Ready to win the Heisman?

With the NFL still indecisive thanks to their labor disputes, EA's big money maker may be their NCAA Football title if the NFL locks out which could inadvertently hurt sales of the Madden franchise. If this holds true, gamers will be happy that EA brought their A game and didn't just reissue a roster update with a few tweaks, as NCAA Football 12 is as true of a new year title as you would hope for.

It's gonna be hard to tell you all the changes that you can expect to see this year, but hell, I'll give it a try. The best place to start will be of course, the Pre Game additions. Fans of mascots, signs, pre game intros, and stadium highlights get you pumped for the big game. Toss in the ESPN presentation that includes tickers, screen wipes for certain conferences and bowls, quarter break replays, and best of game wrap ups that really show off the license this season more than any other.

Looking the part, this year's game has 3D grass that not only bends, but even shows through the snow. The game's new lighting engine will bring tears to your eyes as the sun moves on the fly creating real time shadowing and dusk and night effects. The field does a great job of degradation not only away from the ground, but onto the uniforms as well. Crowds are much cleaner and finally in 3D as well, giving a more realistic and life like effect. Player models are more detailed, have more animation, and feature subtle effects such as dreadlocks, and you will see between play interactions with players and coaches on the sideline that rarely repeat and they have finally brought enough to the table not to bore you. Toss in some fantastic audio from the commentators to the real life crowd that pumps up and deflates in real time and help to make that home field advantage just that, an advantage to be sure.

So NCAA Football 12, you have the looks, but do you have the handle? You bet it does! Everything from the new revamped tackling system that is all physics based. No more pre canned animation before the contact; you now will notice that animations don't begin until contact is actually made. This holds true for blocking, catching, and more. You also have a great new tackle button that not only helps the accuracy of the tackles, but if you are far off will lunge players toward the tackle and even bump players out of bounds. Gone as well is the "suction" to the receiver physics, so you must be accurate with your throw, or move your player to position, no more "hand me" balls. Playing defense has been improved as well with smarter players who know where the coverage is, hand receivers off from one zone to the other, and even know where to be to make the best play on the ball possible. The overall experience just feels tighter, smarter and more responsive.

How you play the game off the field matters in NCAA Football 12 as well, as now you can customize your playbooks, edit audible plays, and even reorganize the play call screen. In career mode you can create your coach, make custom conferences and rules, edit the Bowl tie-ins, division names, location of the championship game, and even what day of the week your school will play games. In Dynasty mode you have the now touted "coaching carousel" that allows you to assume the role of the coach allowing you to sign contracts, hire and fire, and really do all you can to secure your job as the coach. If you choose you can start off as a coordinator and worry about only one part of the game if you wish. Each job you hold have contract restrictions that they want you to achieve, so pick your position wisely. You can even bring all these aspects online in the same mode but with a bunch of friends instead of CPU controlled rivals. The biggest and most improved mode is the Road to Glory mode. You start off in High School and play your entire senior season. What kind of player you will become in college and beyond is how well you succeed. If you choose, you can play "iron man" ball and play both sides of the field and really impress the schools into recruiting you. You can even use the team builder feature to upload your team's school colors as well as your high school opponents. In college it is up to you to instill your coach's trust and gain attributes to become and remain a starter throughout your college career. If you fail to impress, expect to get not only the trust to be revoked, but being stripped of attributes and loyalty points, as well as ultimately your position on the team.

With all the new game play additions, better menus and customization options, a revamped Road to Glory mode, Custom Conferences, a new tackling engine, and presentation that represents all the major Game Day Traditions, ESPN overlays, and very cool replays that not only happen during big plays, but even are recapped at quarter's end and game's end, you really couldn't ask for anything more. In short, EA has brought their best game to the field, but this time the college kids get their day in the sun. You shouldn't miss this year's NCAA Football title whether you are a fan of pro ball or college, it's football in the end and doesn't get much better.