My CFB 25 Final Review - Overall W

Start with The Ls, You see them on this Forum often:
1.  EA pack odds and money greed always embarrassingly bad -- BND in general is just shameful
2. EA servers could still be improved upon -- laggy play at times can be frustrating
3. Community still toxic -- keep the mute button on, nothing changed

However, I give this experience an overall W:
1. The details and graphics put into the stadiums, mascots, home game nuances with music, chants, etc was incredible
2. The diversity of playbooks was impressive - other than a brief period of DCroft gun bunch, I saw much more diversity in schemes
3. gameplay overall felt good-- smoother and faster than Madden IMO
4. I was happy with the amount of content -- some original and fun programs, decent enough solo challenges
5. Enjoyed the line up building and variety of scheme and ability variety -- again compared to Madden saw much more diversity of what people used which is refreshing 

I gotta be honest.... I've had fun with this game!

CFB25 was painfully average for what EA's made the last decade. Not the best, not the worst, just felt more fresh because it was college. Most of your pros are easily debunked, so I don't know why you'd state them. 

>The details into stadiums and fans? All of the fans look like they got hit in the face with a hot shovel when coming off the short bus. The mascots and band are cool, but nothing revolutionary, everything was done better over a decade ago. What they did correct here was so minor that it shouldn't even be stated. 

>The diversity of playbooks was a huge thing for the first half of the year, but the last three or four months? I'm not remotely exaggerating when I say that 80-90% of my games are against Normal Y Off Close, with either 3-4 or Double Mug six-man glitch blitzes as the "defense." It's not the fault of CFB25, it's the same with Madden every year, but it's horrendous. And frankly it's something fixed with a minor patch on the defenses, and forcing kids who solely copy those offenses to just play against each other through a manipulation with matchmaking. 

>The gameplay was fine (not in a vacuum, but comparatively), it still has its fair-share of issues. Nothing that a patch couldn't make much better. But the pursuit-angles of the CPU are awful, DBs dumbing out, OL is awful, user tackling is in the gutter, making adjustments on both sides of the ball need an upgrade, high balls are too poweful, etc. And that's before getting into DDA, so if you're a good player, you're constantly getting the short end of the stick, while your opponent is allowed to do whatever he wants, including the exact things you're doing. 

>The amount of content was awful. The first half of the game was borderline nothing. It wasn't until the latter half that they started picking it up, and even then it's nowhere where it should be. We need more modes, more solos, more House Rules, etc. that're actually different, actually fun, and actually rewarding. Sets are a joke, packs have literally no value unless you pull the LTD with actual value, BNDs are a seasoning not the dish, etc. Content in CFB and Madden could be elite with very minimal effort, but EA refuses to put that effort into the games because they're lazy and unimpressive, and get away with making money as is (even though much more is left on the table). 

>Scheme and Ability variety? Schemes literally don't matter and the same handful have always been the best all year. Abilities not being utterly broken (outside of Extender, which should've just been removed) is fantastic, but everyone runs the same handful. 

And to top it all off, I wish gaming was more "toxic" in the way people constantly complain about. I want gaming to go back to where it was 15, 20 years ago. I want people having fun messing with other people, while playing a game that's actually good. Games being "toxic" today aren't due to guys wanting to have fun, it's due to fatherless kids wanting to min-max everything instead of actually being good at the game, making everything the same. Every single match of any game is the exact same, because Little Timmy has no brain, it's completely fried and gone. CFB25 is an average EA football game, and a terrible game when compared to the rest.

WhiskeyLullaby said:

CFB25 was painfully average for what EA's made the last decade. Not the best, not the worst, just felt more fresh because it was college. Most of your pros are easily debunked, so I don't know why you'd state them. 

>The details into stadiums and fans? All of the fans look like they got hit in the face with a hot shovel when coming off the short bus. The mascots and band are cool, but nothing revolutionary, everything was done better over a decade ago. What they did correct here was so minor that it shouldn't even be stated. 

