Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Hardware
  • Video
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Deals
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
Subscribe now
Trending
  • Gamescom 2025 schedule
  • Gamescom
  • Battlefield 6
  • New Games for 2025
Don't miss these
College Football 26: a player running while holding the ball
Sports Games College Football 26 preview: EA says “We listened” with 2,800 new plays and 300 coaches
College Football 26
Sports Games College Football 26: Everything you need to know about the upcoming sports game
College Football 26
Sports Games College Football 26 review: “Thanks to rivalries and dynasty, this is the greatest show on turf”
Madden 26
Madden NFL Madden 26 preview: Scott Hanson delivers ESPN NFL 2K5 half-time show vibes at long last
FC 26
EA Sports FC EA Sports FC 26 has surprised me by forgoing a gimmicky selling point in favor of smarter, smaller tweaks: "Gameplay is always going to be the most important thing"
Madden 26
Madden NFL Madden 26 review: "The finest entry in a decade by some margin"
Madden 25
Madden NFL Madden 26: Everything you need to know about the new NFL game
College Football 26
Sports Games College Football 26 best teams list and in-game NCAA rankings
College Football 26
Sports Games College Football 26 best playbooks for offense and defense
College Football 26
Sports Games College Football 26 recruiting guide for Dynasty mode
College Football 25
Sports Games College Football 25 best playbooks for offense and defense
College Football 26: two players jumping in mid-air trying to catch a ball.
Sports Games The best College Football 26 sliders and how to use them
Rematch player in red jersey
Sports Games Rematch dev says FIFA is "so disconnected from how it actually feels to play football," but his game "feels more dead-on"
FC 26
EA Sports FC EA Sports FC 26: Everything you need to know about the upcoming football sim
Battlefield 6 multiplayer gameplay showing a first-person view of a gun sights aiming at a helicopter
FPS Games I've played Battlefield 6 for an afternoon, and while it's a clear successor to Battlefield 3 and 4, I wish there was more destruction
  1. Games
  2. Sports
  3. NCAA Football 13

NCAA Football 13 preview

Features
By Richard Grisham published 30 May 2012

NCAA 13 reaches deep into the rich history of college football while making big-time improvements on the field

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Kickoff is coming

Kickoff is coming

Will it all come together? While theres no way to tell for certain yet, were cautiously optimistic now that weve played it and spent multiple hours grilling the games development crew. If nothing else, theyre passionate about college football and how their game represents the sport. Buoyed by a larger staff and higher dollars spent on key areas, the games makers are confident that NCAA 13 will hit a lot of high marks.

Without further adieu, heres what were most excited about with NCAA Football 13.

Page 1 of 8
Page 1 of 8
Heisman challenge

Heisman challenge

An added dimension is the inclusion of several hours of video featuring each winners story, interspersed at various points throughout the season. During your campaign to capture the Heisman, youll hear them talk about different things that impacted them during their college careers, adding an element of story and emotion to a mode that could otherwise feel much more mechanical.

The list of players is interesting, ranging from recent winners like Robert Griffin III, Matt Leinart, and Mark Ingram, but also reaches back to players like Tim Brown, Herschel Walker, and Jim Plunkett. Others include Doug Flutie, Andre Ware, Charlie Ward, Carson Palmer, and Eddie George; the variety of players and styles should provide plenty of interesting moments. Were definitely excited about this one.

Page 2 of 8
Page 2 of 8
For the casual fans...

For the casual fans...

Automatic dropbacks for quarterbacks, with the steps and timing set up for the play, are also in this year. The QB will take just a few steps for slants but 5 or 7 when longer patterns are in play. Because of this, the player will have a little more time to survey the field and read the action.

For years, casual fans would never control a receiver once the ball was thrown because the results could easily be disastrous. This year, the game will help keep your user-controlled receiver more centered towards where you should be going (unless you do something drastic), allowing a greater range of playmaking abilities.

Page 3 of 8
Page 3 of 8
For the hardcore fans...

For the hardcore fans...

The new ball trajectory system will also give experienced players a new level of control, creating the ability to effectively place the ball where it should be based on a number of factors. Shovel passes will happen when a receiver is just a few yards away, while dropping a medium pass over a linebacker is also possible. With more than 20 trajectories, many passes that used to be impossible will no longer be so.

Page 4 of 8
Page 4 of 8
An immersive world

An immersive world

In addition, an in-game ESPN ticker will have all the scores rolling by in real time. Its all part of the plan to immerse you in the college football universe, with in-game updates coming on a regular basis at appropriate points in the game. Instead of operating in a mini-vacuum, the goal is to make you feel like youre a part of something bigger.

Page 5 of 8
Page 5 of 8
Dynamic recruiting

Dynamic recruiting

Speaking of athletes, there are now triple threat players available (those who can play QB, REC, and DB for example) who can take your program to the next level. New scouting options will help you unlock true attributes to help in comparisons so you know who to ultimately offer that precious scholarship.

Perhaps the coolest thing is that the game offers a website with improved offline and pre-season options, meaning you can do all of your recruiting via the web. In fact, its easier with a mouse and keyboard or touch screen than a clunky controller and lets you keep in touch with your dynasty no matter where you are.

