The sports video game season is ready to kick off with NCAA Football 11. Annually releasing about a month before the Madden NFL franchise, NCAA Football is generally regarded as the little brother of the EA Sports football franchises. It’s not that the NCAA games aren’t generally good, it’s just that the Madden series is so huge that it’s college football counterpart can sometimes be overshadowed by it. But if there ever was a year to pick up a college football game, this is it. NCAA Football 11 is the best entry in the series in years.
The first thing players will notice when they start playing NCAA Football 11 is how much more consistent the gameplay is from last year. Much of this is due to the new engine update that EA has called Real Assignment AI. Blockers are now smarter than in past years versions of the game and are much more likely to make the block on the correct player. This has the effect of making the running game much more effective for both players and the CPU. On top of that, the new Real Assignment AI makes a significant difference in the passing game over last year’s entry, where due to the linemen being better at reading and reacting to the pass rush, players are much less likely to come at the quarterback completely unblocked.
Another improvement that players will be praising is the new player control that EA is calling Locomotion. Players will find increased control over every nuance of the virtual athlete they are controlling due to more precise use of the dual analog sticks on their controllers. Locomotion also shows an increased focus on stats such as agility and acceleration rather than just speed. Juke moves, spins, cuts, or lowering like a battering ram is all controlled via different motions on the right stick. The size of a player’s cut is determined by how far the player pushes the stick, giving players the most minute control on every play. How responsive players are in these particular areas depends on the players overall ability now, as the old addage of ‘speed kills’ doesn’t necessarily apply anymore.
Use the Right Stick to make precise cuts
Another new feature is the ability to make substitutions by formation. Now instead of having to stop the game between plays and go into the depth chart to try and create favorable matchups, players can now set up the game to automatically change out players based on the formation. One example of this would be to move a top receiver into the slot to try to get a favorable matchup against a nickel corner. Another would be to have different running backs in the game based on their skill sets so that a speed runner would be in for more sweeps and cutbacks, where as a power runner would be placed into the game for short yardage and inside runs.
Look the ball in, just like Dad taught you in the backyard
NCAA Football 11 offers three core gameplay modes, and several other options for all types of players. Two of these core mode are franchise mainstays. The Dynasty mode allows players to control their favorite school through the annual grind of chasing a national title while simultaneously attempting to recruit new talent for your program. The Road to Glory mode allows players to play through the college career of a created player starting with their state high school playoffs and ending with draft day. Anyone who has played past versions of NCAA Football will be familiar with how these modes work.
There have been some slight tweaks to some elements of these modes. The best example of this is the new recruiting interface, which makes it easier to understand the recruiting process. Now players can see exactly how each recruitment pitch effects their prospects of landing a top recruit, and can easily compare their strengths and weaknesses against the other teams they are recruiting against.
The development team has also gone to painstaking efforts to create a number of real college offenses. Whether it be the Spread, Wishbone or Pistol, players have a unique offense to choose from, no matter which of the hundred and twenty NCAA Division One schools they use.
New player animations make movement look more fluid.
However the newest core mode for the hardcore football fan is the Online Dynasty, which finally lets players take their program building skills online to challenge up to eleven friends. Those familiar with the single player Dynasty mode who also have a competitive streak will enjoy hopping online to out play and out recruit their friends. One of the more exciting features of the Online Dynasty mode is the ability to manage your dynasty remotely, either over the web or via mobile devices. Players still looking for more spontaneous competition can still enjoy ranked matches. Unfortunately we were not able to play any matches online due to the fact that we had an early copy of the game.
Blockers make better decisions, giving quarterbacks a better pocket to throw from
Another big change is the full integration of the ESPN brand into the broadcast presentation that extends far beyond the virtual field of play. Returning to the franchise is the real time ticker in the menus, as well as ESPN radio updates every twenty minutes. Players may also go to ESPN on demand and watch sports news and highlights from ESPN directly through their copies of NCAA Football 11.
But NCAA Football 11 doesn’t just cater to the hardcore sports gamer. The old favorite Mascot Mash Up mode returns for an amusing sideshow to the main action. There’s even a one button mode for the more casual gamers. These modes will allow those less likely to get drawn in by the depth of the game to enjoy it on a far less complicated level.
Visually NCAA Football 11 is the best looking entry in the franchise to date, with first rate graphics to rival the Madden series. Player movement looks more fluid and lifelike than ever before with fewer canned tackling animations and more realistic player physics. In addition, the new sideline catch animations improve the chances of a receiver dragging a foot to make a catch. This turns the out route into a more viable option for players as their receivers will be less likely to simply run the play out of bounds without making the completion.
Primetime, The Playmaker, Shockey, and now WR#2 have called "The U" home
The one area of NCAA Football 11 that can be considered a bit of a mixed bad is the games audio. Three quarters of the traditional NCAA broadcast team return with Brad Nessler handling play by play duties, Kirk Herbstreit on color commentary and Erin Andrew as the sideline reporter. “The Coach” Lee Corso is seen in picture form only in menu screens picking games, but is no longer heard as part of the broadcast team. We feel this is a welcome change as it alleviates the large dose of “witty banter” between the commentary team that had a tendency to get very old, very quickly in previous versions of the series.
That’s not to say it’s all sunshine and roses in the commentary department however. Often the commentary will not quite matchup with the action on the screen as Herbstreit will comment on a middle linebacker blitz that didn’t happen, or he will mention protecting the quarterback as part of an explanation for a holding call on a punt return. These inconsistencies are minor gripes to say the least. However when a game is a well done and immersive as NCAA Football 11, the minor details tend to stand out.
The one other issue we noticed with the audio was that in a couple of games it cut out on us all together mid game. This only happened a couple of times, and it always came back after the game was complete. But still it is disappointing for a game with this much polish to have issues such as this.
Every stadium is a precise replica
All in all, NCAA Football 11 raises the bar for the franchise. From the gameplay improvements like the new tackling animations, to the new features like the Online Dynasty, there’s plenty of new content here. Occasional audio issues aside, we can say without a doubt that this is the most realistic college football experience one can get with a controller in their hands.
Overall Score: 9/10
GamesEyeView was provided a review copy of NCAA Football 11 by Electrionic Arts.
