The NCAA Football games have been amazing since they came out. NCAA Football 11 Brings The Game To The Next Level!!!

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First and foremost, let me state that I am a sport fanatic and that's not limited to college football. Like 99.9% of sport games available, the yearly copy is simply a rehash of the previous year's game plus a few new gimmicks (EA is obviously the King of this). I am not much a of Madden player, however, as I prefer its college counterpart because I find an enormous amount of fun in recruiting. And it's in this field that EA seems to make players' lives difficult in the sense that they make it harder than it has to be. This year, I can say with a clear conscience, recruiting has taken an ENORMOUS step in the right direction.

Let me continue my review in the form of bullets, rather than paragraph form.

PROS:

-Recruiting now takes a mere 10 minutes per inquiry/pressing of a certain pitch, offering a scholarship, scheduling a visit, making a promise (which can now be done IN season), negatively recruit against another school, etc. In years past, pressing a certain pitch could take way too many minutes from your 10 hours of recruiting time.

-Recruiting takes on a game-show-like twist. Recruits will now ask you about certain pitches rather than the other way around. Once they pick a topic, you can either "make a pitch", "ask them how they feel about it", "compare to another school" (aka negative recruit), "Change the topic", "make a promise", "schedule a visit", or "offer a scholarship". I don't know if this is considered a PRO, but it's a breath of fresh air for this central cog in the game.

-You can change the "recruiting difficulty" if you don't want to keep saving and redoing certain weeks of your dynasty if a certain prospect keeps going to another school. This is nice because sometimes I don't want to lose all the 4/5 stars to the SEC...

-The "Locomotion" game play engine is a large step towards achieving game play comparable to the KING of football games, Madden. In years past, the movements of the players were "jerky" (can't think of a better word), while this year this game offers a much more fluid football. You'll know the difference once you pop the disk in your system. Personally, I'm pretty satisfied with the actual game play. It runs smooth and tackles/catches all look exceedingly accurate. The graphics are really beginning to utilize the full capacity of the PS3 system and I can only hope that EA builds on that rather than maintain it for the next few years.

-Unique entrances for each team. I think this is a gimmick on EA's part just to say they added something new to the game but for people who go to BCS conference schools (I'm an Oklahoma Sooner, myself), you will definitely enjoy this added feature. You've got every thing from the Wolverines running under the "M CLUB Supports You" Banner, to the Clemson Tigers touching Howard's Rock before running into the stadium, etc.

-Unique offenses. College football is innately different from its pro-counterpart because of the unique offenses the majority of schools play. This year, such offenses are highlighted. From the triple-option at Georgia Tech, to the no-huddle at OU, to the Pistol-set at UCLA, etc. It certainly gets boring running the Pro-set for every team, doesn't it?

-The entire interface of the game has been retooled and again, this is a huge breath of fresh air for loyal fans of the game who have to see the same things year in and year out.

Cons:

-The "Pay-to-play" recruiting features are STILL here and it's awfully annoying because they include the options among the other FREE features and I suppose sometimes I forget it's not free and end up clicking on it (sorry for the run on sentence). They call them "time-savers" but paying on top of the $60 + tax you pay already? At least with the Map add-ons for COD MW2, you play them every other game so you get the most use out of it. The features EA makes you pay for are just side features that would surely enhance my satisfaction were they included.

-At the end of the day, if your preference is for the most realistic football experience, you cannot look towards an NCAA game for it. I know I said this had great game play, but it's obvious that EA saves the best for Madden, as millions of more people would prefer the NFL. Which makes one wonder how good Madden 11 will be...

-Same old commentary...... wish they would completely revamp that.

-Each team still only has one unique (if at all) TD celebration. It would be nice for each team to have multiple interpretations of their respective celebrations (i.e. V for Victory/USC, the Gator Chomp, etc.)

