Video Game Chatter

[Texas Ace]

Ok, it's been 2 weeks now so I know exactly what this game is and while it's not without its flaws, I firmly believe this is the best playing football video game I've ever gotten my hands on.

I've never had this much fun playing a football game, even back when I was addicted Madden in my early 20s.

In fact, this may be the most fun I've had playing any sports game ever.

When I grade a game like this, what makes up 90% of my grade is the gameplay. I don't dock at points for what you can and can't do in regards to editing a player's details or if the recruiting is great or not, if the presentation is realistic or not, etc.

Those things certainly add to the immersion but they won't stop me from playing a game the way poor gameplay will. And this game is the closest and most lifelike resemblance the sport has ever seen in video game form.

Even the losses are fun!

The only real crimes I have with the gameplay are as follows:

O-line pass blocking. Some games it's okay and other games your offensive lineman act like they're blind and deaf. I don't know how many times I've been sacked because my OT didn't even bother to engage the pass rusher directly in front of him. Thankfully, it's not something that ruins the game but it does happen frequently enough that it needs to be addressed. The good news is that I'm certain this is something that will be improved upon via patches.

Next, well it's nice to see CPU quarterbacks finally making errant throws, they still don't make enough and they're still too accurate as a whole. Again, this is definitely better than it's ever been in an EA football game but they still need to tweak CPU QBs' accuracy.

And that's literally it for me. There are some other minor things that could use some improvement but those are the only two big issues for me.

If this game is this good out of the box, I can't wait to see what this game is like 2 and 3 months from now after a bunch of patches and improvements.

I'm still spending hours a day playing random exhibition games. From what I've seen and read, the in-seaaon logic for dynasty mode is kind of wonky but the team has already said they are going to push out an update soon to fix that. That's what I'm waiting for before finally playing a season.

For those of you struggling with some of the newer mechanics and things like that, I suggest you watch these videos as there's a lot of really good tips and information in there that will help:



So what do you guys all think of the game?

@1bigfan13 @boozeman @Smitty @Cowboysrock55 @Prodigal_Son

 

[Texas Ace]

This is a good one too:

 

[1bigfan13]

O-line pass blocking. Some games it's okay and other games your offensive lineman act like they're blind and deaf. I don't know how many times I've been sacked because my OT didn't even bother to engage the pass rusher directly in front of him. Thankfully, it's not something that ruins the game but it does happen frequently enough that it needs to be addressed. The good news is that I'm certain this is something that will be improved upon via patches.

It's a shame they didn't add sliders to address this issue.

The only sliders available that impact DL/LB is tackling. It would have been nice if they allowed us to turn down the CPU pass rush.

I bumped up the User pass blocking and it helped some, but if you're playing on AA or Heisman, your OL will still get their asses handed to them on most passing downs. It's not too bad if you're playing vs a middle of the pack team. but if you're playing against a big boy squad like UGA or LSU, you've got about 2 seconds to get the ball out.

 

[1bigfan13]

One other gripe I have about the game is so far I haven't seen a way to assign players to specific sub packages.

I wanted to manage the wear and tear of my RB by assigning the backup RB to be the primary back in certain formations but I don't see that in this game. It's been in previous versions of Madden and CFB. From what I can tell you have to wait until the computer auto-subs for you or you have to manually cycle through the coaching menu and put the starter on the bench. You just have to remember to go back in and re-insert him after a series or two. It's a bit annoying.

So far those are the only two ways to sub players into the game that I know of.

 

[Texas Ace]

One other gripe I have about the game is so far I haven't seen a way to assign players to specific sub packages.

I wanted to manage the wear and tear of my RB by assigning the backup RB to be the primary back in certain formations but I don't see that in this game. It's been in previous versions of Madden and CFB. From what I can tell you have to wait until the computer auto-subs for you or you have to manually cycle through the coaching menu and put the starter on the bench. You just have to remember to go back in and re-insert him after a series or two. It's a bit annoying.

So far those are the only two ways to sub players into the game that I know of.

YES.... Good call.

I hate that you can't do package subs in the pause menu. You have to do it on the fly and you only have a few seconds to do so and it's a real pain in the ass and very tedious to have to do this five or six times.

However, the sub HB is one of the easiest to do. Whenever you're in the playbook and are at the formation you want to sub your HB in, just flick right on the right stick a few times until you see "Sub HB" at the bottom.

That's actually easy. But what I hate is when I want to sub in a 4th receiver or something like that and I have to scroll through the menus while the play clock is ticking.

