NCAA 14 demo reactions - ODogg's Blog

ODogg's Blog

NCAA 14 demo reactions

Posted on June 19, 2013 at 08:02 PM.

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Here are my random thoughts:

- Game looks immediately much better due to looking less drab, washed out, more colorful, whatever you want to call it. It just looks a lot more like Madden now which is great!

- Glad they had names for the players in the demo instead of numbers. I'd much rather have fake names then #5 or #28 or whatever.

- Audio in regards to the crowd is much, much better and more dynamic in regards to when my Buckeyes made a big play the crowd went dead silent. However, still not perfect either, on the opening kickoff I had a kick return for a TD that was called back on a penalty. The crowd cheered but in real life if the Buckeyes had a kick return for a TD called back on play number one the Big House would be insanely loud roaring. Still better but not there yet..

- I really like the new introduction, it seems more interesting and quicker. More cuts and etc make those of us with short attention spans very happy and less likely to skip over after viewing..

- The controls seem to be matching up with Madden now in regards to throwing the ball away (someone please correct me if I'm wrong..)

- Love the new fatigue system, this is going to be a HUGE addition IMO

- Physics seemed much better done, loved that the stupid stuff from Madden wasn't in there (people falling down after plays like they were drunk, etc)...loved the 'weight' that players seem to have now

- Related to the above - love how the players plant to cut now. Yes there's still a bit of skating but for the most part we are finally back to the PS2 days of cutting and players showing different agility in that regards.. A great addition!

- I really like the slowed down speed and limited turbo. Plus the turbo now when you apply it is a much larger difference in speed from non-turbo, which means you actually can see your guy accelerate alot and will mean more strategizing as to where to use your limited turbo... I've been calling for this for years, a larger differential between just running and running hard and finally get it, YAY!

- the CPU is a lot tougher, although perhaps that is something we always see in the new game until we can adjust more to it. The one biggie though this year is the CPU seems to be able to run. the Michigan QB ran a good bit on me, although he did pay once with a fumble.. I lost 24-6 to Michigan thanks to 2 turnovers, 1 for a pick 6 on the goal line...

- The addition of the music, the licensed songs, which their names I do not recall but you hear at every football games 8 million times per hour, is HUGE... combine that with the emotion and team celebrations and finally..FINALLY the game feels much more "alive" and less sterile.

About the only criticisms I can really level is I didn't recall hearing any new broadcast chatter or audio, the names on the jerseys are still too small and still don't look like Maddens (which look right) and I didn't see dreadlocks at all if memory serves...but wow, that's about the only negatives I can think of offhand.