The "why I love NCAA 14 three years later" thread

[Hellisan]

If you're still playing NCAA 14, or even if you're on a break but still love it, and feel like sharing why after all this time, step right up. I mean, we now know most everything there is to know about the game. I have some minor niggles, such as the way the coach system rewards breaking records and things of that nature, that's lame.

Bad teams winning, then having the BCS system ignore their horrible schedule strength, that is pretty lame - but fixable with the ability to sim them a loss if so inclined (never actually done this yet, wish I had averted the Jordan Lynch/NIU title in year 1 of my chise).

It's almost impossible to lose the time of possession battle (I simply stopped reporting this in my dynasty).

In certain games it seems obvious the cpu is reading your play calls with what they set up to defend or attack what you're doing...

But on to why I love it.

More than any other NCAA football game, when I start up a game I feel like anything could happen. I could win a game on a punt return, or lose a game on an ill-timed penalty. Or have a ball bounce off my player's helmet, into the waiting hands of the other team for a huge touchdown. Any of these things might have been possible in a previous NCAA game, however these impressive moments seem to happen more often in this game. Or more accurately, things that surprise me happen more often. Things I never saw coming and make my jaw drop as we grasped victory from the jaws of defeat, or vice versa in a way I'd never seen previously.

I played a game that went to OT one time in which I forced three fumbles in the game (randomly, not the settings), recovered none of the three, and lost by the slimmest of margins.

I won a game where I was down significantly and came back, with the comeback touched off by a 70+ yard touchdown catch and run by my TE, the slowest skill player on the field.

I've seen times where my WR makes a great cut, and I think he's going to make an easy long gain and somebody flies in and tips it away. Or times where there was blanket coverage, I accidentally threw it up for grabs, and the defender just seemed to lose track of it. In other games it was always the same, even down to the leap and bat animatino, how the CPU would perfectly defend any deep pass that wasn't wide open (unless you rocket jump which I've rarely been able to pull off).

I've struggled to get any sacks in a game or even 2-3 games in a row and then gotten 8 very natural looking sacks in a game later on in the season. I've seen players come untouched right up the middle for a sack, and countless examples of the perfect throwing pocket in other games. It doesn't seem so rote in this game, so pre-ordained that the game will play a certain way, and allow you to win or lose a certain way.

One time my WR made 6 pancakes in a game and sprung two large runs pretty much by himself; I went back and found all the pancakes just for fun on my recording.

The modern offense with the fast quarterbacks provides a challenge as they usually keep your guys on the field and it can be difficult to stop a combo of a fast QB and good HB. My rushing yards allowed aren't as embarrassingly low as in any other NCAA game I've played.

There are games when 'robo qb' almost needs to be pulled out of the vernacular drawer but then I face a superior team in a game I think I'm going to lose and their QB throws 3 INT, takes 7 sacks and gives up a fumble and we blow the team out.

I had a close game where one of my players fumbled, only to be ripped himself and get the fumble recovered by my QB, who was just dawdling around like an idiot until the ball popped loose. Those types of plays feel like real football when they stun you like that.

I've won games in overtime where I could only kick a field goal, and then intercepted the other team in the back of the end zone to seal it.

The very best thing about this game for me is that I don't need to turn on crazy sliders to get a good game. I simply don't call those really good plays any more often than I call the bad ones. For me, using the entire playbook gives me just the right amount of challenge, and there's room to grow on the difficulty if I need it.

I hope we get an NCAA game within the near future but I think I'll be playing this one for a long time regardless, as any new NCAA game would need a couple years to ramp up to being really good and feature laden.

[JoshC1977]

This game has easily been my most played game on the PS3 generation and I still love it. I spent much of that three years working on sliders, but in the course of that, met some awesome people on this forum that I consider to be friends. Spending hours upon hours on Twitch with Matt10 (I remember a particular Saturday where we spent 10+ hours running nothing but curl patterns in a vain attempt to fix the "DB Dropback" glitch). It was almost as much fun figuring out the mechanics of the game with others as passionate about this game as I am.