They definitely need to change that for next year so that you can do your package subs in the pause menu.

 

[Smitty]

Yeah, it definitely feels like a step in the right direction compared to years of stagnation from Madden.

But I’ve also hit my share of bugs. Recruiting has major problems, like not being able to schedule a visit with a recruit even after he reaches his top 5, the game keeps telling you that you will be able to schedule when he reaches his top 5, but you never can.

The stadium experiences were really hyped but there’s like two different lines of audio for entering Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill so I’ve heard each of them about 10 times now. And they don’t have the touches like playing Hells Bells to start the 4th quarter, I realize it’s copyright, but they couldn’t come up with a generic alternative?

And as 1big said, I DO NOT understand why the EA folks can’t figure out how to let us do out-of-game substitution packages. They had that in Madden like two decades ago but has been done for forever.

 

[Texas Ace]

And as 1big said, I DO NOT understand why the EA folks can’t figure out how to let us do out-of-game substitution packages. They had that in Madden like two decades ago but has been done for forever.

Yeah, this was in Madden 2003 or 2004, so how the hell can you not do it in a game in 2024?

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Yeah, this was in Madden 2003 or 2004, so how the hell can you not do it in a game in 2024?

Yeah I think they may have just rushed a bit on certain things like that. I'm sure those features will come back. But it was a fairly tight timeline to basically create a game from scratch.

 

[1bigfan13]

However, the sub HB is one of the easiest to do. Whenever you're in the playbook and are at the formation you want to sub your HB in, just flick right on the right stick a few times until you see "Sub HB" at the bottom.

Thanks for this tip.

On the defensive side I was using the right stick to make shell alignments but I didn't notice HB subs could be controlled this way while on offense.

 

[1bigfan13]

This dude juked the entire team.

 

[boozeman]

This dude juked the entire team.

I have had Etienne do that shit to me too.

 

[Texas Ace]

I have had Etienne do that shit to me too.

Yeah, I've played 2 games against Georgia and he made me look silly a time or two.

I'd say the 3 toughest backs I've faced are him, Donovan Edwards from Michigan, and Quinshon Judkins from Ohio State.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Yeah, I've played 2 games against Georgia and he made me look silly a time or two.

I'd say the 3 toughest backs I've faced are him, Donovan Edwards from Michigan, and Quinshon Judkins from Ohio State.

Playing against Ohio State on the road with Iowa has by far been my most stressful game against the computer. Some teams talent is just insane.

 

[Texas Ace]

Playing against Ohio State on the road with Iowa has by far been my most stressful game against the computer. Some teams talent is just insane.

That's what I love to do most -- play on the road against the toughest teams.

Even the losses are fun.

The stadium effect where you can't see what routes your guys are running is hell! I've thrown picks because of it. I love it because it forces you to memorize plays which leads to you being better at recognizing coverages and situations.

But yeah, going back to difficult opponents, the toughest ones for me have been Ohio State, Georgia, and Oregon.

 

[boozeman]

That's what I love to do most -- play on the road against the toughest teams.

Even the losses are fun.

The stadium effect where you can't see what routes your guys are running is hell! I've thrown picks because of it. I love it because it forces you to memorize plays which leads to you being better at recognizing coverages and situations.

But yeah, going back to difficult opponents, the toughest ones for me have been Ohio State, Georgia, and Oregon.

Alabama has eaten my lunch and fucked my side piece a few times.

 

[Texas Ace]

Also, playing as Colorado is a lot of fun.

Shadeur Sanders is really good in this game and Travis Hunter is unreal on both sides of the ball.

But I love the realism in this game. As amazing as he is as a CB, he has gotten beat for a TD in the few times I've played with Colorado.

I hope the NCAA team keeps their focus on the things that matter as they used to do back in the day. If they do that and don't get sidetracked by EA trying to make that game another Madden, we could have ourselves a game that will belong in the sports video game HOF next year.

 

[Texas Ace]

Alabama has eaten my lunch and fucked my side piece a few times.

Yeah, they are in the top 5 for sure.

I had more success stopping their offense though than those other 3. But defensively they're tough as shit.

 

[Cotton]

Dorks.

 

[Texas Ace]

Dorks.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Dorks.

I'll be real honest, I think my wife is jealous of me playing NCAA Football. It's not even that I'm ignoring her to play the game. I think she is just jealous that I have something I really enjoy doing and was really looking forward to and she doesn't have that. And yet it's still worth it to me.