Feel the emotion of authentic college football more than ever with NCAA Football 11. From running the ‘no-huddle’ spread offense to walking out of the tunnel locking arms, everything you do and see will be original to your favorite school. With the TruSchool system, NCAA Football 11 delivers unique game play and traditions for each of the 120 schools.
GenreFootball
Platforms xbox360
DEVELOPER EA Tiburon | PUBLISHER Codemasters | RELEASE DATE
NCAA Football 11 Reviews xbox360
gamechronicles.com review
I understand EA’s reasons for doing this, but it doesn’t mean I like it. It’s a hassle for the fans and even penalizes people who don’t have an Internet connection. I have worked in marketing for over 20 years, and you just can’t nickel and dime customers like that. Eventually they will stop coming back for your product and find other things to do with their money. The only thing EA has going for them, is they have a great product and for the time being no competition… and they know it. I guess that’s enough.
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planetxbox360.com review
The Locomotion Engine also makes the players on the field react more like their real life counterparts. No longer does the fastest recruit equal to the most used/dangerous player on the field. This year, high acceleration and awareness ratings play just as big of part in recruiting the right players as looking for someone with 99 speed rating in the previous year’s games.
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gamesradar.com review
On the field, the action is better than ever. Ballcarriers react to hits in gorgeous fashion, their momentum carrying them in the proper direction. Receivers drag their feet along the sidelines to make those tough catches (but only when they’re supposed to), and offensive linemen actually open up nice holes for running backs to charge through. An embarrassment of playbook riches awaits, too. Whether you’re an old-school Wishbone fan or a Spread formation guru, it’s all there for you to tinker with.
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game-boyz.com review
Once again the NCAA Football franchise has not only lived up to my expectations but surpassed them as well. Remarkably enough, the game’s presentation and animations have improved once again and the audio is just as strong as ever. The gameplay has a more realistic and authentic feel; and this year’s new features will satisfy not only the hardcore NCAA football fan but the casual ones as well. NCAA Football is often overshadowed by its older brother; that being Madden. Yet this time around NCAA Football is proving to be in a league of its own and is worthy for any football fan to own.
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gameinformer.com review
While college football struggles with a terrible BCS system, no playoffs, and crumbling conferences, its virtual gridiron counterpart is just starting to hit its stride. NCAA 11’s new locomotion engine puts the skill of Barry Sanders at your fingertips, making running backs feel like real threats every time they touch the ball. Revamped blocking mechanics help make formerly useless plays like draws and counters legit options for the first time. The refined gameplay is impressive, with the only standout issues being ranging linebackers picking off too many mid-range passes over the middle and the AI ineffectively running the option.
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worthplaying.com review
Unfortunately, for as enjoyable as the online aspects of the game are, the offline portions don’t bode quite as well. Offline Dynasty is practically unchanged from previous years, but with a few new bells and whistles added to the recruiting system. Potential players now provide more feedback when you pitch your school to them, but the whole thing still feels considerably more unstructured than it should. Also, spending any time at all with the online version of the Dynasty mode absolutely kills any desire to play alone, so those who can’t find a good online league are given cold comfort with the bare-bones offline version.
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kombo.com review
Part of NCAA is trying to capture the collegiate football experience. The stadiums are nice, as are the graphics, but the thing that really sells the idea of this being a college game are all the little details. The mascots, the crowds, the marching band music and the new field run-ons all contribute to the overall atmosphere that is now only missing the after game house parties.
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darkstation.com review
EA has taken some heat on both of their football titles for not pushing the envelope far enough on their series, but I think this year there isn’t a lot of room to complain. NCAA Football 11 is a great game of football, it has some shortcomings, but those are overshadowed by an all around excellent football game that I found to be one of the best the series has put out on this generation of consoles.
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digitalchumps.com review
The stadiums are more detailed in this year’s version as you’ll see all the little details that you know and love about your team. For example, when my dominant Kentucky Wildcats went to play at the stinking Louisville Cardinals stadium you could see all the obnoxious inflatable cardinals sitting in front of their practice facility; it was nauseatingly impressively detailed (I kid about the ‘stinking’ part. They have a nice stadium; just rivalry emotions speaking). Need another example? In Commonwealth Stadium (Kentucky’s beautiful palace of a stadium) the opponent’s fans were crammed in the corner like they should be crammed in during a game.
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joystiq.com review
Nothing provides more validation than "Road to Glory," a mode where you create a high school student from scratch and follow his development into and through college, playing in big high school games, hopefully getting recruited, and even working out. It’s not entirely new — I’ve followed a created player’s development before — but it works here, despite the gripe that you’re unable to call plays while in high school.
