EUGENE — In another insult to University of Oregon football, the Ducks have been omitted from new gameplay details for EA Sports College Football 25. Since only the Ducks were featured in the original game trailer and behind-the-scenes photos showed injured University of Oregon players, fans were probably hoping for better representation in the upcoming preview for the new game.
Unfortunately, that didn't happen, as no Oregon players appeared in Kirk Herbstreit's narrated gameplay preview released this week, which feels like a slight, but we need to move on. Today, we'll be reviewing some of the new gameplay mechanics in College Football 25, despite Oregon's lack of presence.
Wear System: Perhaps the biggest structural change in the new game is that players now suffer wear and tear over the course of a match or season, which is localised to specific parts of the body and affects different players and positions differently.
For example, wear and tear on a quarterback's throwing arm not only increases the likelihood of arm and shoulder injuries, but it also affects a player's ability to pass accurately, even if he doesn't actually suffer an injury.
This may not be one of the most entertaining features of the college football game this year, but it is far more realistic than injury systems of the past.
Player AbilityIt seems like a copy-and-paste from EA Sports' Madden game, but players will have individual abilities that give them specific advantages over their base skillset.
Notable examples include Georgia running back Trevor Etienne Jr.'s “sidestep” ability, which increases the effectiveness of his juggling moves, and Michigan cornerback Will Johnson's “ballhawk” ability, which allows him to take better angles on passes thrown towards him in order to get more interceptions.
While this feels like it's been ripped directly from Madden, the player abilities give higher-level players a distinct advantage over lower-rated players and should be a fun feature for fans of certain star players.
Home Field AdvantageThe way the road environment directly impacts gameplay was one of the fan-favorite features of classic college football games, and this is taken even further in the new game, where the crowd noise meter now has an increasingly large impact on an offense's ability to communicate and execute plays.
Each player is also given a Composure stat that represents how affected they are by crowd noise and the environment of the stadium. This stat can improve throughout a player's career, giving an advantage to veteran players with experience playing in larger environments.
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While there's likely more new game features than were shown in the trailer, College Football 25 looks to be quite different from NCAA Football 14. While it's disappointing that Oregon isn't included in this latest video, we think fans will still find plenty of reasons to try out the Ducks on the sticks this summer.