In the last few months, I am actually 100% satisfied with my sliders and while I still suffer from "Dyansty Restart Syndrome", I still love this game. I love the collegiate environment, I love the diversity of teams, I love the fact we can (for the most part) modify every aspect of our rosters/dynasties to our hearts' content.

While EA has made some tremendous strides in the technical aspects of Madden, there is just something about this game that just completely sucks me in. I care about my teams, my players, and my dynasties. I love playing my game with one eye on the "bottom line" to see if that team I am battling with in my conference is losing. I love watching the Heisman race and seeing if my stud player is moving up. I love just randomly picking another game in the schedule and playing it when two great teams are facing one another (quitting of course right at the end so I don't affect the "integrity" of the season).

I started a new "project" by loading-up 2013 rosters and starting with Temple to see if I can replicate their ascension into national prominence by 2015. Having to go to battle again versus Bortles and Bridgewater in AAC action brings back some good (recent) memories.

Yes.....no game is perfect....but man has it taken my heart.

[nofx94]

I love having communities like OS and Utopia to see people's strategy and to see what they're still doing with the game. I love the updated and retro rosters. I love all the different playbook ideas. The last PS3 NCAA I owned before this was 11, and before that 09. Both broken games in their own way. 14 is the most complete I've seen. Feature laden but not bloated-feeling. And I've personally dealt with far less glitches.

And even though it lacks the spring game and player suspensions it feels to me that it has regained some of the character and imagination of the generation six system games. Even though I usually don't watch the halftime show, I like that it's there. I like the across the conference updates, done with much more presentational gusto than in the past. I could do without the Nissan ads, but such is life.

I love custom conferences. I love that, even though I haven't done it, people have come up with ways to run 4 and 8 team playoffs.

And I love all the things I've always loved. Building programs from nothing, rebuilding lost programs, winning recruiting battles and creating and modifying systems based on personnel.

I like how the coach carousel works and that you can end up coaching against your former assistants. I love that pitches are dynamic and evolve with your team and your conference.

As far as I can tell, this game's dynasty mode doesn't even have a limit. Which is insane.

I love getting to emulate real life coaches and systems and try to combine different ideas and concepts and make dream game matchups without any of the holdups and politics those sorts of things get met with in real life.

I love that the game went out with a bang instead of a wimper. If this is the last one we ever get, it's nice that it's this great. There are gripes to be found, but far lesser than in the past, and when you take a few years off it's easier to enjoy the perks and additions. I mean, it's been forever since a game was even in the conversation of being as good as 06, a game that came out ten years ago. It's nice that we're at least debating how awesome NCAA 14 is

[lupathkep]

well, It's nice that we're at least debating how awesome NCAA 14 is

[midero]

I have had a break from NCAA 14 ever since Madden 15 got released....but I played that so much that I now can't enjoy Madden 16 and so I'm considering dusting off my PS 3 and go play NCAA 14 again.


In a lot of ways NCAA 14 is just so much better than Madden. But the one thing that makes it so great for me is that I managed to get the sliders right so every game is a challenge (never managed that on Madden)

[Cardot]

I am still enjoying '14 and have no plans to stop playing for the foreseeable future.

I still HATE the entrances....Loved them in '12 and '13. Also bummed about custom sounds glitch. But still a fun game to play.

My favorite part might be that Ultimate Team is not completely in my face like it seems to be with every other sports game these days.

[StoneCalf]

Quote: Originally Posted by Cardot

I still HATE the entrances....Loved them in '12 and '13.

I'm with you on that. I'm not usually too concerned with presentation like that, but it's pretty bad when the pre-game presentation shows highlights (tackles, etc) for a game that hasn't even occurred yet.

[Cardot]

Quote: Originally Posted by StoneCalf

I'm with you on that. I'm not usually too concerned with presentation like that, but it's pretty bad when the pre-game presentation shows highlights (tackles, etc) for a game that hasn't even occurred yet.

Agreed. I also don't go too overboard with the presentation stuff, but there was just something cool about the players walking up through the tunnel as they were about to charge on the field. EA did a really good job capturing that pregame feel....it was a shame they trashed it in '14.