Differences between Madden and NCAA gameplay

[Rudy]

I thought it would be interesting to note the differences in gameplay between the two games. At present I have only played the NCAA demo while I've had the Madden retail version for awhile.

I think Madden looks better outdoors and in good lighting but Madden can look cartoony at times and it looks bad in domes.

Player movement feels different. I think the players may actually have more weight to them in NCAA which I like when running and playing defence. This does make a difference when running the ball. Madden ISO plays up the gut are too money. I don't see that in NCAA. I see more DL making plays (at times) in the backfield in NCAA. It is very rare to see that in Madden. I think running with good vision matters more in NCAA. Picking and sliding feels more important and organic. The read option in NCAA is over powered compared to traditional runs - is that tuned better in retail?

Passing game feels different. NCAA seems tuned more for bigger plays than Madden. I do like seeing more man coverage by the CPU. Madden CPU defences run a lot of zone which can be frustrating with dumb WRs that don't know how to sit down in zones. Since most defences run man coverage in 3rd down its refreshing to see that in NCAA. The field in NCAA seems wider. Maybe it's the co-ordinator camera but sideline awareness seems a lot better. Madden drives me nuts with trying to complete passes near the sideline (always going out of bounds, rarely a catch).

The Infinity Engine seems a bit different. Tackling seems a little different but it's hard for me to say exactly what it is. Not sure.

[dhook27]

The only difference is NCAA is way better.

[jello1717]

The only difference is NCAA is way better.

That's constructive..........

[GatorfanStovy]

NCAA is just better! Just plain sucks we got get a next generation console title next summer stupid EA.

[Rudy]

LOL. I was hoping for SPECIFIC things you notice. WHY do you like one better over the other? Try to think of something in the running game, passing game, defence, special teams, player movement, camera angles, etc.

[SmoothPancakes]

The only difference is NCAA is way better.

NCAA is just better! Just plain sucks we got get a next generation console title next summer stupid EA.

Subjective opinions without any actual reasoning to back up the remarks.

WHY is NCAA better? In what specific areas is NCAA better?

Now I personally can't offer many comments one way or the other, because I only played the Season Ticket of Madden 25, but that's it. I haven't played it otherwise. So I can't say for sure one way or the other as to which one is better and what specific areas each one is better.

I do know one negative on NCAA, commentary. It's stale, it's been stale for years, and many times during games, the announcers saw the wrong thing or it's poorly stitched together. For instance, I call a timeout with a couple seconds left to kick a game winning field goal, the announcers say the offense looked confused there and had to burn a timeout. Really?

Commentary has sucked in NCAA for years now, and unfortunately we couldn't get new commentary before the series died. So when it comes to commentary, even in my limited experience, Madden gets the nod there.

I also agree with Rudy on the lighting/outdoors. NCAA is much better this year than it has been the past couple years, but for the most part (the times it looks cartoony aside), Madden has always looked better, brighter, crisper and cleaner than NCAA has when it comes to visuals and lighting.

[CLW]

I have to agree NCAA is better.

#1 the player movement feels more realistic

#2 the running game is SLIGHTLY more difficult (madden is a COMPLETE JOKE)

#3 passing game = wash

[bdoughty]

The big one for me is that on defense in NCAA you can lock into a player and play from a proper defensive perspective. Also, while not a gameplay feature, NCAA has had an autosave for years.

[Rudy]

Madden's save feature is annoying this year. Hit select and it automatically saves your franchise as a new file. So after every game the cpu will create a new saves file unless you manually navigate to the save menu and over-write it. I don't know why they did that this year.

[bdoughty]

Madden's save feature is annoying this year. Hit select and it automatically saves your franchise as a new file. So after every game the cpu will create a new saves file unless you manually navigate to the save menu and over-write it. I don't know why they did that this year.

Best not to ponder the terms "logic" and "shit Tiburon does." You have a better chance uncovering the meaning of life. NCAA also has a better pre-play adjustment setup. Madden screwed something up that did not need to be touched in the first place. At least they give an option to go back to something that was not broken to begin with. Hundreds of things to fix and they mess around with this stuff? Not even gonna ask why, just going to solve P versus NP instead or translate GatorfanStovy's replies to a spoken language.

Just plain sucks we got get a next generation console title next summer stupid EA.

I tried to translate this from English to French and it said, "God save the Queen."

[ram29jackson]

are drag routes in this years madden as effective as last years Madden ? they killed the drag route in this years NCAA compared to last year. You are lucky to get a yard where as last year if you hit one at the right time you were gone

[Rudy]

I don't know if the drag route is a lot different. You certainly need to use it and other short routes in Madden. Last year in Madden the big exploit was the pressing CBs. They pressed and played a lot of zone so you could consistently hit the WR between after the CB jammed them and before the safety. The CBs don't press as much in Madden and it can be harder to hit the deep ball. I think it's easier to hit the deep ball in NCAA but I can't say for sure.

NCAA does the timing routes better IMO. The deep comeback has the WR icon light up at the right time to help you time it well and make the throw. For some reason I don't think it works the same in Madden. I just don't remember using the icons like that in M25 this year but I haven't played it much lately. I think it's easier to hit the deep pass in NCAA (not 100% sure on that).

Overall the passing game in Madden is geared more towards the short game, is less wide open and the CPU plays more zone IMO. I bought NCAA off Amazon and will have it Thursday night.

[Rudy]

Certainly there are gameplay traits in NCAA that don't exist in Madden. The cpu QB scrambles a lot in NCAA, they run the read-option and they throw bubble screens. I find I've had success running the bubble screens but not the cpu. The cpu throws too many HB screens imo (in both games).

The one area where I think Madden completely outshines NCAA is in the DL controls. The controls in the NCAA demo are stiff for DL and not nearly as well defined. In Madden it's almost a mini game when you play DE and rush the passer. The OT will sometimes cut you off outside and force you in or vice versa. You have to be able to respond. Also, the r-stick left or right in Madden is a good swim move, the r-stick up is spin and the bull rush (down) are all effective. The r-stick up in NCAA doesn't seem to be a spin move and the overall moves don't seem to be very responsive. In Madden a speed rush around the corner can result in a shoulder dip and get up the field animation that I like. I don't think that's in the NCAA demo.

After being used to the default Madden camera where I can see the outside WRs I find I can only use the co-ordinator camera in NCAA. Every other angle is too restrictive for me.