Mitchell Schwartz, the former Kansas City Chiefs star lineman and Super Bowl champ, didn't hold back in his critique of EA Sports' latest offering, College Football 25. After catching a glimpse of a gameplay clip on the social media platform X, Schwartz expressed his dissatisfaction with the unrealistic elements depicted by the company that also makes Madden.
In the video, a quarterback hands off the ball to a running back who then leaps over a linebacker - an action that Schwartz argued wouldn't typically occur in a real game. Despite the impressive graphics, he questioned the logic behind encouraging such improbable gameplay.
A user responded by suggesting that the exaggerated action was intended to showcase the new features of College Football 25. However, Schwartz remained unimpressed, pointing out flaws in the gameplay mechanics.
"No, the departure angle speed of the RB is bad given what the OL is doing before the user ever takes over," he explained. "Maybe I know what I'm looking at."
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He further elaborated on his concerns, stating, "The user should not have to make 45-60 degree turn on inside zone upon taking over the handoff. That's wrong and not how football works. The play sucks as coded."
Schwartz's remarks didn't sit well with some fans, leading to a bit of a backlash. One fan pointed out that the unrealistic elements are part and parcel of video gaming, writing: "Why is anyone upset about the blocking scheme," accompanied by a crying emoji.
"Sorry Mitchell I know you have great knowledge of the line but respectfully, nobody cares.." Another gamer chimed in, comparing it to other game mechanics: "For the same reason, I can take a ton of bullets from a super mutant and still be fine. Because it's a video game, not brain surgery. Some people just wanna have fun."
Schwartz hit back, questioning: "Running directly into an unblocked LB is fun for you in football video games?"
Despite the criticism, Schwartz reiterated his stance on the flaws in College Football 25, emphasizing that the game mechanics don't align with real-world tactics, especially from someone with his level of experience. "My definition of a fun video game isn't handing the ball off and the RB running directly into an unblocked LB," he stated.
"Schematically, it's disjointed. However you slice it, that's not fun and it shouldn't work like that."
EA Sports, meanwhile, was trying to showcase the potential of their latest college football game iteration. It's worth noting that trailers typically use alpha or beta versions of games, which might not represent the final product, depending on the stage of development at the time of the trailer's release.
With just over a month left until the official launch, the latest gameplay trailer for College Football 25 has been released, presumably featuring footage from the beta build of the game. However, it seems Schwartz isn't too pleased with the game's mechanics - and EA Sports, also responsible for the NFL's Madden video game series, doesn't exactly have a glowing reputation among many users.