E3 Updates: More NCAA Football 2011 Detailed Information

Time for the third installment of my E3 report. This morning I had the opportunity to speak with Ben Haumiller and Russ Kiniry to ask some of the questions that were posed by TF members.

One of the questions was: How has the defense been improved with all of the discussion we’ve heard about the offensive side of the ball? The majority of the improvements for both offense and defense have to do with the locomotiom system and how it impacts both sides of the ball. However one change I thought was applicable was the QB contain in the strategy menu. If the other team is killing you with scrambling you can set this to aggressive and your players will work to contain the QB even if you didn’t call a spy.

Accelerated clock is once again in the game doubling as chew the clock. This is also now accessible from the strategy menu where you can go with a normal tempo or up tempo or slower tempo (chew clock). In my opinion this isn’t a true accelerated clock because it takes too much off the play clock.

According to Haumiller, traditionally up tempo offenses will be able to run up tempo without getting tired too quick, whereas a slower paced team will get tired quickly running this offense.

I did a lot of experimenting with different routes vs. Man defense and it seems to me that despite the locomotion addition, much remains the same. The defender seems to be able to react to hook and 90 degree angle routes very quickly while the receiver’s break animation slows him down in relation. Slants and posts remain the best option to beat man defense.

One quick note: I’ve watched more of Madden today and have been impressed with the game play. The default speed seems fine. I’ve asked around and am trying to find out if adjustable game speed works in online franchises. Maybe this has already been announced elsewhere.

I will answer a lot of the questions that were asked tonight. Thanks for reading.

With the rest of my time today I plan to delve into recruiting a little bit and report on what I find.

Hellisan