Fact or Fiction: NCAA Football 12 Outlook

Feature Article

Submitted on: 07/01/2011 by Christian McLeod, Dustin Toms

This demo justifies some of the talk about the NCAA Football 12 gameplay simply being NCAA Football 11.5.

Christian McLeod: Fiction. Give me a break, NCAA 11 was the strongest entry in the series since it made the leap to this generation of consoles. The development team seems to have chosen to polish a solid NCAA 11 foundation up by removing warping, enhancing CPU AI and adding a bevy of new animations. However, the game gets knocked for being NCAA 11.5?

Newsflash, EA did not plan on completely overhauling its football engine or incorporating real-time physics this year -- time to accept that. I may not be happy with certain aspects of the demo, but I am not going to crucify EA for not innovating the title enough from year to year. It's strange that we rarely hear this kind of talk regarding the NBA 2K franchise, even though in the past it has shown moderate year-to-year gameplay improvements -- NBA 2K11 not withstanding. Even stranger is that we didn't hear these sentiments when NCAA 05 and NCAA 06 were released and were eerily similar in the gameplay department to NCAA 04.

As someone who dumped almost 11 months into NCAA 11, the gameplay improvements in the NCAA 12 demo were apparent within minutes of picking up the controller. Don't believe me? Play the demo for a few hours and then pop in NCAA 11. It's almost unplayable. You are free to believe that the game has not innovated as much as you expected, but to claim this game has not had enough gameplay refinements to differentiate itself from NCAA Football 11 is ridiculous.

Dustin Toms: Fiction. It's people like this that frustrate me the most. Like Christian said, NCAA 11 was a really good game, and in my opinion, the best current-gen football game to date. Yes, even better than All-Pro Football.

Of course there are similarities when comparing the demo to last year's game, but the demo is an old build. Regardless, the game is noticeably more fluid than last year's. In addition, the CPU AI was also changed up a bit in a good way. If anything, the developers may have just added in a little too much good with the AI in the demo. What I mean is that the quarterbacks are now throwing away passes, and I love that they are actually getting rid of the ball now, but throwing the ball away four or five times per drive is a little insane -- I have to assume this is an easy fix.

Point being, this is one of the first times I've ever seen a significant improvement when comparing the previous season's retail version to the new season's demo.

Following a relatively strong showing with NCAA Football 11, this NCAA 12 demo signifies that the development team is officially moving back towards making this franchise the monster it once was during the PS2/Xbox era.

Christian McLeod: Fact. It took five titles this console generation to right the ship, but I am confident that the NCAA Football series is well on its way to reclaiming the glory of its PS2/Xbox counterparts. What makes me feel even better is that those I have talked to at Tiburon know the stripped-down approach that was taken when the series debuted on the Xbox 360 cost them this generation. I think the series will be solid for the rest of this console generation before hitting the next-gen consoles with a bang.

Dustin Toms: Fact. When you also take into consideration NCAA 11, I think it's fair to say the development team is back on the right track. Last year, the developers made a great game, and this year it's already better. I don't believe that any of EA's developers, for any game, are not devoted to making a better game. These guys just happened to get there quicker than some others.

Our very own Jayson Young had some strong feelings about this demo in our staff roundtable:

Quote:

The dynamic lighting, detailed stadiums and individualized player uniforms are the only things that feel truly next-gen to me in this demo. Every other part of the NCAA Football 12 demo feels about the same as it has for the last decade or so. That being said, I would have no problem saying that this is the best NCAA Football game to hit current-gen consoles.

But is that enough? I would have to say that it is not. Not when NBA 2K and MLB: The Show have TV-quality commentary, or Backbreaker and FIFA have unscripted contact animations. I just feel like NCAA Football has settled into the role of being a mediocre sports franchise that continues to sell well only because it belongs to the football genre -- and most American sports gamers cannot live without a new football game (or two) every 12 months. I can, so I'll continue enjoying the better sports games on the market until this franchise meets the rest of the industry's standards.

I have seen many folks around here agreeing with him. Even if you want to call that the vocal minority, do you think he's justified in saying this is a second-tier franchise when looking at the overall sports gaming landscape?

