Video games are an escape. One minute you are living your ordinary life wishing you were someone famous and exciting, and the next minute you become whatever you want; a professional athlete or a man who did not live by the law. Or maybe you long to live in a previous time, a time of knights and kings and epic sword fights. You might even wish you were years in the future defending the human race against swarms of alien enemies.

Especially recently we have discover when it comes to video games there is no limit to what can be achieved. Each week I will review a game, App or new “toy” that I have come across and tell you all the pros and cons of that specific item. I hope that by reviewing games both new and old, I can make your video game experience both more enjoyable and cheaper.

Occasionally I will create gameplay videos, to show you exactly what you are buying. I will feature links to other reviews and links that will help you through the game. I will start off with older games and eventually work my way into new releases.

Another segment of my blog will be a quick overview of video gaming news including rumors and announcements.

Let us start things off. This week’s blog will cover "NCAA Football 2012." I am a major fan of the EA sports series, but I do not consider myself biased by that. I am very critical of these games and for the most part I refuse to buy the newest edition, the games are always released annually, unless there is some really cool new feature. I did not buy this game however, my roommate did. The most recent edition that I own is "NCAA Football 2008" for PlayStation 2. A little hint, my PS2 is my baby, but more on that another day.

"NCAA Football 2012" is definitely a step in the right direction for EA Sports. The franchise has been around since before I owned a game system. Each year they change one or two things and charge you an insane price to upgrade. This seems like a horrible sales tactic, but, for them it works.

Keep in mind, this review of this game is coming from a person who hasn’t played an NCAA game since the release of "NCAA Football 2008." With that said the game was an excellent play through with a lot of replay ability. For the sake of this review I will cover the three main styles of gameplay and a few features.

Exhibition: This feature has always been my favorite and is the favorite among my roommates. It is based off of a very user friendly game style. I can play my roommate who plays all the time or my roommate who never plays and the game will be relatively close no matter which one it is. For those who do not know how to play the game you can implement a one touch pass system where you hike the football and the computer tells you which receiver would be the best choise to throw to. To me this entirely defeats the purpose of playing but my roommate who likes to use that says he still finds it very entertaining.  

I play with the regular format where you select your play hike the ball and try and figure out which receiver is open. This game provides enough challenge to keep me entertained. If it gets too easy I can always raise the difficulty, and at the same time it is easy enough to master. I would give the Exhibition part of this game an 8.5/10. It is the most fun I have had in an exhibition game but as always these games can always use improvement.

Dynasty: I have not gotten too far in the dynasty mode. However from what I have seen it is a huge improvement. My only complaint is the recruiting system. It is almost too complicated. For gamers who do not know how football programs work, the whole recruiting process may be too overwhelming for them. That is definitely a buyer’s beware. In Dynasty, you create a coach and get hired onto the team of your choice. I would like to see NCAA randomize the teams that are hiring and make you work your way to the best teams. Or build that team up. Other than that, the Dynasty mode looks very smooth and is very user friendly. I would give the Dynasty mode an 8/10. Once again I am a very tough reviewer.

Create a Player:  Once again EA has continued my favorite segment. The be-a-superstar segment. EA continually evolves this feature and uses it to make their games extremely unique. In this feature, you are allowed to pick your player. You create his name (I always make the player me), height, weight and position. You are also able to customize his uniform and select his high school. Once you are done creating the player you are thrown into your senior season in high school. I love this feature. It makes the experience feel so much more real. You play all the way through your senior season against actual high schools. While doing so, you earn points towards scholarships based on how you play. The better you play the better the schools that offer you scholarships become. Finally, when you are done with your senior season you select the college you want to attend and your senior season begins. I have not finished my senior season, but I am already addicted. As with other NCAA games I assume once you are done with your college season you can go to the NFL and transfer your player into "Madden 2012." EA’s ability to make these games coincide has always intrigued me. There are many more advantages to this feature and very few disadvantages. The only con for this game type is difficulty. Starting off as a quarterback in high school it is very difficult to stay calm when your wide receivers are constantly dropping the ball. I give this section a 9/10. I want to give it a 10 but it isn’t quite there yet.

Gameplay:  The game plays very clean. Let me explain what “clean” means. It is my favorite way to describe a game that feels very realistic. Previous games have felt as if the two players colliding were walls crashing into each other and it did not feel realistic at all. The collisions in this edition are phenomenal. You feel as if you are watching a real game. The player’s faces could use some work and the running is a little flawed. When running I want it to be simple to make juke moves. However in this it can be very difficult to get your player to do what you want. I give the game play an 8.5

Other: One of the coolest features on the game is the News feature. Maybe it is because I work in news, or the fact that I am addicted to ESPN but having a real time sports radio show in the background of the game is awesome. It is actual news from one of ESPN’s radio stations, which is a feature that blew me away.

Overall, the game was a fun play through and I will get hours of good game play out of it.

For beginners I would rate it at 8/10 and for seasoned players I would give it a 9/10. It is definitely easier to play if you know something about football and if you have played a previous game in the series.

Have a great week, and come back next week for my next addition to my blog:  life is always better on the dorky side.

Azazeal