NCAA Football 12 News Post

OS at E3: NCAA Football 12 Preview

04:20 AM - June 8, 2011 by ChaseB

Armed with a notebook full of questions and the collective weight of the OS football community on my shoulders, I entered the Los Angeles Convention Center this morning on a mission. After some solid playtime and a couple Q&A sessions later, I am now confident that 2011 has the potential to be one of the best football gaming years we've seen in recent memory.

However, before I begin I need to get one thing out of the way. I was told by an EA rep that the reason NCAA Football 12 was shown behind closed doors was to better showcase Madden, removing any possible distraction to this year's NFL offering which was front and center of EA's main display. The only other game playable on the show floor was the new Need for Speed game. FIFA 12, NHL 12, and SSX all joined NCAA 12 in being shown privately.

Read More - OS at E3: NCAA Football 12 Preview

Game: NCAA Football 12Reader Score: 7/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / Xbox 360Votes for game: 104 - View All

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Member Comments

# 1 Aggies7 @ 06/08/11 04:31 AM

Nice write up thanks Chase

# 2 HarkTheSound @ 06/08/11 04:37 AM

I have no idea why people are complaining gameplay didn't get any love this year...NCAA 11 played a solid game of football and if 12's gameplay is a super polished version of 11 I'm perfectly fine with that.

Thanks for the writeup Chase

# 3 GrnEyedBanditTN @ 06/08/11 05:16 AM

I'm more than cool w/ this preview... Looks like we will have another good one in our hands soon!

# 4 grismosw @ 06/08/11 05:39 AM

The running out of the shotgun formation needs to be fixed or its a deal breaker for me. Considering how ~50% of the teams run a spread or some variation of it I am not sure how they cannot address this.

# 5 rudyjuly2 @ 06/08/11 05:43 AM

A lot of things sound really good but if the cpu can't run out of the shotgun/spread it really hurts the realism. And sliders can't fix this really. If you boost the cpu run block sliders too much it could make the traditional sets and goal line formations over powered. We really need balance in this area and we haven't had it yet on next gen. Still excited about NCAA 12. Hopefully tuning packs can be used to help fix this.

# 6 bad_philanthropy @ 06/08/11 07:15 AM

Like rudy said, cpu needs to have the ability to be effective running out of the gun. I don't know if it's something that is related to a fundamental flaw in the way the game works, but I hope this can at least be fixed with a patch.

They could expand the sliders and have two sets of run blocking sliders (for both user and cpu). They could possibly include run blocking for plays from under center and run blocking for plays out of the shotgun.

# 7 blkrptnt819 @ 06/08/11 07:19 AM

I think they said user running out the shotgun is better just not cpu.

# 8 fsufan4423 @ 06/08/11 08:17 AM

Nice review, my only concern is....is the HDR lighting on noticeable in replays? How does that compare to actual gameplay?

# 9 Brandwin @ 06/08/11 10:31 AM

I am fine with NCAA 12 feeling like a polished version of NCAA 11. I loved last years game and with the game fixes, like improved zone defense, momentum, new talking animations, QB's actually being a threat to run, this game is going to be good again. I didn't expect a huge difference between NCAA 11 and NCAA 12 - the big leap will probably come next year with NCAA 13. I'm pretty pumped and can't wait to get my hands on the demo to see some of the improvements myself.

EDIT: I will say, I truly hope momentum is improved. It seems like every year we hear that you can really tell the difference between a power back and a speed back, and why there has been a bit of a different feel, it's nothing like we have hoped for. It is disappointing to read about the CPU not being able to establish any type of running game out of the spread. Hopefully that can be tweaked and fixed before release day or with a patch soon after the game releases.

# 10 nolefan28169 @ 06/08/11 10:50 AM

hey chase, as someone who was able to get to talk to the EA reps and NCAA producers, did you get any info as to when details of rtg will officially be released?

# 11 SGMRock @ 06/08/11 10:50 AM

Based on the fact you mentioned using 3D glasses my guess is you played this on the PS3. Have you had a look at it on the 360 and do the graphics there also look like they have been improved? The 360 is a year older than the PS3 and many have said the PS3 has better hardware but it is rare that devs take advantage of that unless the game is a PS3 only release.

Just wondered. I have put off buying a PS3 for years because I have been happy with the 360 and Xbox Live as well as not getting my private information stolen

... But if Devs start to make thing look better on the PS3 using its slightly better hardware then I might consider it.

# 12 schumj @ 06/08/11 11:00 AM

The running out of shotgun is concerning. I guess it could be attributed to Arizona St's great LB corp and maybe you are a great defender. But with the Oregon struggling as the best run out of shotgun team in the nation it is concerning.

# 13 da ThRONe @ 06/08/11 11:18 AM

So glad NCAA heads decided to improve this game from a fundamental stand point. Up until last year it was fluff nonsense year in year out. I haven't even seen the word fluff in this cycle or last. Nothing worse than having them push an feature like its the savior of videogame football only to have it fail and be removed or left in only because it takes more effort to remove it then to leave it in.

Good job fellas.