Christian McLeod: Fiction. I probably would have agreed with this comment before NCAA Football 11 was released, but I don't know how anyone can say this is a mediocre franchise after the effort that went into NCAA 11. One perfect example deals with the presentation that was added to the game. We consistently knock sports games for not having realistic presentation, as well as the "little things" that keep the experience fresh months later. The NCAA team adds in several team-specific rituals and entrances that go above and beyond what we saw in the PS2/Xbox versions to appease fans, and then the NCAA team gets knocked by the same people they are attempting to please -- being accused of not spending enough time on gameplay and too much time on presentation.

The best part is that if the NCAA team were to go ahead and implement a full-on physics engine, which might cause them to overlook team entrances, Online Dynasty mode or some special facemask design, then folks in the vocal minority would be back screaming and complaining about how they can not comprehend why these little details are constantly overlooked. It's a complete no-win situation for the team at Tiburon. You want to talk about what next-gen feels like? How about an Online Dynasty mode that revolutionized online interaction in sports games, complete with Dynasty Anywhere and StoryBuilder. Yeah, mediocre games typically have those types of features.

There is a group of people that are just never happy no matter what a game contains. I get it, NFL 2K5 does not exist anymore -- and Jayson hearts 2K football -- so EA is the big bad wolf out to screw gamers. I'm not saying that the on-field gameplay of NCAA is perfect, and by no means am I here to be an EA apologist, but I will give credit where credit is due. NCAA 11 played an enjoyable and fun game of college football (with the right slider tweaks), and calling it mediocre is a farce. Every game mentioned by Jayson has its own flaws that are simply overlooked by the grass-is-always-greener crowd. NCAA Football gets knocked for something as small as the lack of eye black, yet a blind eye is turned when the mighty MLB 11: The Show can't seem to implement a much more important auto-save and load into their game out of the box, or even a dedicated playoff mode.

I love the passion Jayson showed in his response, I really do. But at the end of the day, we are still playing a video game, and I prefer to look at the glass as half full. So I will choose to look at the good that NCAA gave me last year rather than get bogged down by the negatives. Trust me, one thing I've learned at this job is that people, myself included, will always have high expectations in regards to football games. And no matter what, as a hardcore football fan and gamer I realize no football game will ever be perfect. Nevertheless, the NCAA series being considered mediocre, especially after NCAA 11? Get real.

Dustin Toms: Fiction.

Jayson, I love you, but I could not disagree with you more on this. First of all, MLB: The Show has some horrid commentary. It makes me want to barf at times. I'm not saying NCAA is any better, but in no way should it be considered that much worse than what's found in The Show.

As for calling NCAA Football a second-tier franchise, just shake me please. NCAA Football is one of few sports franchises that are worth your $60 when taking into consideration the entire package. Dynasty mode has been solid for years, and it keeps improving with more and more recruiting options. Online Dynasty mode is a huge success, and I can only see the mode getting better because it seems like the popularity of it seems to be skyrocketing.

Lastly, I just disagree with anyone who says Backbreaker is better than NCAA, or even Madden. It was a decent game with some great physics, but there were way too many improvements that needed to be made -- not to mention it was a relatively bare bones game -- before putting it on some sort of pedestal.

You're more excited about NCAA Football 12 after playing this demo.

Christian McLeod: Fiction. This is kind of a silly question for me since I played the game at E3. After I played the build at E3 a few weeks back, I was left wanting more. The demo feels like an older build than what I had played, so I can't wait for my review copy to arrive in a couple days.

Dustin Toms: Fact. It didn't necessarily excite me only because of the way it played, rather it also simply served as a fresh reminder that the retail version is coming out soon.

You've heard from our staff, but feel free to answer the fact or fictions questions in the comments -- we want to hear from all of you.

NCAA Football 12 Videos

Member Comments

# 1 Cj7298419 @ 07/01/11 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SECElite3


	Excellent Excellent write-up... Bravo

Agreed. And I concur with the opinions expressed in that write-up. After playing the demo and looking at the growing number of retail vids being put on YouTube, this is the most excited I've been for an NCAA Football game since '04.

# 2 Skyboxer @ 07/01/11 01:08 PM

If I don't get NCAA and Madden early I may kill my neighbors cat?

FACT

Good write up! Nice read.