>The diversity of playbooks was a huge thing for the first half of the year, but the last three or four months? I'm not remotely exaggerating when I say that 80-90% of my games are against Normal Y Off Close, with either 3-4 or Double Mug six-man glitch blitzes as the "defense." It's not the fault of CFB25, it's the same with Madden every year, but it's horrendous. And frankly it's something fixed with a minor patch on the defenses, and forcing kids who solely copy those offenses to just play against each other through a manipulation with matchmaking. 

>The gameplay was fine (not in a vacuum, but comparatively), it still has its fair-share of issues. Nothing that a patch couldn't make much better. But the pursuit-angles of the CPU are awful, DBs dumbing out, OL is awful, user tackling is in the gutter, making adjustments on both sides of the ball need an upgrade, high balls are too poweful, etc. And that's before getting into DDA, so if you're a good player, you're constantly getting the short end of the stick, while your opponent is allowed to do whatever he wants, including the exact things you're doing. 

>The amount of content was awful. The first half of the game was borderline nothing. It wasn't until the latter half that they started picking it up, and even then it's nowhere where it should be. We need more modes, more solos, more House Rules, etc. that're actually different, actually fun, and actually rewarding. Sets are a joke, packs have literally no value unless you pull the LTD with actual value, BNDs are a seasoning not the dish, etc. Content in CFB and Madden could be elite with very minimal effort, but EA refuses to put that effort into the games because they're lazy and unimpressive, and get away with making money as is (even though much more is left on the table). 

>Scheme and Ability variety? Schemes literally don't matter and the same handful have always been the best all year. Abilities not being utterly broken (outside of Extender, which should've just been removed) is fantastic, but everyone runs the same handful. 

And to top it all off, I wish gaming was more "toxic" in the way people constantly complain about. I want gaming to go back to where it was 15, 20 years ago. I want people having fun messing with other people, while playing a game that's actually good. Games being "toxic" today aren't due to guys wanting to have fun, it's due to fatherless kids wanting to min-max everything instead of actually being good at the game, making everything the same. Every single match of any game is the exact same, because Little Timmy has no brain, it's completely fried and gone. CFB25 is an average EA football game, and a terrible game when compared to the rest.

I think that’s a pretty rough take, but to each his own.  
 

By the crowd I meant the various stadium effects or theme song, or chants, or touchdown celebration, etc.  There was a lot there and done well IMO

vucomedy said:

I think that’s a pretty rough take, but to each his own.  
 

By the crowd I meant the various stadium effects or theme song, or chants, or touchdown celebration, etc.  There was a lot there and done well IMO

It's not a rough take, it's an accurate assessment of CFB25. It's a middle of the road EA football game from the last decade. It doesn't hit the lows, it's also not as good as the better ones (which still aren't great for varying reasons). I'd rather play it then plenty of other Maddens, but is it actually a good game? Hell no. I just don't understand this need for so many people to, at the absolute least, constantly excuse EA's laziness and mediocrity, when we could have an infinitely better product with minimal effort from EA, also making them much, much, much more money. 

And the crowd thing is being wildly overblown. It's recorded sounds from stadiums (which for all I know could be from NCAA 14) and a handful of the same animations, with the worst faces we've seen in gaming on the fans. It's nice to have it in a college football game, but it's literally the bare-minimum from EA. It's like kids not doing their project until the night before its due. Again, I just don't understand how we can see something like the Oblivion Remaster, and what they did with a(n almost) 20 year old game, and then look at CFB25's stadiums, crowds, mascots, etc. and say, "Well, I think they did pretty good." My toddlers could've done what EA did in this regard.

I think that is fair overall, Vu

I think both takes have good and bad parts, I think for a first year game, although it can't be much different then madden, it was pretty alright. I love the incorporation of team traditions and stuff. I think most of the house rules and other modes have been at least acceptional as well. Obviously there are gameplay bugs, like the OL, cpu angles, and tackling in general. As for content, they definitely could do a lot more, I wish there were more a variety of teams getting players. There are teams that have had maybe a few elites come out and that's it. Why have these teams if they get barely any attention from the developers. I also wish they had more challenges for nms people to have more opportunities to get players and coins. Overall I think they did a great job on the COLLEGE FOOTBALL aspect, and could definitely improve the ULTIMATE TEAM aspect of the game.

