Staff Roundtable: How Are We Feeling About NCAA Football 12 Now?

[Nakeja71]

I have yet to see actual blades of grass on a college football field like in this game. Terrible EA .

[Nakeja71]

What does it say about all the people on gaming sites who gave this game such rave reviews? It seems to me people are more concerned with relationships with EA and making sure no one hurts their feelings. I am not buying another EA game until people with no relationships with EA play the game.

[LambertandHam]

Quote: Originally Posted by Nakeja71

What does it say about all the people on gaming sites who gave this game such rave reviews? It seems to me people are more concerned with relationships with EA and making sure no one hurts their feelings. I am not buying another EA game until people with no relationships with EA play the game.

I wouldn't jump on the conspiracy train, but as the IGN and Gamestop reviews have showed, put faith in your own judgement.

[Illustrator76]

I did not buy NCAA 12 on release day because I did not like the demo at all. It honestly felt like NCAA 11.25. After 3 days worth of coaxing from my friends (stating that the retail game was indeed a lot better than the demo), I decided to go ahead and buy the game (there is NOWHERE to rent games in my immediate area, and the new games aren't usually in anyway). After picking the game up, finding some sliders and playing a few games against the CPU, I must admit that I was kind of starting to like the game, it did feel more polished than the demo; Tackling IS improved from last year, run blocking seemed improved, and you could actually play zone defense this year. I am not the type of guy to buy a game and then be so happy to be playing football that I just "look past" certain issues so that I can proclaim the game as the greatest football game ever. I was kind of enjoying NCAA, and it felt like a step in the right direction. The game wasn't perfect, but I felt if a patch/tuners could fix the few things I was seeing at the time, that I could possibly enjoy NCAA 12 for an entire year. I then decided to scrimmage a few friends online, and everything went to H-E-double hockey sticks really quickly.

Playing on All-American (with no slider adjustments online) I threw 11 interceptions in 2 games, most of them because of the "super reacting" linebackers in zone coverage and the "legacy issue" of poor pass trajectory. It was ridiculous. On one play, my friend sold out on the blitz (sent like 7 or 8 guys) and dropped his secondary in to short zones. I had a guy WIDE open running an out route behind one of the zones, so I throw a bullet pass with a little loft on it (laughing in joy at my awesome "read"), only to have the linebacker jump up and intercept a pass that was meant for a guy 7-10 yards behind him. This proceeded to happen to me many more times in two online games. Don't get me wrong, about 4 of my 11 INT's were just bad reads on my part and I can accept that, but the other 7 INT's were complete BS by the CPU.

From now on I refuse to play any NCAA 12 online games without a bottle of Mrs. Butterworth's next my controller, because I am constantly seeing nothing but pancakes. Even on All American, my ENTIRE Defensive Line is being completely pancaked on both running and passing plays. I don't care if you are playing with some 1,000 member D-III school, Defensive Linemen are not going to get mauled straight to the ground on EVERY play, it just doesn't happen. Along these same lines, 4-3 defensive ends are still worthless. Even in offline play, 4-3 Ends have zero ability to rush the Quarterback AT ALL. This pretty much makes recruiting and using 4-3 Defensive Ends totally useless, as their main job is to kill the QB first and stop the run 2nd. If you are running a 3-4, then they do their job perfectly well, in that they simply tie-up blockers and don't do much else. I ran numerous tests with Florida State's RE (95 overall, 95 Finesse Moves) against Troy's Left Tackle (can't remember overall, 75 Pass Block Footwork). Florida State's RE got NO pressure on the QB until I literally dropped the LT's Pass Block Footwork down to 0. That shouldn't have to happen. Period.

On top of these issues, there are still way too many unrealistic dropped balls by WR's online. I have no problems with drops if Receivers/TE's have a bad catch/CIT rating, but dropping balls on streak routes where the receivers are WIDE open, catch the ball, take 2 steps and then get tripped up are ridiculous. The old "last minute option pitch" when you are basically on the ground is still alive and well, as well as the option pitch where the opposing CB runs up and intercepts the ball. Others have touched on this as well, but DB's have eyes in the back of their heads and break/make plays on balls they have no business even being around. WR's and DB's alike still routinely go for the wrong type of catch animations in the wrong situations, and the DB's still swat the ball when they should intercept it, and vice versa. While run blocking is improved, I had a run with Denard Robinson where ALL my WR had to do was block the CB directly in front of him and I was home free, but instead the WR decided to leave the CB to tackle me, and run back to the LOS to block a guy who was completely out of the play. Needless to say, I didn't score on that play.

