But once you get going, there's no turning back – you're in for a great time here, and a long time.
“College Football 25,” which will be released on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S on Friday, is the successor to “NCAA Football 14,” a game that launched in the summer of 2013 and built a heroic reputation among college football fans. EA stopped releasing college football video games due to legal issues surrounding name, image and likeness contracts with players. But when the NCAA opened the door for players to earn profits with NIL contracts in 2019, EA quickly revived the series. The latest edition was announced in February 2021, and the earliest access to the game began last Monday.
Naturally, the first full-fledged college football game in over a decade is going to raise some eyebrows. Does it live up to the original? Is it just a reskin of the wildly popular Madden NFL video game? And is “College Football 25” actually fun?
Like many sports games, College Football 25 is easy to pick up but difficult to master. The new passing system takes some getting used to, with a ton of custom controls and the need to time your meter while reading the opposing defense (you need to concentrate to hit the pass). Just like in real college football, defense is hard and requires patience. Moving the chains is fun, but you'll need to invest some time understanding how the game works and which players are best suited to your team's strategy.
Difficulty Settings The difficulty level will determine your experience. On the second-lowest setting (“Varsity”), I experienced two exciting games (Massachusetts vs. Brigham Young and Texas vs. Georgia) that were close until the end, full of high-octane offense and heartbreaking pick-sixes. The highest setting, the dreaded “Heisman” difficulty, should only be used by those who want to worship the CPU as the new champion of college football. In my first encounter with “Heisman,” the Texas Christian Horned Frogs crushed my Southern Methodist Mustangs 63-0 (using three-minute quarters). (I'm a casual Madden player, so more experience might do better.) that game.)
That said, this is no Madden NFL reskin. Madden games tend to be heavy, bloated, slow, and dark. College Football 25 is bright, fast-paced, silly, and wild. It's got high scores, deep throws, and raucous crowds. The vibrant colors and intense atmosphere of college football made my big loss (see you soon, Eastern Michigan) feel a lot less painful.
Any fan of the NCAA Football series will likely recommend the “Dynasty Mode,” in which you manage a college football program's player acquisitions and on-field performance. This revival is a very deep game with a focus on player acquisition, forcing you to plan how you spend your allotted time, who you're going to sign, and where you're going to find players. While it's a fun experience for menu merchants and creative types (I spent an hour going through a prospect list instead of taking to the field), it won't appeal to those who want to jump right in and play.
Similarly, Road to Glory, a role-playing mode in which you create a custom college athlete, might have you confined to your dorm room rather than on the field. As a first-year bench player, you'll spend two hours studying and bonding with your teammates using your allotted “energy” coins, and a few minutes doing practice drills. You won't play in a game until the season finale, so be sure to pick a “starter” spot from the get-go if you want to get in on the action right away (but be careful not to get interrupted by your college crush!).
There's no question that College Football 25 is worth the purchase and a welcome return to the series. At times, you'll break down the defense and score some very entertaining touchdowns. At your worst, you'll be stuck in the menu for an hour, trying to recruit a quarterback from Riverside, California, or studying for your next exam (which is a puzzle in itself).
This game truly resembles college life with its combination of studying hard and playing even harder.
