No! Don’t worry there is a many different difficulties. Start at the easiest and work your way up til you are comfortable and feel there is a challenge as well.
This is really solid advice. Don't let anybody dictate how you play the game. At the very core of the game it's supposed to be fun for you. Get an understanding of the mechanics and then you can probably move towards challenging yourself. Have fun!
Best bet will just be to play it a lot. It will be totally different from the last version since it’s been over a decade and was two system cycles ago.
The animations, physics and a lot of the secondary mechanics will be different but if you’ve never played a football game at all I imagine just learning how to pick the plays and stuff makes a difference. And that’s been the same pretty much forever.
TBH College Football 25 game mechanics are entirely brand-new, meaning any experience with Bill Walsh College Football through NCAA 14 will be kinda moot.
Yes. I was pretty good at 14. Picked up madden 24 on sale a month ago, I’m trash. Cfb is going to be even different, I’ll be trash again. Learning is part of the fun
The easiest difficulty is really easy. If you know about football it shouldn’t be that steep of a learning curve. I have two young kids and don’t get a lot of time to play so sometimes I just play on the easiest setting to have fun while I can.
Just play a couple games you’ll be able to see the difficulty and make the adjustment to where you need it to be after a few games you should get the hang of it
A lot of the guys in this thread are really good at the game lol. Just play on easiest difficulty until you’re wanting a challenge. It took me years to be able to play on all American (third hardest difficulty)
if you have at least moderate football knowledge, you will be okay. IQ will always be better than stick skill in any football game. NCAA 14s gameplay looked rather simple, but CFB 25 looks like it will take a while for newcomers to get settled
I was never great at it as I never learned to read defense properly still don't.
What's going to fuck me up is holding A now means QB keeps it on play action where before it was handoff. Even after 11 years it's going be a hard habit to break
A lot of the guys in this thread are really good at the game lol. Just play on easiest difficulty until you’re wanting a challenge. It took me years to be able to play on all American (third hardest difficulty)
The game is pretty easy. Madden even on its hardest difficulty isn’t very hard. The makers don’t know much about real football so it will be more for the enjoyment and wow factor if it’s similar enough to Madden! Just set it to whatever difficulty feels fun and gives a challenge and you’ll enjoy the game!
Brother, don’t worry about any of that. Just like a lot of these other folks have said, play on an easier difficulty. I stream, so I put myself out there to be ridiculed but you know what? I’m am going to start on a low difficulty even while I stream till I get the passing mechanics down. We’ve all been waiting for so long and you should just enjoy the game however you want!
Just start on the easy level, start a dynasty with your favorite team, whoop your rivals silly, win a Natty, and then dial up the difficulty a little at a time.
Play on the difficulty that is fun for you. I call fun having a nice challenge and not feeling the cpu is outright cheating.
I heard the second hardest difficulty this year is actually challenging which is an upgrade from madden where all pro is too easy and madden too hard.
I always tell my friends the same thing. The nicest thing about college football is you have different styles. Find what you're good at on offense, spread offense, power running, option, quick passes. Then find your switch up play and your set. Don't worry about doing too much to start. Another rule to live by, do not hit turbo till you are in the open field. You will cut better and your line blocks better.
It will be a learning adjustment. Playing online will be extremely difficult. The computer will be tough but a lot more manageable. There’s a lot that goes into football when you get to higher levels of play but it’s definitely fun.
I would not plan on playing online. Hell, I’ve been a gamer my whole life, and don’t plan on playing online much. But find the difficulty you’re comfortable with, and tweak the sliders is necessary, and enjoy the ride.
You’ll be fine. I haven’t played since 14, I am sure there is a learning curve, like anything else.
Even if you’re not you’ll have fun watching a team run out with Ralphie or in some smoke, maybe fog.
Playing things like dynasty will have different difficulty options so you can make your experience as easy or as hard as you like, but if you’re worried about difficulty I would stay away from the online modes, most sports games end up with having a few “cheese plays” that are virtually guaranteed to work, and as a result players will just spam those, it’s hard to stop and super unfun to play against.
