EA Sports College Football 25 Worth the 4,000+ Day Wait

STILLWATER – I understand this article might seem a little late in the game, but I wanted to give myself 24 hours of having the game before I shared my thoughts. Well, based on the fact it took more than 4,000 days for a new game to be released, I’ve been thinking about it for some time.

I, unlike many, just preordered the standard edition of the game, so I didn’t receive my copy until Friday afternoon. While I haven’t experienced every single thing this game has to offer, I’ve certainly dug into Dynasty mode and Road to Glory and it’s a blast.

While my dynasty didn’t begin with Oklahoma State, the first thing I did when the game booted up was play an offline game against Arkansas with the Pokes. The details of Boone Pickens Stadium are incredible, everything from the players running onto the field to Pistol Pete and his realistic belt buckle. The Cowboys also have 15 different helmets to go with their four different jersey choices.

The first thing you notice when you play is just how good Ollie Gordon II is. We’ve all known how good he is from watching him last season, but it’s surreal to get to control him in the game because of having to play with generic or created players for years. 

While many people were worried about it being a Madden reskin, that certainly isn’t the case, and it has a refreshing feel to it. Running the ball is more seamless than it’s ever been, the route tree is more expansive than it’s ever been and it’s fun when a player gets hot and plays better than he’s rated. 

It’s also really cool to see a dynamic crowd. If you’re playing with a team who’s really good, the stadium will be full and loud and make it really difficult for opposing offenses to get a play off. The noise can distract position players, get offensive linemen to false start, as well as confusing quarterbacks on the routes a receiver is supposed to be running.

However, if you play with a team that’s not so good, the crowd will be thinned out and not that loud. However, the more you play and the better your team becomes, the more the fans will show up, support and be loud.

Dynasty mode might be the best feature on this game. You either create a coach or use an “existing coach” and choose a school, whether you want to be an offensive or defensive coordinator, or the head coach and control the entire program. While recruiting was a feature in previous games, this version is much more immersive as players take their time and you get to choose how you spend your recruiting time. Whether that’s contacting a player’s family, searching social media or going all-in to land a kid. The transfer portal is also an interesting feature as you have to try and keep players happy with playing time, much like real life.

I played for about four hours on Friday evening and most of the morning and afternoon on Saturday. While this game has absolutely lived up to its hype, I’ve nowhere near scratched the surface of the game, which makes it that much more exciting and enjoyable.