With college football just around the corner, it’s time for EA Sports to cash in as it continues a trend of mediocrity and a lack of innovation with the 2013 edition of its NCAA Football franchise.

The gameplay is almost identical to the game they released five years ago. The developers are preaching their efforts with 20 new quarterback dropbacks and 25 pass trajectory zones, but it still feels the same. They changed it so defenders can’t blindly swat the ball anymore, but middle linebackers will still leap 3 feet into the air out of nowhere to intercept the ball.

Jason Mack

The presentation looks almost identical to the 2010 edition of the game. There are still plenty of errors such as a headline saying a team won by a score of 14-20. The ESPN ticker at the bottom looks nice, but it’s showing fake scores and makes it feel more like you’re watching a game than playing one.

Some of the most frustrating errors are the little to major details relating to Toledo. Every pre-game presentation shows the Rockets huddling up in a non-existent tunnel before running onto the field. They also made quarterback Terrance Owens right-handed with dreadlocks despite his being left-handed with short hair. I don’t want to accuse EA of perpetuating stereotypes, but not all black quarterbacks have dreadlocks.

The only major change from previous additions of the game is the “Heisman Challenge,” which allows users to play as former Heisman Trophy winners from Archie Griffin to 2012 winner Robert Griffin III. It is entertaining and amusing to see how good the Rockets could be with a legend like Barry Sanders in the backfield during his prime. However, the gameplay is too similar to the pre-existing “Campus Legend” mode. They basically just tweaked it and threw in some new characters. It’s a nice add-on to the game, but it shouldn’t be the main addition.

The game is fun to play and a good way to get pumped up for the upcoming season, but I’d be content just updating the rosters from a previous edition.

**1/2 out of 5

Tags: EA Sports, Jason Mack, NCAA Football, Toledo Rockets, video game review

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 31st, 2012 at 9:59 am and is filed under Arts and Life, Video Game Review, Video games.
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