Well, its finally come down to this, the last year of NCAA Football games, for now at least. Fitting I think because this is also the end of the joke that is the BCS and the arbitrary, unfair, and completely stupid ranking system. The BCS is probably the worst ranking system in the world. There is no other reason that when five teams show up undefeated, one gets shafted and shoved out of the bowl series all together. It'd be like telling a NFL team, "Good job but your conference doesn't have enough clout, so your out of the playoffs despite your 16-0 record!" But that is all over now.
Line up for one last snap and one last year of NCAA Football video games. These games have been loved by many and have also been a great addition to the Madden franchise. NCAA Football games allowed to upload the draft class into Madden, thus you could then select players that you perhaps had played or faced in the draft, ignore the scouting, you know how good that fullback really is, not to mention, he suits your needs. So why is the NCAA Football franchise coming to an end? Money is what the entire thing is about. Apparently, former players claim that their likeness was used without their permission and thus they are entitled to a share of the profits from the game just like NFL players are with Madden. Although if they took one look at the player models they would realize that if that is their likeness, then they might want to look into plastic surgery if just for the benefit of society not having to look upon their faces.
Onto the actual games, they have all been well done. The player mode of creating a legend was done superbly and you could carry them over to the Madden game as well. But who didn't like taking control of their favorite team and making them champions, creating prospects, scouting new talent for your school, offering scholarships if need be, it was fun and you could even redshirt certain players. I redshirted a senior quarterback so I could keep to buy me time to find his successor. Which came in the form of a transfer from Auburn. I also was one of those who went online, found the starting roster and manually renamed the entire roster of my team and changed their jersey numbers if needed. Hopefully the lawsuit over money will be dismissed or resolved so EA can secure rights for another year of NCAA Football! Madden is not stopping and the window to make a NCAA Football game that works with Madden 2015 will close quickly. Madden 2014 or Madden 25, is coming out this summer.
Back to the impending last game. It looks and is very pretty. The tackles actually look real, or rather look painful. Running backs and wide receivers cut better and your offense can be tailored to your players per position. One can tell the playbook what each player excels at and a playbook playing to that is written for you. The entire player system has been upgraded to allow other schools to use your strengths. I cannot count how many times I had an option QB go to a school where they put him in the pocket for 49 out of 50 plays. And then I had pocket passer who was made to run 80% of the time. Certain schools will offer you a lot because their scheme fits you. If you have a core pocket QB, Oregon will not want you or offer you anything because your not their type of player. There is also a lot more to practicing and conditioning your players. Do you want convert San Diego State to no huddle, then practice them that way. Is it time to Clemson to pick it up? Then make them pick it up. Make sure slow LSU down a little while your at it.
Yes, we are with you buddy lets all cheer for the one last game and maybe, just maybe we can all cheer when another one shows up, but one can only hope that come the end of 2014, your uploading your draft class.
NCAA Football 14
Grade- Marked It!
Release Date- Out Now! (July 9, 2013)
Rating- E, for Everyone
Price- $59.99
