How I enjoyed playing NCAA Football 2014 again - EvanRG's Blog

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How I enjoyed playing NCAA Football 2014 again Stuck

Posted on August 5, 2013 at 11:50 AM.

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We're coming up on almost a month since the release of NCAA Football 2014. As the last version for this generation of consoles and the last "NCAA" football game of its kind, this game had a lot of pressure on it. I would say, for the most part, it's done OK under the microscope of the critical eye of OS nation. But, with the honeymoon phase all but over and Madden 25 breathing down its neck, this is usually the time when the game begins to gather dust or get traded in altogether.

After a week off from the game due to a busy several days at work and home, I finally got to get back into playing NCAA Football 2014 this weekend. What I found was a game that I thoroughly enjoyed, flaws and all, but still felt like I couldn't totally dive into. It just felt cumbersome. Honestly, I had no one to blame, but myself. My sliders were out-of-whack, I didn't feel invested in my dynasty and I wasn't in total football mode.

Well, after a few changes (which I will share below) I have really gotten into a groove where I look forward to (and actually desire) to spend my valuable free time playing NCAA Football 2014. The changes I am going to suggest are perhaps not meant for everyone, but they did impact how much I enjoy the game and so for that reason alone, it's worth a share.

Step One: I Stopped Expecting to Reach Sim Nirvana

This was the first step for me, and it was tough. I love simulation sports, I really do. But, the first step in actually enjoying a video game is realizing that it is just that: a video game. You aren't going to see fumbled snaps or a realistic representation of special teams play. It's just not fun. Last night I went to the hall-of-fame game in Canton. On their first play Miami fumbled the snap. THE FIRST PLAY. If that happened in a video game, your controller would be in the screen. Football is actually a pretty dry game. The fans, the atmosphere and the big plays are what we want to always remember, but there is a lot of stuff we forgive and forget because we love the other 90%.

This is probably the hardest step to overcome. Sadly, many cannot overlook this, and in fact, believe that EA needs to cater to us. But, we all know that we are a small minority in the grand scheme of sports gamers. The things we catch on to aren't caught by the majority of gamers, and so it's time to be aware of these things and say our opinion, but once that's done, you have to make peace with the game or move on.

Step Two: I Stopped Using Someone Else's Opinion to Formulate Mine

I love these forums, I really do. But we all know how easy it is for everyone to jump on the negative-nancy train and just keep on rolling off the cliff (aka, selling the game). Trust me, we need negative opinions, DB's are messed up (or so I hear), shotgun running is too easy (tell that to my current RB's 2.9 YPC) - and there is definite room for improvement in almost every aspect of the game, but if I all I did was read this forum and not play the game, I'd grow quite depressed about my purchase. However, if you can put your laptop down and jump into the game with the expectations that there is some fun to be had, then you've made a huge leap.

Step Three: I Customized the Game to What Makes it Fun for Me

This one is huge. The biggest thing I did to make NCAA Football 14 fun again was actually quite insane. After trying some wonderful sliders that were realistic (but, so so hard and kind of dry), I realized I was more obsessed with reaching the correct number of plays per game and certain stats than actually enjoying those plays or the gameplay! Crazy right? I realized that starting and finishing a game was actually quite a taxing experience for me. So, first thing I did was shorten the quarters to 6 minutes, reset the sliders to default and made tweaks that I believed I would need (AA offense, Heisman defense, weaker running, tougher pass defense etc.)

Going on three days of this formula and I can't seem to put the controller down! The games have been tough, fun and I keep telling myself, "just one more." Is it sim, no, but it's definitely fun fair and the stats are not unrealistic. I went 9-4 in my first year with Cincinnati, got upset twice, lost two fair games and even ruined Louisville's season. My stats were surprisingly on point (because I still do care about not getting hail mary touchdowns each drive or sacking the QB 10+ times). Of course my plays per game were lower, but not by much and I was most importantly having fun!

So not to end this blog post too abruptly, but take a look at what makes you most unhappy about NCAA Football? Is it something that you've experienced first-hand and can't look past? Then OK. But, like any good marriage, if there's still something there, something that makes you want to try to make it work, then follow my steps and see if you can't keep the passion alive.

Thanks for reading.

Comments

# 16 EvanRG @ Aug 6

Hi JerseySuave, thanks for the read! I wouldn't say lower the bar on your expectations. It seems that the game misses the mark for you on too many areas for you to make the dive, but for some - myself included - there are issues that frustrate, but don't push us far enough away. My point in this post is to simply ask those who are frustrated (but still see something) to try looking at the game from another angle and rediscover why they play football video games in the first place.

# 17 acarrero @ Aug 7

Best football game of the generation. Boom.

# 18 jwtucker710 @ Aug 7

There was an update today of NCAA 14 when I started to play this morning. Not sure what all was fixed. Definitely not a perfect game, but the overall fun factor is there and better than last year's version. Week 2 in Dynasty, played with UCLA against Nevada and the game went into 5 OTs. I lost when I didn't convert the 2-point conversion. Just an amazing game and how evenly these two teams matched up. Wish I could have recorded the game because it was an instant classic!

# 19 trey2k198003 @ Aug 13

jerseysuave all of the games you mentioned fifa the show and 2k have many flaws in them as well, its just there flaws you can deal with where as ncaa you cant. there video games there going to be flawed. what the article was saying is dont miss the big picture for the little things.

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