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'NCAA 14' adds Ultimate Team mode

The popular card-collecting mode in the "Madden" series is now being brought to "NCAA." Courtesy of EA Sports

If you’re a football gamer already addicted to Ultimate Team mode in “Madden,” time to bury your wallet. The highly addictive card collecting and team building mode is finally making its way to the “NCAA Football” franchise, introducing new cards, new ways to play, and of course, new ways to spend your money to upgrade your team.

EA Sports has signed over 1,400 former college football players, enabling you to build your own all-time dream team, with Peyton Manning handing the ball off to Arian Foster or throwing across the middle to Jason Witten.

Players will be able to earn coins to pay for new packs of cards, but to speed the game along, they will also be able to buy packs in the online store, as well as sell any unwanted cards or place bids on rare cards on the auction block.

New to “NCAA 14” is the ability to not only play through a solo challenge against the computer, but gamers will be able to play in a Head-to-Head Seasons mode against other gamers and virtual card collectors.

According to the EA Sports press release: “Head-to-Head Seasons puts a new twist on traditional online play, creating a 10-game season with eight increasing levels of competition. Achieve milestones along the way to earn rewards, and win games for the highest possible seed at the end-of-season tournament. Assemble a team dominant enough to bring home the championship and reap the biggest rewards.”

In addition, gamers will have the opportunity to complete “collections,” where you’re challenged to collect, say, a team of the greatest players from Florida, and when you complete your collection with that rare Tim Tebow card, you’re rewarded with exclusive packs, a big coin payout, and special edition player profiles.

Of note, the producers at EA Sports didn’t just want to go out and sign a bunch of NFL players to appear in the NCAA game, so fans of certain school will be able to find some smaller names mixed in with the superstars. Guys who might not have made it big at the next level, but meant the world to their school, and now to their school’s virtual collectors.