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I live in a college football-crazy town, so I can tell you first hand college football fans are a wild bunch. While NFL fans at least have the courtesy to wait until at least mini-camp to start discussing their team’s season, college football fans already have their favorite school’s next season played out a day after the last season ends. They know everything there is to know about players already on the team and their knowledge of recruits can sometimes border on stalker.

EA knows this, and is integrating it into NCAA Football 11. This year’s Dynasty Mode is always on, allowing you to make decisions about your virtual team’s future whether you’re at work, in the bathroom or spending a Saturday afternoon tailgating. You’ll be able to begin recruiting a player on your console, then switch to your PC or mobile device and continue making decisions that affect your Dynasty, including recruiting and signing players. If you happen to be in an Online Dynasty, you can even send brags to other players, touting your latest conquest.

Keeping with the fervor of college fans, EA is doing everything it can to make NCAA Football 11 players feel like they are constantly connected. It’s Facebook for virtual football fans. In addition to keeping tabs on your Dynasty, you can check news at any time and even upload images from your games using new Storybuilder features. You can also link your team updates into your Facebook and Twitter account.

Outside the new additions to Dynasty Mode, developers are making sure NCAA Football 2011 holds up on the field as well. Similar to Madden, players now use the new Locomotion engine, providing for more natural movement on the field. Player and field models have also seen an upgrade. I was only able to spend about twenty minutes with the game on the show floor, but even in a short amount of time I could tell it looks like a completely different game.

NCAA Football 2011 also makes better use of ESPN integration. All of the menus and overlays found throughout the game are similar to those seen on a Saturday College Gameday broadcast. You’ll even see special team entrances, fans in the crowd and other elements that make college football so special and unique.

Another point worthy of note is how this year’s game will handle more recent events, such as Southern Cal’s bowl ban and conference shake-ups. According to reps, this year’s game will not reflect what’s going on in the real world. All conferences will remain intact and USC can still enter the post season. However, they would not count out changes in next year’s game.

It’s clear EA is doing a lot to help NCAA Football 11 lose the stigma of NCAA being “Last year’s Madden with College Colors.” Based on my time with the demo (which should be available on XBLA and PSN now), NCAA Football 2011 feels like a completely different game.

NCAA Football 2011 hits store shelves on July 13.

STAT BOX
Product
NCAA 11
Company
EA Sports
Date
06/20/2010