After a 10 year absence, EA Sports has brought back its iconic collegiate football franchise. The new EA Sports College Football 25 video game is living up to the hype.
Players who pre-ordered the deluxe edition or MVP bundle gained access to the game on Monday, while the standard edition released Friday.
With all new gameplay animations and the revival of nostalgic modes like Dynasty and Road to Glory, this could be one of the biggest games of the year.
New gameplay
Perhaps the most important part of a sports video game is the gameplay. Players want the perfect balance between fun and realism. Electronic Arts dedicated a lot of resources to adding all-new blocking, tackling and running animations to capture the excitement of real-life college football games.
On top of that, EA has incorporated a few first-time features into College Football 25 like the revamped passing mechanics, wear and tear system, stadium pulse, and over 80 new player abilities.
With hundreds of new gameplay animations, players can mimic the styles of their favorite athletes and have an authentic gameplay experience.
Dynasty
The fan favorite Dynasty mode has made its return in College Football 25 with multiple new features that add to the experience.
In this mode, users can become a head coach, offensive coordinator or defensive coordinator at any college they choose. Each team has a prestige star rating that directly impacts the difficulty of the first season as a coach.
For example, when playing as Alabama, it will be easier to compete for a championship right away and recruit top-ranked high school athletes. If players start out with a lower-tier program like UAB or South Alabama, it will take some time to turn the team into a championship contender.
Recruiting is more complex and has numerous features that add to the realism of recruiting in modern college football. When viewing the prospect list, there are a variety of things to pay attention to, like “deal breakers.” These are the wants and needs of a recruit that affect the likelihood of them coming to a school.
It is important to use recruiting hours wisely in order to remain among a recruit’s top teams. Users can scout players, offer scholarships and schedule visits to try and sell an athlete on joining their program.
In the offseason, new options become available for coaches like recruiting out of the transfer portal and viewing job offers from other programs. Users can play up to 30 seasons in dynasty mode, invite friends to compete against and create custom conferences, all of which gives users the dynasty experience they desire.
It’s hard to find flaws in Dynasty mode. This feature is the main reason fans begged for a new college football game, and it has more depth to match the newness of the real-life game. The fact that Dynasty was great in previous games but has improved even more is why fans are ecstatic about its return.
Road to Glory
In Road to Glory, players can start their collegiate career by selecting a star rating to begin with. EA has added brand new customization options for the player character, including position, archetype, appearance and recruiting needs.
A player will have the opportunity to view teams that are interested in their avatar at national signing day. Some programs will start the athlete immediately, while others will have players pay their dues as a backup or third string.
A career is in the palm of players’ hands. As a college athlete, it is up to a user to manage their GPA, leadership, health, training and NIL deals. Throughout the season, a player may receive text messages from teammates, coaches and others. How one responds to these text messages will directly impact the player character’s future.
Road to Glory effectively immerses the player and is another outstanding returning feature.
Ultimate Team
The game mode that became famous in Madden has made its way into College Football 25. In Ultimate Team, players aim to build the best team possible. Users can assemble a squad by collecting player cards in challenges or earning rewards from gaining XP. Then, the cards can be placed into a lineup that can be used in Ultimate Team.
Other ways that players can accumulate cards are purchasing packs at the item shop or using coins to buy cards off the auction house.
With new player cards releasing consistently, there is always a scramble to add the newest players to the collection.
A game mode like Ultimate Team is often seen as a greedy money grab in video games, as the best way to get great players is spending money on packs each week. For that reason, this may not be everyone’s favorite game mode, but it gives people the opportunity to play with past and present players.
Road to the College Football Playoff
This is EA’s competitive mode where players can choose a team and move up the ranks by defeating online players. The main goal is to reach the top of the leaderboard and make the College Football Playoff. Road to the College Football Playoff is great for players that want to compete online and see where they stack up against the best the world has to offer.
Final remarks
College Football 25 has received high praise from athletes, celebrities and content creators, and some people online claim to have requested time off from their job in order to play with their dynasty teams. After years of development, EA has created a game that captures the excitement of college football and feeds fans’ fantasies of putting on a jersey and joining their favorite players on the field.
