It’s the moment your uncles have been waiting for for over a decade. EA Sports College Football 25 is finally here. Anyone who played NCAA Football 14 or the previous installments will be nostalgic, and anyone who only played Madden will be curious. Now that we’ve played quite a few games and the initial excitement has worn off, will EA Sports College Football 25 live up to the hype?
The answer, surprisingly, was yes. At first, I expected a simple 1:1 Madden reskin. But as soon as the first game started, the presentation and the flashy decorations on display quickly made it clear that this was a whole new ballgame. EA Sports College Football 25 perfectly captures what it’s like to attend a college football game. The lively, boisterous, and loud crowds, hundreds of college-specific workouts and traditions, and uniquely designed stadiums give each school its own unique atmosphere of excitement.
This craft isn’t just for pre-rendered cutscenes, either, EA Sports College Football 25 is impressive in its moment-to-moment gameplay. You can almost see every drop of sweat running down the players’ skin as they bounce off each other, and the movement and AI responsiveness are far more realistic than anything we’ve seen in Madden so far.
One of the first examples of improved movement in EA Sports College Football 25 can be seen in the running game. Halfbacks run through holes instead of touching guards’ backs and swaying their hips, and spin moves have weight and fluidity. On the other side of the ball, tackles have more than just a hit or miss. A hit from a heavy defensive end is much more devastating than a hit from a speedy cornerback, just like in real life.
The passing game has also been greatly improved, with more intelligent AI combined with the free-form placement pacing introduced in Madden 24 to allow for tight window receptions. Corners are no longer user-controlled right before the play, and can no longer jump 20 feet in the air for an easy interception. Every pick in EA Sports College Football 25 is earned due to good coverage, play-calling, and ability.
I don’t play it myself, but it’s also worth mentioning that My Ultimate Team (MUT) EA Sports College Football 25 has been added. It’s the same as Madden, but still has a lot of focus and emphasis on microtransactions and pay-to-win gameplay. Regardless, anyone who enjoys the game will not hesitate to try it out as a college player instead of an NFL star.
EA Sports College Football 25 improves on a lot of the groundwork laid by Madden, but it also leaves some things to be desired, particularly in its single-player career mode, Road to Glory. Everything about the mode is frustrating, and it’s clear from the moment you start that this is true. Instead of proving yourself as a high school prospect like in NCAA Football 14, you’re given a choice of position and star rating to start with. The higher your player’s level, the sooner you’ll be able to start. Pick a lower-rated recruit and you’ll have to earn your spot. But while working your way up from the bottom sounds like it has the potential for a cool storyline, the process ultimately consists of playing the same minigames over and over again in the hopes of earning playing time. Plus, there’s no story or commentary on your way to the top, so there’s no point in picking players with anything less than a five-star rating.
Once you get into the starting lineup, it’s disappointing how little character movement there is, even for a star quarterback. Sure, it’s understandable that a coach wouldn’t give a rookie QB the entire playbook, but it’s too restrictive to not be able to audible out of a play and have a limited number of play change points per game, which limits you to three play options instead of one. It’s fine as an optional means of increasing immersion, but it’s pretty disappointing that these restrictions can’t be lifted.
Speaking of immersion, EA Sports College Football 25’s attempt to replicate academics also falls flat. When not playing, your character is given a limited amount of energy points to spend on certain activities. Depending on your choices, you’ll earn XP boosts or modifiers that you can use in-game. It doesn’t take long to figure out how to gamify the system. All you have to do is max out Academics for the first half of the season and completely ignore the Brand section, which has no game-changing effect. Then, you can spend the rest of the season building XP and leadership to unlock upgrade points and in-game buffs.
Scenarios sometimes occur in the form of text messages, but their boosts are barely worth it, and their attempts at story are half-baked at best. The only thing that elicited a laugh was when a girl blocked me for texting too much about going to a party. Other than that, the off-field experience is unremarkable. Worse, if you skip activity management, your players will suffer negative effects on the field due to injuries or stat drops. Fortunately, Dynasty mode is the exact opposite of Road to Glory.
While Road to Glory felt like a skeletal attempt at a career mode, Dynasty is a tapestry of planning and execution. Recruitment is quite in-depth, as you have to consider the needs and wants of specific players and invest time into building your team around them and recruiting players. With limited time and scholarships available, using it to scout players you don’t have a chance to recruit is like rolling the dice.
To improve these opportunities, you can overcome deal breakers, including the school’s reputation and style of play. It’s a surprisingly complex system, as you have to balance the needs of multiple players during the recruiting process while also trying your best to win games during the season. Considering how limited the choices are in Road to Glory, the choice to choose an established coach or create your own is surprisingly accommodating.
Choosing an established coach will give you the advantage of abilities and upgrades, such as recruiting improvements, which will give you a head start. If you prove yourself relatively well and start from scratch, you can customize your attributes and playstyle to suit the way you play the game. This means that instead of using the locked skills of the established coach, you can assign the upgrade points you receive from leveling up to any category in the skill tree.
For those who enjoy a challenge, Dynasty mode also provides consequences for your actions. If you fail to live up to the expectations set by the contracts determined by the school’s legacy, you may find yourself looking for a new job after three years. This realism makes for some pretty entertaining scenarios.
Imagine getting fired from LSU, then taking a weak school like Kennesaw State to the college playoff, beating your old school, and winning the national title. This kind of indirect scenario in EA Sports College Football 25 could make many of the other frustrating aspects worthwhile. Hopefully EA can continue to build on this solid foundation while also fleshing out aspects of the series to further differentiate it from Madden and create a unique experience.
