EA College Football will release sometime in summer 2024. It's been almost 10 years since NCAA Football 14, EA Sports' last entry in the college-football games. But there is cause for concern, especially with how EA has treated both its Madden NFL and FIFA franchises. While Madden games receive praise from critics, many fans are upset with the lackluster amount of improvements to the series over the last decade.
Here are 5 things EA Sports must avoid to ensure an immersive College Football experience.
5. Ultimate Team Should Not Dictate EA College Football's Direction
Madden Ultimate Team (or MUT) first started in Madden NFL 10. The game mode has the player building their own team by opening card packs to unlock better athletes. This would have been fine, but with gamers being able to buy card packs with their own real money, it quickly became a “Pay-To-Win” Game mode. While you may have been building your team for free, someone else online has already unlocked a 99 overall team and is whooping everyone else on day 1.
The idea of being able to mix-and-match NFL teams is fun. However, MUT has been so lucrative that EA Sports has seemingly dropped any care of adding more features to the base game. Any game modes that are introduced are removed in the next title, and maybe brought back in another as a “brand new feature”.
But the problem lies within the popularity of the mode. In fact, there is a genre of YouTubers who dedicate themselves solely to the production of MUT videos. Unless people stop buying MUT packs, there's really no end to this.
EA College Football will likely have an Ultimate Team mode, and there's nothing inherently wrong with that. At this point in the gaming world it'll be impossible to convince the developers NOT to put in microtransactions. However, EA Sports should still focus on other major aspects of the game and treat UT like any other mode. It shouldn't become a priority over other modes.
4. Same Play, Same Result
Anybody who plays Madden NFL knows that using certain plays over and over again will always result in success. For example, a typical Four Verticals play always has the Tight End open. If the Tight End is being covered, then one of the three receivers usually gets open. When receivers are covered, then the check-down option always gets you a solid 10-15 yards. If none of the above are open (though this usually never happens), the QB can simply run the ball to pick up positive yardage. Unless the defense gets a sack in the first two seconds, this play usually works.
But if somehow Four Verticals still doesn't work, then there's always another two or three plays you'll be comfortable with. And that's an issue with Madden NFL; that you aren't forced to try new plays and experiment with your offense. At most, players can tweak the same plays by just changing the routes of a receiver, or having the running back block instead of go on his route.
This issue was prevalent in NCAA 14, but after 10 years this should be improved. Whether it's improvements to the defensive AI by remembering your play-calling, or rigorous play-testing to determine which plays are overpowered, hopefully the game will become more balanced.
3. Stay away from X-Factors
Introduced in Madden NFL 22, X Factors has brought a level of unrealism to the game. For example, Joe Burrow's Run & Gun X-Factor in Madden NFL 23 grants him the ability to throw a perfect pass while on the run. Now I'm no one to talk smack on an incredible QB, but no signal-caller can simply throw the ball perfectly on every run. Even the best Quarterbacks make mistakes with their throws now and then.
Even worse is Lamar Jacksor's “Truzz” X-Factor, which prevents fumbling. You could hit Jackson with everything you've got and he still won't drop the rock.
It's unknown whether or not X-Factors will play a part in EA College Football, but we're really hoping they don't. It simply wouldn't make sense for a College Football QB to be able to throw the ball for 70-85 yards (most NFL QBs can't even do that). The feature also takes away an element of realism from the game. It'd be fine if this was a more arcade-style football game like NFL Street, but with real players and schools, the game should try to be close to the real thing.
2. Presentation
Something that has long plagued EA Sports game is its lack of presentation. Long gone is the Tony Bruno Radio Show (which last appeared in Madden 07). Gone are the days of the live-action halftime show we saw in Madden NFL 10. All that remains is social media page, which is nice, but it feels like more can be done with it.
EA Sports should take notes from Take-Two Interactive's NBA 2K series, where presentation is the main focus of the game. In MyCareer mode alone you get to experience the life as an NBA player. You're given the opportunity to do pre-game, mid-game, and post-game interviews. During a basketball game, you'll see personalities like Doris Burke and David Aldridge, and the commentators keep the game fresh. This is just a small sliver of things you experience in one game mode.
EA College Football is the perfect opportunity to create a career mode that truly follows a student athlete on his way to reach NFL stardom. Outside of that, it'd be nice to see some NCAA personalities as well.
It would also be cool if player scouting was improved so that you can actually meet with players. In Madden NFL, scouting and free agency is limited to just pressing a few buttons and raising/lowering contract offers. NCAA 14's scouting system was pretty good, so they should use that as a basis and improve upon that formula with actual player meetings.
1. New Year, Same Game
Something that has plagued the sports video game genre is annual releases with little to no change. One could play every Madden game in the last five years and write everything that's new or changed in just one page. If EA College Football is going to be an annual release title, then the developers need to start planning for the future now.
One idea is how Pro Evolution Soccer 2020 released an update that gave players access to the 2021 rosters. Financially, it's not appealing, which is why EA Sports should work on a middle ground. Perhaps players will have to pay a one time fee to get access to the new rosters? This could influence a bi-annual release in which more time could be used to improve the next release.
We're still very excited and optimistic for the release of a new college football game. EA College Football is still over a year away from release. Until then, check out our other articles on ClutchPoints Gaming to find out more about your favorite sports games.
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