I actually enjoyed the game all things considered.  When online gets stale I play dynasty so I guess I'm not boxed in to one feature.  I feel like this year was more of a template for where they plan on taking the game down the road than what it's going to be.

davie2233 said:

I actually enjoyed the game all things considered.  When online gets stale I play dynasty so I guess I'm not boxed in to one feature.  I feel like this year was more of a template for where they plan on taking the game down the road than what it's going to be.

I agree

best thing EA did this year would be budget beast....tons of great cheap cards, other than that meh.....gameplay ok other than o line being morons, rewards coin wise were non existent, season rewards were hot ass

I love cfb plays way better then madden just wish they had alternate uniforms in cut everything u said was pretty much spot on

WhiskeyLullaby said:

CFB25 was painfully average for what EA's made the last decade. Not the best, not the worst, just felt more fresh because it was college. Most of your pros are easily debunked, so I don't know why you'd state them. 

>The details into stadiums and fans? All of the fans look like they got hit in the face with a hot shovel when coming off the short bus. The mascots and band are cool, but nothing revolutionary, everything was done better over a decade ago. What they did correct here was so minor that it shouldn't even be stated. 

>The diversity of playbooks was a huge thing for the first half of the year, but the last three or four months? I'm not remotely exaggerating when I say that 80-90% of my games are against Normal Y Off Close, with either 3-4 or Double Mug six-man glitch blitzes as the "defense." It's not the fault of CFB25, it's the same with Madden every year, but it's horrendous. And frankly it's something fixed with a minor patch on the defenses, and forcing kids who solely copy those offenses to just play against each other through a manipulation with matchmaking. 

>The gameplay was fine (not in a vacuum, but comparatively), it still has its fair-share of issues. Nothing that a patch couldn't make much better. But the pursuit-angles of the CPU are awful, DBs dumbing out, OL is awful, user tackling is in the gutter, making adjustments on both sides of the ball need an upgrade, high balls are too poweful, etc. And that's before getting into DDA, so if you're a good player, you're constantly getting the short end of the stick, while your opponent is allowed to do whatever he wants, including the exact things you're doing. 

>The amount of content was awful. The first half of the game was borderline nothing. It wasn't until the latter half that they started picking it up, and even then it's nowhere where it should be. We need more modes, more solos, more House Rules, etc. that're actually different, actually fun, and actually rewarding. Sets are a joke, packs have literally no value unless you pull the LTD with actual value, BNDs are a seasoning not the dish, etc. Content in CFB and Madden could be elite with very minimal effort, but EA refuses to put that effort into the games because they're lazy and unimpressive, and get away with making money as is (even though much more is left on the table). 

>Scheme and Ability variety? Schemes literally don't matter and the same handful have always been the best all year. Abilities not being utterly broken (outside of Extender, which should've just been removed) is fantastic, but everyone runs the same handful. 

And to top it all off, I wish gaming was more "toxic" in the way people constantly complain about. I want gaming to go back to where it was 15, 20 years ago. I want people having fun messing with other people, while playing a game that's actually good. Games being "toxic" today aren't due to guys wanting to have fun, it's due to fatherless kids wanting to min-max everything instead of actually being good at the game, making everything the same. Every single match of any game is the exact same, because Little Timmy has no brain, it's completely fried and gone. CFB25 is an average EA football game, and a terrible game when compared to the rest.

