EA Sports College Football 25 Review (Xbox Series X|S)

If, like us, you're the sort of Gridiron gaming fan who loves to run the offense, but hasn't got a clue what all those silly pictures mean on defence, we reckon EA Sports College Football 25 might just actually, finally, teach you something...even if it's just a little...about what on earth is going on during those parts when you don't got the ball.

We've been pootling around in Madden since the Megadrive days and have never really got any sort of handle on defensive strategies. The sorts of players who feel like Sun Tzu-level strategic masterminds when they fake a field goal and it works. You know the sort. Terrible people. Anyhow! Listen. We've been playing this new game for roughly a week and, thanks to neat on-screen tips during defensive plays, and the fact there's more time and space on the field - making the whole thing wonderfully readable in action - we reckon we're finally getting into the swing of defensive calls. Indeed, we might not be returning to Madden for the foreseeable future.

As soon as you boot into your very first match here, the differences between its most obvious competitor, Madden 24, are clear in both presentation and game-feel. EA Sports College Football 25 captures the heavy, heady atmosphere of matches played on college campuses. There's a bubbling cauldron vibe to the stadiums during games, teams have the sort of raucous pitch intros that only college students could come up with, and the action on the field feels delightfully rough and fast.

With regards to authenticity, too, we haven't been to very many big NFL games, but we have been lucky enough to see the California Golden Bears play at their amazing campus stadium in Berkeley (Go Bears!) and it's been recreated perfectly here. Watching the team charge out onto the Memorial Stadium field under clear blue skies really does feel super-faithful to the real thing - minus the sunburn.

The various university teams on offer (all 134 FBS teams are present and correct) seem to sit looser in formations than we are used to when playing with pro Madden squads, they leave more gaps to thread a runner through, there are more opportunities to take advantage of mistakes, and very little downtime between plays gives the game a delightfully quick, arcade vibe - even though it's still got tons of depth for those who want that. (We don't want that, but you go ahead).

In defense, action on the field remains visible through a window on the top left of your screen, so you never feel disconnected as it whips you to the playbook. Here you've got the exact same setup as Madden, with your coach picks (the ones we always use, thanks), your passes and runs of various types, and special team plays. However here things feel just that little more organised / less overwhelming.

We're sure Madden 24 tags its various play types with useful info too, but here it catches our eye. Every defensive choice gets a little explainer on-screen to flesh out your knowledge somewhat, and this stuff begins to stick, even if it seems nonsensical for the first little bit. Beyond this, each play has a tag on its card to let you know if it's a run, a pass, a blitz and so on, and we've started to take this stuff in here where we just never have in EA's other franchise. It has all the same markers and overlays on the pitch during plays that you're used to, but it just feels clearer and better, and easier to manipulate into doing the things you want. And this has been a revelation for how we're approaching matches with a desire to experience the defensive and offensive side of things.

Speaking of offense, once you've got the ball in your hands, everything feels fantastically responsive. Winding up power passes, duking, spinning and hurdling tackles, pulling off a FIFA-style celebration on a touchdown. All of this stuff is great. It's kinetic. Hitting a wall of defenders isn't the end of a run either, you can mash A to struggle free if you've got the right guy on the ball, and putting an arm out can really make all the difference.

Passing feels excellent too, working pretty much as you'd expect, with all runs and routes clearly marked out. You can hold the button in longer for more power and you'll need to pick the ball from the air or press to meet it as it arrives to your runners. It's all very slick, and the graphical flourishes and fancy athletic tricks along the way just make the whole thing sing in a way that the Madden games haven't in a while.

Contextual button prompts pop up during tackles that allow you to manipulate the right stick to pull off fancier moves and big rough booming impacts. Players look and feel much more individual too (graphically this is a big step-up from Madden 24 in regards to its players and on-field action), and there are some very athletic jumps, spins and dukes to pull off depending on who you are controlling. Where one player will make a simple dive with the ball when you hit the button, another will take the opportunity to pull some acrobatic showstopper of a hurdle-move out of the bag. It's thrilling. Honestly. The dirty, gritty, hot and sweaty vibe, the big booming tackles and non-stop speed of the thing. We're fairly sure we've got it bad for this game.

Now, onto the slightly more negative side of things. The on-field action may be slick and fast, but the menus are noticeably slow when selecting a mode or - worst of all - opening up packs in the Ultimate Team mode. It's not a deal-breaker in any way, the football action here is just too good - but you do need to settle down a little and let it register your button presses. You get used to it. More of an issue is a lack of modes at launch, and a general feeling of certain aspects being rushed as a result. For now you've got a career mode that lets you take the role of player or manager, with lots of options to let newbies hand over signing players and all the paperwork to the AI.

You also get that Ultimate Team-styled effort, which we are enjoying so far - even if those card pack animations could do with a rethink - and the usual online battles against other players round out the selection. It's missing a heavy-hitting history mode or a story in comparison to other offerings, and it definitely feels content-light at the moment, for sure. There is also the monetisation aspect of proceedings to discuss, and although we haven't spent too much time buying packs, it's pretty much par for the course unfortunately. Hey, it's EA!

But when the actual football content is this good, when the matches feel this kinetic and physical and fun to play, how much does it matter that it's somewhat barebones for now, or that the stadium crowds often look like they've been ripped from a few generations ago? NCAA Football 14 fans have been chomping at the bit for ten years for this moment. People are buying consoles to jump in here and return to the glory days of...well...2013. So it's nice to be able to report that, despite the odd animation bug here and there, some slow menus and a lack of tentpole modes, EA Sports has served up an absolute belter when it comes to on-the-field action.