College Football 25 preview: Ultimate Team debuts while past favorites return

GamesSportsCollege Football 25College Football 25 preview: Ultimate Team debuts while past favorites returnWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. GamesSportsCollege Football 25College Football 25 preview: Ultimate Team debuts while past favorites returnWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. (Image credit: EA) Finally, it’s back. 11 years after the demise of NCAA Football, EA’s amateur favorite is returning asCollege Football 25. This week saw Quinn Ewers, Travis Hunter, and Donovan Edwards revealed as cover athletes, along with the first trailer, which you can watch below. While EA is still keeping tight-lipped about the finer details, this new batch of intel tells us plenty about what to expect from the college giant’s return. First – yep – we’re getting Ultimate Team in a college sports game. All three pre-order variants contain something called the Alma Mater Pack, giving you a choice of one player from 134 potential cards. Indeed, all bonuses from the three different editions are centered on what will quickly enter social media lexicon as ‘CUT'. Lock up the deluxe edition and you get to choose one of Ewers, Hunter or Edwards to build your fantasy team around from the outset. For long-standing fans, this focus on Ultimate Team is likely to raise alarm bells. NCAA’s magic was never about building a dream team – instead, it endured on the basis of multiple strengths that deliberately eschewed the gloss of Madden. Plus Ultimate Team as a whole has never worked as well in that big bro franchise as it does in FIFA/FC, largely because building a team of 50+ players feels more bloated and less personal than one of eleven. But hey: let’s see how the final mode shapes up before bludgeoning it into the turf. (Image credit: EA) Especially as there is plenty of tantalizing news. For instance, College Football 25 is current-gen only. It’s a revelation bound to excruciate those who still enjoy Madden on PS4 and Xbox One, but should mean a unique football experience. At its heart is a feature called CampusIQ. This sees player ratings change in-game based on their live performance – cool! – along with a dynamic wear and tear system. Leave your stars in too long without rest and you risk fatigue, injury and key mistakes. That last one could be a groundbreaking move for the entire sports genre. Imagine a striker in FC missing a late chance through exhaustion. It might nark weekend league die-hards, but such things do happen in real life. Leave it to Beaver (Image credit: EA) Ah yes, Dynasty mode. This is where NCAA outperformed all other EA Sports games in its heyday, because trades are effectively non-existent. Instead you had to spend hours recruiting high school prospects, then enjoy their talents for a limited time before they disappeared to the NFL – or local Walmart counter– after four years. It meant committing to a long-term plan in a way that’s never been necessary in Madden, where the template is: blow your salary cap on the best free agents, win the Super Bowl, repeat to fade. Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more (Image credit: EA) Magnificently, Dynasty mode is back, with an eye on the past while implementing some tantalizing tweaks. “There’s new ways to recruit, there’s transfer portals… there’s a lot of things to think about,” EA Sports' senior vice president Daryl Holt teased toESPN. In the old model, you’d make a list of potential signings then unlock information about their abilities – and try to convince them to join your programme – using weekly phone calls. But you only had a certain number of calls each week, providing tricky choices: do you focus on, say, three prospects and then build your roster around them? Or risk spreading your net wider, only to leave that elite trio feeling unwanted and looking elsewhere? It’s a conundrum we can’t wait to resuscitate, particularly with College Football 25 offering a massive player database. The original series was shut down due to an infamous legal dispute over image rights. To prevent that reoccurring, EA has offered college players on all 134 teams $600 and a copy of the game in order to appear. Exceptions are notable, such as Texas quarterback Archie Manning, but 10,000 talented teens and early 20-somethings have said ‘yes’. Across Ultimate Team or Dynasty, you’re going to have loads of fun roster decisions to make. Coaches broken down Sadly, you won’t be able to go up against real coaches. EA says this is because each one needs to affect their team in a bespoke, personal manner, and that this is tough to implement from a design perspective. ”We believe there’s a real impact to gameplay or to product differentiation that you could be a coach, have a different type of schedule, have a different type of recruiting philosophy, have a different type of gameplay and play style,” EA Sports vice president of business development Sean O’Brien tells ESPN. “So there’s an interesting way of doing that in a similar way to the athletes. No real way of doing that very easily." Even so, there’s plenty to look forward to, with details on solo career mode Road To Glory and online tournament Road to the College Football Playoff still to come. There will be cynicism around Ultimate Team until College Football 25 lands on July 19. But if EA can nail Dynasty along with those additional treats, any concerns around its focus on ‘CUT’ are likely to be immediately quelled. In the meantime we can but hope – and prepare to start recruiting. 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Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show"2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie"3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action"4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien"5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite"1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat"2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses"3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist"4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands"5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place” GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS 1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension” 1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension” 1 Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension” 2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package” 2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package” 2 Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package” 3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure” 3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure” 3 Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure” 4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years” 4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years” 4 Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years” 5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths” 5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths” 5 Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths” 1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 1 Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 2 Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 3 Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 4 The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 5 Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 1 Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 2 Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 3 Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 4 Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place” 5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place” 5 Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”