NCAA Football 13 - Xbox 360

The Madden and NCAA Football series have both been criticized for their lack of innovation upon release of the next iteration of the game for years now; NCAA Football 11 did some to change that perception, but NCAA Football 12 kept the same outward appearance, although it did change some gameplay features on the inside. In place of another major overhaul, however, NCAA 13 opted for some new features and animations, making the game more immersive than ever, but doing little to change the game's usual formula.The new feature this year is Heisman challenge, a glorified Road to Glory mode that allows the player to step in to the shoes of a former Heisman Trophy winner such as Desmond Howard, Barry Sanders, or Charlie Ward, and compete in seasons on any team you wish. Inevitably this will lead to some disgusting combinations, such as Archie Griffin on Michigan or Carson Palmer on Notre Dame, but dwelling on that will only make matters worse. The Heisman Challenge's staple is reaction time, or bullet time, slowing down the game so the player can make cuts or throws with their head instead of quick reactions. In some cases, this is extremely helpful, but it also makes gameplay a little too easy at some levels. Heisman Challenge is definitely something to check out, but it won't keep you entertained for too long.Dynasty has also seen some under the hood improvements. New recruiting options and features make each game in the season more important, as an underdog win over a top 25 opponent will net you some well-earned popularity with the recruits. This is a very welcome addition, and something which many have been wishing was part of the game for a while. More recruiting options are available for the player as well; Scouting is now an essential part of recruiting. You can see a player's ratings through the season, and target recruits based on your findings instead of being given a base grade. Calling recruits also leads to new gameplay options, and can help swing a recruit towards your school, if you're good enough. In game studio updates, provided by Rece Davis, improve the game's ESPN atmosphere, making it feel even more like you're watching the big game on television; the ESPN ticker gives you the scores from around the nation, and priority score alerts make it even easier to follow the big upsets of the heavy hitting game between top 5 teams.Road to Glory saw some minor attention this year adding in new challenges as a college player. Despite the lack of a major overhaul it is still as fun as ever; leading your own high school player to the starting spot on a college team is extremely exciting. RTG may even be a little more difficult this year if you choose. It also touts the new reaction time used in the Heisman challenge, and contains better goals to pursue than past iterations, creating a more challenging game.EA is touting the new animations that have been added to the game, with new receiving and throwing animations being brought into the game to improve realism, and motion blur being added as well. The new animations make the game more lifelike to be sure, and make the players look and feel more athletic, instead of moving about the field in a fashion similar to robots attempting to play American football. Motion blur never seems to be an integral part of the game, however, only popping up on replays and in between plays. Fans do have motion blur, but that seems less important than introducing motion blur in gameplay, and seeing a fan pump their fist with motion blur never made me gaze in wonder at the feat that EA achieved. Defenses are not the omnipotent beasts they once were, and neither are receivers, for that matter. You need to make sure a receiver is looking for the ball before you throw to them, made easier by the grayed out icons that indicate your receiver is entirely oblivious to the fact you are attempting to throw them the ball. However, defensive players that aren't looking can't block the pass either, a problem that reoccurred throughout NCAA 12.The biggest lacking feature for this year's NCAA football was the Infinity engine offered by Madden 13. Now, Madden 13 has not come out yet, and thus there has been no clear reference for its engine, giving us no clue whether it is another useless "innovation" provided by Madden or if it's actually a fantastic addition for the game, but it certainly is disappointing that it was not included in this year's NCAA. This is especially disappointing given that, at least in recent years, NCAA had surpassed Madden in being the elite football title produced by EA in terms of gameplay and reception.The previous iteration of NCAA Football didn't do too much to separate itself from the line of other NCAA's, at least not in a manner similar to NCAA 11, and NCAA 13 doesn't do too much either. For fans of college football and folks who have picked up each and every other game before it, it's a good buy, but for those simply looking for a recommendation to upgrade from NCAA 12, there's not much reason to spend the extra money for a the Heisman Challenge, new animations, and a roster update. As an individual who spent hundreds of hours on NCAA 12, I picked it up and loved it.EDIT: I have recently had a lot of trouble loading my dynasty, as it constantly freezes during the game loading screen. I haven't been able to touch my dynasty mode after this, and it's extremely frustrating. Hopefully it will be patched soon, but as of now, with dynasty mode unable to be played correctly, I switch my position to don't buy. Wait until it's patched to buy or just save the money and continue to play '12.

This is my first review. I am writing it because I stumbled upon NCAA on here and noticed how low its rating was. It seems like a lot of folks are having some trouble with freezing. I have played the game over 200 hours so far and have not had it freeze on me once. I'm not calling everyone else liars, but I felt it was worth sharing my experience.Positives-Great new Passing system. The passing in this game is unbelievable. In NCAA 12, defenders would come from nowhere to pick off your passes or swat them down. The passing this year is so good that you can actually read the eyes of a Linebacker to know whether you can make a pass or not.-Dynasty Mode. They have updated the Coaching Carousel. My favorite thing to do is start as a 1-Star school, move up to a mid-tier school, and eventually end up at one of the powerhouse programs. That is entirely possible in this years game. NCAA 12 just wasn't as refined. I also enjoy the new recruiting point system. It does take longer, but you will have a better understanding of what you are doing.-Animations. The animations in this game are fantastic. There are so many new ones. I love the new catch animations on the sideline, corner of the end zone, diving catches, etc. They go nicely with the new passing system.Negatives-Blocking. Blocking in general is one part of the game that I wish would be improved, particularly run blocking. There are too many times where you hand the ball off only for your running back to never make it out of the back field. Also, there are too many long runs. They kind of offset each other, but the game would be more realistic if they improved one, and lessened the other.-Ratings need to matter more. If I have a 99 Left Tackle and he is matched up with a 65 Right Defensive End, the DE should stand no chance of getting a sack. Also, I should be able to run best when going left, since I have the best LT in the country. It's not really the case. I just wish ratings mattered a bit more than they do.

Fun game to play

I'm a big fan of the NCAA series and basically have come to realize that you can skip every other year and save you money. The rosters are updated immediately if you get online access and when you play a dynasty it doesn't really matter to me too much after about 2 seasons. I had NCAA 2009 and 2011, really not much change at all. Graphics seemed about the same. However this version had vastly improved graphics in comparison. Granted it's newer but still was a big jump from 2011. I actually find myself watching replays now just because it looks good. Player mechanics and physics are less repetitive and while are basically unrealistic still, they make sense to what's actually happening. Its got the great option of setting up your own divisions/conferences since all these teams keep jumping around and now I have a perfect Mountain West Conference for the upcoming 2013 season. I bought this used off Amazon and it came with an inactive online code so that was good too. Not looking forward to having to buy another year but maybe I'll get 2015 by then. No glitches for me yet so they must have cleaned everything up by now. My one critique is that it seems awfully easy to recruit so far. As a woefully poor Colorado State team I'm already able to recruit 4-5 star players and 3 star players almost automatically commit when you offer them a scholarship. So if you want a challenge up the difficulty from the start on everything you can. I also went undefeated my first season and played Iowa in the championship which seems impossible but I think the #3 team had 2 losses so technically two undefeated teams played for the ship. If you like playing these games, this is has been the best one for me for a long time. I played 2007 for almost 4 years just because it was so much newer and better than 2005 but it stayed the same until this version. No need for me to get 2014 at least.

Game is in good condition I’ve had no problems playing it. Very happy!

Awesome game. Wish they did the scouting differently And changes a little more from 12. Really good graphics though, perfect set up Gmae for madden 13

Sent me a disc that did not work. Wouldn’t recommend.

Scratched disk. Have to restart multiple times