NCAA Football 14 Ultimate Team - Disappointing

NCAA Football 14 Ultimate Team doesn’t compare to previous UT modes in other games. In fact, this one is pretty disappointing. You would think that it would be close to the same caliber as Madden’s UT but it lacks some of the same features. It can still be an addicting game mode despite EA having left out some things.

Friends/Trading – This is the most disappointing thing in the game mode by far. You don’t have the ability to trade cards or play your friends directly. I could see reasons for not letting people trade cards (people would cheese on getting the collections and undoubtedly stack teams across gamer tags). Why take away being able to challenge your friends? You probably have that one friend that is always bragging about how ultimate is UT team is and now you won’t get to shut him up because you will probably never play him (unless of course you spend hours trying to get into the same game with him) .

Packs – What is with not mixing up the cards included in Gold Starter packs? Just about every single pack opening I’ve seen across YouTube for Gold Packs have the same players. I opened a few myself and you guess it, the SAME players. As if I wanted to play with the same cards that everyone else will have. All-American Packs seem to have the most random cards and it took me about 10+ packs before I finally got an Award Winning Elite (Red) and upgrade some positions.

Collectables – Other than the Heisman Hopeful players many of the collectable seem useless.  Heisman and/or Legendary (blue) cards are used with these collectables to unlock Heisman Trophy winner but don’t seem to serve any other purpose.

Heisman Trophy Winners – To unlock Heisman Trophy Winner you basically have to go through a UT version of the previous Heisman Hopeful mode. The way I understand it you need the Heisman Hopeful and Nickname collectible (both blue). These get consumed into your collections for and Upgraded Heisman Finalist card (blue) as well as unlocking the solo challenge. Beating the solo challenge will earn you the Heisman Trophy collectible card. This card and the finalist card can both be consumed into your collections for the final Heisman Trophy Winner Card (3^rd Upgrade). Yea, like UT isn’t complicated enough.

This game mode appears way more challenging than it really is. If you are looking for specific cards your best bet is to try to find them in auctions (beware of paying too much if you don’t have the coins). The 3-min quarters in head-to-head seasons is a competition of who can cheese the most before game ends (no one seems to punt, ever). Thanks, for making this so annoying that it is addicting enough not to put down because I want to win and truly have an Ultimate Team.

Ultimate Team Basics

Ultimate Team has become one of the most popular game modes to you in various sports games including Madden, Fifa, and recently NCAA Football 14. It allows you to assemble your dream roster or “ultimate team” of players to compete against other players and complete challenges. Not only do you get to pick up players but you can also determine playbooks and uniforms. Additionally you can take part in collections where you collect players to access more exclusive content for your team.

This all sounds fun but when you first launch game mode is like getting into a pool when you don’t know how to swim and someone floats you do the deep end and leaves you there saying “gon’ learn today”.

First, they give you everything you need to play your first game, which is much like giving you a bunch of sticks and telling you to make a fire. It may take a bit to organize your team but before tackling your first game here are some tips.

Earn coins – Getting enough coins will help you get the players that you want via store, packs, and auctions.

Auctions – Spend some time selling players that wont fit on your team (even rare cards) for coins then buy players that you want on your team.

Find players that complement your play-style or game plan – Most of the time finding players that complement your game plan give you more chances at success.

Be aware of consumables  - Consumables are useful cards that will help you. Always look out for things you might need and things you don’t.

Collectables – Collectables are a good source for collecting more rare items that could be used or sold for another high profile item you might want.

Now it make take some time to figure out these systems and develop a plan to get the things you want for your ultimate team but once you get the hang of it, it can become addicting. Soon you will be on to having your ultimate team and crushing the competition with you favorite players.

Comment with some of your favorite players to use in UT, and if you have any questions about getting started.