I have yet to see one of these new "diving catch" animations, and I have played well over 30+ online/offline games. The CPU AI quickly gets very boring, predictable and the play-calling can be downright atrocious and nonsensical at times. The game's overall sound is way too low and the "dynamic crowd noise" is sporadic and pretty much a complete joke. At the end of the day EA (yet again) has failed to fix numerous legacy issues (I mean, really, how long have we been complaining about ineffective DE's, super reacting LB's and incorrect pass trajectory?) and deliver a product not riddled with bugs and glaring issues. I understand that no game is perfect and that games will always ship with bugs and glitches, but when it gets to the point where finished games begin to feel incomplete or like Betas, then that is a huge issue. Sliders can somewhat correct (or better yet mask) some of the issues in this game offline (psychic coverage, suspect run blocking, D-Line pancakes), but it still doesn't make the games mechanics function correctly, and what about the online community? In my opinion, it would take a huge patch and a few tuners to get this game playing right online, and I just don't see that happening.

For the people that like the game and are enjoying it, good for you. I am glad that you have found a football game that you find fun. There is nothing wrong with that. I personally refuse to let numerous fundamental "football" issues with NCAA slide that other games licked and surpassed years ago. I am really getting tired of the people with legit gameplay complaints being labeled this or that, when the facts are glaringly clear. EA has failed year after year to listen to their community and fix legacy issues that are severely hampering their gameplay. Couple that with the introduction of what seem to be new legacy issues every year and people have the right to be upset and demand better. Period.

This game has potential, but I just do not see EA being willing to put the necessary work in to make NCAA 12 what it could be (if they were, they would have shipped it that way). I should have stuck with my first mind and stayed far away from NCAA 12.