# 3 sparkdawg777 @ 07/01/11 01:12 PM

Nice write up agree with most of what you said. However, I disagree with what you were saying in response to jayson. Or at least the presentation part, the presentation has been poor compared to what NCAA Basketabll 10 was capable of doing in a couple months (adding CBS). Now I don't mean that EA needs CBS (though I wish they would) but rather that compared to other sports games the commentary is bland and the rest of the presentation is a disappointment, it is better than 11, but it is not the true ESPN broadcast feel that NCAA Basketball had. The replay cams absolutely kill the real presentation feel to me. I think they will be able to focus more on the presentation next year especially after seeing Madden 12.

# 4 bukktown @ 07/01/11 01:24 PM

What is with the MLB the show misinformation?

A. It has good commentary? Jayson?

B. It doesn't have autosave/autoload? Christian?

# 5 BadAssHskr @ 07/01/11 01:24 PM

Quote:


	As someone who dumped almost 11 months into NCAA 11, the gameplay improvements in the NCAA 12 demo were apparent within minutes of picking up the controller. Don't believe me? Play the demo for a few hours and then pop in NCAA 11. It's almost unplayable. You are free to believe that the game has not innovated as much as you expected, but to claim this game has not had enough gameplay refinements to differentiate itself from NCAA Football 11 is ridiculous.

truer words have never been spoken.

i wish people would understand this.

# 6 rudyjuly2 @ 07/01/11 01:26 PM

Well I disagree with you guys and I'm not a 2K fanboy that yearns for 2K5 to be renewed. I've been a long time NCAA guy and the demo did not feel that different to me from NCAA 11. I certainly expect NCAA 12 to be better but is it that much better to be called NCAA 12 rather than NCAA 11.5? Not in my mind. The cpu spread is still weak, I still see super leaping LBs, I still see a real lack of player momentum where the players are clearly video game players whose movements do not reflect reality. They ruined the r-stick juke move after ruining the truck move last year and the stiff arm hasn't really existed on the PS3. The only special RB move we have left is the unrealistic spin move.

I don't think the new tackling/collision system is that much different. It's not revolutionary in any way. We still don't have a true physics engine. The OL/DL interaction is still a very black and white affair with way too many pancakes. The upgraded presentation with game track and entrances is nice but that is offset but the very stale commentary.

To talk about the positives zone defences are better. I've read that cpu scrambles more in the retail version. I can only hope that the cpu can run the spread offence properly since it's such a huge part of college football. The super jumping LB is toned down but still exists. NCAA 11 was a good game and NCAA 12 is a more refined version of that but I don't see any revolutionary changes. To be fair I think you can say that for almost any sports game year to year.

For this game to become a monster of success I believe we need new commentary, a smarter cpu that actually plays like a human, and a true physics engine with realistic player movement. Just my two cents. I will be buying this game day one and I expect to have fun with my Michigan dynasty. I also expect to stop playing it once college football season is over as I don't think the game will be good enough to carry it year round.

# 7 MrRudy @ 07/01/11 01:29 PM

I definitely feel like there are members of this community that will find something wrong with just about anything. I've done my fair share of complaining about the lack of growth when it comes to Teambuilder, but the demo played amazing and better than NCAA11, which I'm was playing as of a week ago.

I like Christian's point about going back too. I played 5 or 6 games on the demo and then tried to go back to my dynasty. It was rough and pretty joyless. I'm going to miss my 2018 six-star Virginia Cavaliers, but it's time for a new chapter.

July 12th, cannot get here fast enough.

# 8 Step2001 @ 07/01/11 01:30 PM

I liked the game, it felt right, like Madden! Now they need to capture the College Atmosphere. Crank up the crowd. Crank them up at key parts of the game.
It's been mentioned in the forums about bringing back "Home Field Advantage" with the control shake. Visiting team audibles and the players don't always hear the call and run the wrong route or play.
A Frosh QB is a rattled more than an upper classmen.

I'll pick it up after the patches are done, I was going to pass this year, but the game plays really well.