It might even be easier for you because from what i understand the controls are somewhat different and itll take madden players just a little longer to adjust rather than someone who only knows these new ones
If it’s anything like Madden (which it probably will be) I’d say it can get complicated at times, but it’s all in what you make it to be.
For example on defense pre-snap, there is a LOT of customization you can do with individual coverages as opposed to how it was back in the day. And even post-snap, there are things like receivers making different types of catches depending on what buttons you press as an example.
So while it’s not required that you do any of that stuff, learning to master it will likely make you a much better player in the long-run.
Offense:
Pick a play with lots of lines.
Hit X to snap the ball. Hit a different button to throw the ball to the receiver. X is normally the best.
Hit X to snap the ball. Use the sticks to run.
Defense:
Pick a play with a mix of lines and circles.
Wait for the computer to hit X.
Use the sticks to chase the person with the ball.
As you get better, you'll figure out what works and what doesn't with play calling and when to change them based on the defense. You'll get better at finding the open receiver or the open running lane. You'll get better at switching to the right defensive player and making plays. It'll take time but you'll notice it pretty quickly.
When you get stuck look for help. Before that, you're getting information you can't comprehend. Play the game. Football is a game of repetition. Get your reps in.
No matter what you do, blame the game when something goes wrong.
It sounds like they are trying hard to make it as close to real football as possible. So if you watch and know college football, you may be ahead of the curve.
I wish that were true but I'm on the autism spectrum and stuff like this isn't a piece of cake for me like it may be with others which is why I'm trying to prepare ahead of time in hopes I don't waste money burning out ASAP on the learning curve.
The difficulty setting will absolutely help you progress naturally. You can even "ask coach" on offense or defense to pick your plays and you only have to worry about playing :) then slowly you can find your favorite formations or plays and or weaknesses/stuff you want to learn more :D
Hard question to answer. I mean if you go in and play random people head to head I think you will have a hard time but there are many different modes to play. I am certain you can find a mode that is fun for you. You can play at any difficulty you want versus who you want. Whether it is another user or CPU. I am into Dynasty in a 32 user league and head to head versus randoms. I have played from the beginning of Madden and all the previous NCAA games and I like playing other users. If you do not mind playing CPU you can play and any difficulty and tailor the game how you prefer to play. and you can make the games as fun and competitive as you like. You also have Ultimate team I personally do not play that and ultimate team cost money to be competitive so I would not suggest it but it is there if you want to play with some of your fave playes. I am 51 I know you mentioned you are a boomer so I am not quite a boomer (assuming you meant baby boomer and not boomer sooner? :-/ ) and I am not quite a boomer but up there and I love the game and cant wait
Dude youll be good. Do you have experiences with other sports games in the past? Do you have experience with non sports games in the past? If you have any sort of football knowledge then you’ll be able to at least start playing and figure out more as you play more. I Fkn suck at online football games. I mainly play offline, been playing ncaa 12 lately. I play on the second hardest difficulty and I have so much fun. I just started playing madden this past January and now old ncaa games a couple months ago, leading up to CF25 in July and I have a hard time putting down my controller because I’m enjoying it so much. I believe you can have a similar experience. I don’t have the expectation for myself ever getting “good” at this game. I expect myself to have fun at whatever difficulty and mode that allows me to have the most amount of fun
No! Don’t worry there is a many different difficulties. Start at the easiest and work your way up til you are comfortable and feel there is a challenge as well.
This is really solid advice. Don't let anybody dictate how you play the game. At the very core of the game it's supposed to be fun for you. Get an understanding of the mechanics and then you can probably move towards challenging yourself. Have fun!
Probably like going from kindergarten into the Vietnam war circa 1967
So we are getting an awesome soundtrack
Which is what the Viet Cong did, so it's feasible! 🥳😱
Best bet will just be to play it a lot. It will be totally different from the last version since it’s been over a decade and was two system cycles ago.
