I won’t bury the lede here. Madden 25 hasn’t been released, but EA College Football 25 plays the best video game of football I’ve ever seen.
Does that mean that I love every part of the game? No, but there is no doubt that all video game football lovers should have this one in their collection. Let me also preface the meat of this article by saying I haven’t had a chance to dive too deeply into Ultimate Team.
I prefer to wait for the servers to be fully populated and for EA to have an opportunity to reinforce things for the impact of an excited user base. Here are the ten important details I learned in my first 48 hours playing EACF 25.
The Game is Stunning Visually in Every Way
From a pure graphics standpoint, this feels like the first true current-gen football game ever released. The player models, 3-D grass, lighting, and environments are strong.
I have taken a ton of snapshots from gameplay in the replay suite and marveled at the detail in several games.
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Beyond the gameplay visuals, the presentation is excellent. Multiple camera angles, mascots, cheerleaders, stadiums, and crowds add to this beautiful game.
The Game Plays Fast
It took me about a half of football to get used to, but EACF 25 plays a faster game than all other football titles before it. Initially, I wasn’t sure I liked it, but after I got acquainted with the violent nature of some of the movements, anything else felt too slow.
I’m comfortable with the variant between fast and slow players, which makes game-changing stars more fun to control and as dominant as they should be in college football.
The Commentary Doesn’t Mention Players by Name Often
On the downside of commentary, things can sound generic at times. There are thousands of names in the game, so I can imagine it was a task tying those callouts in with one commentary team–let alone three.
However, with the presentation on such a high level throughout the rest of the game, it is noticeable that the commentators rarely refer to the players by name. I’m hoping some tuning can be done on that end to improve the audio post-launch, but as it is, the commentary sounds super general.
Currently, it sounds more like something you’d hear in the 5th year of your dynasty when you have a ton of custom-named guys at schools, and the game doesn’t have their surnames in the database.
Road to Glory Has Some Nice Layers, But Freshman Year Can Get Boring
The single-player campaign feature is back, and there is a lot to like. I love the option to choose whether you’re going to be a 5-, 4-, 3-, or 2-star athlete.
I also like the way you determine which school you’ll attend when your college career starts. However, I didn’t like not having the option to play any high school games. That part of the experience was always an excellent option in the old NCAA games. Another issue, and probably the biggest one, is the total makeup of activities during your freshman season if you land at a school that doesn’t allow you to play from Day 1.
I like the position battles and building coach trust through the mini-games. I also like the option to practice to earn more XP, which can be used to upgrade your player. I also like having to balance studying for exams with football duties.
However, something is missing. While the first goal should ultimately be to take the field as a starter, EA missed the mark when it came to creating a compelling mini-game for non-starters. Playing a simulated game with lower-stringed players against the guy you compete with would have added a nice tease and a piece of preparation for when you can play in a real game.
As it was, I couldn’t wait to get out of my freshman year because I was bored after simulating the first three or four weeks of the season.
Dynasty Mode is Stacked and Recruiting is Even Better Than it Used to Be, But...
It is clear that EA knew how important recruiting was to the overall quality of dynasty mode. Quite honestly, EA could have given fans the exact same recruiting system from NCAA 14, and I believe the vast majority of users would have been satisfied.
Injecting the transfer portal was a must, but the game's other layers, tags, improved UI, and notification system make this top-notch.
While going through recruiting or free agency in a sports game, I ask myself, ' As a content creator, is there enough here for me to tell a story to my viewers with this aspect of the game?' The answer is yes, a thousand times over.
However, the recruiting is tripped up a bit by the lack of customization options.
You cannot create or edit existing recruits. Thus, you cannot create or customize recruiting classes. That's going to be a significant issue for some people. I remember creating crazy 5-star recruits in NCAA 14 and enjoying watching the fight between multiple schools trying to get him to commit.
That itch will have to be scratched by a supply of computer-generated recruits. Thankfully, there is a ton of variation in the prospects, but there is nothing like having your own.
Injuries Are in the Game, But I’d Probably Turn Them Up a Little
Just before release, I was worried that injuries weren’t in the game the way they should be. There was some odd wording regarding the discussion of the Wear-and-Tear system and injuries.
You never like to see real people get hurt, but in a sports video game, injuries represent realism and immersion. Thankfully, I simmed a few weeks of action and saw players out for up to 15 weeks. I’ve never been so relieved to see a severe injury. I didn’t see any in-game injuries besides some basic stuff.
I’m leaning toward bumping the injury slider from the default (10) to about 20 or 25 to see how that feels.
The Inability to Edit Rosters is Going to Anger a Sect of Users
My biggest issue with the game is the inability to edit the rosters fully. That level of customization was always one of the biggest things I looked forward to doing in the game.
As it is, the game excels in many areas, which makes it easier to accept the roster editing limitation. However, for some users who have been eagerly anticipating the series' return, this limitation may be a significant disappointment, especially if they were looking forward to recreating their college football universe.
Update
TeamBuilder Will Be Ready Just In Time For Launch (Update)
The limitations on player customization are exacerbated by what seemed like a delayed release of the TeamBuilder website. Fortunately, EA is set to deliver the feature just in time for the worldwide release at midnight on Friday morning.
I have confidence the feature will be strong, though you are limited to the number of schools you can add to a dynasty.
A little more transparency would have made this part of the release smoother, but in any case, it’s nice to see the tool available for everyone from Day 1.
This aspect of the article was updated post-release following information from EA.
End of Update.
Road to the College Football Playoff Offered Me the Competitive Feeling I Needed
I can have mounds of fun playing a sports game offline if it has an excellent franchise/dynasty mode. EACF 25 is one of those games.
However, there are times when I want to test my skills against another player. While CUT may offer some of those opportunities, I think my jam will be Road to the College Football Playoff.
I enjoyed trying to find the right school to play my style of football, and testing against another user–especially considering there are so many potential matchups.
The ranking system seems strong so far, and I can imagine getting in at least five of these games per week.
EACF 25 is Going to Help Sell Madden 25
Aside from the MVP pre-order bundle that allows you to get both EACF 25 and Madden 25’s top editions for a discount, the quality of the gameplay in the former is going to help validate the improvements in the latter.
While EACF 25 and Madden 25 are different games, the college version does provide a preview of the direction EA is taking their American football product, and its positive.
