Shorter version: Being a 2k football player, NCAA 14 is the very first next generation EA football title that I can proudly say actually feels like real football. I never bought a single EA NCAA or EA Madden for the next generation (PS3) console, but NCAA 14 is definitely purchase worthy. My biggest problem with NCAA 14 is that it's not on the PS4. Decisions.
Side Note/Concern: What happened to the "In Game Updates" and the "ESPN around the league scoreboard ticker"? Both of these elements help to draw the gamer in. Will there be a pregame show, halftime show, and a postgame show?
Longer Version: Finally a next generation football offering from EA Sports that I can sink my teeth into. NCAA 14 is very enjoyable and surprisingly purchase worthy. 2k sports' All Pro Football was my go to football game for the entire cycle of the PS3 (I didn't get a PS3 until about Jan. 2011).
I have tried most of the past demo iterations for both EA NCAA and EA Madden, each and every single time it took about 2 minutes into the game for me to mentally walk away. I'll go back the next day to do a 30 minute to 1 hour test run, but ultimately I called it quits and shelved the demo. Very difficult to stomach the way players moved, felt, and reacted. Prior to NCAA 14, I have never bought a single version of EA NCAA or Madden football for the PS3. I simply said, well there's next year.
NCAA 14's player movement reminds me of 2k All Pro Football, a very good thing. The players have weight to them. The way the players run finally feels real. The contact feels organic. The controls are responsive. Player models no longer look plastic. They no longer have that plastic sheen to them. The players are much more lifelike. This combined with the more natural looking field, overall presentation package, realistic bone jarring hits that makes me say "ouch, wow, damn, holy", more physicality in player interactions, more organic "on-the-field" emotions, celebrations, and it finally feels like football.
My only problem with NCAA 14 is that it's not available on the PS4. If this is the way future EA football titles will play, it's going to be very difficult to not get on board. Once the PS4 was announced, I vowed not to buy anymore titles for the PS3. I have played the NCAA demo continually non-stop. Decisions, decisions.