NCAA Football 13
By Marc Saltzman,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
College football sim adds Heisman winners to the mix.
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NCAA Football 13
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What’s It About?
Are you ready for some football? EA Sports' NCAA FOOTBALL 13 once again delivers fast-paced college football action to your Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. This year's version adds past Heisman Trophy winners to your roster -- such as Herschel Walker, Doug Flutie, Barry Sanders, Marcus Allen, and Robert Griffin III, to name 5 out of the 10 additions -- so you can hit the field as a veritable powerhouse. EA Sports has also talked up this game's new stadiums, pregame traditions, and trophy celebrations, along with significantly enhanced audio. More importantly, perhaps, new gameplay enhancements have been added to NCAA Football 13, including a refined passing system, smarter artificial intelligence (A.I.), and a new Dynasty mode with upgrades to recruiting, scouting, and more.
Is It Any Good?
While the presentation is about on par as last year's game, and despite a few graphical and audio glitches, NCAA Football 13 is, overall, a better game than last year -- mainly because of the new gameplay additions. This includes the new Heisman Challenge mode (Robert Griffin III and Barry Sanders grace the cover of the box); offensive and defensive tweaks (including new passing options, icons, and catch animations); the "reaction time" feature that slows down gameplay during key moments adds more drama and opportunities (such as having the time to find more holes at the line of scrimmage); and new school traditions, mascots, cheerleaders, chants, and more. While not a perfect football game, NCAA Football 13 should satiate fans of the sport and league, by bringing some of that college excitement to their television set all year round.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about whether the product placement and branding found in this game is over the top. ESPN graphics, personalities, and audio tags are all over this game, as are sponsored plugs read by announcers. There is also a lot of branding on the player's apparel and a little around the stadium, too. Is EA Sports making money from this?
If you opt to play online, families can discuss online gaming tips to keep players safe.
Game Details
- Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
- Subjects: Language & Reading: following directions, reading, Hobbies: sports, Science: motion
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning: applying information, decision-making, prediction, Self-Direction: goal-setting, motivation, time management, Collaboration: teamwork
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: EA Sports
- Release date: July 10, 2012
- Genre: Sports
- Topics: Sports and Martial Arts
- ESRB rating: E for (No Descriptors)
- Last updated: August 20, 2022
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