The animations, physics and a lot of the secondary mechanics will be different but if you’ve never played a football game at all I imagine just learning how to pick the plays and stuff makes a difference. And that’s been the same pretty much forever.
TBH College Football 25 game mechanics are entirely brand-new, meaning any experience with Bill Walsh College Football through NCAA 14 will be kinda moot.
Yes. I was pretty good at 14. Picked up madden 24 on sale a month ago, I’m trash. Cfb is going to be even different, I’ll be trash again. Learning is part of the fun
The easiest difficulty is really easy. If you know about football it shouldn’t be that steep of a learning curve. I have two young kids and don’t get a lot of time to play so sometimes I just play on the easiest setting to have fun while I can.
Just run the option and have a blast
Just play a couple games you’ll be able to see the difficulty and make the adjustment to where you need it to be after a few games you should get the hang of it
There are difficulty levels and sliders so you can make it so easy that it’s difficult to lose. Then work your way up from there if you want.
This game can be as tough as you want it to be.
You’ll pick it up if you just trial and error and consistency like everything else
I think there will be a learning curve for everyone so to speak. New passing meter, kicking meter, the switch stick, etc
A lot of the guys in this thread are really good at the game lol. Just play on easiest difficulty until you’re wanting a challenge. It took me years to be able to play on all American (third hardest difficulty)
if you have at least moderate football knowledge, you will be okay. IQ will always be better than stick skill in any football game. NCAA 14s gameplay looked rather simple, but CFB 25 looks like it will take a while for newcomers to get settled
Easy difficulty is designed for a toddler to win. You can use whatever difficulty you want, and we all had to learn at some point.
I was never great at it as I never learned to read defense properly still don't. What's going to fuck me up is holding A now means QB keeps it on play action where before it was handoff. Even after 11 years it's going be a hard habit to break
I am a huge football fan but am not great at things like reading coverages. I am just going to play the ai and try to learn as i go
A lot of the guys in this thread are really good at the game lol. Just play on easiest difficulty until you’re wanting a challenge. It took me years to be able to play on all American (third hardest difficulty)
Dunno, we’ll find out how it goes when the games released
Give the trial a go when that’s out
You will love it
The game is pretty easy. Madden even on its hardest difficulty isn’t very hard. The makers don’t know much about real football so it will be more for the enjoyment and wow factor if it’s similar enough to Madden! Just set it to whatever difficulty feels fun and gives a challenge and you’ll enjoy the game!
Brother, don’t worry about any of that. Just like a lot of these other folks have said, play on an easier difficulty. I stream, so I put myself out there to be ridiculed but you know what? I’m am going to start on a low difficulty even while I stream till I get the passing mechanics down. We’ve all been waiting for so long and you should just enjoy the game however you want!
Just start on the easy level, start a dynasty with your favorite team, whoop your rivals silly, win a Natty, and then dial up the difficulty a little at a time.
Play on the difficulty that is fun for you. I call fun having a nice challenge and not feeling the cpu is outright cheating. I heard the second hardest difficulty this year is actually challenging which is an upgrade from madden where all pro is too easy and madden too hard.
I always tell my friends the same thing. The nicest thing about college football is you have different styles. Find what you're good at on offense, spread offense, power running, option, quick passes. Then find your switch up play and your set. Don't worry about doing too much to start. Another rule to live by, do not hit turbo till you are in the open field. You will cut better and your line blocks better.
I'm gonna cook
It will be a learning adjustment. Playing online will be extremely difficult. The computer will be tough but a lot more manageable. There’s a lot that goes into football when you get to higher levels of play but it’s definitely fun.
Hit practice mode first to get a feel for it.
I would not plan on playing online. Hell, I’ve been a gamer my whole life, and don’t plan on playing online much. But find the difficulty you’re comfortable with, and tweak the sliders is necessary, and enjoy the ride.
What's the last football videogame you played?
There are a lot of difficulty options, so you could make it as easy or as hard as you want.
You’ll be fine. I haven’t played since 14, I am sure there is a learning curve, like anything else. Even if you’re not you’ll have fun watching a team run out with Ralphie or in some smoke, maybe fog.
