The NFL season is just a heartbeat away, and what better way to kick off the excitement than with a new virtual football game? I'm not talking about another Madden reboot, but a fresh entry in the college football scene. I'm talking about EA Sports College Football 25.
It's been 11 years since the debut of the last college football game. NCAA Football 14 launched to a triumphant reception, but sadly, it stands as the final installment in the NCAA Football series. It's a bittersweet tale, but thankfully, EA is sweetening the deal with a worthy successor. This new installment promises to capture the highlights of college football with unparalleled realism.
Are you ready to hit the field and haul the pigskin for the entire nine yards? Stick with us as we unravel the good, the bad, and the bottom line in our review of EA Sports College Football 25.
The Revival
Imagine your first day at college. The hallways are buzzing with excitement and anxiety, and your heart races as you navigate the narrow corridors, balancing the thrill of new beginnings with a tinge of isolation. The bell rings, and just like that, school is in session.
Welcome to EA Sports College Football 25, where the spirit of college football is reborn with stunning visuals and an uncanny touch of realism. The game's campaign mode kicks off by letting you choose your path: Elite, Blue Chip, Contributor, or Underdog. Think of these as your difficulty settings, each with unique overall ratings (OVR) and mental abilities. Elite offers the highest stats for a head start, while the other paths provide unique challenges and advantages.
Your choice isn't just difficult to set since it shapes your entire journey. Like picking a class in an MMORPG, your path influences gameplay, from team interest to the skill points available for upgrading your character.
The next step is to pick your position. The game gives you five options: Quarterback (QB), Halfbacks (HB), Wide Receiver (WR), Middle Linebacker (MLB), and Cornerbacks (CB). Naturally, the quarterback position is a favorable pick because it offers fluidity. You get to control the game a lot more.
Defense positions are also back. If you've played the NCAA games before, MLB and CB positions will have a similar feel. Considering EA re-hired NCAA Football 14's principal game designer, Ban Haumiller, for this title, this is no surprise. You will notice a slight difference in the catches, though. Despite not being showstopping catches, the game allows you to secure the ball tightly using the X button or catch and run using the square button. It's undoubtedly clear that EA was keen on learning from their Madden books to revive its franchise.
More Than Madden
So far, if you think this is just another Madden clone, well, think again. In fact, you'll be forgiven for thinking so, considering the many parallels it draws to EA's American football middle child. Sure, it borrows some elements from Madden, but dig a little deeper, and you'll find College Football offers a richer experience.
With 134 school programs compared to Madden's 32 professional teams, the scale is impressive. The pregame animations are a highlight. Top schools such as LSU have dancing mascots who lead the players onto the field. Conversely, smaller schools get repetitive cheerleader stock animations, possibly pointing to some parts of the game that need further polishing or are still in development. The annoying part is that you can't skip these scenes. But we must appreciate the developer's efforts to add unique introductions for every team. These entrance animations fly close to what happens in real life. For instance, Clemson Tigers will feature their players running downhill, as is tradition, while Howard Rock will have a live Bison running on the field.
Another downside is the lack of tutorials. Like Madden, College Football includes mini-games for practice and an open-ended mode to master mechanics through repetition. Once you get the hang of it, the game becomes a breeze.
A standout feature of the game is the return of Dynasty Mode, the core of the NCAA series. Instead of cash incentives, scholarships are now the prize. You must personally connect with recruits through family contact or social media, but one wrong move can blacklist you from future recruitments. The game also features an online mode where friends can bid for players, adding a competitive edge. This mix of realism and strategy provides an unparalleled glimpse into college sports.
Kick In The Boots
Your journey to glory, otherwise known as Road to Glory, is the game's ideal carer mode. If you don't wish to develop an entire football career, the game places four other modes at your disposal to have a ball with. The Play Now mode is the simplest of all, which is a good start for beginners. Here, you pick a team and compete with either an AI team or a friend for the win.
Ultimate Team, which is a must-include package in possibly all of EA's sports games, also features as a mode but with loads of microtransactions. This is a suitable mode if you want to broaden your customization with better uniforms, coaches, players, or stadiums. The game adds Chemistry, a new feature to the mode that can boost the player's chemistry. Ideally, this means having your players work like cogs in a well-oiled machine. Alternatively, you can assign a particular playbook to your best player.
Road to the Playoff is another option where you compete against other players. It's the stale opposite of Ultimate Mode, where you earn points for every successful match. If you make it past 10 games, you get to try your hand at the National Championship and CFB playoff.
Finally, Dynasty, which, as alluded to earlier, makes a comeback. This is where the meat of the game is, and it is possibly a favorite for many. Unlike its predecessors, this mode gets a complete face beat, including the coaching systems and player recruits. Ideally, the mode starts with the player picking an archetype role for the coach. You can choose from tacticians, motivators, or recruiters. Again, like in an RPG, these classes impact the gameplay. For example, the tactical role is all about getting the player ready and boosting their points.
Tom Brady With The Gravy
Since we're talking about college, grades play an equally important role in your team's success. Players must maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA, and you can make them study by hitting ‘Study,' which spends some of your energy. While this novel idea sounds great on paper, the execution falls flat, highlighting the misses in EA's grand scheme. The feature feels like an unnecessary extra mode or a last-minute addition. While we appreciate these smart designs, they need a bit more refining.
Speaking of smart designs, the game also introduces a wear-and-tear feature. A tired player can experience joint wear, which can impact their performance on the field. This necessitates having a plan B on your team in case your favorite player can't make the cut.
What makes this title subtly better than Madden is its smooth gameplay, thanks to the developers' use of the Frostbite Engine, which didn't work well for Madden. The game also features different broadcasters, with highlight games getting top-notch commentary from Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit. In contrast, regular games feature the likes of Jesse Palmer, Reece Davis, and David Pollack. This adds variation to the sound and a subtle touch of realism.
The gameplay may have a slight arcade feel, but it doesn't detract from the overall fun and strategy that form the game's foundation.
Verdict
After a decade of anticipation and waiting, EA doesn't disappoint with its reboot of the NCAA franchise. EA Sports College Football 25 hits most hallmarks of praise, giving you a novel chance of walking the high school corridors as a prominent jock with a promising football career. The gameplay is remarkable, and the AI animations are smooth. Plus, the speed, catch, and style add to the overall experience of being the greatest football game ever made. The varying modes and positions diversify the gameplay, meaning you can experience the American sport on different levels and difficulties, refreshing things.
Visually speaking, College Football is a sight for sore eyes. The game looks excellent in every aspect, from the players to the field and crowd.
On the downside, the title struggles with confusing menus and half-baked mode. The UI can also feel overwhelming, with plenty of information that is sometimes unnecessary. Moreover, the audio system sounds generic and rushed. The commentary needs to do more to differentiate players besides classifying them as freshmen, juniors, or high schoolers. It would be nice to have career-defining tags as part of the commentary, which indeed mimics the real-life sport.
However, these issues don't take away the ultimate experience of hitting the field as a football fan. EA Sports College Football reminds us of the glorified NCAA days by hoisting high the game's flag with borrowed concepts and novel ideas that make this game a must-have for football fans and non-alikes.