# 9 blkrptnt819 @ 07/01/11 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rudyjuly2


	Well I disagree with you guys and I'm not a 2K fanboy that yearns for 2K5 to be renewed. I've been a long time NCAA guy and the demo did not feel that different to me from NCAA 11. I certainly expect NCAA 12 to be better but is it that much better to be called NCAA 12 rather than NCAA 11.5? Not in my mind. The cpu spread is still weak, I still see super leaping LBs, I still see a real lack of player momentum where the players are clearly video game players whose movements do not reflect reality. They ruined the r-stick juke move after ruining the truck move last year and the stiff arm hasn't really existed on the PS3. The only special RB move we have left is the unrealistic spin move. I don't think the new tackling/collision system is that much different. It's not revolutionary in any way. We still don't have a true physics engine. The upgraded presentation with game track and entrances is nice but that is offset but the very stale commentary. To talk about the positives zone defences are better. I've read that cpu scrambles more in the retail version. I can only hope that the cpu can run the spread offence properly since it's such a huge part of college football. The super jumping LB is toned down but still exists. NCAA 11 was a good game and NCAA 12 is a more refined version of that but I don't see any revolutionary changes. To be fair I think you can say that for almost any sports game year to year. For this game to become a monster of success I believe we need new commentary, a smarter cpu that actually plays like a human, and a true physics engine with realistic player movement. Just my two cents. I will be buying this game day one and I expect to have fun with my Michigan dynasty. I also expect to stop playing it once college football season is over as I don't think the game will be good enough to carry it year round.

Name a better football game? IDC how much u talk about gameplay 2k5 and 2k8 are unplayable! They look they were made on an etch-a-sketch. And on top of that it plays slow as molasses! You look at the good of a game but never the bad. Yes, things need to be added but name a better football game? Unless u say Madden it's impossible.

Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

# 10 rudyjuly2 @ 07/01/11 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blkrptnt819


	Name a better football game? IDC how much u talk about gameplay 2k5 and 2k8 are unplayable! They look they were made on an etch-a-sketch. And on top of that it plays slow as molasses! You look at the good of a game but never the bad. Yes, things need to be added but name a better football game? Unless u say Madden it's impossible. Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

I'm not a fan of those 2K football games. NCAA 12 may be the best football game ever created on the PS3. But that doesn't mean it's a truly great game or a revolutionary improvement over NCAA 11.

I do get tired of everyone judging people that have a different opinion as though we are whiners or have an agenda. I do have tough standards. I have no problem admitting to that. But just because someone disagrees with someone doesn't mean they have an axe to grind. People will always have different opinions and people need to respect a differing view point.

# 11 sparkdawg777 @ 07/01/11 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blkrptnt819


	Name a better football game? IDC how much u talk about gameplay 2k5 and 2k8 are unplayable! They look they were made on an etch-a-sketch. And on top of that it plays slow as molasses! You look at the good of a game but never the bad. Yes, things need to be added but name a better football game? Unless u say Madden it's impossible. Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

Name another company that currently makes a football game?

# 12 BenGerman @ 07/01/11 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sparkdawg777


	Nice write up agree with most of what you said. However, I disagree with what you were saying in response to jayson. Or at least the presentation part, the presentation has been poor compared to what NCAA Basketabll 10 was capable of doing in a couple months (adding CBS). Now I don't mean that EA needs CBS (though I wish they would) but rather that compared to other sports games the commentary is bland and the rest of the presentation is a disappointment, it is better than 11, but it is not the true ESPN broadcast feel that NCAA Basketball had. The replay cams absolutely kill the real presentation feel to me. I think they will be able to focus more on the presentation next year especially after seeing Madden 12.

Yeah. While I love the gameplay additions, and the RTG as well as Dynasty improvements (seriously, I have been screaming for CC ever since College Hoops did it), the presentation leaves something to be desired. I normally turn off the commentary, and boost up the rest of the stadium sounds. It sounds pretty good at that point if you have implemented Stadium Sounds. I hate that no one has followed the lead of NCAA Basketball 10, but seeing as the series was canceled afterword, I'm not shocked it hasn't happened.

College Football is ESPN, ABC, and CBS. With one commentary team, it greatly diminishes the presentation EA has worked so hard on. I know how EA loves throwing in extra DLC so why not charge us $3 for an extra commentary team (and maybe integrate some CBS overlays)? I think FIFA did that not long ago. That way it doesn't need to fit on the disc, and you make extra money from it. I know commentary is going to change next year, because after the past two years I have seen how great the NCAA team has been at listening to the hardcore fans. We got our Coaching Carousel. Broadcast integration or Dynamic Commentary has to be the next step in creating the best football game yet.