-I've noticed that there is A LOT of lag when scrolling through options in dynasty mode. I don't know if everyone else out there is going through the same problems.. my PS3 is not even a year old yet and it's the slim line one so I doubt its my system.

-More to come?? After a few days of playing, I haven't seen anything else yet. And I will update as I see them!

THANKS FOR READING!

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NCAA Football 11 is a great game of pigskin that hardcore college football fans are really going to enjoy. The core gameplay has been taken to the next level with some cool animation varieties as well as sweeping changes like the elimination of turbo and adding dual analog control. On the field all of these nuances come together with the new look to make a cool, original-feeling game. However, if you don't take advantage of the connectivity offered by Online Dynasty, then the list of modes is going to feel outright dated. If you do take advantage of the new features in Online Dynasty, you're in for a lot of fun with only a few frustrations.

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Now i am not a huge football fan on the consuls. im not really that great at them but i did pick up ncaa this year. the last ncaa game i had was 08 i think. the think i didnt like about ncaa from when i played in the past was that you could run the ball constintly and get yards like crazy and your players would really ever make amazing catched. this year it seems like it is ballenced. running isnt imposible but it is harder then it used to be. remember this is comming from a guy that aint played since ncaa 08. passing is better then it used to be. you big recievers will make big plays. but not always either. it has a college feel and i like that. ive played road to the glory about a season and a half and i enjoyed every moment of it. yes sometimes its kind of ennoying because i want the ball every play lol but thats not relistic. ive also played about 5 games in a dynisty. recruiting is fun with actually making phone calls and disscussing different topics with people you want to recruit. you have 10 hours a week you can spend calling recuits. in this time you are trying to persuay them to stay with your team if they are already looking at your school or trying to convince them to leave the number 1 school on there list and join you. overall this game is a great experience. it is fun and has a college feel to it.

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First thing first, we haven't seen such an improved NCAA Football game over its previous year predecessor since the PS2 days.

The graphics are definitely better than NCAA Football 10, from players to the crowd.

I'm a Michigan Wolverines fan, so naturally all the new additions in the game are apparent to me.

Starting with the playbook. Sure, some new plays are added to the playbook, but it's having the entire playbook at your hands when you are running a no-huddle offense as a lot of college teams are running now. Don't fear, the defense has the entire playsets at their disposals as well.

You can now run out of the spread now! Last few years, trying to run out of the spread was as pointless as salad bar in a fast food restaurant. Now the offense linemen actually do what they're supposed to do! Not only can they block at the line of scrimmage now, they can also block the 2nd level defenders. QB Choice Option also works now, as reading the DE actually means something as to whether to keep or hand off.

The unique team entrance really means something to me, as Michigan players rolling out of the tunnel, jumping to touch the "M Club Supports You" banner is as cool as it gets.

Online Play is also more fair now as Play Ranked Match Now matches you up with players within 3 levels of your expertise. Sets up for much more fair matches, instead of glitchers trying to pad up their win totals.

The game isn't without its flaws, albeit small ones. Just a day after release day, I've had 3 out of 3 online matches that did not save and send data towards the Season Showdown stats. I've also had a couple of online matches go into a black screen right after the match is over, no real big deal since I don't watch the replays anyways, and it still saves your W-L record, but still annoying to have to quit the game by using the PS button and restart the game again if you want to play another match.

Overall, this game has massive improvements that can really be seen if your favorite teams features the new additions. A fan of Wisconsin or Iowa probably won't seen much changes, as not much of what I've mentioned applied to heavy running teams who doesn't run no-huddle. But the one thing the fans of those teams will really appreciate is the improved blocking, as I've had opponent consistently able to have the fullbacks slips into the gap out of an I-formation, and take out the linebackers to clear up a path as great as the Red Sea.

This is a must get for a college football fan! And again, for the first time in a long time, this is actually worthy of the $60 unlike so many of the previous titles.

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this game is fun and great to play. Got it yesterday and all ready ove it. I have Ncaa '10 and this is better. I like how the added school traditions to begining of dynasy.