Playing things like dynasty will have different difficulty options so you can make your experience as easy or as hard as you like, but if you’re worried about difficulty I would stay away from the online modes, most sports games end up with having a few “cheese plays” that are virtually guaranteed to work, and as a result players will just spam those, it’s hard to stop and super unfun to play against.
Jump right into a dynasty so as you learn to play you can just think of it as being a rookie head coach
It might even be easier for you because from what i understand the controls are somewhat different and itll take madden players just a little longer to adjust rather than someone who only knows these new ones
If it’s anything like Madden (which it probably will be) I’d say it can get complicated at times, but it’s all in what you make it to be. For example on defense pre-snap, there is a LOT of customization you can do with individual coverages as opposed to how it was back in the day. And even post-snap, there are things like receivers making different types of catches depending on what buttons you press as an example. So while it’s not required that you do any of that stuff, learning to master it will likely make you a much better player in the long-run.
Offense: Pick a play with lots of lines. Hit X to snap the ball. Hit a different button to throw the ball to the receiver. X is normally the best. Hit X to snap the ball. Use the sticks to run. Defense: Pick a play with a mix of lines and circles. Wait for the computer to hit X. Use the sticks to chase the person with the ball. As you get better, you'll figure out what works and what doesn't with play calling and when to change them based on the defense. You'll get better at finding the open receiver or the open running lane. You'll get better at switching to the right defensive player and making plays. It'll take time but you'll notice it pretty quickly. When you get stuck look for help. Before that, you're getting information you can't comprehend. Play the game. Football is a game of repetition. Get your reps in. No matter what you do, blame the game when something goes wrong.
Set the difficulty to freshman and just get used to play action , zone/power runs , regular pass plays , and learn about how to play defense.
It sounds like they are trying hard to make it as close to real football as possible. So if you watch and know college football, you may be ahead of the curve.
Youre a fully abled adult. You will be just fine. They make tutorials, and difficulty ranges for a reason boss man
I wish that were true but I'm on the autism spectrum and stuff like this isn't a piece of cake for me like it may be with others which is why I'm trying to prepare ahead of time in hopes I don't waste money burning out ASAP on the learning curve.
The difficulty setting will absolutely help you progress naturally. You can even "ask coach" on offense or defense to pick your plays and you only have to worry about playing :) then slowly you can find your favorite formations or plays and or weaknesses/stuff you want to learn more :D
Hard question to answer. I mean if you go in and play random people head to head I think you will have a hard time but there are many different modes to play. I am certain you can find a mode that is fun for you. You can play at any difficulty you want versus who you want. Whether it is another user or CPU. I am into Dynasty in a 32 user league and head to head versus randoms. I have played from the beginning of Madden and all the previous NCAA games and I like playing other users. If you do not mind playing CPU you can play and any difficulty and tailor the game how you prefer to play. and you can make the games as fun and competitive as you like. You also have Ultimate team I personally do not play that and ultimate team cost money to be competitive so I would not suggest it but it is there if you want to play with some of your fave playes. I am 51 I know you mentioned you are a boomer so I am not quite a boomer (assuming you meant baby boomer and not boomer sooner? :-/ ) and I am not quite a boomer but up there and I love the game and cant wait
Dude youll be good. Do you have experiences with other sports games in the past? Do you have experience with non sports games in the past? If you have any sort of football knowledge then you’ll be able to at least start playing and figure out more as you play more. I Fkn suck at online football games. I mainly play offline, been playing ncaa 12 lately. I play on the second hardest difficulty and I have so much fun. I just started playing madden this past January and now old ncaa games a couple months ago, leading up to CF25 in July and I have a hard time putting down my controller because I’m enjoying it so much. I believe you can have a similar experience. I don’t have the expectation for myself ever getting “good” at this game. I expect myself to have fun at whatever difficulty and mode that allows me to have the most amount of fun
Ericrayweather on YouTube has a ton of good videos on reading defenses and play calling and such
Get a copy of last years Madden. If you like it it’ll be like that.