NCAA 12 Early Impressions - ODogg's Blog

ODogg's Blog

NCAA 12 Early Impressions

Posted on July 9, 2011 at 09:27 PM.

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PROS
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*** PLAYING ON DEFAULT ALL-AMERICAN WITH NO SLIDER ADJUSTMENTS. *SPEED THRESHOLD OF 40 (DEFAULT IS 50)
Defense is back in a big way! I threw 7 ints in 2 games. And they were my fault, no BS! This game may be much harder to play now after a 6 pack of adult beverages, LOL. *After more games, about 12 to 14 games, I have only scored over 10 points I believe three times. *The biggest margin of win for me was I took USC into the Swamp vs. Florida and beat them 52-21. *That was my only lopsided win vs. the CPU. *
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On a related note: Zone defense really is fixed! Yay!
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The lighting is incredible!
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Weather affects things more: Played one rain game and see a lot of slipping, more fumbles
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Jerseys show great wear and tear (mud, visible sweat stains, etc)
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Fog looks really cool
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Defenders drop less interceptions (which could be a con depending on your view LOL)
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The kicker warming up scene is right (unlike demo)
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Finally, FINALLY, they fixed the playcall screen so that when you get to 4th down the game does NOT automatically default to the special teams screen. Instead it is like any other down. I'm SOOOooOo glad this is finally fixed.*
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WR's fight for the ball more (still not as much as I'd like to see though)
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I really love the gametrack recaps (is that what they are called) they periodically have throughout the game...more of this stuff please!!
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QBs controlled by the CPU *DO* scramble on you if they are fast (didn't see any scrambling out of the pocket by the slower Notre Dame QB)
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I saw the CPU HBs break some long runs and they didn't do the "cover the ball" nonsense
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Definitely a lot more animations I've never seen before. Makes the game feel more fresh!
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QBs who scramble get tired and go red VERY quickly..this will help stop cheesing it up with fast QBs IMO
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You can get pressure with ONLY the front four now and get sacks more often with dominant linemen..
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Under throws and overthrows happen, not too often with the elite QBs but a fair amount of time with the lesser ones..
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Punt returns are improved, still too hard but I get the feeling we will be breaking them every so often
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The pre-game show is now much more detailed, although only certain major teams have unique entrances.
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CPU no longer always elects to receive when they win the toss.
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The lack of suction in the game cannot be understated, it makes the game massively better!
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3D grass is only in replays but looks really, super cool. *Especially when runners kick up the divots!
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CONS
Man to man sometimes has that "mirroring" feature we all hate. Had one comeback route picked off due to the psychic mirror (UPDATE: EA says this is fixed with the release day patch)
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Still hardly any stats overlays at all - this definitely needs addressed for NCAA 13. *
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The stats overlays that do come up are easily mistakenly skipped over when you press a button. *EA needs these overlays to come up independent of the default buttons. *Make them only skippable if you press a specific button combination. *I don't know how many times it's come up with my RB stats but I miss them cuz I am pressing a button to call a play. *
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Can't have any rain or snow with fog
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Don't see much difference at all from light rain to medium rain to heavy rain.
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Although uniforms get dirty the feel doesn't really get torn up much, the best you will see is some brown coloring in the middle of the field and it's rather subtle. *
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Linebackers still break up too many balls thrown beyond them (not as bad but still there) with a jump (used to be super jump, now just a jump it seems).*
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Michigan States uniforms are still too light
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Lots of sacks in this game, I think cuz I'm so used to having all day in the pocket, this could be a positive though I think...may need to adjust pass blocking slightly up though..
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On a related note, this game is BRUTAL on QBs...I had 3 OSU QBs injured in my game vs.Michigan...although I really think its cuz I'm pulling a Roethlisberger (holding onto the ball way, way too long)
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When you hit pause and go through the menu some of the other menus appear below and/or to the left of the menu, doesn't seem to create any issues but looks weird (glitchy) (UPDATE: this is now fixed with the patch)
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Wind only seems to affect field goals, not passing
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What is this odd noise that appears after you pick a formation, then again when you pick your play?? Like a whooshing noise. this was in the demo. How can we get rid of this? annoying..(UPDATE: turn menu FX all the way down to kill this stupid sound)
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Why does the controller rumble right after you break huddle each time?
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I really liked the old way of picking plays, wish we had an option to go back to it.*
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Coach editing in regards to faces, hats, clothes seems fairly limited.
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Playing on default sliders the CPU does not seem that great at rushing the ball
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Saw the CPU QB throw the ball out of bounds right after the ball was snapped. No flag either. I have seen this at least a couple of times a game, needs fixed!!
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Heard about 2 lines of new commentary I think in 2 games, still pretty lacking!
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7 games with pass interference for offense and defense maxed and so far only one call for def. PI
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CPU still punts terribly but not every time
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Kick returns still seem nearly impossible though
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I have noticed more false starts on the HOME team due to noise than the away team...odd...maybe it's just a coincidence though..
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Occasional, slight slow down on kickoffs at times, very subtle though (Xbox)
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They've reduced the highlights to 2 videos and 3 pics per game, ugh..
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I am noticing too many pancakes on the line, both offensively and defensively, although more so it's my own guy on defense getting pushed down to the ground...
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Still no flag on late hits and hits out of bounds...
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Just noticed a glitch, the CPU QB ran for 13 yards, then for no real reason went into the passing stance and just stood there until he got creamed...
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I notice virtually no difference in sound from large stadiums like OSU vs. Small team stadiums like ULM..
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Stiff arm is still worthless..
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Have seen no dynamic attendance at all in play now game blowouts - maybe this is dynasty only though..
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Computer still not as effective running the ball as it should be, especially out of shotgun. *Although it's not near as bad as in years past and is no gamekiller. *Adjusting the offensive line and RB ability for the CPU about 10 notches in slider setting should alleviate this issue. *Good to see EA is working on this as its evident but it still needs tweaked a little more IMO. *
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FINAL THOUGHTS:*This game is addictive, as you can tel from the amount of time I've put into it alreadyl. *Despite the flaws it's worlds better than NCAA 11! *I'm going to give it a B+. *EA really needs to work on the sound and stats overlays for next year. *The commentary and audio presentation of crowds is the biggest sore spot for me about the game. *Other than that though, on the field, it plays wonderfully organic now. *
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Comments

