NCAA Football 12 PlayStation 3
Metascore
82 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
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  1. TotalPlayStation
    Aug 14, 2011
    90
    A great installment that any college football fan will enjoy (and has probably put hundreds of hours into already). With a good group of friends for an online dynasty this game won't leave your PS3's disc tray anytime soon.
  2. Playstation: The Official Magazine (US)
    Aug 2, 2011
    90
    The most noticeable improvement is the brand-new tackling system, which allows for simultaneous hits and more realistic contact. [Sept 2011, p.87]
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  3. GamesRadar
    Jul 11, 2011
    90
    It ain't perfect – and we're more convinced than ever that perfection in an HD sports game is an impossibility – but it is another soaring triumph that has something for just about everyone.
  4. Digital Chumps
    Jul 11, 2011
    90
    At the end of the day, NCAA Football 12 is a very deep and rich football experience that any college football fan shouldn't miss.
  5. Game Informer
    Jul 8, 2011
    90
    NCAA 12 is better than NCAA 11, and yet I feel like we've come to the point in the series' lifecycle where the changes – while all worthwhile – are getting harder to notice.
  6. Worth Playing
    Jul 18, 2011
    88
    Though these issues hamper the experience, NCAA Football 12 still stands as one of the strongest recent entrants in the series.
  7. Gamer Limit
    Jul 14, 2011
    85
    Simply put, this game warrants a purchase whether you have NCAA Football 11 or not.
  8. Playstation Universe
    Jul 12, 2011
    85
    A clean and realistic presentation with addicting game modes makes this game a must-have for college football fans.
  9. IGN
    Jul 11, 2011
    85
    The gameplay is the sweetness fans expect, but it's largely unchanged. That's not a knock -- you don't need to reinvent the wheel every year -- but it does keep NCAA Football 12 from feeling like a groundbreaking experience. Instead, it's more like a special edition of NCAA Football 11, which I'm more than happy to play for hours and hours.
  10. Game Over Online
    Jul 25, 2011
    84
    Overall, NCAA Football 12 is largely unchanged from last year's product – and this is not a bad thing. However, there are enough new features in the package to make it worth the money. The deeper Dynasty mode, including expanded coaching options and careers and online leagues, and always-addicting Road to Glory mode will keep you coming back for more. This is an easy recommend for fans of the series.
  11. Game Revolution
    Jul 14, 2011
    83
    Easily the best way to enjoy NCAA Football 12 comes from Road to Glory mode, where your player can go from high school to senior year, all the while earning every step of the way through in-game accomplishments.
  12. PlayStation LifeStyle
    Jul 13, 2011
    80
    Fantastic gameplay plus great football mechanics and unmatched realism that completely captures the college atmosphere, make this a must-own title for all football fans alike.
  13. 1UP
    Jul 14, 2011
    75
    For the litany of improvements, the feeling that EA Tiburon has stopped taking any chances with the franchise is inescapable. After six years on the current generation of consoles, it's time to take a risk and give football fans something new to get excited about. As it stands, NCAA Football is in the very unusual position of being both the best-in-class football game, and a total underachiever.
  14. Cheat Code Central
    Jul 13, 2011
    74
    You may have to be a football fanatic to like this game, but if you are you will love it.
  15. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Sep 5, 2011
    70
    There's still loads to like here. [Oct 2011, p.115]
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  16. GameSpot
    Jul 16, 2011
    70
    The on-field action is as exciting as ever, but off-the-field problems drag NCAA Football 12 down to the turf.
  17. GamePro
    Jul 12, 2011
    60
    It's a decent football sim thanks to its excellent Dynasty Mode; and the new tackling physics, custom playbooks, and other features are sorely needed additions. But we're deep into this generation, and expectations have been raised for sports games (and pretty much everything else). So why does it feel like I'm playing a game that should have come out in 2008?

User Reviews

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User Score
5.9 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 36 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 17
  3. Negative: 5 out of 17
  1. gridironjunky
    4
    Pros: 1.Feature rich 2.Custom playbooks 3. Improved oldl interactions 4.Challenging cpu opponents 5. coaching carousel.