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Now keep in mind that I only play Dynasty mode. I'd say that this is the best one since the 2007 version. The players don't look goofy while they run. I realy enjoy playing this game, and I plan to go very deep into Dynasty mode--make a sorry team into a champion--but the reason that I don't give it 5 stars is because you cannot change the camera. I liked the overhead camera mode and sideline view that PS2 offered, but for some reason EA only wants to give you one camera option. Are they just too lazy to make the camera options like they did on the PS2 versions? If your like me, and you haven't bought NCAA in a while, this one is worth buying.

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I would have to say that this is probably the most enjoyable football game to come out since the earlier NCAA Football's (i.e. 2005, 2006, 2007). There are many good changes that seem under the surface and are not extremely noticeable at first, but the quality of the game has definitely gone up for the next-gen consoles, although it's a disappointment that the next-gen versions have not caught up to the last-gen versions in terms of gameplay. This seems like it may be changing with the current iteration of NCAA Football.

Now, I'm not saying that this game surpasses the best of the NCAA Football franchise; it's just one of the best of recent times. The running style seems to be changed, which is great; the previous running style seemed extremely fake and unreal, and this one takes a step in the right direction. Jukes still don't factor in player momentum as much, but player acceleration does take a while, meaning that if a player goes from standing still to running or running one way to running the other they are forced to slow down, cut, and accelerate. This does wonders for the game. There are still some gameplay quirks, glitches, and whatnot, but that has to be taken with a grain of salt. Sometimes an option pitch will be caught by the defense when it would've been fought over or actually fumbled by the RB, and fumbles do happen more than occasionally, but the game is an obvious step up from last year's model and the year's before.

Road to Glory was not touched at all. That is a major disappointment to me :(. That was, and still is, my favorite game modes, and the fact that they payed no attention to it is sad. But the dynasty mode, especially recruiting, was taken off the hook to another level. Recruiting can be done on a PC, iPhone, iPad, probably even a Zune HD (HEY! I HAVE ONE OKAY?! AND THEY ARE COOL!), which immerses you even more and makes you feel like a coach. This may be a little over the top for some players, and that's fine; just do what you normally do. The online portion of NCAA Football '11 is really neat-o, and in my opinion it may be my most played game over the summer.

Dynasty is as fun as ever. Make your team the super team, take a terrible team all the way, continue an already established dynasty like Florida, Alabama, Texas, Ohio State, Michigan, or Oregon and improve their dominance, whatever you want, it's still there. At one point my hopes went really high. I saw that there was an option for switching teams for conferences and I went all like "No way! They figured some conference shake-up would happen and made sure that you could put teams in other places! Cool!". But no, it was just a team switcher, you couldn't actually build your own super conference. That gave me a super sad face.

The interface is cool. The main menu looks a lot like the Xbox 360's UI, which was intriguing, but I got over it (I have both, so I know what the 360 interface is). Sometimes it takes a while to load, but that is forgivable. When it is auto-saving you can't do anything at all on the game. The scoreboard (onscreen) is a replica of the ESPN scoreboard and is very nice to look at, even though you probably won't be looking at the scoreboard that much, unless you're really bored. It's still a great feature and makes the presentation of the game more believable and a lot more "gameday-like", if you know what I mean (chips, beer [pop if you're under 21 like me], dip, hot dogs, the whole nine yards).

The graphics are awesome. If you're into just graphics, you won't be disappointed by these. EA games are meant to be played on the PS3, so if you have both consoles, get it on the the PS3. The lighting effects are great and the uniforms look vibrant and more beautiful than ever. The field looks nice, but when it does replays and shows you a long view of the field it is obvious that the grass doesn't pop up. I know that's not a deal breaker, but it would be cool and interesting to have, would it not? Helmets look great.