So i can tell your not a person who should be having takes on this game because most of them are flat out wrong especially the point about 6 man “glitch blitz” if you can’t block a TE thats a skill issue what more of an issue is the cover 4 loop blitz switch sticking everywhere, although i run the same defense myself it’s pretty op you can just sit in a safe shell and still bag everything underneath. not to mention you said extended was broken which to a point it was but not near as much as takeoff every bad player relies on takeoff to occasionally just run past a backed off cover 4 deep zone and then there’s no counter to it pressing even in man will get your dbs burnt even more extender atleast has a counter which is takedown

zcspain said:

So i can tell your not a person who should be having takes on this game because most of them are flat out wrong especially the point about 6 man “glitch blitz” if you can’t block a TE thats a skill issue what more of an issue is the cover 4 loop blitz switch sticking everywhere, although i run the same defense myself it’s pretty op you can just sit in a safe shell and still bag everything underneath. not to mention you said extended was broken which to a point it was but not near as much as takeoff every bad player relies on takeoff to occasionally just run past a backed off cover 4 deep zone and then there’s no counter to it pressing even in man will get your dbs burnt even more extender atleast has a counter which is takedown

I've been playing EA football games longer than you've been breathing, and I'm better at the game. Everything I said was factual. 

>Blocking the glitch blitzes is wildly inconsistent at best, even if you do it properly. And even when you do, it's one-on-ones across the board, including the TE, so the edge will come in quicker than it should, or someone will just get a random shed. It's been an issue in the game for years now, and EA refuses to do anything about it. 

>Loop blitzes are pretty easy and consistent to stop, with few exceptions out of Mint. I'm not saying it's "not an issue," but I don't think it's a big one, especially when it's basically a delayed rusher. It's more of an issue with OL logic than anything, because the Guard or Center should recognize the rusher and disengage from the double to pick it up, if there's no RB to block it. 

>I despise Switch Sticking, I think it's one of the worst ideas ever implemented in these games. It'd be fine if it was limited to one move per play, but being able to spam around is ludicrous and game-breaking. It solely exists to bail-out kids who don't know what they're doing on defense, and allow the real sweats to just take everything away. 

>I constantly hear crying about Takeoff and I've never had an issue against it. "They're running right by my corner..." Ok, well you're doing something wrong, it's never been a big issue for me all year, if at all. And if you hate it that much, run Robber on your outside Corners, it negates Takeoff. 

>Extender is still broken, and it should just be removed entirely. This isn't up for debate, and it's still an issue to this day. Takedown only works if it's Platinum, and even then, expecting people to spend 6-8 AP on that one thing to counter the most broken Ability isn't an argument, it's admitting that Extender's a problem.

WhiskeyLullaby said:

I've been playing EA football games longer than you've been breathing, and I'm better at the game. Everything I said was factual. 

>Blocking the glitch blitzes is wildly inconsistent at best, even if you do it properly. And even when you do, it's one-on-ones across the board, including the TE, so the edge will come in quicker than it should, or someone will just get a random shed. It's been an issue in the game for years now, and EA refuses to do anything about it. 

>Loop blitzes are pretty easy and consistent to stop, with few exceptions out of Mint. I'm not saying it's "not an issue," but I don't think it's a big one, especially when it's basically a delayed rusher. It's more of an issue with OL logic than anything, because the Guard or Center should recognize the rusher and disengage from the double to pick it up, if there's no RB to block it. 

>I despise Switch Sticking, I think it's one of the worst ideas ever implemented in these games. It'd be fine if it was limited to one move per play, but being able to spam around is ludicrous and game-breaking. It solely exists to bail-out kids who don't know what they're doing on defense, and allow the real sweats to just take everything away. 

>I constantly hear crying about Takeoff and I've never had an issue against it. "They're running right by my corner..." Ok, well you're doing something wrong, it's never been a big issue for me all year, if at all. And if you hate it that much, run Robber on your outside Corners, it negates Takeoff. 

>Extender is still broken, and it should just be removed entirely. This isn't up for debate, and it's still an issue to this day. Takedown only works if it's Platinum, and even then, expecting people to spend 6-8 AP on that one thing to counter the most broken Ability isn't an argument, it's admitting that Extender's a problem.

Unc

Original post moderated

Extender wasn't made broken to "counter loopers," it's just how it's been from the start, with Regs. And it's not like it counters loops, it just screws everyone over and gives handouts. 

As for Switch Stick, it just allows people to not even try to play defense, because they can just flick the right stick and instantly go anywhere on the field. It sounds good in theory, but unlimited switches during a play doesn't work in practice.