IGN LiveStream of NCAA Football 12 - Video & Recap

[Rudy]

As for the people saying that they can't pass in under 3 seconds, my reaction to that is that you either shouldn't be playing on the default difficulty or you should be the ones adjusting sliders. The default settings should not cater to people who self-identify as horrible passers. Further, if you were routinely forced to throw it quicker, you'd probably adjust eventually and get better at making good pre-snap reads and learning how to quickly progress through your reads.

Sliders do not apply for online play (ranked games or dynasty), and thus the default settings are important for head to head competition, which is supposed to be geared towards rewarding the better player. It doesn't do that when the settings are such that gameplay is not accurately represented in terms of certain things being too easy or hard relative to how real football is played.

I understand that online play has to play on default. I've never liked an EA football game on any default settings. The cpu run game is usually brutal and needs a lot of help on AA. That's usually the one area that needs the most work. I recognize the fact that I may have to adjust sliders offline but I'm OK with that as an offline player.

I do get annoyed when people tell me that I should suck it up, practice and get better. I've been playing football games for years. I'm not going to get much better. End of discussion. I have the same annoying argument about the pitch speed in MLB The Show. It's too fast and the slider doesn't work well. I get frustrated and I've given up on that game because of it. I'd rather play MLB 2K11 and not be so frustrated.

Absolutely that is the great thing about a game with sliders, you can adjust things to ones liking. What you may like as far as pressure and time to release the ball may and probably will be different from me or anyone else for that matter. Doesn't mean you or me are wrong, just different in things we enjoy out of the game. Which is why appeasing one set of people may upset the cart for others which makes EA's job all that much more difficult to balance.

Totally agree which is why I love sliders and why I'm pushing for a separate man vs. zone coverage slider which should be very easy to implement.

[psusnoop]

Sliders don't even apply for user v user online dynasty games, so even if your argument about ranked games were valid (and it isn't), there's still no excuse for having the pass rush be so ineffective on the default settings.

People playing online games who only care about Ws will maximize to whatever the game allows. If the game forced them to play more realistically, then they'd play more realistically and have the same amount of fun. But the rest of us would have more fun too. And just because people play ranked games doesn't mean they want arcade football with ineffective pass defense. There are more people who play ranked games but still want a "sim" experience than you realize.

I'll agree with that.

But I also know that deep down there really isn't anything that will be perfect. If it isn't the zone coverage, it will be the pass rush, if not that it will move onto something else. Sometimes we just need to look for solutions to problems and continue to grow the game instead of being a negative nancy all the time.

Deuce said it well, sometimes you just have to enjoy what we have and if that doesn't do it then maybe the game and series just isn't cut out for you. Always complaining about things just isn't the answer.

[JeffHCross]

Where you play exclusively Online, Online Dynasty, or Offline, I think we can all agree that the default settings should provide a good game that is neither over the top nor unsatisfying. Then you can tweak from there to match your personal preference.

[I OU a Beatn]

Where you play exclusively Online, Online Dynasty, or Offline, I think we can all agree that the default settings should provide a good game that is neither over the top nor unsatisfying. Then you can tweak from there to match your personal preference.

Agree completely. NCAA '04 had that and that was pretty well the last game that did - online anyway.

[JeffHCross]

Agree completely. NCAA '04 had that and that was pretty well the last game that did - online anyway.

Well, and that's a good example of how hard it is for even our "hardcore" community to agree. I know I loved NCAA 04, but I also know some people that passionately disagree with the idea that 04 was good.

[Dr Death]

They still have the fat # 1's on I've posted this on OS and I don't understand how they can have the number font's wrong. is the same way. When you guys go back down there this month, can you ask them about this???

[I OU a Beatn]

Well, and that's a good example of how hard it is for even our "hardcore" community to agree. I know I loved NCAA 04, but I also know some people that passionately disagree with the idea that 04 was good.