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gamervision.com review
This year’s presentation is really great. ESPN is all over the place, and the real televised feel is more detailed than ever. This year also marks the first time that schools will enter the field of play like they do in real life. Whether it’s Notre Dame’s sign slapping or Miami’s run through the fog, it’s a nice touch to see just how far EA’s gone in ramping up the television aspect. The game’s character models look really good, especially with all the new dynamic lighting. Players don’t look like plastic action-figures anymore, which is a big step forward graphically for the franchise. The Locomotion engine provides for a great deal of new animations, and the head and shoulder tracking is truly impressive. Hand off the ball to a running back, and you’ll see he keeps his shoulder square to the line of scrimmage, looking for a hole to break though. The same is true of defenders, which is both a blessing and a curse. While it’s great that your defense follows the ball much more realistically, it also makes a player much more susceptible to jukes, and will often lead to a missed tackle. And believe me, you’ll be seeing a lot of those. When the game is moving at full speed, it’s tough to notice all the little animation flourishes, but when watching a replay, or creating your own highlight, it’s easy to see the subtle nuances of player movement. For whatever reason, the game’s highlight maker still takes some awkward photos, but it’s hardly anything that will detract from your gameplay experience.
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game-over.com review
The heart of the franchise has always been the dynasty mode, and this year’s title is no exception. It is still addicting, deep, and rewarding. Recruiting has been made more accessible while also adding layers of depth for the more hardcore. You have the ability to phone a high school player and choose exactly what you want to talk about. You will not only have the ability to tell them why they should come to your school, but also why they shouldn’t go to your rival’s school. This adds an entirely new layer of fun and strategy to recruiting. Back in similar formats are the ESPN News sections of Dynasty, providing weekly headlines, Heisman race updates, and so on.
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gamerlimit.com review
Outside of the additions to recruiting, there are no real improvements to offline dynasty. However, online dynasty has received improved website functionality to manage your team. As can be seen above, recruiting can now be done through the website. Being able to recruit players online allows the player to take a step away from the game’s menu system and also allows for much easier access to follow through with an extremely important element of dynasty.
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cheatcc.com review
As I mentioned earlier, the character models as well as their interactions with each other look good. This is most apparent when you tackle the ball carrier. In older titles, I would chase the ball carrier, dive, and barely catch him, but instead of tripping up his ankles I magically climbed up his legs and wrapped around his waist. It was always funny to see, but far from realistic. Fortunately, these funky, unnatural tackles are no more.
gamerevolution.com review
NCAA Football can still be glitchy, like the occasional pass that will magically pass through the body of a defender, but everything that made playing this series frustrating before has been fixed or tweaked. This is truly what makes NCAA Football 2011 a stand-alone football title. It is as streamlined and pretty as its older brother, plays just as well, and still gives you that unique college ball experience. NCAA Football 11 will not be riding the bench this year.
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1up.com review
The passing game is equally patched up with the addition of sideline catches. While players seem to be a little ‘sideline catch’ happy, it does add to the realism of the game. Instead of simply being content with watching a pass fall inches away from them out of bounds or unintelligently running past the sideline to make a catch, receivers remain mindful of field boundaries. Players now make a point to drag their feet near sidelines so their catches count for forward progress.
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gamespot.com review
NCAA Football 11’s Dynasty mode is disappointing, at least in terms of feature upgrades from last year, but there’s one relatively small difference beneath the surface that improves a major aspect of managing any dynasty, and that’s recruiting. Like the recruiting methods found in previous NCAA games, you can woo an athlete to your school by making phone calls and pitching the benefits of joining your program. But NCAA Football 11 turns these phone calls into a more engaging and obvious meta game where you can earn points (think of them as indicating the level of interest in your school) and cause other schools to lose points based on the topics of discussion. For example, if you’re talking about coaching prestige and your school has a high rating whereas a competing school has a slightly lower rating, then the recruit will show greater interest in your program and less interest in the other. Comparing the two schools will earn you points that reflect the recruit’s interest. At times, recruiting still feels like an impenetrable wall of information, but receiving an instantaneous (and easily understood) reward for your efforts and having greater transparency in the recruitment process make it more worthwhile.
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gamernode.com review
Of course, no game being truly perfect, NCAA Football 2011 does have its shortcomings. I didn’t see a penalty flag until the 5th game I’d played, taking away from the enhanced realism. While ND, Clemson, and others have their unique entrances, other teams come out to the same canned animation, making me long for multiple "generic" entrances. Brad Nessler and Kirk Herbstriet, though they are getting better, are still responsible for some pretty shoddy commentary. Most disappointing is that for all the strides EA made in character animations and realistic looks, they still have players just standing around after a play is over, not getting into huddles or reacting to the play at all. It’s something that’s plagued EA football games for a long time now, and I was hoping it might not be as apparent in this game.
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escapistmagazine.com review
The recruitment section of the Dynasty mode has been given a significant overhaul, and lining up the hottest high school talent requires more of an investment this time around. You’re given the option to call up prospects, make them promises and answer their questions regarding the school and its athletic program (how much play time they’ll get, TV exposure, how much support their students give the program, etc.) in order to sway their opinion.
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gameshark.com review
There are so many things to love about this game. The unpredictable yet vastly improved gameplay, the slider adjustments that actually work (set the quarterback accuracy to zero in practice mode to see what I mean), the AI playcalling, the new recruiting model, the online dynasty tools, and so on; if all you want to do is play the occasional game with a buddy or play one season with your favorite team, or just relax against the AI and play exhibition games after work then NCAA 11 is an absolute must buy. However, if Dynasty Mode is your thing you are better off either waiting and hoping EA Sports patches the game or simply saving your money for next year.
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