Youtuber Bordeaux and cover athlete Donovan Edwards showcased EA Sports College Football 25 in the first view of actual gameplay we’ve seen since the game was announced. What did we learn, and how will it affect gameplay?
3 Things We Learned About EA Sports College Football 25 in Showcase
1) Passing Looks Difficult… And Realistic
For the first time in major football video-gaming history, passing seems more skill-based than random. EA Sports College Football 25 has done this by adding left-stick passing and an accuracy meter.
In past games, the throw was either accurate or not, based solely on a quarterback’s accuracy stat and random luck.
Now, there is a gradient to accuracy. An inaccurate pass might not be five yards over a receiver’s head, but it could be a bit behind, low or high, but perhaps still catchable.
Every throw has an accuracy meter, and the timing of that bar, combined with the quarterback’s accuracy stat, will determine just how accurate the throw is.
2) Abilities and Archetypes Make Players Unique
Much like the badge system in the 2K games, it seems like unlocked abilities and player archetypes will affect player performance. For example, Edwards has the “road dog” trait based on his real-life stats in road games. Because of this, his performance was not negatively affected by the crowd in Beaver Stadium when they demonstrated a game between Penn State and Michigan.
Quinn Ewers used his “field general” trait to recognize a corner blitz and attack it with a quick sideline route. There are dozens of archetypes, and each affects the abilities and upgrades players can get.
3) Realistic Factors Affect Performance
We’ve heard about things like “wear and tear” and home-field advantage being in the game, but seeing them in action really gives gamers an idea of what they can expect upon release.
One of the interesting things to me was wear and tear. I had expected a generic “He got hit hard, so he’s out for a few plays,” as we’ve gotten in the past, but it’s far more in-depth than I had expected. For example, in the gameplay demo, a Penn State receiver took a huge shot when making a tough catch.
Instead of just being banged up or losing a generic five points per attribute, the game showed the receiver took a hard hit to the arm, so only the attributes connected to that body part would be affected.
So, a guy who takes a shot to the arm will still be able to run as fast as he typically can, but he might struggle at the catch point or fight for extra yards. According to the video, players heal on a play-to-play, quarter-to-quarter, and week-to-week basis.
Similarly, not all home-field advantages are the same in the game. Sure, you might get squiggly play art, but the developers mentioned wrong play art or an inability to change the play at the line.
I also noticed a greater difference in playmaking ability for the top players in the game. Edwards outran the entire Texas defense in a way that felt a bit more realistic than past games, while Ewers’ strengths were on display rather than a simple, “This guy is a higher overall, so he’s basically better at everything.”
Composure also seemed to make a huge difference. As Edwards began to destroy Bordeaux, Drew Allar‘s composure dropped, and he struggled to be consistent. It seems like there are more factors than ever that affect gameplay and team building.
This leads me to think gamers will need to be more strategic when building their Dynasty teams. It might not be beneficial to simply play the guys with the highest overall rating. Fatigue makes a difference as well, so depth is more important than ever.
Gamers will need to be strategic when building their teams to find players that work well together. All of this adds up to a smarter, though perhaps more frustrating game — one that challenges its gamers unlike ever before.
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