    Cons: 1. Cheap cpu opp    onents. 2.Custom playbooks are clunky to put together. 3. Linebackers knock down passes with super human ability regularly. 4. Cpu often goes into robo qb mode. 5. Cpu defense knows your play. 6. Safeties and conerbacks warp through receivers to make interceptions regularly. 7.Ball physics are wonky. 8. Online kicking and playbook screens lag horribly. 9.Servers will kick you off at least once an hour. 10.Certain stats are not recorded properly example: pancake blocks, total tackles. 11. Injuries in online dynasty will not carry over week to week. 12. Ea website set up for online dynasty does not let you log in (attempted this well over a hundred times now all you get is an error screen and linked to a ea help forum, which at the moment has been ignored by support). 13.Custom playbooks disappear sometimes midgame leaving you with a blank playcalling screen. 14.Graphics are subpar compared to ncaa 11 Grass looks waterpainted, crowd looks like little bubbles. 15.Commentary is stale Crowd noise is poor. Conclusion: Cheap cpu AI does not make for a fun challenge. Kills all the immersion in my opinion. Its not to win but you are forced to play cheaply against the cpu. Online is full of the normal cheesers. I personally feel this is a huge step bck from last years game and gameplay wise possibly the worst in football game by EA in years. Full of unforgivible bugs and not able to use the online dynasty from a cpu due to login issues with the servers is unacceptable. With a patch to fix the bugs and servers the game would rate higher for me but that wouldnt change super human linebackers, physic defenders, warping players or cheap AI. Overall i wish id saved my money.… Full Review »
  2. dz9
    4
    Starting off, I completely understand that it is next to impossible to come up with amazing new innovations to a football game every year and that I should expect just a graphics & roster update... but after 10 years of the same product, this is absolutely unacceptable. The only thing separating this title from '11 is slightly better graphics, a debatably better tackling system, and a few tweaks to Campus Legend and Dynasty. Let me 'tackle' the new tackling system, the game mechanics are exactly the same... and these mechanics, in large chunks.... actually work WORSE without the warps and suction glitches. For example: passing the ball now feels impossible, when you throw the ball. Defenders, instead of warping into position... will just step infront of you, leaving your receiver running-in-place while they intercept the ball. And to add insult to injury, this title STILL has "super" defenders. Meaning that defenders will act upon the throw even before the receiver, and they will be 10x faster than a normal human being. Blocking is half-in-half... overall, this already broken and outdated mechanic feels even more broken without the warps. Often, your O-Line will just be standing around doing nothing, as if they don't know what to do without warping into the blitz. The actual tackling, in my opinion is a decent update... but at the end of the day, it is JUST an update. In the new tackling system, the animation are still 120% intact, but in the slightly improved detection system... animations will sometimes fight over which one should be used... and this overall is clunky and ugly. When it comes down to it, a few tweaks and updates, but this game plays exactly the same as the EA football games have played for the past decade. Still has all the bugs, and has even managed to add more. Backbreaker, looking past its obvious flaws, and with a little getting used to, was a much better and innovative title... and although Backbreaker was not an outstanding experience, but it did show us the future of football games, and I thought EA would've been smart enough to take advantage of this and utilize it in their new game, atleast a little bit. The Good: Great graphics and presentation, working controls. The Bad: Nothing more than a recycle, bugs that are too numerous to mention, the new level up system in Campus Legend is boring and broken, Dynasty mode is bland. Honestly if you have played NCAA Football 02, you have already played this title to its fullest… Full Review »
  3. V3smic
    0
    Save your money. The AI in this game has to be the worst in many, many years. Instead of correctly balancing the game, it uses a way of balancing that was used in the older NFL Blitz games. This was of course making absolutely absurd things happen just to make the score of the game closer. In NCAA football 2012 you can easily expect a team which has a higher rating than another to have at least one touchdown of 80+ yards. I have had situations in which more than 3 kick-offs were returned for touchdowns in the same game. This is just simply a case of very lazy development with a shiny box. With Madden out there is no reason to play this game. If you really desire the NCAA experience, buy an older version for 10 bucks.… Full Review »
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