This week delivered the demo for NCAA Football 11 from EA. Over the years these games have become mostly roster updates and painfully gradual improvements to gameplay mechanics. Given how realistic and fluid NCAA Football and Madden have become in recent years, it’s not hard to understand why each year doesn’t bring a slew of new features and overhauls.
It can be a daunting task to simply think up a few outstanding ideas for these titles that don’t already exist. For example, check out what ESPN has listed as nine enhancements to this year’s edition of NCAA Football. While some are welcome changes, a few are so minor and even relevant to a handful of teams, that to call them features is a little much. That said, I welcome each year’s installment of NCAA Football and Madden. As a guy yearning for football season these titles release when the anticipation is nearly unbearable. So much so that I buy NCAA Football each year to simply hold me over for a month until Madden releases.
NCAA Football 11 is more of what you want as a fan of the sport and college football specifically. There’s not a lot to say other than it’s a seemingly worthy entry into the series. One component to either football title that I key in on every year is the feel of the running game. The passing game and defensive control generally feel very similar to me year to year. The running game, however, tends to shift from year to year. Some years I’ll find the running game to be too stiff and not quite responsive enough to simulate the elusiveness of a great running back. This year’s installment really has done an exceptional job in the running department. Even down in the trenches I feel like I can find a small hole in the line, break free of an arm tackle, and bust off a large gain. In some versions running into a small hole at the line of scrimmage is effectively a 1 yard gain at best. This year, it feels like the realism of creating big plays from bleak situations is possible in the running game, and I’m really excited for that.
This year also feels like an emphasis was made on the wide variety of offensive styles seen in college football. The demo points them out clearly when making your game choice and the video above does a good job of breaking them down. I haven’t spent enough time evaluating the implementation of each in the demo but their emphasis in the demo is inspiring. Hopefully that becomes a real selling point in creating a more simulated experience.
I spent some time in the multiplayer beta for the upcoming Transformers game, Transformers: War for Cybertron. High Moon Studios looks to have done an excellent job recreating the Transformers experience. The map I played looked really good and was extremely unique. Your character feels like a real bad ass with tons of offensive fire power, but you don’t feel like you can be steamrolled on the defensive side. So far, that balance seems good but certainly there’s more to be found there as the progression of multiplayer happens.
Perhaps most important in creating a Transformers experience is how your character actually performs transformations. Let me tell you, they nailed it. Jumping with A and pressing the left stick to transform is just amazing and really works. The sound is authentic and will bring back some memories from your early childhood if you’re about my age.
I was really surprised by the depth of the multiplayer experience we’ll get at retail. For the beta, there are only two modes available; Team Deathmatch and a mode where you gain points by capturing and holding points on the map (it’s name escapes me at the moment). At retail, there are a handful of other game modes that will be available. Because the game feels and plays a lot like Gears of War 2, at least in terms of controls, it’s really the multiplayer experience that I wanted with Gears of War 2. I’m glad to see that Transformers: War for Cybertron is seemingly stepping up to the plate in delivering a solid multiplayer experience.
We’ll have a lot more on this title in the coming weeks. Skeptical Gamer is getting a review copy and will have an official review. We’ll also be talking about it on Slam The Controller. Stay tuned!
The hype of the Halo: Reach beta completely blinded me. I was so excited to give it a try I quite nearly bought the disgrace that is Halo 3: ODST. Yeah, completely blinded. Instead of making that purchase, again, I received a copy from GameFly. I jumped in on the first day and played a number of rounds of the beta.
At first, I was really starstruck. I was so excited during the weeks leading up to the beta that the initial reaction was going to be positive, regardless of what the lasting impression would turn out to be. I had fun with the “class” selections and found myself picking specific classes depending on the type of game and role I was playing in that game. The different special abilities really felt unique. I found very specific benefits to each class and thought the variety they provide to be plentiful.
After I played a few matches, the hype effect really wore off and what was left was just more of the same. Sure, the graphics are slightly better, the classes offer something unique, and the added game modes are interesting, but the overall feeling I had was a moderate upgrade from Halo 3. I’m just not excited to play the next revision of the same world, the same physics, and practically the same game I played nearly 3 years ago.
If you want more of the Halo universe, Reach will likely deliver that experience. The multiplayer will, certainly. For me, I never finished Halo 3 because I simply lost interest half way through. I bought ODST hoping it would hook me into the Halo world, but it didn’t and I stopped half way through a pathetically short single-player campaign. I had the hype goggles on for the Reach beta and bought into it, in a major way, but really lost interest after the hype was gone. I’m just done with Halo, period.
I’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of Split/Second from Disney Interactive. It’s a fast-paced action-racer with destructible environments. What’s not to like? Well, apparently, fast-paced action-racers with destructible environments from Disney Interactive is exactly what you shouldn’t like.
I was so excited about this game. Once I heard the demo had been released yesterday, I jumped on to xbox.com from work to queue up the download. I got home and went right into a game. The track in the demo looks great and is very fluid. The detail of the environment is very good. At some points along the way you’ll feel like you’re in a sandbox game instead of confined to a race track.
Pretty much everything else about the demo was underwhelming. I didn’t get the feeling of speed that I expected I would. I was hoping for more of a Blur or Burnout experience in that respect. I also had an odd experience of gaining abilities during my first race. When the race began the group really got spread out pretty quickly. Considering that you really gain a lot of progress towards an ability by drafting opponents, it was difficult to do so without drifting at every opportunity I could. I found myself spending more time trying to find ways to gain destruction abilities than trying to drive fast, well, and advance my position that way.
I was really disappointed by the Split/Second demo. Considering how close we are to a release date, I don’t have a lot of optimism of anything really changing. I’m really curious to hear what others think about the demo. Am I alone on this, or do you feel similarly?
I spent some time with the Blur multiplayer beta last night and figured I’d share a few thoughts. Blur is a combat racing title set in an urban environment. It feels very much like a cross between Burnout Paradise and Mario Kart. The goal is simple, finish first by any means necessary.
On your way to the front of the pack you’ll need to use your power-ups to disrupt your opponents. There are a variety of power-ups, from typical offensive weapons to defensive abilities to protect your position. In my limited play time I have not discovered the ins and outs of every power-up but the diversity felt good with a nice balance of offensive and defensive abilities.
The first thing I want to understand in any racing title is how the cars feel, how they handle, and what the physics are like. The driving in Blur feels very much like Burnout Paradise to me. There is a lack of precision in Blur, compared to what you’ll find in a game like Forza 3. I think that’s very much expected and frankly it works a lot better this way. I can’t imagine trying to keep track of the simulation in Forza 3 in addition to everything else going on in Blur. Overall, I really enjoyed how the cars felt in Blur. The handling was good and didn’t require so much attention that it takes away from the rest of the gameplay experience.
When I think of the title Blur, I think of fast-paced action. A crucial aspect to achieving that goal is how the game delivers a sense of speed. It’s no Burnout Paradise in this regard, which I felt was a little too far over the top anyway, but it really fits well in the Blur universe. Blur gives a great sense of speed which only provides a heightened level of action. The cars feel and sound fast. The end result ties in perfectly to delivering fast-paced action.
After playing the multiplayer beta of Blur, I went from slightly interested to eager anticipation of this title. Expect a full review shortly after the launch on May 25th.
