NCAA Football 13 News Post

NCAA Football 13 Review (360/PS3)

10:30 AM - July 10, 2012 by RaychelSnr

Death, Taxes and a new version of NCAA Football in July.

That's the mantra around OS, and it signals a brand new release season for sports gamers. This year's NCAA Football 13 comes packed with enhancements to the passing game, presentation and dynasty mode -- but it is missing the real time physics engine which Madden is going to be debuting in a month.

With that in mind, and with the limited nature of the improvements, one can't help but feel that this year's NCAA Football iteration has a bit of a lame-duck feeling to it.

However, if you are willing to stomach a lot of the same old flaws within the series and some unrealistic moments of football, there is a fun game of pigskin waiting to be unleashed.

Read More - NCAA Football 13 Review (360/PS3)

Game: NCAA Football 13Reader Score: 7/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / Xbox 360Votes for game: 60 - View All

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Member Comments

# 61 TimLawNYC @ 07/11/12 04:34 PM

From reviews so far, it just doesn't sound like this is enough of an on-field improvement over last year to waste my time with it. Plus, we all know, based on history, that crippling, game-killing bugs are likely to be discovered over the next few weeks, for which we will wait either months or forever to receive fixes.

I've always preferred the college video games to the pros. This is the first year since probably 1992 that I have not purchased an NCAA football game, though I've been on the fence the last few years. Shame on you, EA, for ruining this once-great franchise.

# 62 BDawg35 @ 07/11/12 06:39 PM

Excellent well-balanced review. Just got my copy because NCAA and Madden are all I play. We'll see how it plays.

# 63 LucianoJJ @ 07/11/12 07:16 PM

This review made me consider hunting down a used copy of NCAA 11 and the Phil Steele preview from that season. I appreciate Chris' objectivity. He really covers the inconsistencies of the game. He was out front when it was obviously that NCAA 12 was a mess. I also agree with his blog about the presentation of NCAA 13. We've come to realize we can't depend on a series of patches to perfect a game. It's not even a given that these games improve with the passage of time. After two days I am not ready to trade in my copy, but Chris brings up a lot of good points on where the series needs work.

# 64 thuglove2005 @ 07/12/12 11:49 AM

nice review my man this game is fair

# 65 MeloJello @ 07/12/12 12:33 PM

Damn i havent played NCAA football since Reggie bush was on the cover. Use to love ncaa football on the last gen now that love is gone. Hey so im guessing there is still features and modes still missing from the last gen like training camp and spring scrimmage.

# 66 XBox_Roughneck @ 07/12/12 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by misterkrabz


	I couldn't agree more about your impressions of playing defense. The whole experience on defense is an exercise in frustration for me because you simply do not have precise control of the man your are manually controlling and he simply does not respond to user input on the controller in a slpit second fashion (which is needed to make quick plays on the ball).

at #36..

That's one of the reasons I still enjoy Madden 08 on the PC so much. Playing defense in that game is actually fun because I feel I'm really in control of my defenders. The more and more EA starts to rely on animations, the less control it feels I have over what my defender is doing.

I'm currently on a year later cycle with my NCAA football purchases and I'm glad decided to go that route 3 years ago. I'll be picking up '12 in 9 days and after that my next NCAA purchase will be on a next gen console.

Kinda disappointed in how, in this generation, to improve the "look" of it's football games EA sports had to take a lot of the "control" away from the player.

# 67 80Baby @ 07/12/12 10:50 PM

I must say that this is probably one of the more accurate and intelligent reviews of a sports games that I've ever read. I'm a hard-core NCAA football fan so it was a no-brainer... I was going to buy this game (and hope for the best as far as improving on the previous year's edition). As far as NCAA 2012 is concerned, I've probably played through a dozen seasons in the past six months. I liked 2012. Maybe a bit more than 2011, but I liked it. I just started playing 2013 today and it all seems very familiar to me. I'm not that interested in the Heisman Challenge; no appeal to me what-so-ever. But some might like it as a diversion from the Dynasty Mode. The commentary is different, but that doesn't work for me. I'm more about the mechanics of the game and the reviewer it the nail right on the head, it still needs work. Which is okay with me because it means there's hope for a NCAA 2014 if the designers take to heart these types of reviews.

# 68 Aurabolt127 @ 07/12/12 11:33 PM

I'm excited, but I have to say, I'm concerned EA didn't spend enough time to realize the left South Alabama OUT OF THE GAME! Shouldn't one of the people working at EA noticed this? They got the other newcomers and they technically came to the dance AFTER the Jaguars. I was actually a little excited to take on the challenge of one of the new schools too - either Texas State or South Alabama and to realize the forgot the entire team is just mind boggling.

