The trailer for EA Sports College Football 26 was released on Thursday. On3’s Andy Staples was able to test the video game ahead of its July release and was thrilled with its additions.
CFB Analyst Details Video Game Improvements
Staples beamed as he explained some of what he noticed as he played EA Sports College Football 26.
“I’ll go back to last year,” Staples said in a video posted to On3’s YouTube channel on Thursday. “When I first got to play the game last year, same event, first thing I did, I booked a game at Lane Stadium. I wanted to see in Blacksburg what happens when the Hokies come out of the tunnel. Were they gonna play ‘Enter Sandman?’ They didn’t.”
Staples spoke with Ben Haumiller, the game’s principal designer, who explained the song wasn’t included because “licensing a Metallica song is expensive.”
“This time, first chance I got, Lane Stadium, I heard the guitars,” Staples said. “I heard James Hetfield. You hear the crowd singing it as the Hokies are in the tunnel. It’s exactly what you’d hope it would be. … And it’s not the only thing that’s new in terms of just the immersive ‘You’re at the game’ factor, which I think is probably the most impressive thing about this game. It makes you feel like you’re actually at the game.”
Staples, who grew up a South Carolina fan, recalled his first in-person college football experience at Williams-Brice Stadium.
“Very partial to the South Carolina band playing the theme from ‘2001(: A Space Odyssey) as the Gamecocks take the field,” Staples said. “Well, last year, they just played ‘Sandstorm’ and, obviously, we know that the Gamecocks love ‘Sandstorm.’ But that’s not how they take the field.”
Staples imitated the score to show the theme’s inclusion in this year’s edition.
“And the Gamecocks come out, and then, as you’re about to kick off, ‘Sandstorm’ kicks in. It is amazing,” Staples said. “They’ve just got more of those little touches. For example, if you’re playing a game at the Big House, between the third and the fourth quarters, they’re playing ‘Mr. Brightside.’ And, by the end of it, it’s just the crowd singing ‘Mr. Brightside.’ … It’s one of those things that really just hits you as a college football fan that the people who make this game love it as much as we do.”
KEEP READING: EA Sports CFB 26 Soundtrack Brings Back Drumlines and ‘Enter Sandman’ With Epic New Twist
Other features and improvements include more realistic defensive responses to how offenses operate and line up, ramped-up home-field advantages, and head coach and coordinator likenesses.
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