Electronic Arts, or EA, recently came out with a college football game for the first time since 2013. The hype for the game and the anticipation is something few games receive nowadays. This type of hype is rarely reserved for sports video games. Rather, it’s saved for the unique open-map solo games like “Grand Theft Auto,” “Elden Ring,” or “Red Dead Redemption 2”. After releasing for people who ordered the “deluxe version” last Monday, I got the normal version on Friday. After a weekend of playing, I’m happy to report that this won’t be a long review because I have to return to it.
Gameplay and Presentation
What makes college football special is the uniqueness of each team and the fans that support them. EA College Football 25 accomplishes this. Each stadium intro feels unique and each intro makes you feel like you’re there.
Although the announcers have gotten hate online (a common theme), I don’t seem to mind them. Yes, they could be a little more excited about big plays, but the depth of their analysis is something I enjoy. Also, some teams have unique talking points. For example, when you play with LSU, the broadcast team mentions their offensive evolution since Joe Burrow. My favorite announcer is David Pollack. His creativity, fun jokes, and in-depth analysis are a joy to listen to.
On offense, the gameplay is impeccable. It feels like you are playing a college game. The offense is liable to take every play to the house. Speed, like in real life, matters a lot against defenses. A guy like USC wide receiver Zachariah Branch is unstoppable due to his high speed.
The revamped passing mechanics are something that drastically improves the types of passes you can make. It reminds me a lot of FIFA’s (now EAFC) shooting mechanics. The throw meter was most likely copied from the shot meter. Both games are made by EA. If you get a correct pass or correct shot in EAFC’s case, you can make an incredible throw.
Playing defense in EA College Football 25 is a lot like real life: extremely hard. The pursuit angles players take are often sloppy and wrong. The user defender feels like he is on ice trying to tackle someone on ice skates. The addition of the defender switch stick does allow the user to make plays on the ball that would’ve not been made otherwise. Overall, the defense experience isn’t enjoyable.
Dynasty Mode
I can’t believe that this is happening. Nothing beats convincing recruits to join your small school instead of choosing Alabama.
The recruiting is insane and gives users an incredible amount of options when it comes to how you recruit. With specific dealbreakers, your small school can enter into some big-time recruiting battles. I signed a 5-star in my first year at Oregon State just because he was from Oregon. Some may feel that it is too overpowered, but I think each dynasty mode save is different and the more you play the more scenarios you’ll encounter.
Even though I haven’t played deep into multiple dynasty saves, it is clear there are two issues with it. Simulating and rankings. Somehow, Alabama lost to an FCS school one year. It’s a common thing for big teams. Non-power 5 conference teams like Charlotte and Jacksonville State are ending up in the college football playoff. It seems unnatural and EA has announced a patch coming soon to fix these issues.
Road to Glory and Ultimate Team
Road to Glory allows the users to choose what skill level they want to start at. EA is under fire from fans for it being hard to progress your player as a backup. It also is quite unrealistic with transfers. How does my mid-tier QB all of a sudden become a target for Clemson after finishing the season as an 81 overall? I think EA could’ve also included high school like they did 11 years ago. Being able to play your way into an overall versus choosing one.
Ultimate team is ultimate team. Micro-transactions can boost your team quicker than playing offline games. Even though I have always had a gripe with this model, it is fun to be able to build a team using different players from different eras.
Conclusion
EA gets a lot of hate from fans online. This is common because of how many games they produce along with how grumpy people are.
I love College Football 25. It brings me joy building a small school up into a powerhouse and the amount of playback potential there is in dynasty mode makes for a lot of unique experiences. I understand that dynasty mode has simming issues, but I do think this is a product of conference realignment. It is hard to make it through a season with one or two losses if you’re in the revamped Big Ten or SEC.
As mentioned above, the grumpiness of online fans is silly. We, as fans of video games and college football, have waited 11 years for this game. EA figured out how to make it and satisfy the legal issues that surround the idea of making this game. After all this time and effort, players have decided to complain online. It’s just the world we live in.
I won’t complain, nothing in life is perfect and EA certainly knows that. Hopefully, with more updates and patches, people will calm down.
Gamescore: 8.3/10
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Featured Image: Electronic Arts/EA Orlando