# 69 richie923 @ 07/12/12 11:44 PM

I'm glad I held out on buying the game because of the lack of the 2 Bar Revo Speed. It looks like it was a blessing in disguise. I saved $60. I was really looking forward to buying and enjoying this game but it looks less and less likely the more I read.

I'll get my CFB fix by watching ESPNUs Top Games of 2011.

# 70 cuttingteeth @ 07/13/12 02:12 PM

You lost unbiased professionalism with me in your review by way of three parts of your article:

First (and right off the bat) - "This year's NCAA Football 13 comes packed with enhancements to the passing game, presentation and dynasty mode -- but it is missing the real time physics engine which Madden is going to be debuting in a month." .....shows your bias towards Madden. It also hints at you knowing more than anyone else knows, and that kind of mysteriously vague thinking and wording from folks at this website is getting old. Spill the facts or don't say anything at all about a game because otherwise you all sound like salesmen or paid critics per one product to demote another product.

Second - "The same old problems are still present in many areas, and honestly it's hard to get excited about the title with Madden's big improvements coming up." ......again shows your bias towards Madden. You ever read the Madden forums? There's a lot missing in that game and many, many upset about it...except 99% of you mods for some reason...and you keep finding ways to uber-over-promote Madden compared to any other sports game (other sports games not having fans so livid, that is).

Third - "If you are a pro fan who uses NCAA as a bridge to Madden don't buy it. You will regret it because the games are no longer linked with draft class exports and more importantly Madden will render NCAA technically obsolete within a month..." ......more importantly? More importantly you should have left your bias at the door or let someone not in love with Madden write the review.

I'm sure you and others are about to just lose it and flame out on me...but I would hope logic wins out since I'm only reacting to your own words, and I am spared.

# 71 DarthRambo @ 07/13/12 02:18 PM

Good fair review. Thanks for saving me $65!

# 72 mdiggitydawg @ 07/13/12 02:34 PM

Finally a review which calls out some of the deal breaking issues in gameplay. They lost me last year, but I was waiting and hoping to see reason to buy...on the first night when I saw all the "bugs and glitches" I knew I wasn't coming back. Maybe Madden, def NHL13

# 73 ChiCubs @ 07/13/12 03:43 PM

....and skipping it again this year. {sigh}

# 74 BlingBling19 @ 07/13/12 06:08 PM

I was hoping for good news when I started reading this review and came away very dissapointed. Every year since 2002 I have bought the game on release but this year I thought I would wait and see what the reaction was. And so far it appears I made the right choice in not buying right away.

Maybe with a patch or something they can fix some of the big issues and I'll think about getting it then but for now this NCAA game stands to be the first since 2002 I won't purchase.

# 75 jasontoddwhitt @ 07/13/12 11:14 PM

NCAA 12 left a sour taste in my mouth. And after reading this review and seeing that a lot of my issues are STILL in 13...no purchase for me.

Maybe NCAA 14 will deliver.

# 76 Boilerbuzz @ 07/14/12 02:49 AM

I can't begin to express my disappointment after reading this. I trust few sites, but this is one I trust when they call out issues. And the onfield sim of football is ALL I cared about. I wanted to see if there have been strides made in enough areas to give it a shot. Now, Chris says they've REGRESSED? I spent 2 months trying to convince myself to try it. Tried the demo. Didn't fall in love with it. And the review calls out the same issues I had hoped would have been addressed between the demo and now. Well then, I guess I move on.

# 77 pdiehm @ 07/14/12 09:22 AM

i played 13 last night with my brother in law. I saw some really good things. I enjoy the passing engine and feel of the game (retail vs demo).

Some things that concerned me were how often OL guys whiffed on blocks, and I am still absolutely AMAZED at why JUMP THE SNAP is still in the game.

My brother in law played a game, and I played a game, then we played each other. In his game the CPU jumped the snap 68 times in 74 snaps. In my game, using Oregon and the hurry up, the CPU jumped the snap 73 of 82 snaps.

It's without a doubt the 1 feature of this game that absolutely needs to be removed. Get that out of the game and improve the triple option blocking, and CPU logic...and this game could be near damn perfect.

# 78 cbass1 @ 07/14/12 10:10 AM

Fair review. NCAA is an ok game but could be much better.

# 79 linkinpark00 @ 07/14/12 06:41 PM

This game is awesome but i dont get why you have to buy more than 1 game to get nike pro combat jerseys and to get 6 Heisman players. They should just put it on the playstation network and the xbox store for people to just buy for 5 or 10 bucks.

# 80 Boilerbuzz @ 07/15/12 01:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by linkinpark00


	...but i dont get why you have to buy more than 1 game to get nike pro combat jerseys and to get 6 Heisman players. They should just put it on the playstation network and the xbox store for people to just buy for 5 or 10 bucks.

Is that a serious question? Seriously. EA has no incentive whatsoever to do that. Why should they?

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