My College Lacrosse 12 Review - TDenverFan's Blog

TDenverFan's Blog

My College Lacrosse 12 Review

Posted on May 29, 2012 at 09:06 PM.

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College Lacrosse 12 is an Indie Game on XBox only. It costs 400 Microsoft Points ($5).

Before we get to the review, I just want to say I know little about the game of Lacrosse. CL11 got me interested in the sport. I watched some of the college playoffs, but my knowledge of rules is not perfect.

Here's my review.

Gameplay

8.5/10

Pros:
Basic Momentum System. (I'm impressed. Many EA titles lack this. Players can't turn on a dime well.)
Passing (RT is a quick pass, holding RB allows button based passing.)
Defense (Hitting works well. Stealing is easy, but not too easy. Players get flattened.)
Shooting (Wide variety of shots, like diving shots. Easy to aim. Also nice that closer shots go in much more.)

Cons:
Goalies (They only save about half of the shots. Need to be better.)
AI (AI defense is OK, offense is OK. Not bad, not good. Challenging enough. Not really a con, but certainly not a pro.)
Face Offs (They are not overly realistic. Too easy to win.)

The gameplay pros easily outweigh the cons. CL12 plays a solid game of Lacrosse. They have things $60 Sports titles lack (I'm looking at you, NCAA 12 and your ability to turn on a dime). The AI plays a decent game. (FYI: They call penalties on occasion. I have no idea how realistic this is compared to real games).

Graphics
7.5/10

Pros:
Better than any other indie game.
Stadiums look nice.
Players are all different. (Name, #, Skin Tone, Height, Weight)

Cons:
About equal to a PS2 game.

Graphics are nothing next to an average game. Compared to any other indie game, it blows them out of the water. They do not detract from the game in any way, however. Players do have different sizes, skin tones, names, and numbers, so that's nice.

Presentation: 6.5/10

Pros:
Decent announcer (Must turn him on in options)
Crowd is loud

Cons:
Ball is not highlighted (Last year there was a circle indicating where the ball was)
No Break Between Quarters
Does not indicate how ling Man Down is for

All the cons were removed from last year. The crowd is better than that of NCAA, if you turn it up in the options. The announcer also must be turned on in the options menu.

Other Modes
9/10

Pros:
Create-A-Team is good, yet simple
Season Mode

Cons:
Create a Team could use more features

I like create a team mode. You can create conferences (ACC, Patriot, Big East, or made up ones). It could use more uniform options. They have 2 options as of now, a striped one, and a Checkered Board patterned one. I have yet to finish a season. They allow up to 30 teams, and end with an 8 team tournament. They also keep track of stats, and allow you to buy more gear.

Gameplay: 8.5/10
Graphics: 7.5/10
Presentation: 6.5/10
Extra Modes: 9/10
Fun Points: 9/10

Overall: 8/10

For $5, it's a must buy. I would highly recommend it, even if you're not a huge fan of the sport. I will try to post screenshots and impressions of season mode later. Thanks for reading!

(Note: This was graded compared to other XBLA games. COmpared to other indie games, it's pretty much a 9.5 or 10 in every category. It's that good.)