# 1 RUFFNREADY @ Jul 10

Thanks for the impression; nicely done.
cheers
Go O-DUCKS!

# 2 kishtripar @ Jul 10

Great article. Still holding out hope that the recruits are not jacked up down the road in dynasty mode and the coaching carousel is fairly smooth in its first year of existence.

# 3 PhillyPhanatic @ Jul 11

Great job my man. After playing it, do you think you'll have to adjust a lot of sliders? And do you think AA or Heisman plays better right now?

# 4 TheTodd84 @ Jul 13

To be honest, the one word that describes my impressions is... Unrealistic.

Sure, the game might "play" better than ncaa 11, but there are still so many unrealistic aspects of this game.

The defensive linemen are still WAY TOO FAST. There are few instances when a defensive lineman should catch up to my running back. Also, there is not enough randomness to the interactions.

The one thing that is close to being a game killer for me is the lack of a realistic running game compared to the passing game. What I mean is this... what EA has to realize is that not every team is a passing team and every time I play a good team, I should not have to be balanced. Look at Oregon for example. Teams knew they were gonna run the ball, but yet, still couldn't stop it. So, even if the computer knows i am going to run, they must be in the correct defense to anticipate the DIRECTION of my running play to stop it. If they guess wrong, I pick up a minimum of 5 yards. It's that simple. If the CPU linebackers are slanted over to the right side of my offensive line and I flip the play to the left and there are not more defenders than can be block, odds are i'm going to gain more than two yards. So why am I getting stopped for a loss of yards? It's because of the programming trying to even out statistics so it has to make certain things happen often...

It's just not realistic. Just because I run the ball 10 times in a row doesn't mean you can stop me. Same thing with passing, just because I throw it 10 times in a row has nothing to do with whether or not you can stop me... So, why does that work in the passing game, but not in the running game?

I coach football... and this is almost a game-killer for me. I'm an offensive coordinator, and I could care less if the defense knows I'm running because they don't know what run play I am going to run, same with passing.

Also, it seems as though if you decide not to use some sort of pro-style offense, the running game is non-existent. When it actually should be opposite. The spread and option running games should be MORE EFFECTIVE than pro-style attacks. Look at the NFL, and look at the top rushing teams in America. 16 of the top 20 rushing teams last year ran one of the following offenses... Spread, option, or pistol. So then, why in the game are the spread and option two of the least effective offenses? That just goes to show that it doesn't matter if you know someone is going to run the ball... it matters if you are in the right defense and have guessed the PLAY right. And even then, you still have to execute.

It's just so incredibly frustrating when I play with Oregon and I can't run for 200+ yards on people. Only three teams in 2010 held Oregon under 200 yards rushing, Arizona State, Cal and Auburn. That's it. And SIX TIMES Oregon rushed for over 300 yards. So why is Oregon's running game ineffective?

So, the word that comes to mind is...

Unrealistic.