NCAA 11 Early Impressions - rudyjuly2's Blog

rudyjuly2's Blog

NCAA 11 Early Impressions

Posted on July 14, 2010 at 10:23 AM.

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I like to blog my early thoughts so I can go back and look at how my feelings evolve over time with a game. I posted this in the main impressions thread as well.

I�ve played almost 3 games now with seven minute quarters and I�m enjoying it. I wasn�t blown away at first but I think I�ve grown to like it more as I continue to play it. I still feel that after three games it�s still way too early to judge how the game will play but I think this will be a good game.

Gameplay � I think the highlight of the game is the running game. Reading blocks, breaking tackles and the added momentum really makes this the best part of the game. Surprisingly I prefer the slow speed. I think locomotion could be heavier but I�m largely fine with it.

The pass rush does seem weak for the human, even with the DL set to aggressive all game. There seems to be no penalty for an aggressive DL vs. the cpu so you might as well set it there. I haven�t played with a great pass rushing team yet so I can�t tell if it needs to be boosted. I am worried that a great pass rush will result in too many pick 6�s on All American. The cpu passing game needs a little help at default and the cpu running game needs a lot of help on default imo.

I do like the passes missing the targets and you don�t have to lead receivers deep anymore. The targeting system is good. I�ve also seen receivers have to stretch out and dive to catch balls (have a nice deep one on EA sportsworld) both across the middle and deep. No automatic YAC.

The DBs in the game have really bad hands which helps limit the INTs. I do notice that DBs mirror the WR routes at times and you better not force that pass. It doesn�t happen all the time and I don�t have a big problem with it as you can usually tell early on that the DB will have the edge and you better not throw it there.

The cpu kickers still have overly strong legs but do miss quite often. I wish the game would default to the FG Block play if using the play suggestions on FGs/XPs. It would be simpler in obvious situations.

Overall I�m happy with the game. I need to play more to determine just how happy I will be.

Fluff � I think the graphics are good. I�m not blown away by them but all three games were at dusk due to playing last night. I know the graphics tend to stand out more in day games (especially true for the baseball games) but either way they are fine. The presentation would be a lot better with more stat pop-ups. I think the crowd sounds are good � way better than NCAA 10. I do miss Corso a bit. Not sure why he was removed. Every injury needs to be announced as well.

One thing I find very annoying � the replays are cut off at the beginning if they are long! I have a PS3 � we all have hard drives. Why was this necessary? I had a great run with John Clay where I broke a ton of tackles and all I see is his sprint into the endzone. All the good stuff was cut out. The camera seems to pan more than the demo but I still like it a lot more than NCAA 10. Extra camera angles along with in game saves would be great next year EA! There is still some lag in the menus and scrolling for the PS3. I wish that was eliminated entirely. I�d still like sliders for fatigue, injuries and fumbles although all three do seem pretty good on default.

Kicking game � I did some testing in this area. You really need to drop your angle on FGs to kick long ones but I think they really got the strength of the user kicker�s leg right. The cpu kicking game is too strong though. Users are too accurate but cpu kickers are not.

Cpu punters have a fair leg while users out kick a cpu punter by roughly 5 yards so that needs to be toned down imo. The problem is the user punt length slider doesn�t work well. 10 points = 1 yard so I dropped user punt length down to 0. I now kick the same length as the cpu punter.

Kicking Sliders I�d recommend.
SP TEAMS HUM CPU
FG LENGTH 50 35
FG ACCURACY 25 50
PUNT LENGTH 0 50

Game Notes � I was tweaking sliders after each game, sometimes at half time to test some things out.

Game 1 � Notre Dame & Michigan (me). I got the custom stadium sounds in and beat Notre Dame 24-10! Can�t say I outplayed them as they had 18 first downs to my 11. Notre Dame turned the ball over four times and I scored two TDs directly off of them. I intercepted an option pitch for a TD and had a pick 6. I struggled to run Michigan�s offense but Craig Roh did have 7 tackles including 2 sacks. ND�s QB was 21-42-239-0 TD-2 INT. Forcier 8-16-82-0 TD-1 INT. Shaw led all RBs with 20 carries for 76 yards.

Game 2 � Wisconsin (me) @ Iowa. I destroyed them 66-10 including a time expiring TD as Kirk scolded me. John Clay was a beast as he rushed 24-264 yards and 4 TDs. I totalled 32-345-6 TDs on the ground. I also threw 11-15-209 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT. Iowa just seemed to lay down in the second half. Progressive fatigue? I upped the cpu run defense after this game as I shouldn�t shred them like that. Clay had well over 100 yards after contact � loved it. Iowa�s QB was 8-25-82 yards, 0 TD, 2 INTs. His receivers dropped 5 balls! It�s the only time I�ve seen too many drops but that�s life right? Iowa did rush 22-89 yards and 1 TD. I only got one sack but did pressure the Iowa QB into some bad throws.

Game 3 � Penn State (me) @ Alabama. After a final slider tweak I wanted to see how well I would do against Bama. Too bad I crapped the bed early on. I made a terrible decision on a late pitch they picked off and took to the house on the first play of the game. I threw a pick on my next possession as well to go down 14-0 early and 24-0 in the first half. I did get back to 24-14 but was losing 38-14 at the end of the third and shut the game off. It was midnight, I was tired and I wasn�t coming back. Ingram broke a bunch of tackles and was 18-173-3 TDs. Royster only rushed 14-28, 1 TD for me. I was 8-20 passing, 132 yards, 1 TD and 3 INTs. McElroy was 10-15, 107 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs and no sacks. Bama still punted three times through three quarters.