# 14 The JareBear @ 06/08/11 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rudyjuly2


	A lot of things sound really good but if the cpu can't run out of the shotgun/spread it really hurts the realism. And sliders can't fix this really. If you boost the cpu run block sliders too much it could make the traditional sets and goal line formations over powered. We really need balance in this area and we haven't had it yet on next gen. Still excited about NCAA 12. Hopefully tuning packs can be used to help fix this.

This is bottom line fact.

I know some people are trying to take "the high road" and not blast EA right now but more than one person has said the CPU still can't run out of shotgun and in a college football game that is INEXCUSABLE. I think it sucks that we are probably going to have to use custom sliders each week based on the offense we are playing against.

# 15 The JareBear @ 06/08/11 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SGMRock


	Based on the fact you mentioned using 3D glasses my guess is you played this on the PS3. Have you had a look at it on the 360 and do the graphics there also look like they have been improved? The 360 is a year older than the PS3 and many have said the PS3 has better hardware but it is rare that devs take advantage of that unless the game is a PS3 only release. Just wondered. I have put off buying a PS3 for years because I have been happy with the 360 and Xbox Live as well as not getting my private information stolen ... But if Devs start to make thing look better on the PS3 using its slightly better hardware then I might consider it.

Hellisan already said he thinks the 360 version looks better than the PS3 version

# 16 franko3219 @ 06/08/11 11:45 AM

I know that I am talking about last year, but ASU held Oregon as a team to 3.5 YPC in last years match up.

Oregon Rushing
	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LG
L. James	28	94	3.4	1	40
D. Thomas	4	18	4.5	1	7
J. Huff	1	14	14.0	0	14
K. Barner	1	0	0.0	0	0
-. Team	2	-1	-0.5	0	0
Team	36	125	3.5	2	40

James had 28 carries for 94 yards which is 3.4 ypc and was with a 40 yard run. ASU was a young team last year so they would have a lot of people returning this year and some are predicting them to at the least make it to the PAC-12 championship game. I would be interested if Chase could share the ratings of Oregon's offense vs. ASU's defense; if it is an A vs. an A or A- then I would not be as concerned if it were an A+ offense vs. a B- defense.

# 17 The JareBear @ 06/08/11 11:48 AM

Franko, ASU no doubt has a strong LB core and a pretty good overall front seven, but still, its Oregon man. From what the guy said in the preview it isn't even just the YPC its the fact that the QB is making dumb plays/bad pitches.

# 18 teebee @ 06/08/11 11:55 AM

New ASU jerseys SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSuck; bring back Sparky

# 19 franko3219 @ 06/08/11 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaredlib


	Franko, ASU no doubt has a strong LB core and a pretty good overall front seven, but still, its Oregon man. From what the guy said in the preview it isn't even just the YPC its the fact that the QB is making dumb plays/bad pitches.

I understand that, but Oregon was Oregon last year too and ASU held them to 3.4 YPC. I also did not read anything about the QB making dumb plays/bad pitches, in fact I read the opposite. Here are the two quotes:

1. The piece of QB play:

"On the field NCAA 12 feels like an extremely polished version of NCAA 11. Fundamentally, if you are a veteran of the series you will have no issue feeling right at home with this game. The biggest improvements I noticed within the first few minutes of playing was that CPU QB's now take off when their pocket begins to break down, and CPU offenses play to their strengths. That's right, not only did I see it first hand, I was also told by Ben that one of the key focuses to this years game was improving the CPU AI and tendencies. Expect offenses that revolve around the option and mobile QB's to actually be dangerous."

2. The piece on Oregon's running game:

"One negative note, in the one quarter I played against Oregon as Arizona State (amazing new jerseys included), the Ducks were having a mighty hard time establishing a run game against me from the shotgun. The CPU was able to pick up 1-3 yards per carry, mixed with losses of 3-5. This was a problem that plagued last year's title, and I am hoping this could just be an isolated incident since I was not able to play the specific game to completion. I was playing on All-American difficulty with default sliders."

I am not blindly sticking up for the game yet as I have not even played it and truth be told I too am a little concerned, but if ASU's defense is rated evenly with Oregons offense or better, Oregon should not be running all over ASU's defense.

# 20 jwilphl @ 06/08/11 12:37 PM

It is unfortunate that E3 has really tempered my excitement for NCAA rather than the opposite. I've been very impressed with what I've seen from Madden, and as such, the way NCAA looks in comparison is somewhat of a downer. I realize the two probably aren't on equal footing in terms resource commitment, but with the way Madden has integrated extremely TV-esque broadcast views and graphics, I feel like NCAA could just be a whole lot better. It also makes me realize how sore I am on all the recycled angles and shots that NCAA employs. Furthermore, FIFA's new impact engine makes me wish both NCAA and Madden employed this, largely because the gameplay with the way it has been for years is stale. Granted I haven't played this year's releases yet, but I don't expect a greatly different experience.

That said, I'm still very skeptical of all these games. I have felt very gypped by Madden/NCAA in the past, and I feel like reviews for various iterations have been inflated (although clearly reviews of games are entirely subjective). Either way, though, the E3 coverage has actually made me want to purchase Madden over NCAA. Perhaps that was EA's goal in a sense--they did want to focus on Madden and not take away from its presence. I don't expect to buy both, so the question now becomes do I take Madden thinking it really is that much improved or do I take NCAA that has made some interesting improvements, albeit not as many or different improvements than I would have liked?

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