[roadman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Illustrator76

I did not buy NCAA 12 on release day because I did not like the demo at all. It honestly felt like NCAA 11.25. After 3 days worth of coaxing from my friends (stating that the retail game was indeed a lot better than the demo), I decided to go ahead and buy the game (there is NOWHERE to rent games in my immediate area, and the new games aren't usually in anyway). After picking the game up, finding some sliders and playing a few games against the CPU, I must admit that I was kind of starting to like the game, it did feel more polished than the demo; Tackling IS improved from last year, run blocking seemed improved, and you could actually play zone defense this year. I am not the type of guy to buy a game and then be so happy to be playing football that I just "look past" certain issues so that I can proclaim the game as the greatest football game ever. I was kind of enjoying NCAA, and it felt like a step in the right direction. The game wasn't perfect, but I felt if a patch/tuners could fix the few things I was seeing at the time, that I could possibly enjoy NCAA 12 for an entire year. I then decided to scrimmage a few friends online, and everything went to H-E-double hockey sticks really quickly. Playing on All-American (with no slider adjustments online) I threw 11 interceptions in 2 games, most of them because of the "super reacting" linebackers in zone coverage and the "legacy issue" of poor pass trajectory. It was ridiculous. On one play, my friend sold out on the blitz (sent like 7 or 8 guys) and dropped his secondary in to short zones. I had a guy WIDE open running and out route behind one of the zones, so I throw a bullet pass with a little loft on it, laughing in joy at my awesome "read", only to have the linebacker jump up and intercept a pass that was meant for a guy 7-10 yards behind him. This proceeded to happen to me many more times in two online games. Don't get me wrong, about 4 of my 12 INT's were just bad reads on my part and I can accept that, but the other 8 INT's were complete BS by the CPU. From now on I refuse to play any NCAA 12 online games without a bottle of Mrs. Butterworth's next my controller, because I am constantly seeing nothing but pancakes. Even on All American, my ENTIRE Defensive Line is being completely pancaked on both running and passing plays. I don't care if you are playing with some 1,000 member D-III school, Defensive Linemen are not going to get mauled straight to the ground on EVERY play, it just doesn't happen. Along these same lines, 4-3 defensive ends are still worthless. Even in offline play, 4-3 Ends have zero ability to rush the Quarterback AT ALL. This pretty much makes recruiting and using 4-3 Defensive Ends totally useless, as their main job it to kill the QB first and stop the run 2nd. If you are running a 3-4, then they do their job perfectly well, in that they simply tie-up blockers and don't do much else. I ran numerous tests with Florida State's RE (95 overall, 95 Finesse Moves) against Troy's Left Tackle (can't remember overall, 75 Pass Block Footwork). Florida State's RE got NO pressure on the QB until I literally dropped the LT's Pass Block Footwork down to 0. That shouldn't have to happen. Period. On top of these issues, there are still way too many unrealistic dropped balls by WR's online. I have no problems with drops if Receivers/TE's have a bad catch/CIT rating, but dropping balls on streak routes where the receivers are WIDE open, catch the ball, take 2 steps and then get tripped up are ridiculous. The old "last minute option pitch" when you are basically on the ground is still alive and well, as well as the option pitch where the opposing CB runs up and intercepts the ball. Others have touched on this as well, but DB's have eyes in the back of their heads and break/make plays on balls they have no business even being around. WR's and DB's alike still routinely go for the wrong type of catch animations in the wrong situations, and the DB's still swat the ball when they should intercept it, and vice versa. While run blocking is improved, I had a run with Denard Robinson where ALL my WR had to do was block the CB directly in front of him and I was home free, but instead the WR decided to leave the CB to tackle me, and run back to the LOS to block a guy who was completely out of the play. Needless to say, I didn't score on that play. I have yet to see one of these new "diving catch" animations, and I have played well over 30+ online/offline games. The CPU AI quickly gets very boring, predictable and the play-calling can be downright atrocious and nonsensical at times. The game's overall sound is way too low and the "dynamic crowd noise" is sporadic and pretty much a complete joke. At the end of the day EA (yet again) has failed to fix numerous legacy issues (I mean, really, how long have we been complaining about ineffective DE's, super reacting LB's and incorrect pass trajectory?) and deliver a product not riddled with bugs and glaring issues. I understand that no game is perfect and that games will always ship with bugs and glitches, but when it gets to the point where finished games begin to feel incomplete or like Betas, then that is a huge issue. Sliders can somewhat correct (or better yet mask) some of the issues in this game offline (psychic coverage, suspect run blocking, D-Line pancakes), but it still doesn't make the games mechanics function correctly, and what about the online community? In my opinion, it would take a huge patch and a few tuners to get this game playing right online, and I just don't see that happening. For the people that like the game and are enjoying it, good for you. I am glad that you have found a football game that you find fun. There is nothing wrong with that. I personally refuse to let numerous fundamental "football" issues with NCAA slide that other games licked and surpassed years ago. I am really getting tired of the people with legit gameplay complaints being labeled this or that, when the facts are glaringly clear. EA has failed year after year to listen to their community and fix legacy issues that are severely hampering their gameplay. Couple that with the introduction of what seem to be new legacy issues every year and people have the right to be upset and demand better. Period. This game has potential, but I just do not see EA being willing to put the necessary work in to make NCAA 12 what it could be (if they were, they would have shipped it that way). I should have stuck with my first mind and stayed far away from NCAA 12.

I agree with you Illustrator on the online aspect of NCAA.

Offline, I've found sliders that doesn't show the issues that online players are seeing.

It shouldn't be that way, though. EA needs to fix it so both online and offline players have a good experience.

[SECElit3]

Quote: Originally Posted by Elgin2311

I dont excuse the fact that the game has issues. But not once did I hear anyone say every feature was gonna work properly on release. Yes they never stated the that they didnt work, but like you said no one put a gun to your head and told you to buy. Your argument became ******** when you stated that the game looks the same. No offense to the mentally challanged.

WTH??? What do you even say to this? Speechless...

[crabcola]

Quote: Originally Posted by SECElite3

WTH??? What do you even say to this? Speechless...

Lol, I was thinking that, too.


Sent from my PB99400 using Tapatalk

[Smoke6]

Havent played or bought NCAA in years, I was in love with the relationship it had with madden in regards to importing of draft classes back on the early days of the PS2.

I found that same feeling in this years version and was killed off by going online and testing the waters. I should have never done that!

Its like that "you cant unsee, what you have already seen" type of feel I have now. I think reviewers and others who get early hands on with the game are just overwhelmed and excited to be that first or one of the few who get that chance and just overlooks these glaring issues in the game.

Maybe they need more than just a day or few hours of playing the game to get a better feel or something. But the Super abilities of players and no real physical reactions of others on the field has killed my enjoyment i was having along with the antics that go on online.