NCAA 13 is the latest installment in a franchise packed with tradition. There are new aspects to this latest game, but is it all going to come together and be worthy of a Heisman?
College football is all about tradition and nothing signifies that like it’s new 21st Century tradition of video games. NCAA 13 continues a long tradition of college football games and the latest endeavor adds new things to an already entertaining release.
It’s not without it’s flaws though. As amazing as the game looks, it’s far from an air-tight game. But if you love college football and live for Saturday’s in the fall, then you’re going to love the authentic feel behind NCAA 13.
Contents
- Heisman Mode
- Dynasty Mode
- Gameplay
- Presentation
- Overall
HIGHLIGHTS
This year’s edition of NCAA Football offers up plenty of improvements on last year’s installment. Here’s a quick rundown before we dive deep into things:
- NO MORE BLIND SWATS!!!
- Over 430 new WR catches
- 8 New QB evasion moves to dodge tacklers on the run
- Enhanced WR awareness
- The option to abort a play action after the snap
- 20 new QB dropback animations and new drop back controls
- All New Heisman Trophy Mode
HEISMAN MODE
I want to kick off the review with my favorite part of NCAA 13: Heisman Mode. In this brand spanking new gameplay mode, you control one of 10 former Heisman winners and take them through their trophy winning season. The kicker? You can play as any one of the 10 players on any NCAA team. So this means if you love the Golden Gophers and want to have Barry Sanders or Tim Brown play in Minnesota, than more power to you. Ever wonder what Tim Tebow looked like in a Florida State uniform or how differently the National Championship game would have gone if he was playing for the Buckeyes?
Well you can find out in this mode. That’s the initial attraction to this mode — it’s virtual endless in terms of the ways you can play it.
The one draw back is, depending on who you play, the mode is insanely and childishly easy. Playing as Barry Sanders, it’s not difficult to rack up 200+ yards a game and almost put up triple digit points. If you want the most challenge out of this mode, play it before you play any other mode including a pick up exhibition game. The controls are different enough that getting to learn the controls in Heisman Mode is going to be the only way it’s truly challenging. But even with that, the mode tends to get repetitive if it’s all that you play.
But the ability to go back and play as a past winner and have him play for any and every school — plus hear them talk in interviews about how it was to actually live their Heisman year– is well worth playing this mode endlessly.
Score: 8.5/10
