NCAA Football 13

Download NCAA Football 13 and experience the excitement of college football! Choose your team, develop a winning strategy, and compete for glory on the gridiron. Are you ready to make your mark? Play now!
a game by EA Tiburon
Platforms: XBox 360, Playstation 3 (2012)
Editor Rating: 8.3/10, based on 2 reviews
User Rating: 6.4/10 - 11 votes
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See also: Sport Games, Sports Management Games, Football Video Games, NCAA Games
NCAA Football 13
NCAA Football 13
NCAA Football 13

Brace yourself for intense gridiron action – NCAA Football 13 brings big hits and even bigger plays with this year's hard-hitting college football update. It's safe to say EA Sports cranks up the excitement dial in the latest chapter of their collegiate pigskin franchise.

Improved gameplay mechanics like precision passing and bone-crunching defense had me yelling at the TV like a diehard fan cheering on Saturday night primetime matchups. Veterans will need to adapt their strategies to succeed against NCAA 13's tough defensive AI that actually adjusts to shut down your favorite go-to plays.

From heart-stopping trick plays to nail-biting goal line stands, NCAA 13 had me on the edge of my seat right from the opening kickoff.

Offensive Innovation

One of NCAA 13's most noticeable changes is the overhauled passing system. Quarterback dropbacks and throws have more realistic animations, while wide receivers act smarter to catch balls or at least prevent interceptions.

Compared to the rigid movements in older NCAA games, plays now flow more naturally from the snap through tackling animations. However, the running game still feels repetitive at times, lacking FIFA's smooth transitions between moves.

Overall the new gameplay encourages more creative playcalling, though seasoned veterans may dominate novices even more with these complex mechanics.

Defensive Domination

Improvements extend to the defensive side as well in NCAA 13. Defensive players intuitively fill gaps in coverage, letting you take more risks while still preventing big plays. New mechanics like reaction time, which slows key moments to let you read plays, gives defenses fighting chances against fast offenses.

Special teams coverage units also lock down returners more consistently than in past entries. This presents a welcome challenge for players accustomed to easy touchdown returns each game. While more arcade-like than the precise defensive controls in MLB The Show franchises, NCAA 13 finds the right balance between realism and accessibility.

Career Crusades

NCAA's popular Road to Glory career mode also receives some polish. You now guide your custom player through their full high school career before reaching the college ranks. While the high school portion is fairly barebones compared to the main college experience, those opening games help ease new players into the NCAA's mechanics.

Back in college, interaction with coaches and players builds your team chemistry dynamically based on your performance and behavior. Small touches like celebratory gestures, press conferences after big wins, and campus activities between games make it feel like an authentic student-athlete experience.

In the end, NCAA 13 impresses with much-needed gameplay improvements and long-requested features that will please series veterans. The new offensive mechanics encourage you to dig deep into your playbook, while defensive adjustments provide fiercer opposition.

Occasional wonky animations and the aging graphics engine show this series' age, but with intuitive controls that gracefully blend strategy and twitch gameplay, NCAA 13 is easily a fan-favorite in the series.

8

Though marked by the apparent lack of innovation that comes with the genre, NCAA Football 13 remains as fresh as it ever was.

Pros

  • Improved passing and defensive AI
  • The Heisman Challenge introduces fun historical scenarios
  • Road to Glory career mode creates closer team bonds

Cons

  • Running game animations still feel repetitive
  • Graphics and visuals are dated
  • Defensive controls are less precise than other dedicated sports franchises

Download NCAA Football 13

XBox 360

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
Playstation 3

Minimal System Requirements:

  • OS: Windows 2000, Vista
  • CPU: Cell 3.2 GHz (8 cores)
  • RAM: 128 MB
  • HDD: 8,14 GB

System Requirements:

  • OS: Windows 10, 8, 7, WinXP
  • CPU: Cell 3.2 GHz (8 cores)
  • RAM: 256 MB
  • HDD: 8,14 GB

Game Reviews

You would have to say that NCAA Football 13 is one of the most in demand EA Sports games on the market! The reason for this is that this is the last football game to have the NCAA license. The whole NCAA license thing is a real nightmare and it is a shame that they could not come to some kind of agreement. Anyway, today we are going to be looking at why so many people want to add this game to their collection and why it will cost you upwards of 60 to 80 bucks for a copy if you want to add it to your collection.

The Ultimate College Team

The big change in NCAA Football 13 was that EA added in the Ultimate Team mode from their Madden series here. It is very similar to what you would expect from Ultimate Team mode. You have to collect players, your stadium, kits, and so on and build your team this way. All of the players are “dynasty” players so there are no current (well current in 2012-2013) players, but that is to be expected. Like modern Ultimate Team modes, you have to earn money to buy new packs of cards to build your team. There is something not quite as “scummy” about it in comparison to how EA does this these days.

The Ultimate Dynasty

The mode I like best in NCAA Football 13 is the dynasty mode. Here is where you get to take your team to the top and make them the ultimate college institution in the nation. While much of this is the same as last year's game, the way recruiting is handled is drastically changed and I would say changed for the better. There are far more things to keep an eye on to make sure your school is the most attractive to the star high school players throughout the nation. As well as these two game modes, Road to Glory and Heisman Challenge also return.

Leaving It All On The Field

There were also some changes made to the on-field action in NCAA Football 13. Total control passing is a fun addition where you now have more control over guiding your receivers to grab a pass. You also have total control running for your running back which gives you the ability to use a burst of speed at the right time. You also have a new blocking system for your linemen which makes blocking far fairer and less likely to destroy the flow of the game in an unnatural way. While they did not reinvent the core gameplay, I do think that these changes give you more overall control over the action on the field.

8.5

I know it would be easy to say that people want NCAA Football 13 because it is the last game of its kind and that is the only reason why. However, I actually think that the series went out with a bang. Granted you could argue that they did not change a great deal. However, the changes that they did make I feel are quite significant and make this a better game than the one that came before it. While it is not cheap, I do think that this is a damn fine game of college football.

Pros:

  • Ultimate Team here is actually fun and not like what it has become
  • The new recruitment system in Dynasty Mode is great
  • New controls give you more control over players on the field
  • The fact this is the last NCAA football game makes it an interesting part of gaming history

Cons:

  • The price for this can get pretty insane on eBay
  • It is a shame they were never able to use current players

Snapshots and Media

XBox 360 Screenshots

Playstation 3 Screenshots

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