Page 6 of 8
Page 6 of 8
Online Dynasty

Online Dynasty

The development team has spent a significant amount of time fixing the issues it ultimately uncovered, but just as crucially they also expanded their ability to diagnose problems as they occur and understand the root cause. The team cant guarantee that no problems will happen this season, but they are strongly stating that there will be far fewer problems and ones that do pop up will be dealt with much more quickly. The Online Dynasty issues were painful for everyone involved last season, and no one wants to see them happen again because when an Online Dynasty is running well, its as enjoyable of a sports experience as there is today.

Page 7 of 8
Page 7 of 8
The final gun

The final gun

Between marked improvements in gameplay on both sides of the ball, the addition of a new time-sink Heisman Trophy challenge, and the critical problems around Online Dynasty getting fixed, NCAA Football 13 is lining up quite nicely this season. Were cautiously optimistic that this will be the best NCAA game of this generation, thanks to the ramped-up investment of people and resources thats taken place over the past year. Time will tell, of course, but what weve seen so far has been positive. Heres hoping the finished product hits the mark.

Page 8 of 8
Page 8 of 8
CATEGORIES
PlayStation Xbox Platforms
Richard Grisham
See more Playstation Features
Read more
College Football 26: a player running while holding the ball
College Football 26 preview: EA says “We listened” with 2,800 new plays and 300 coaches
College Football 26
College Football 26: Everything you need to know about the upcoming sports game
College Football 26
College Football 26 review: “Thanks to rivalries and dynasty, this is the greatest show on turf”
Madden 26
Madden 26 preview: Scott Hanson delivers ESPN NFL 2K5 half-time show vibes at long last
FC 26
EA Sports FC 26 has surprised me by forgoing a gimmicky selling point in favor of smarter, smaller tweaks: "Gameplay is always going to be the most important thing"
Madden 26
Madden 26 review: "The finest entry in a decade by some margin"
Latest in Sports
Madden 26
Madden 26 rookie ratings guide to the NFL best young prospects
Madden 26
What is GAD in Madden 26?
Madden 26
Madden 26 best playbooks for elite offense and defense
Madden 26
All the Madden 26 X-Factors and Superstars in one guide
Madden 26
The best Madden 26 sliders and how to use them
Madden 26
Madden 26 best teams list and all team ratings
Latest in Features
Borderlands 4 screenshot shows someone holding a weapon forward towards the camera.
"We tend to commit to the bit": Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford talks Borderlands 4, the evolution of looter-shooters, and $80 game discourse
Valor Mortis
Ghostrunner devs abandon parkour for Valor Mortis, a first-person soulslike that might explain why the rest of the genre follows Dark Souls' lead
A mech firing a machine gun in the desert in Menace
Menace is an XCOM-Warhammer hybrid that makes turn-based strategy feel like an immersive sim, and for the first time in my life I'm playing a game that seems made for me
Metal Gear Solid 5 showing Snake and Ocelot looking to the horizon in front of more soldiers
10 years later, Metal Gear Solid 5 remains a masterpiece that was never going to live up to its own hype
Dogtooth
The new Yorgos Lanthimos movie is getting rave first reactions out of Venice Film Festival, but I think it's worth revisiting his breakout feature Dogtooth before Bugonia hits theaters this fall
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Legacy of the Forge DLC showing Henry and two allies standing looking down
I built a home and ran a business in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's next DLC, and the added role-playing guarantees I'll spend another 70 hours in my current game of the year
  1. Kaser clad in black and Victor in white clash swords in Lost Soul Aside
    1
    Lost Soul Aside review: "We (don't) have Final Fantasy Versus 13 at home"
  2. 2
    Hell is Us review: "The lack of waypoints and explicit objectives is a double-edged magical sword that pulls me deep into its harsh world"
  3. 3
    Shuten Order review: "The Danganronpa creator's new multi-genre mystery feels like a forgotten DS cult classic I would have been obsessed with"
  4. 4
    The Rogue Prince of Persia review: "I roguelike but don't roguelove this freerunner – there's just not enough to stand out"
  5. 5
    Shinobi: Art of Vengeance review: "So close to being to a pitch-perfect revival of a classic series, but just can't quite line up the killing blow"
  1. Jacob Elordi as the monster in Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein
    1
    Frankenstein review: "A classy, if somewhat safe, adaptation"
  2. 2
    Weapons review: "A twisted fairytale that bests Barbarian"
  3. 3
    The Fantastic Four: First Steps review: "An occasionally thrilling heroic adventure that sits safely within a B-tier MCU range"
  4. 4
    Superman review: "A triumphant reinvention and a promising start for the DCU"
  5. 5
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  1. John Cena as Peacemaker holds a gun to the head of a different John Cena as Peacemaker in Peacemaker season 2.
    1
    Peacemaker season 2 review: "Darker and sadder than the first year, but there's still a lot of fun to be had with the 11th Street Kids."
  2. 2
    Wednesday season 2 part 1 review: "Complex and exciting but weighed down by too many subplots"
  3. 3
    Alien: Earth review: "Arguably the franchise's strongest outing since James Cameron's Aliens"
  4. 4
    King of the Hill season 14 review: "Hank Hill himself has evolved into a much more open and accepting person"
  5. 5
    Eyes of Wakanda review: "A creative premise shortchanged by the runtime and Marvel bloat"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...