# 13 sparkdawg777 @ 07/01/11 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenGerman


	Yeah. While I love the gameplay additions, and the RTG as well as Dynasty improvements (seriously, I have been screaming for CC ever since College Hoops did it), the presentation leaves something to be desired. I normally turn off the commentary, and boost up the rest of the stadium sounds. It sounds pretty good at that point if you have implemented Stadium Sounds. I hate that no one has followed the lead of NCAA Basketball 10, but seeing as the series was canceled afterword, I'm not shocked it hasn't happened. College Football is ESPN, ABC, and CBS. With one commentary team, it greatly diminishes the presentation EA has worked so hard on. I know how EA loves throwing in extra DLC so why not charge us $3 for an extra commentary team (and maybe integrate some CBS overlays)? I think FIFA did that not long ago. That way it doesn't need to fit on the disc, and you make extra money from it. I know commentary is going to change next year, because after the past two years I have seen how great the NCAA team has been at listening to the hardcore fans. We got our Coaching Carousel. Broadcast integration or Dynamic Commentary has to be the next step in creating the best football game yet.

Yeh these aren't gamebreakers for me, I'm still going to enjoy this game but I just think if they added 1 more broadcast team, or a completely new team it would help a lot. I actually like Nessler but it will always get old listening to the same voice, unless its Morgan Freeman.

# 14 dochalladay32 @ 07/01/11 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenGerman


	College Football is ESPN, ABC, and CBS. With one commentary team, it greatly diminishes the presentation EA has worked so hard on.

And the NFL is on CBS, FOX, ESPN, and NBC. NBA is on ABC, TNT, ESPN, etc... You can't cover everything.

# 15 Pokes404 @ 07/01/11 01:43 PM

Gameplay is improved, no doubt. But as long as the player movement, foot planting, and OL/DL interactions remain this bad, this game is never going to draw me in.

Those things are so basic to how the game is played that as long as they are this unrealistic, the game is never going to look, feel, or play like a "sim" football game should. Unfortunately, judging from the lack of progress in these areas for years, it doesn't look like they are planning any more changes in these areas on this generation. I may have to wait until next-gen to get the game I've been looking for.

The game gets better every year, but they put themselves in such a hole to begin with that I doubt they'll ever climb out of it on the current generation of consoles.

# 16 TFunaro @ 07/01/11 01:44 PM

I totally agree with Jayson.

# 17 sparkdawg777 @ 07/01/11 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SECElite3


	Natural Motion and Midway games recently.

Let me rephrase that, college football games with licenses.

As long as someone has the licenses then the other football games will not stand a chance.

# 18 RumbleStud @ 07/01/11 01:47 PM

Haven't bought an EA sports football game in years, but I have played them all by borrowing from friends and every year I always think the same thing "*sigh* damn license...I wonder what NFL2K__ would have been like?..."(dream sequence). Then NCAA Football 11 drops with glowing reviews but never been able to get my hands on 1 b/c my friends don't do "college" but it definitely peaked my interest enough to download this years demo and well I'll put it this way, if Madden 12 doesn't play as equally or better than this demo, then NCAA 12 will be the 1st college AND football game I've bought ina long time.

This game actually looks and most importantly PLAYS the way it should. Did suction really have to take this long to fix? I mean seriously, the elimination of this one glitch has done WONDERS for this game.

# 19 sparkdawg777 @ 07/01/11 01:50 PM

I'm an NCAA guy, I've bought it every year since 99, all I'm saying is without licenses the new football games can't compete. Look at MLB and what 2k has done, if it were not for Sony then The Show would not be around and baseball video games would suck. Of course you'd still have the fanboys who say "well, name a better game" 2k5 was 6 years ago. Look at what it had, compared to now the features have taken a step back from that. NCAA is still a good football game but we have know idea if there was real competition that it would be the best.

# 20 209vaughn @ 07/01/11 01:51 PM

NCAA 12 would be a great game if it was the only game on the market. I've said this over and over again, but i think gamers are looking at Madden 12, they're looking at 2k11 and are starting to expect more depth from there franchise modes.

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