Look, I’m excited about EA College Football. Today’s announcement that EA Sports is bringing back its College Football franchise has me reminiscing. A lot of folks are thinking back to the hours and hours put into Dynasty mode. Some of us are remembering how many times we took Indiana University to the National Championship (six times, in case you’ve never read my bio). I find myself thinking fondly of some of my favorite features from past NCAA Football games. Not every one of these features made it into every iteration. However, there are some features that just HAVE to come back in the new EA College Football game.
EA Sports College Football Features We Want To See
Create-a-School
We need this bad boy back pronto. I need to relive my glory days from NCAA Football 07 where I conquered the Western Athletic Conference wearing baby blue and pink. I remember the create-a-school options being a bit limited, but the color selection was exactly over-the-top enough to make up for it. Creator suites have come a long way in the 13 years that have passed since then. Games like Konami’s PES series let you go so far as to upload your own images for your team’s logo and as advertisements in your stadium. The tools for a great create-a-school are out there, and EA is missing out if they don’t use them.
Here’s something I need to admit, full transparency. When playing NCAA Football 11 with my buds in college, I never knew Team Builder existed. We weren’t playing the latest version of the game, and Team Builder was exclusively an online app, where you could create a custom school and download it to your console. Then, you could use that school in any of the usual NCAA Football game modes. That’s a cool concept, but this feature has got to be put back onto the metaphorical disc. We were playing an older version of the game because I could afford the latest version. People right now who are trying to relive the NCAA Football days can’t use Team Builder because the site’s been taken down. No reason not to bake this into the full game.
Online Dynasty Mode
This seems like a no-brainer, and should be an auto-include, especially considering this is a Madden standard. Dynasty Mode is what made the NCAA series great. The breadth of the Dynasty experience, with coaching contracts, recruiting, and the spectacle of bowl games, need to be in EA Sports College Football. It absolutely needs to be online. I want to poach recruits from my so-called “friends,” all from the safety of our own couches. Let’s bring custom conferences back too, to make it ultra competitive.
Marching Bands
Don’t laugh.
Seriously.
College Bands are a huge part of the college football experience. Marching Bands are part of a school’s gameday tradition, and help form a school’s identity. Going to a home game just isn’t the same without your school’s fight song playing after every touchdown, or leading up to 3rd down. Marching Band pre-game routines were a part of NCAA Football 10. While the actual performances could have been better, it made playing as schools like Texas and Ohio State feel more authentic. If EA wants to continue building a realistic atmosphere around each stadium, having the marching band play before the game or during halftime is a necessity.
The “Quarterback Quiz”
I wish I had a better brain for real football, because I feel like NCAA Football 09’s Quarterback Quiz feature could have been a legitimate help. NCAA Football 09 had a feature where, when the player threw an interception, they would be presented with three “photographs” taken by the offensive coordinator of the defense. Then, you had to try and identify the defensive scheme from a list of three options. The Quarterback Quiz didn’t have an effect on gameplay, it was purely a tool to try and teach players how to better read defenses.
There’s not a lot of media on the internet about 09’s Quarterback Quiz, so it’s hard to show you what I mean. The concept that the Quarterback Quiz represented, however, is worth revisiting. This feature has a lot of potential in EA Sports College Football. It’s a cool way to help players improve at the video game, by imparting real wisdom about football. The more “simulation” the game becomes, the more real-life football knowledge will help.
What features are you hoping return for EA Sports College Football? Let us know in the comments below. Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for more stories on EA Sports College Football, including the history of why a new college football game took so long. Consider supporting us by becoming an SGO Insider as well.