I don't see how. That game was as close to being perfectly balanced as any other they've released and there's not an even remotely close second. But yeah, I know you're one. There's always going to be someone who loves it and someone who hates it.

[xMrHitStickx904]

NCAA '04 was just a great game. Geared toward the offense slightly, but defensive struggles could happen as well. The crowd >>>>

[I OU a Beatn]

Defensive struggles happened if you knew how to play defense. I vaguely remember rhombic shutting me out 14-0 in an online game in '04. I've never quite gotten over that game as it remains the only time I've ever been shut out.

But, that's why I think it was the most balanced. If you had a dominant set of offensive plays and knew the flaws with the defense, you could put up 50. However, if you knew how to play defense and was a good user tackler and good at manual coverage, you could completely shut people down. The difference being that there was genuine pressure in that game. If you dialed up a blitz at the right time, you'd get almost instant pressure and you could really cause a lot of confusion for your opponent.

Now, you blitz, your opponent sits in the pocket for 8 seconds, and then fires a dime to a wide open receiver who broke off his route.

[rhombic21]

The NCAA '04 talk is not accurate. First, zone coverage basically didn't work, and passing was really pretty easy. I pretty routinely completed over 80% of my passes, and had some games where I went something like 23 of 24. It was also possible to set up 4 and 5 play offenses that were virtually unstoppable. You could come out in the same formation and just audible at the line depending on what the defense came out in.

I also developed an option offense (from wishbone) that was essentially unstoppable.

Also, '04 was before you could do hot routes on defense and was before you could switch the direction of running plays. So they had a whole bunch of formations where you essentially couldn't run to the weakside because there were no running plays that went to that side.

'04 is remembered as a great game because it was the first time people could play online, and a lot of the basic mechanics of online play worked pretty well. But most people started out playing that game without much experience playing user v user. That was also before the days of youtube and video capture, so there wasn't anywhere near as much sophistication by people breaking down gamefilm to understand what was working and why. There was also a whole lot less Xs and Os coverage in mainstream media, so a lot of people didn't have much of a grasp about how football worked in real life.

If '04 came out today, it would be remembered the same way that NCAA '09 is -- "wide open gameplay, with absolutely no defense."

None of the PS2 games were any better balanced for offense and defense than NCAA 10-11 were.

[I OU a Beatn]

I don't know. I distinctly remember starting fresh a few months before '05 came out and I was giving up less than 200 yards and under 14 points a game. Of course, I was running a bullshit defense, but nonetheless, it was definitely possible to stop people. I do remember zone defense being pretty bad, but when you had plays like a manually setup Dime Dog Gold, you don't even have to run zone defense.

I still stand by it as the most balanced between offense and defense. Every year since then has usually been completely one sided. I doubt we'll ever see a perfectly balanced game because EA obviously wants the game to appeal to casual players, and by incorporating that kind of balance, it would be alienating them which is something EA...unfortunately...is not going to do.

[xMrHitStickx904]

The most polished NCAA PS2 game IMO was 07. It's also my favorite of all NCAA games.

[I OU a Beatn]

The PS2 games were so long ago that I think they mesh together in my mind. I know I played the living hell out of '04-'07 on PS2, but I couldn't tell you a single thing about them with any certainty.

I'm going to have to rent all these games again and play them to see if I still like them now. Chances are that I'll find the same issues that bug me now, just like rhombic said.

[Jayrah]

I'll agree with that.

But I also know that deep down there really isn't anything that will be perfect. If it isn't the zone coverage, it will be the pass rush, if not that it will move onto something else. Sometimes we just need to look for solutions to problems and continue to grow the game instead of being a negative nancy all the time.

Deuce said it well, sometimes you just have to enjoy what we have and if that doesn't do it then maybe the game and series just isn't cut out for you. Always complaining about things just isn't the answer.

