Posts tagged NCAA Football
Sasquatch Soapbox: How GameFlow makes Madden 11 accessible
Sep 27th
Americans love football. ESPN finds new and creative ways to talk about the NFL every single offseason, and EA Sports’ long-running Madden NFL series is routinely one of the best-selling games of the year. EA Tiburon, the long-time developer of Madden, has been able to make the series more and more realistic through the last and current console generations, to the point where understanding the Madden games helps you understand football better.
The problem there, though, is the learning curve involved with football strategy. Unlike basketball, soccer, or hockey, there’s more to a football game than just learning how to control a player. Football is more like a game of chess — to succeed against the AI or a real player, you need to understand how offenses and defenses are run, and what plays to call at what times and how to execute them. As a website like Smart Football proves, there is plenty of depth and strategy to football play-calling.
Backlog: Summer Vacation Edition
Jul 17th
It's summertime in the Northwest, which means it's time to come out from under cover and enjoy the scenery, like Crater Lake (photo by D. Bonham).
Much like a bad sunburn, we’re back after a little mid-summer hibernation. Aaron is still out in the Oregon woods getting his camp counselor act on, but Nick and Doug have been snug in civilization and playing games. Doug, now properly equipped with a TV from the 21st century, has been building cities and breaking tackles, while Nick has been matching three, hitting apexes and staring down a worthy opponent. All very thrilling.
But enough of that, let’s get on to the gaming.
How EA Sports’ Online Pass Will Change the Used Game Marketplace
May 12th
Once the millions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of labor hours have resulted in a finished, big-name console video game, how do publishers and developers earn their money back? From gamers like us buying titles at a store.
However, not all purchases are created equal. This is why Electronic Arts announced on Monday the continuation of its value-added online program, now called the EA Sports Online Pass. It appears to be much like programs in Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age: Origins and Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Mass Effect 2′s Cerberus Network, for instance, grants access to free add-on downloads, including weapons, armor, and short missions. This is a project that is reportedly referred to within EA as Project Ten Dollar. Gamers who purchase one of EA Sports’ catalog of games this summer receive a code in the package which, after being inputted into the game, allows you access to bonus features. Since the code is only good for one use (and one PSN or Xbox Live account), if you don’t buy the game new, you have to pay $10 for a pass of your own.
Review: NCAA Football 10 (Xbox 360)
Aug 17th
Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss
The Who, “Won’t Get Fooled Again”
Right before tearing the shrink wrap off NCAA Football 10, I had a thought: “Why do I do this every year?” This is the third year in a row I’ve bought EA Sports’ NCAA Football game, and on previous console generations I purchased multiple copies as well. The problem is I’m getting strict visions of déjà vu. It is, clearly, an annual thing for me — all within the same repetitive cycle of pre-release excitement, post-release honeymoon, and over-analysis of missing features that need to be in next year’s version. Rinse, wash, repeat.
So let’s take a look at how NCAA 10 fits into this cycle — because, despite tweaks and improvements that fans have clamored for, there are a few minor steps backwards and features that have been given little more than a fresh coat of paint.