NCAA Football 12 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (360, PS3)

[14straight]

The play action worked last year... you just had to run the ball effectively to do so. Mainly by running linked plays. If you just come out running play action after a few runs then you have a pretty fair chance of getting destroyed. I don't mind the way they have the play action set up because it was *too* effective in years past. You could run PA Read from the Shotgun formations and have people open all day even if you hadn't ran the ball.

[OmahaKnights]

A few thoughts. I'm not as good at this game as a lot of you guys are, but there are a few things I noticed. I played a few games on AA. Most against Texas as Oregon, but one as Alabama.

• Had a black WR's skin turn white for a split second as a highlight ended.
• Had no trouble running out of the spread or shotgun against Texas. You just have to audible out if they're aligned to stuff your run.
• Jet sweeps seem really effective. Most of the time I ran them, I would get 6+ yards.
• Options are absolutely gimped. It's pointless to try. I hate to see how the service academies and Georgia Tech play in 12 if the full game keeps options as pathetic as they are in the demo.
• "Human highlight reel" LBs are back. I had one superman jump up to swat a ball.
• The CPU's offensive AI is terrible. There are instances they throw the ball away right after the snap, and Texas called a counter out of the Power I during a two minute drill.
• Dropped passes and overthrows seem much more common.
• Kick returns are better, but punt returns aren't.
• Very awkward pauses in announcing. Brad Nessler will even take breaks and forget names or space out. "The score is.... (awkward 2 second pause) 7, Seminoles, nothing."

Overall, it's NCAA 11.5. Not that I mind.

[The JareBear]

Quote: Originally Posted by 14straight

The play action worked last year... you just had to run the ball effectively to do so. Mainly by running linked plays. If you just come out running play action after a few runs then you have a pretty fair chance of getting destroyed. I don't mind the way they have the play action set up because it was *too* effective in years past. You could run PA Read from the Shotgun formations and have people open all day even if you hadn't ran the ball.

I think you're wrong. PA was broken last year. It worked a couple times a game out of maybe one or two formations but many had a very prolonged animation that just completely left the QB out to dry.

In the demo, I haven't seen the CPU d-line react to the PA once, they just bowl through and sack the QB no matter how well the ball was being ran

[trick02]

So some quick hits:

1) I personally love the fixes to the Zone Defense..last year my SS/FS would run side by side. This year I had a pick where my SS played the WR down the field as my FS jumped the pass 3-5 yards short for a nice INT.

2) QBs break tackles a little too easily. (Oregon QB shrugged off my DT several times.)

3) Graphics are amazing. Player presentation is like no other year.

4) Yes the passing game is way too easy. Its not hard to fix that is what sliders are for.

[Ollienyy]

Just had a couple of hours with the demo. I've always been a big presentation guy so the ESPN features that they have incorporated this year, from the pre-game to the post game. Love it!

[illwill10]

Not mine

[Lakers 24 7]

I'm pretty disappointed, but not surprised. It seems to me that EA has become content in an arcade product. I have not noticed a single improvement in NCCA 12.

What's worse is that the defense is still just as bad as it was on NCAA 11 after the tuner sets. You can move the ball up and down the field all day (on Heisman) without much effort. Without any realistic challenge. Without having to think, or develop a decent strategy.

In my first game I went 11-15 for 185 yards, passing. Put this game on 5 minute qtrs, and I don't think anyone would have a problem throwing for 3-400 yards every game. The flats are still easy to abuse. DBs don't react well. Zone defense is awful. Overall, you can fit the ball into places and complete catches that you should never make.

Trench play is still very unrealistic and feels stagnant. Offensive line/D-line interaction feels and looks gamey. There's no realistic bull-rush, or block shedding. Sorry to say but APF 2k8 to this day and still more realistic in this regard. EA has had how long now?

Run blocking still needs a lot of work. Block logic isn't great, blockers are often times slow to react. Again, the overall realistic feeling to the run game and reading the field just has a gamey feel to it.

QB play, also still unrealistic. There's no momentum, no drop backs, etc.

For this game to be a sim, it needs a lot of work. I personally don't understand why they focused their attention elsewhere instead of fixing the gameplay.

[NDAlum]

Quote: Originally Posted by booker21

And you? did you overthrow ?

I have overthrown a receiver.

Small sample size

Also this is on default sliders. I always tweak sliders to make it more challenging.

I never play online as founder of S.O.S.