The commentary is still recycled, and recycled heavily. If you've played these games before -- which I assume you have -- you'll find yourself mouthing or speaking the sentences with Brad Nessler and Kirk Herbstreit (I miss Corso =[ ), or maybe just turning the commentary off altogether. It gets pretty annoying after a while.

I love it. If you love college football and were angry at the previous versions, I would highly recommend picking this copy up, because EA is starting to get the college football experience right.

EDIT: After a couple more days playing the game, there seems to be some more oddities within the actual gameplay, which is expected, but is also extremely annoying. In addition to the defense catching your pitch, sometimes players suddenly stop when they are running towards the ball or going to catch a ball, which is kind of frustrating as you'll be expecting them to continue forward like any self-respecting football player would do and then they suddenly stop. Running backs, at certain points, will cut back into the middle of the field -- towards the rest of the defense -- when there is a massive amount of open yardage on the edge and they most likely would've had a touchdown. These are just a couple of gameplay quirks that i noticed that really don't change how much I enjoyed the game, but for some people they will be deal-breakers.

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The best football video game I've ever played was Madden 10, even though I've always LOVED playing the NCAA game as a big college football fan.

After Madden 10 was released and I played it into submission, I thought I would never go back to NCAA. I thought the 09 and even 10 versions of NCAA fell flat and were bland.

NCAA 11 fixes all of that. After only a short week of play, I've totally gone back to the NCAA bandwagon and this is the best NCAA game yet. The graphics, and particularly the animations are the best the series has seen. The gameplay is super solid as well, making it challenging but not cheap. You can chose any type of play style or playbook and play anyway you want and it all feels legit and smooth.

The dynasty modes are slightly unchanged but have a new interface which I think is again the best yet.

I'm playing the online dynasty with a group of friends for the first time, and being able to recruit online from your P.C. to your online dynasty is an amazingly fun and addicting obsession to help you kill time during a lunch break or during Chemistry 101.

While I am debating owning both Madden and NCAA in the same year (Have heard great things on Madden, including the addition of Gus Johnson doing the announcing) I am not debating getting Madden as a replacement for NCAA for the first time in three years.

Madden might have to wait its turn.

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Just got it yesterday and played my first game of the season--an epic battle between my might Wake Forest Demon Deacons and perennial powerhouse Duke.I poured a beer and settled in. Immediately noticed that the graphics are significantly better than last year--I am not a technical gamer, so I can only describe them as infinitely better than the cartoony NCAA 10. I typically fast forward thru the opening directly to game play, but of course I wanted to see what was coming so I went through the opening which really does a nice job of building the anticipation (even in a Wake vs Duke game)culminating in the players running out of the tunnel. Not exactly Florida v. Alabama, or Michigan v. Ohio State, but still exciting for an ol' ACC guy. Kickoff--underway. As advertised the game play is much smoother and the running much more lifelike. The player will not speed off like Wile E. Coyote when you sprint or juke on a dime. I found running to be challenging but not impossible.Passing, too, seems much more fluid and lifelike, and granted I was playing Duke, but I found putting pressure on the QB to be not quite as impossible as I found it to be in last year's model. Overall, the speed of the game has been vastly improved from the herky jeky NCAA 10, to a much more fluid pace. The play calling is far better than last year once I got used to the change--it offers a fairly easy switch from plays by formation, type or selected by coach, and it much much more variety. For those of use who occasionally need a prompt re audibles, etc, the presentation is clear, and I think unobtrusive on the screen. I am a casual guy, and I know nothing of frame rates, etc. All I can say is that the visual presentation is a huge improvement over last year, as is the game play. And no Corso reading his lines like a kid in the fifth grade play makes it worth the price of admission. If you gave up on this one give it a try again.

And in case you're wondering--Wake 24-17 on a two minute drive in the fourth capped by a sweet 24 yard TD pass on a bootleg roll out. Probably doesn't bode well for the season that I squeaked one out against Duke.....

