First look at new NCAA Football 11 features

[Queasy]

The release of NCAA Football 11 has become an annual rite of passage for football video game fans. First comes the anticipation of a new release and the improvements. Then comes the release day hysteria. Then comes the realization of missing features and bugs. And finally, comes the realization that this is the game that you're playing so make the best of it until next year's version is released.

Commence step one with a first look at some NCAA Football 11 features that have been revealed in an ESPN.com article. According to producer Russ Kiniry, "This is all stuff the fans and the community have been asking for."

• On-field Referees - They were relegated to non-existence for the current generation of consoles. Now they are back and will be considered part of the field.
• Gang Tackling - Added last year to Madden, it's now coming to NCAA Football but has been "tweaked and tuned to improve on the system."
• Auto Save - They've improved the auto-save functionality so that it saves more often in more places. Now you won't lose your roster or settings changes you've made.
• Auto Load Rosters - Helps when switching between game modes. Your roster changes will follow you around.
• Formation Subs - Another feature that has been missing in this generation of consoles. Now you'll be able to havecertain players used in certain formations just like you could on the PS2 or Xbox.
• New Equipment - New helmets, facemasks, arm gear, etc
• Single Bowl Season - Bowls previously took the course of three weeks in-game. Now they are all bundled together in the same week so you don't have to wait.
• Dynamic Conference Logos - For when your team switches conferences. Conference logos on the field will switch as well.
• Numbers on Helmets - Alabama fans obviously have some clout here as now numbers will be on the sides of the helmets like they are for the BCS Champions.

 

[Lotheron]

Looks like a good solid set of new features, although, pretty uneventful.

 

[meltdown75]

i am still playing 09...

 

[blurredvision]

Looks like a good solid set of new features, although, pretty uneventful.

Yep. Most of it is stuff that should in no way be listed as grand new features. On-field referees and gang tackling are the only things I would consider as selling points. The rest of the stuff should just be added or have already been there years ago, but I guess when you don't innovate much, you gotta use what you have.

Where's the updated presentation?

 

[JoPh]

eh.. nothing impressive.

but ill prolly get it anyway..

 

[Queasy]

I don't know what to expect from the series that could be considered ground breaking at this point. Every new release is just going to be tweaking and adding smaller incremental features.

Hell, they're just now getting back to adding stuff in that was in the game before the 360/PS3 versions were released.

 

[blurredvision]

I don't know what to expect from the series that could be considered ground breaking at this point. Every new release is just going to be tweaking and adding smaller incremental features.

I think they still have a long way to go to make it more TV-like. The presentation still lacks in so many ways. On-field referees is a step in the right direction, but geez, should it take 10 years to get the presentation up to par? Hell, they don't even have chain-gangs anymore.

It's sad that back in the 16-bit era, there was so much competition, and you saw all kinds of innovation, but now it's literally the same game every single year. There's a lot more that can be done with football games, but EA doesn't want to do it, and nobody else can do it. With as many copies as they sell every year though, you can't blame them for not putting much effort into it.

 

[dmw16]

Hell, they're just now getting back to adding stuff in that was in the game before the 360/PS3 versions were released.

No different than in the Madden franchise. Madden 05 on the Xbox (non-360) was excellent. It took until Madden 10 (maybe 09) for the series to reach the same level on the 360.

 

[Queasy]

I think they still have a long way to go to make it more TV-like. The presentation still lacks in so many ways. On-field referees is a step in the right direction, but geez, should it take 10 years to get the presentation up to par? Hell, they don't even have chain-gangs anymore.

Well, yeah that's my point. All those are incremental improvements. Nothing ground-breaking.

Though I do agree that competition is needed. MLB The Show and MLB 2K both provide good competition to each other. MLB 2K10 looks like it has made significant improvements especially in regards to presentation this year.

 

[blurredvision]

Well, yeah that's my point. All those are incremental improvements. Nothing ground-breaking.

Yeah, I understand your point, I'm just saying that presentation is one place where they could make a huge leap instead of incremental upgrades, but it'll never happen.