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NCAA 12 Quick Review - Gameplay

What's up commentariat, Orspencer, Princess Stabby et al.


So I just purchased NCAA 12, and I'm going to start a game and pretty much recap it as I go through gameplay. First, the intro video, which starts off with an Inception-like BRRAAAAAHHHHMMMMM series of noises, and shows off the new lighting as well as the new graphics and traditions. It's not bad for an intro video. They make you insert a code to access online play, which is always annoying. After those histrionics, it's time to start exhibition play.

 

Starting a 5 minute qtr game between Ohio State and randomly selected Southern Miss. I wonder if the uniforms from last year's Michigan game are available for download? They certainly aren't on the game.

You can see my opinion of the game after the jump.


0:00 I notice, with the stadium entrance, that they have neglected to include "The Hive". This is disappointing but not unexpected.

0:00 WTF? Terrelle Pryor is still on the roster? I certainly hope EA comes out with a roster update very soon because this is going to have a huge effect on the game. We'll see if The Vest makes an appearance, too.

4:56 Q1 Playcalling defaults to Ask Coach. This annoys me, but whatever. Easy switch. The problem is the scrolling - you have to scroll up and down instead of left to right to get different plays within the formation. Scrolling left to right gives you different formations - something that will take some getting used to. Also, the kick returns are much easier to bring out past the 20. 

3:52 First down. One thing I notice is that there are no setup plays anymore. This always struck me as kind of pointless, so I'm glad that's gone. Going to try a PA pass here out of Pistol - so far, been pretty vanilla on offense and haven't seen too many glitches. The collision system means a lot more missed tackles and extra yardage gains due to momentum.

3:29 Don't like the new grass. Makes it look like a hazy mirage on the field during replay. Sorry, but it looks like crap. Maybe it's just my TV, but it makes everything blurry and uncomfortable to look at.

2:56 GO THE FUCK AWAY COACH TIPS /presses y

2:36 PA works out of Shotgun, let's try under center...

2:33 LOL RANDOM BULLSHIT THROW INTO DOUBLE COVERAGE FOR TD.

2:11 Who ever EA thinks is starting at LB for the Buckeyes is probably not starting, since I don't recognize the numbers. Or maybe that's just unfamiliarity with the new starters' numbers. Eh.

1:54 HEY LOOK ZONE COVERAGE WORKS LIKE IT'S SUPPOSED TO THIS YEAR. First down southern miss anyway, as they found a hole in the zone.

1:19 HEY LOOK ZONE COVERAGE WORKS AGAIN. Blitz off the edge with MLB and LOLB, ROLB covers the middle seam perfectly and gets the jumping INT. Time to take over on offense and try to break the game.

1:13 Goal line toss no longer worth at least 15 yards a play when they run man. Good job EA.

5:00 Q2 Okay, up 7-0. No glaring weaknesses except for the blurry grass. God I hate that shit. Kinda like the between quarter highlights shown on the TV screen thingy. 2nd and 6 at USM 28.

4:59 Q2 BOOM RANDOM FALSE START OUT OF NOWHERE. Interesting. Makes the game more random.

4:55 First down anyway. Philly Brown bounces off about 3 tacklers and pinballs in 3 different directions. Slant is still hax. This tackling system is no fun when you're on D.

4:37 Touchdown Boom Herron. That...looks like Ed Orgeron wearing a sweatervest congratulating him on the sideline, but it's definitely supposed to be Luke Fickell. AWHYA IS EDDIE OH AWEARIN A SILLY GOL-DURNED THING LIKEA THIS WHERE BE MAH CRUTCHES BOY I SAY BOY DA COACHO NEEDA TOUCHDOWN.

4:37 Onside kicks are just as hard to recover. Like I said, trying to break the game.

4:25 Apparently OSU's defensive backs have cockfingers. That's the 2nd throw straight to a defensive back that he's dropped, even when I'm pressing the catch button.

4:05 HOLY SHIT DEFENSIVE END INT THAT PROBABLY SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED AND DEFINITELY WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED IN 11. I don't see why anyone would run anything other than a zone defense in this game. Either that or Southern Miss' QB just stinks.

3:07 Q2 BROSKI uses QB DRAW! It's super effective!

2:35 Doesn't look like zone read works as well as it does for Oregon, but at least I'm not getting raped in the backfield and losing 5 yards every time I try it. 4th and 5 - time for a fake FG.

2:22 Works to perfection. That's the only time you'll ever see Joey Baseball complete a pass of more than 10 yards.

1:24 Southern Miss' zone coverage works well enough that I'm forced to take a sack. 3rd and 14.

1:06 PA Post still works perfectly against Cover 3. THE PA POST IS BACK PEOPLE. 1st and goal. So Zone is only a problem when there are really good players playing it.

:50 Q2 TD on an end-around to Corey Brown (Philly).

Halftime thoughts: Hate the grass, don't like the tackling system, PA pass works much better, and you're better off bringing zone blitzes on defense than anything.

5:00 Q3 No Buckeye Bounce. Ah well, probably couldn't get license for the song. Ooh, now this is interesting. They have a "Game Track" for both teams, and show off which player is playing well and which is struggling.

4:55 Sack. Zone Blitzes appear to be unstoppable against the computer. Let's try man all out blitz.

4:00 Punt returning is just as hard to be successful in as it was before.

3:57 OHO THERE ARE SETUP PLAYS! Just aren't shown by a little chain link.

2:53 FG good. 24-0. Gonna run some vanilla 4-3 4-man rush on this drive just to see what happens.

2:23 Rape anyway. 2 tackles for loss and an INT on 3rd. Zone D is a hell of of a thing.

2:02 Braxton Miller's in.

1:59 TD to the TE. 31-0. This is on Heisman, btw. Time to sim out the rest of this game. Interestingly enough, you can watch the sim of all the plays this year. 

Final score 31-6, OSU. Defense just played Tresselball the rest of the 4th.

Final thoughts: If you want to stop anyone, just run zone blitzes. Not sure how this will work in online or head-to-head play, but it works like a charm against the computer. The graphics look about the same as last year, and the 3-D grass is just a big letdown, making everything blurry as hell. The lighting is a big "so what". That may be a problem with my TV, but I don't think so.

I'll update this more as I explore the game modes in the comments if anyone's got any questions. Happy gaming, y'all!

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