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This was my first experience with the NCAA series for the PS3 so I can't compare it with previous editions but I can share my thoughts. First off, the gameplay was smooth and enjoyable but nothing spectacular or revolutionary. Game features were about what I remembered from my NCAA days on Xbox. Overall, it's a solid game but does not standout vs other football games.

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I am a long time sports gamer, since the beginning, so I know that of which I speak.

This game has improved in the usual way NCAA improves-- the installed last years Madden game engine. Only this time, they gave it a new name. The back of the box says, as it always does, teams play like themselves, AI adapts to player, everything that was improved last year has been improved again, etc. The story gets old after a while. It has improved from last year-- things have been tightened up, graphics are cleaner, AI is a little better, etc. EA has essentially been promising the same things since it started making games. And, what they do is take baby steps and throw in things that are utterly useless to sports fans and of great interest to casual sports fans/avid gamers.

But essentially it's built on a bunch of mathematic equations and shadowing and that will never change. I.e. you know what's coming, you've seen it before, etc. Next year, Physics! Or, just a new word for more math and shadowing. AI is stupid and always will be.

I guess if you can remove history from your brain, you'll think this game is something new. Otherwise it's Bill Walsh College Football XV.

I don't know, maybe I'm just done with video games.

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I'm just going to go over my basic impressions, and if you want to ask me further in depth questions, I'd be happy to defend my opinions in the comments section of the review.

What I liked:

- The presentation was really good this year. The pre-game intros were cool. Fans in the stands, refs on the field coming back this year were great additions.

- The graphics were a step up and the ESPN integration was a plus. Better lighting. Fewer jaggies. Better overall look to the game.

- Overall smoother feel to the game.

- The overall after the snap gameplay. This is largely unchanged from past years, and that's a good thing. A few tweaks here and there. Perhaps it's a bit smoother. But it's solid.

What I was neutral about

- The stuff I didn't try. I'm not a fan of online dynasty or Road to the Show, so I can't comment on those.

What I didn't like:

- The play calling screen. Why did they change this? It's set up so that the CPU will automatically call a play for you. I get that. But if you want to call your own play, it's still really weird in that you scroll one play at a time, not several plays. It was perfect last year. It didn't need to be touched.

- The camera. It was either too far away or too close. It started really far out, and zoomed really far in. It started to get annoying.

- The play art, whether you are in no huddle or not, pops up on screen and you can't turn the feature off.

The long and the short. Last year's effort was the best in years. In many ways, this is an improvement. I just didn't like the feel of it. Is that a poor reason to prefer last years game over this years? Perhaps. But there are a few reasons why, and I'll be happy to discuss further in the comments section.

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So again this year I got NCAA Football the day it came out and again I wish I would have simply waited a month. When Madden comes out the price of NCAA always drops and there is nothing in this game that really makes the extra month of play time worth it. I've played a lot of games so far in both Road to Glory Mode and Dynasty mode and really there is nothing that special upgraded over last years installment.

Road to Glory mode is my favorite mode right now because you can play entire games in less then an hour using 15 min Quarters. The scores are still outrageous if you do this but I always liked playing longer games.

My biggest complaint is paying $60 bucks for a repackaged game from last year. You will notice small upgrades to the graphics and announcers comments but really is this worth full price? I guess that is really up to the eye of the beholder. I personally regret the purchase, I like NCAA better then Madden on the next gen systems but I really wish I had the patients to wait for the price to drop upon Madden's Release. If you are a huge NCAA fan this is of course a must buy but if you are a little tight on money go ahead and wait for a price drop. JUST REMEMBER ONE THING WHEN WAITING.

EA has again stuck the online restrictions on this game to help kill the used game industry. Do not buy USED if you want to play a dynasty online you will have to pay more then the difference of buying a new version making the game actually cost more to buy used.

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is anyone else baffled at seeing tebow on the cover? i bet there are some TICKED-OFF Alabama players!

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