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NCAA Football 13

SCORE: 94

Ya'll know me, I am a pro football kind of guy. I bleed Seahawk true blue. I played high school football, and can find that hole when I am running. I can read the offense while on defense and have a high winning percentage. With all of those accolades I have a confession to make. I have been snoody towards college football for a long time.

I have to be realistic. Most professional football players came through college. To demean it, or diminish it - well it only shows my own ignorance. I am man enough to own up to that reality, and I apologize to all the college football fans. I know college football is huge for many people. I know there are those out there that worship college football like its a religion.

While our resident college football expert Alan is slaving away working on a comprehensive and full review of NCAA Football 13, I decided to put my impressions out there. NCAA Football 13 is very impressive. The flow, the feel, the options, the extras, even the announcing - all scream high polish.

Before I get too deeply into that I wanted to point out a few mis-steps I noticed in NCAA Football 13. I ran through a table with a player in the Heisman mode. I noticed in Exhibit that the players jerseys did not have names - just the number and position. The announcers asked if I was going to punch it into the end zone with under a minute left and I was up by three touchdowns. These are minor things, but definitely noticeable.

The graphics felt a little small at first, but we need a full view of the field. Turnovers slow down enough for the player to get a good grasp of the field. The speed of a kick return or punt return is very evident in NCAA Football 13. There are arrows on the screen that show where the receivers/running backs will be running. This is very helpful in my opinion. I noticed the cheerleaders in NCAA Football 13 dress like they do at college football games, and perform many of the same aerial maneuvers.

The announcers add to the level of realism. They also talk to the on field reporter at certain parts of the game. This helped NCAA Football 13 feel like a real college atmosphere. The crowds will get louder at certain points, and I could feel the excitement and momentum in the virtual stadiums.

One of the coolest aspects in NCAA Football 13 is the Heisman Challenge. We can take various Heisman winners and duplicate their years. NCAA Football 13 encourages us to try and defeat those records. The coolest part about this mode is we only have to participate in plays that player was involved in. I found the Heisman Challenge to be one of the best parts of NCAA Football 13.

The Reaction Time feature is limited but another important way we can see how those Heisman winners were men among boys. The flow and feel of NCAA Football 13 is very realistic. I had problems figuring out how to punt in NCAA Football 13. The manual was no help in learning how to do this. After a couple of delay of game penalties on fourth down I finally figured it out through trial and error.

All in all NCAA Football 13 is a fantastic game for families. There are a few minor quirks here and there. I can see families enjoying NCAA Football 13 for an entire year. And they can take their favorite college into a long term winning franchise. It was a real pleasure to play and review NCAA Football 13.
- Paul

Graphics: 90%
Sound: 92%
Replay/Extras: 100%
Gameplay: 94%
Family Friendly Factor: 96%
System: PS3/Xbox 360
Publisher: EA Sports
Rating:  ‘E’ - Everyone

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