Well that's exactly it. It's not real live football, so there will always be an issue with something or other. There's going to be some things that aren't perfect. If it's the pass rush, then it's the pass rush, if it's an animation, it's an animation, if it's special teams.... I understand the sentiment to want to play real football, with real players that think for themselves and interact in a completely realistic way, because we would all want that, but it's just not going to happen. I'm gonna pick it up and play it all year long though , I can tell you that! My suggestion: f the lack of a rush ruins your experience...plan on bumping up the sliders or don't buy it because it cannot leave you unsatisfied this way.

[gschwendt]

About the gameplay videos at 1/4th speed... I tried to combined the two gameplay segments into one video and had it edited down to 15:59 which SHOULD be allowed by Youtube. Apparently though when they finished processing it, they decided it was over the time limit so the 1/4th speed version is not available. However if you want to see only the gameplay moments, here is the same video playing at normal speed.

[oweb26]

The NCAA '04 talk is not accurate. First, zone coverage basically didn't work, and passing was really pretty easy. I pretty routinely completed over 80% of my passes, and had some games where I went something like 23 of 24. It was also possible to set up 4 and 5 play offenses that were virtually unstoppable. You could come out in the same formation and just audible at the line depending on what the defense came out in.

I also developed an option offense (from wishbone) that was essentially unstoppable.

Also, '04 was before you could do hot routes on defense and was before you could switch the direction of running plays. So they had a whole bunch of formations where you essentially couldn't run to the weakside because there were no running plays that went to that side.

'04 is remembered as a great game because it was the first time people could play online, and a lot of the basic mechanics of online play worked pretty well. But most people started out playing that game without much experience playing user v user. That was also before the days of youtube and video capture, so there wasn't anywhere near as much sophistication by people breaking down gamefilm to understand what was working and why. There was also a whole lot less Xs and Os coverage in mainstream media, so a lot of people didn't have much of a grasp about how football worked in real life.

If '04 came out today, it would be remembered the same way that NCAA '09 is -- "wide open gameplay, with absolutely no defense."

None of the PS2 games were any better balanced for offense and defense than NCAA 10-11 were.

I totally agree with this, I'm glad I am not the only one who see '04 in that same light. I agree the game really hasnt taken that many drastic strides, which is why I dumbfounded that people get so passonately upset about the game in the first place. I think if something keeps letting me down for almost 10 years I wouldnt be buying it anymore or even commenting on it anymore there really is no point but maybe I am too rational. With that I do feel sorry for you online only guys, I stopped playing online back in 06 so in my eyes you have been getting jaded for years now online really made my blood pressure rise too much which is why OD was such a god send. lol

PS. None of my comments where directed at rhombic he is actually one of the few people who post constructive criticism before he rants, not the other way around or leave the constructive part out all together.

[Deuce]

I think why I'm still so fond of 04 was the way the CPU played. ..or maybe it was just a larger variation between good and bad players??? I am an offline player only and I always start off with a cupcake roster. I remember getting beaten badly during the first season in 04...I would go into games against a great team just hoping to keep it close. It took 3 to 4 years to get to the top. NCAA11 was the first iteration since then that I've struggled in my first season. I think I went 5-6 in my first season last year. 04 had its bugs and so does 11..and so will 12, 13, 14,15,...

Didn't 04 have the corner routes that were money and/or the HB direct? My memory sucks so I'm not sure.

[rhombic21]

The most polished NCAA PS2 game IMO was 07. It's also my favorite of all NCAA games.

NCAA '07 on PS2 is definitely the version that I played the most. The year after that I switched to the 360 version of the game, and it hasn't been until NCAA '10 that those games were really even playable.

[oweb26]

Didn't 04 have the corner routes that were money and/or the HB direct? My memory sucks so I'm not sure.

I think it had the corner routes but I know 06 HB direct was absolutely golden. You had to come out in something crazy like a punt formation to stop it. Like you though my memory sucks and then they all have merged in my memory.

[Jayrah]

Question for cd guys that I haven't seen asked anywhere yet:

Did any of you try the different speed settings yet? Ben says in the 3rd part video that there are 3 different settings for speed.