Football season is upon us and EA Sports returns to the world of College Football for the first time in 11 years with the rebranded EA College Football.
When it comes to sports games EA and 2K dominate the market. EA has Madden and EA Sports FC (formerly FIFA) whilst 2K has the NBA 2K series. However, sports games have suffered from monopolisation for a long time with one company dominating a certain sport, resulting in a lack of innovation, and due to the growth of online gameplay, these games have been money-printing enterprises for their publishers. It’s easy to find articles and videos complaining about how the Madden games have fewer features now than back in the sixth generation of consoles.
College Football did seem to offer some necessary competition since it was competing against Madden, even if they were made by the same developer, EA Orlando. The reviews for College Football have been more positive than recent Madden games.
College Football gives players a wide selection of teams, more than what’s available in Madden. This is understandable because of how many teams play in the NCAA. In my playthrough I played as Florida Gators and Alabama Crimson Tide in a couple of exhibition games, the Syracuse Orange in Dynasty Mode and in Road to Glory, the idealised version of myself got to play for the Miami Hurricanes.
The basic requirement for a sports game is the gameplay on the field. I played a mix of Freshman and Varsity settings and the difference in difficulty was vast. The Freshman setting was piss easy and I was able to secure massive victories, even against teams that were meant to be much better opponents. There was a big leap when I tried to play matches on the Varsity setting since passing felt unfair. It felt like every attempt at a pass led to an interception, no matter what I did. I waited for my receivers to get in position so the ball would get intercepted, tried to take the throw quickly also got intercepted. I wanted a fair challenge. The game did provide a matchday atmosphere due to the soundbar and the controller vibrating. The crowd and cheerleaders did look like they crawled out of the uncanny valley, but this was a minor presentation issue.
Road to Glory was a throwback to Superstar mode in Madden NFL 2005 (the last Madden game I played). There was a bit of role-playing as the player’s character has to manage training, education, and socialising, just like in real life. Gameplay was extended with moral choices like studying for a test or going to a party, and having training minigames so the player could earn the coach’s trust. I played as a four-star recruit and did get some game time but I ended up losing my place. This was a mode that required a lot of grinding. The old Superstar mode allowed players to play in any position, but the version in College Football stripped it back to the glamour position, i.e. Quarterback and Halfback.
College Football shone during Dynasty Mode, where the player gets to coach and manage a team. It offered the best of both worlds, allowing me to play matches and have sports management experience. There was squad management and recruiting new players to the team. Dynasty Mode was a simplified experience but it was expected considering I played it on the Xbox and I have little knowledge about American Football tactics and rosters so I needed a simplified experience. The XP system encouraged big plays since touchdowns and sacks earned a lot of points.
College Football also offered two online modes, Road to CFP and Ultimate Team. I refuse to do online games, especially Ultimate Team since it’s an exercise in cynical moneymaking because it’s about buying cards with real money in the hope you can get a top player for your team. It’s especially grubby since EA games are sold with a high price tag. All games need to be able to stand up on their solo experience.
It was fun to get back into a sports game after many years away and it did scratch an itch. It does work as a single-player experience. However, this game was sold at a high price point and there wasn’t enough content to justify it.
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Score
Summary
Can give sports fans a fix but is expensive for what it provides.
