NCAA 14 Demo: Early Returns & Gripes

Submitted by boliver46 on

Early impressions of NCAA 14 are pretty positive so far.  I admit I haven't played it in God knows how long...so some of those who've pretty loyally played it year after year have an advantage in the progression of the game.

I really like the control and flexibility of the running game.  It's nice to see Man-Bawl be successful - especially against our hated rival!

I also like the "Ask the Coach" feature for play-calls.  Makes me feel like I'm in Borges' head during the game...I don't recall this being a feature when last I played.  It's been in Madden forever, but not sure about NCAA.

Dislike the names tied to the players though.  I understand they can't use REAL names, but I think I prefer OT #77 to the name tied to Lewan (can't recall it off the top of my head).  Especially confusing to my 7-year old son who loves Devin Gardner and was like "why is #12 named xxxx?" 

Also find it a bit TOO easy in the passing game.  Just about every throw seems to hit on target without alot of effort.  My kids are effectively winging it all over the place - which is great to keep them interested - but not altogether realistic.

I only played for about 2 hours - but interested in learning other's feedback and features of the game they've found an improvement - or simply just fun to utilize.

***Side Note - had to change my Xbox name from BDOGG6969 to BDOGG1974 since my 10-year old daughter and 7-year old son love the game so far...and they're asking too many questions about my name!***

Speaking of all them questions...

 

*****Updated TItle to highlight as the demo vs. full released copy in July****

Sllepy81

June 19th, 2013 at 2:21 PM ^

make sure you buy it from best buy, they give you a big ten pack for ultimate teams. also if you want madden buy the anniversary edition from amazon($99) you get the NFL Sunday ticket free for mobile, some deal otherwise. read the details, I will get the mobile and use a pc and plug it into my tv. roughly paying 39.99 for Sunday ticket with this deal and madden for $60. worth it to me.

jsquigg

June 19th, 2013 at 5:40 PM ^

The Ask the Coach feature makes you feel like you're in Borges' head?  So did the game call the I-Form Iso with undersized RB and terrible interior line play?

Still not over it....

KennyGfanLMAO

June 20th, 2013 at 1:02 AM ^

Maybe varsity was a little too easy.

Gardner: 8/8 118 yards 2 TD's and 45 yards rushing

Miller: 4/7 34 yards and 22 yards rushing

The best part of the game was the last play where freshman running back #3 from virginia (Green) scooted 77 yards in clean up time. It just got me excited I guess.

The Geek

June 20th, 2013 at 9:15 AM ^

SI Link: here

The author seems to think Johnny Football looks like Bill Paxson... There is a very slight resemblance, but the point is he looks nothing like the real Johnny Manziel.

 

DMill2782

June 21st, 2013 at 10:01 AM ^

Not impressed. The physics are improved, but it still is the same game. Just brighter colors now. As usual, with 20 seconds before halftime, I was able to just run Shotgun Trio Verticals and complete two 50 yard bombs for a TD before time expired.  The vertical passing game is super easy. Darboh had 4 receptions for 160 yards and 2 TDs in 3 quarters for me. I quit after that. 

There was one thing that really irked me. A few times, with a wide open gaping hole, Rawls would duck and slow down for no apparent reason and end up getting tackled for a 3-4 yard gain by a DE that had been sealed off by my RT. Should have been 15-20 yard runs. Pretty lame.

If this game cost $25-30, it would be worth purchasing. At $60, it's a waste of money. I'll wait for the price drop on Amazon.