

It really does look basically the same on the field to last year, which isn't a great thing in my opinion.

The very first play the CPU defense was misaligned horribly. An audible to a run play to the right would have been a guaranteed 20-yard gain.

I also noticed the corner on that touchdown. He dropped back into a deep zone so everything should have been in front of him. He acted like he never saw the pass. His back wasn't to the play; it made no sense.

Finally, I notice the LB and secondary react instantly and perfectly to whether it's a pass or run. There is no "read and react defense" by the true sense of the word. The defense is still going to know your play.

Write it down now. Instead of psychic DBs, people will turn their complaints to psychic defenses in general.

The CPU does NOT know what type of play you are gonna run.

:22 It's a 7 step drop back yet the defense is running a 4-3 formation. If the defense knew it was a pass play why did they not come out in a nickel or dime package?

1:10 How many coaches would call for a dime or nickel package when the offense comes out with 2 WRs and 2 TE? Nobody does that, calling a 4-3 base defense is normal and smart. Further evidence? Only the strongside and middle linebacker blitzed, the weakside LB stayed back meaniing it was obviously a blitz play-call and the CBs follow the WRs routes instead of running straight for the RB.

1:48 Seems pretty normal, come out with 3 WRs and the defense combats that with a nickel package.

2:19 it's 3rd and 6, meaning you could either pass or run but most likely pass and you come out with 3 WRs...well of course the defense is gonna come out in a nickel.

3:01 again, 2 TE 2 WR don't you think the defense will run their base 4-3 package?

3:30 again 3 WRs vs a nickel.

The dude using USC just sucks, simple as that...or he was purposely playing poorly because he wanted to prolong the only drive he's allowed to show.

There were so many WRs wide open kill Oregon's zone, doesn't sound like a team that's psychic to me.

[UConcord11]

EA how hard is it to implement realistic TD celebrations. how much money does it take?

[aerovt]

Re: NCAA Football 13 Gameplay Video - Oregon vs. USC - Part 2

20+ new pass trajectories. Proper drop backs, shovel passes, PA fixes, and proper alignment on D. That's what I remember off hand.

May not be the sexiest changes, but I think it practice they should make for a better game.

oh yea, forgot about some of those. Shovel passes and alignment will be nice, but the drop back and new pump fake are cosmetic. Pass trajectories I still have my doubts about working. Pocket movement wont work as DTs get all the pressure anyways, so there is no pocket