Robert Griffin III may be the cover athlete for NCAA Football 13 but the former Baylor quarterback is not an optimal superstar headlining the gameâs demo, which released last week. Heâs skilled enough, but the new âReaction Timeââthe signal feature of NCAA 13âs Heisman and Road to Glory modesâis really showcased when youâre running the ball, not throwing it.
To recap, âReaction Timeâ is a bullet-time modifier, activated with the left trigger, and it will be introduced only in the single-player career modes for NCAA 13âthat means the traditional Road to Glory created-player career, and the new Heisman mode, in which you may take a real-life college great and play him for a single season at any school.
In a spread offense, a player like Griffin should be deadly, but the brake on his speed and versatilityâmagnified by Reaction Timeâis the lack of a tuck-and-run command when the quarterback is behind the line of scrimmage. Quarterbacks become full-strength ball carriers when theyâre past the line of scrimmage, orâtheoreticallyâif all of the receivers are covered, your quarterback will start to scramble, but I didnât get into enough instances to confirm if this actually was happening. It also removes the threat of calling a deep pass from a shotgun formation and just deciding to bust it open from the snap, which could have game-breaking balance issues when bullet time comes into play.
So while NCAA 13 gives us an unusual look at two different game modes in a free demo, allowing you to play on or as one of six teams (the file is just shy of 2 GB on the Xbox 360) it doesnât really showcase the most visceral gameplay feature of the new Heisman mode. New sack-dodging commands, mapped to the right stick, make a moot point of slowing down time when your quarterback is set up in the pocket. I suppose you can see the field and the defense more clearly in Reaction Time (the camera does zoom in over your playerâs shoulder, though) but I still threw five interceptions with Griffinâon Oregonâagainst USC. The verdict, even after several games in the demo, is pretty clearâReaction Time is primarily a running backâs tool.
Thatâs the situation in which I used Reaction Time when I first saw it back in April at EA Sports, using Eddie George (playing for N.C. State, of course). There, commands for jukes and tight cuts and throwing stiffarms become more deliberate and functional. Reaction Time caps out at 15 seconds and is tied to a playerâs awarenessâin Heisman mode, you can expect to have a 15 second reservoir from the start. It will be depleted as you use it, and refilled based on the success of the play.
I got the feeling I could have used Reaction Time on every play with Griffin, though its net effect would be to slow down plays more than it would give me spectacular execution within them.
NCAA 13âs Demo lets you play as a named college great, with a funky new superpower. The presentational support is the real selling point.
The real selling point of the demo comes when you play one of three matchups in a simulated Dynasty week. Here you can play an early east coast start, a late afternoon game, or a prime-time nightcap, and catch the studio update audio that ESPNâs Rece Davis will provide, up to 10 times in a game. This delivered as advertised. Changes of possession brought in results from around the nation in games that had finished before my LSU-Alabama tilt. There was no halftime studio update, but I was told that was removed from the demo because of file-size restrictions. Youâll get one in NCAA 13
As the game wore on and late scores rolled in, Davisâ audio became briefer, especially if the matchup didnât involve recognizable conference rivals. I should say that all of the scores you encounter in the demo will be the same: State beats Virginia 48-28 every time; likewise, Texas beats Texas Tech 34-32 and Stanford beats Colorado 28-21. It wonât be that way in the full gameâthey had to strip out the simulation logic for, again, file size restrictions. Davisâ situational audio was reasonably strong, but there was some disconnectâsuch as in the Stanford-Colorado result. Davis one time told me the Cardinal left the Buffaloes âno breathing room whatsoever,â a curious description for a game decided by a touchdown at the end.
The gameplay played mostly true to what I was shown down in Florida. Though I didnât see a lot of the CPU-controlled dropbacks, I was running a spread offense most of the time, which doesnât have a lot of 5- or 7-step drops. Still, screen passes didnât seem to have the kind of quarterback drift that really sucks in the pass rush before dumping it off. So be prepared to get rid of it fast.
Based on the demo, NCAA 13 plays a lot like its predecessor, while teasing you with the chance to play as a named college great, with a funky new gridiron superpower. The presentational support, if you look for it, is the true distinction. In simulating several games, I paused to the menu and watched the score crawl around the regions, the same way I do when a live game is on. I noted Florida going up 14-7 on Missouri in those two schoolâs first-ever conference matchup. This will provide much needed atmosphere and context to the story of the season you create in your new Dynasty mode.
But if you want to go balling out of control in Heisman Mode, with Reaction Time, my suggestion is to skip Andre Ware, Doug Flutie or Charlie Ward, and go straight for Barry Sanders, Eddie George or Archie Griffin.
