Three Features In NCAA '14 We Should Be Excited About - BenGerman's Blog

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Three Features In NCAA '14 We Should Be Excited About Stuck

Posted on April 15, 2013 at 10:55 AM.

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With EA releasing the first gameplay trailer and blog for NCAA Football 2014, the inevitable "hype train" is in full force. It's not exactly without merit, as the trailer shows off a few features that give us fans a few things to be excited about.

In a year where there has been a lot of concern over whether or not EA will give a full effort for NCAA -- due to the next generation of consoles being right around the corner --, there's actually a few new additions that should help breath fresh air into the game. Here's three additions that should have you cautiously boarding the game's hype train:

1. Infinity Engine 2.0

This one is easy to get psyched about. After Madden's first effort with the Infinite Engine, one thing became heavily apparent: at least it was different. There were a ton of issues with the new engine, but it gave the game a new look that it drastically needed. Fans of the NCAA series have even more to look forward to with the engine getting a nice upgrade.

A lot of the post-play kinks within the Infinity engine have been worked out, according to EA, which will definitely give 2.0 a better overall feel than 1.0. The best part about 2.0? No longer will we see our running backs -- or the CPU's for that matter --, run right into the butts of our O-Line and go flailing backwards. This was the key issue with Madden 13's running game, which most will remember to be the game's biggest disappointment.

2. Foot Planting

It seems ridiculous that such a thing has taken so long to exist, but I'm not sure anyone actually realizes how much this would mean to the series. For years now (especially in my Online Dynasties), players have been able to exploit the CPU by swerving back and forth, seemingly without losing a hint of speed. This should add an all new sense of difficulty for users, and give a much needed kick of realism into the open field game.

3. Improved O-Line/D-Line Logic

This is something the NCAA fanbase needs to be extremely cautious about. EA has promised such improvements for years now, and it's hard to tell whether or not this is just some tweaks or a complete overhaul in logic. My guess is that it will be somewhere in between. If that's the case, we will likely see nice improvements to the spread-option, pistol, and triple option playcalling styles. Nothing is more frustrating than lining up in the I-Formation and having your full-back pull off the line and leave you stranded on an iso play. If this is fixed, it will easily be one of the best additions to NCAA '14, if not the best.

With all of that said, I think the key phrase for the next couple of weeks will be "cautious optimism". There is a lot of things still up in the air, and until we see some actual gameplay, it's hard to really praise or condemn anything at this point. For now, we should just enjoy the hype train for what it is and see where it takes us.

What do you think OS? Are these features anything to get excited over, or are we in for another year of disappointment?