EA Sports: College Football 25 | Review
Reviewed by Cian Crowdy.
Note: EA provided a code to help review this game. The review was carried out on an Xbox Series X.
It’s been a long 10-year wait for a new College Football game, with the previous release being way back in 2014 with NCAA Football 14. Was the time out worth it? Or did the team fumble on the end line?
Intro
If you haven’t got an Alma Mater College team to root for, don’t worry, you have the option to pick from the list of 134 college teams. This can be a bit daunting at first, but having them split into their different conference, and tiers, does help to make it a little easier to select one.
Each of the 134 teams comes with its own main menu layout, opening pageantry, and stadium traditions such as the Iowa Wave (where fans and players wave to the children’s hospital next to the stadium). This makes each team’s intro unique as they are joined by mascots & cheerleaders, and animals! as they make their way onto the pitch with the stadium rocking
The unique atmosphere in each of the stadiums was recorded at live events. So you get the real atmosphere, with the real songs at the correct time in the game. It is not just there to build match-day buzz, but also impacts the on-field play. The louder the noise gets the more prone to mistakes the visiting team are.
Two different commentary teams (the 3-person broadcast team or the 2-person big game crew.) reduce the amount of announcer repetitiveness and make each match feel fresh,
So, when you combine the unique teams, stadiums, presentations, custom touchdown celebrations, and individual fan songs, on top of the improved player likenesses and new animations you have one very well-presented game, but does the gameplay match the hype?
Gameplay :
Short answer, yes! Gameplay on the pitch is probably where College Football shines the most. The first noticeable difference over previous Madden titles is how fast the on-pitch gameplay feels. It’s faster when playing, but it’s also faster to select a new play and get back into the game, ensuring you spend more time in the game than in the menus. The handy split screen after each play is a great way to quickly see information on if a player is risking injury through the new wear and tear mechanic, while at the same time picking your next play from the bottom half of the screen.
If you decide on a passing game, you have several settings to consider. These can be changed in the settings menu. “Placement and Accuracy”, “Placement”, “Classic”, or the newly revamped passing (which I’d admit does take a while to get used to before you can nail the perfect pass). Each one has its benefits and negatives but is really down to personal choice.
If you have time in the pocket, pump fakes (pressing a receiver icon twice) have a huge effect on the defence, causing them to stutter step, allowing your receiver to get open.
Not to neglect the Running Game, this has also improved with your blockers now getting much better at creating holes in the line of scrimmage to create some daylight to burst through.
The “Hot Route Master Skill” in Madden 24, has been added to College Football, this gives you 12 on-field options to choose from and customise to use in matches. For example, you might want to protect your quarterback who has recently taken some heavy hits to prevent an injury.
Modes
College football doesn’t have a massive list of modes to pick from.
“Play Now” lets you play a quick 1v1 using any of the 134 teams.
Ultimate Team – Much like FC and Madden, College has an Ultimate team mode, the card-based mode that lets you build your fantasy collections, and take on others across seasons and one-off online matches. This mode was one we didn’t spend a huge amount of time in. Unlike the other titles where you get your fantasy Premier League or NFL superstars, building a team of College Players seems less enticing as we simply don’t know enough of them.
Road to CFP (College Football Playoffs) is your online head-to-head where wins give you points, the better team you beat the more points you get. The goal is to get promoted, play in the playoffs or win the championship – think of this like the divisions in FC24.
Dynasty – is the one mode fans really wanted to see get some love and College went all in. You take over as a head coach and lead the school to victory. You need to recruit players and coaches to your school and develop them by completing challenges in the game. Week by week you get to scout for new players, choose how to invest your resources and try to temp recruits to join your school by either being the best school or promising them something that you feel they need to get them to join.
For a console “manager mode”, it is an in-depth system that gets addictive and is easy to see why fans enjoy it so much.
Road to Glory – The final mode to talk about is the Road to Glory. Here you create your player. With options to start at different levels. Are you the kind of player who wants to be the first name on the team sheet right away, or do you like the challenge of working your way out of the reserves and taking your chance when it comes up?
Similar to Dynasty, this mode goes week by week. Each week you play games, invest your resources and deal with the ever-complicated world of becoming a local superstar. The increased attention, opportunities to make money, stay grounded with friends and to top it off the balance of keeping on top of your schoolwork!
A quick mention of some of the other modes like the mini-games that let you build your skills and Team Builder that let you build a team and stadium offer alternatives to the main modes above but are not considered long-term investments.
Conclusion: The return of College Football is very welcome, despite the lack of a huge number of core modes and some issues inherited from Madden, it is a strong step in the right direction. The presentation and faster pace mean it is much more fun to play. Thankfully it is seeing great player numbers so hopefully, EA will continue to build on this with new engaging modes through the live service.
If you are planning on getting both College and Madden, there is a bundle that will save you a few Euros.
