ok, I'm game.
So far I have played a full season and two games (a little over 1/2 of the games simulated, I wanted to check out the recruiting and off season).
The game feels a lot more natural now. I feel they made tremendous strides in how the offensive blocking works. You can't DE rush anymore. I remember in 2k4 I avereged 55+ sacks a year with the DEs. It was rediculous, I was gauranteed a sack if the offense lined up in certain formations. Now, it's fairly difficult to come off a block a and get a sack with any Dlinemen. I'm not saying that they were unfairly nerfed, the Olinemen don't get "glued" to the DL, the DL just does a much better job of keeping OL in check. It feels and looks natural.
Running: Brandon Joe is simply unstoppable. If I would have played out the entire season, there's no doubt he would have won the heisman. The movement physics of the players has been enhanced, you can't make very unrealistic cuts anymore, however it still is a little arcadish, which is fine with me. They also have done a lot with the tackling animations. On one particular occasion, Haw was on a breakaway run for about 40 yards and a defender on Texas' team came up from behind and made a shoestring tackle. The animation of the tackle was very cool and it took me by surprise.
Throwing/Receiving: As noted in the other
thread, passing is much more difficult in general. In the passing game, you have to be much more careful of how hard you throw the ball. The ball will often sail, or fall too short, or will bounce off the receivers hands, if you rifle it. Timing is all important as is the ability to manage the "matchup meter". Defenders take better angles, react quicker, and close faster than in 2k4. When I played as Troy Smith, I had about as many Touchdowns as interceptions.
I haven't been able to play with Zwick much as he was injured most of the last season and got injured in the first game in the second season (5 weeks). Troy Smith is fairly fast, but is less than average throwing the ball.
Defense: They've added a few more defensive formations to the game; a 3-3-5, 4-2-5, and another I can't think of atm. As stated above, it's much harder to DE rush, and harder to use exploits in general. EA has done a tremendous job with the gameplay. Btw, Ginn is a staple in my 2nd season's defense and special teams :) .
Atmosphere: Ohio Stadium looks incredible, the scale of it seems proper (not like last year's), and the crowd effects are cool, even if signs aren't allowed in the stadium IRL. The crowd and mascot celebrations you can do are very cool (ie Brutus Pushups). I like the stadium pulse feature, it definately adds a college feel to the game. Playing at other stadiums is noticeable more difficult than at home.
Commentating: Almost identical to last year, they obviously have used a lot of the same sound bytes from last year. This is one area where I'm very disappointed. there are additions to the commentating, but it's still very much the same.
Off Season: Recruiting is MUCH better than last year. The days of having a 22-24 person class of only 5* recruits is over! You actually have to use strategy and be judicious about who and how you recruit. The ability to recruit athletes is also a nice addition. I recruited a HS senior 4 star athlete and he was rated a 78. When I moved him to DE he became a 90(
) at that position! The budget system of allocating percentages to Recruiting, Training, and Discipline is wonderful. I already wish that I put more into discipline (I put 25% to it), because during my routing of San Diego State, I involuntarily accumulated 5 Personal foul celebration penalties. Speaking of discipline, I think EA was harsh (maybe rightfully so) on the Buckeyes. In my first season, I ran out of discipline points and was around 45-50% NCAA interest; I had to suspend a few players for multiple games and several for a game or less.
Overall, I think this game is incredible. Tonight, if I can hide from my wife long enough I plan on installing my Network adapter and giving online play a whirl.
