MVP Baseball 2005, ESPN NFL 2K5, MLB 11 The Show, NCAA Football 13.
Suddenly real-life ‘hours points’ to wash, and eat, and sleep seem impossibly hard to come by.
It’s a lot of fun.
All prospects have individual desires and dealbreakers.
All prospects can also be lost, crushingly, with one wrong move.
That was all they needed to see.
Run-stopping linebacker DeShawn Meryl, my top target, committed to LSU.
Slot corner Max Smithson committed to Texas.
I committed to unloading every single swear word in my vocabulary.
This is categorically not just some kid-brother remold of Madden.
Oh, and players 11,390 of them, to be precise.
Arcade-style X-Factors are gone, their place taken by the more subtle inclusion of Abilities.
Creative offenses are what make the college game so special for some, and they’re replicated expertly.
Running wide to escape the trenches feels just as dangerous, and effective, as going south to north.
Good defenses cope well, mediocre ones can be shredded mercilessly.
As happens in real life.
But also fearlessly realistic.
Road games are tough tougher even than the NCAA games of yesteryear.
Bring up your play art before a snap and you see wiggly lines where your routes should be.
Sometimes they forget routes completely.
The new kicking system, meanwhile, can be agonizingly tough in loud stadiums.
Again, zero coddling.
College Football is a game for devoted, committed fans, and rightly takes pride in that.
The standout example is CFB 25’s staggeringly progressive wear and tear system.
Obviously, there’s a heightened risk of injury too.
As matches, and seasons, progress damage can carry over between Dynasty games!
it provides tough decisions.
The solo path
Less genre-defining but still playable is Road To Glory mode.
These early choices define how hard it is to initially crack the starting line-up.
Not happy with your playing time?
Use the new transfer portal to change colleges at season’s end.
While that mode dominates most modern EA games, it feels almost understated here.
There are collegiate legends such as Joey Bosa and Ray Lewis to bolster your team with, too.
You’re not missing out on anything by missing out on FUT.
One thing you are missing out on, however, is the option to edit players.
That’s a bit of a blow but something you’d hope becomes a priority for the sequel.
Because there’s no doubt that College Football 25 merits a sequel.
From nowhere, it’s suddenly the sports game that all others have to beat.
College Football 25 was reviewed on PS5, with code provided by the publisher.
