I have had this game for almost a week now and here are my thoughts on it.
First off I have to say that I am a HUGE college football fan (but I will try to make this an un-biased review)
Ok I’ll start with graphics. 8.5/10
If you liked Madden’s graphics you will also like this games graphics.
I will say that the graphics looks slightly better then Madden’s though.
Where the improvements are, are in the players themselves. They have more “natural” movements (when being tackled, diving, getting up, …..)
I also thought Madden did a great job of this. But it seems that they have even improved this for NCAA. The stadiums are ok. Not great, but ok. Some of the stadiums (the open ones) you can see busses and stuff in the parking lots, which is cool.
We now have mascots (was hoping for cheerleaders) but the mascots are pretty cool.
*Note: all teams do not have mascots.
I think if the “real” college team has one then they are in the game. If not then they did not make one up. So I guess that all the mascots actually ARE here.
At least it gives us SOMETHING moving around on the sidelines.
If it is one thing I think the Madden/NCAA series has always lacked is sideline activity.
I mean, you look at a real football game and there is all kinds of stuff going on. Coaches yelling from the sidelines, players cheering on their teammates when a great play is happening. But I have to say it is getting better. Maybe the more power they can tap out of the PS2 the more sideline activity they can squeeze in.
Sound 7/10
The first thing I want to say is that the fight songs could be a little LOUDER after touchdowns and extra points. That is an exciting part of college football! The bands blaring, the crowd going nuts! That is defiantly lacking.
And when you do the “pump up the crowd move” the people don’t really seem to get much louder.
But on a good note for sound, the commentary is by far the best in any football game on the planet. They have the actual guys from ESPN on their giving the commentary Herbstreet, and Corso rule!
The commentary seems to be more “into” the game.
Some of it is still generic comments at certain times. But some times you would swear that they were watching your game and “knowing” what is going on.
If it were not for the great announcers on this game I would have given the sound a 5/10 for the rest of the bland sound and atmosphere.
Game Play 9/10
Absolutely wonderful! Possibly a little better then madden.
Of course it is a little different then madden. It’s a little more “loose”. Bigger plays can happen, and the game play is a little more “open”. I can’t explain it but it just “feels” like college football. Really cool!
And on another note, the players sometimes seem to acquire attitudes.
Like after one tackle, I swear I saw the opposing team get up and SHOVE my players leg out of the way. Like GET OFF ME!
And they have added more animation to the players after scores/big plays. Some pretty cool stuff. You will just have to see it for yourself.
Extras 7.5/10
Like I said before more sideline and end zone activity would be nice. But it is getting better and if it would take away from game play then I would rather wait until they figure out how to do it without sacrificing game play. Maybe the X-box will have enough power to accomplish this (Bring on the flames!)
Some cool stuff is like when you start a game in the evening, you can actually see it getting darker outside with some nice sunsets.
The madden cards has been replaced with campus cards. Now instead of getting a pack of 10 cards or whatever for $100. You get ONE for $50. The good thing is, I have not got ANY repeat cards yet. So It may be that you will get them all without repeats. I’m not sure about that one but it seems that way. With the cars you can unlock “cheats” and secret teams and secret places to play (like Madden)
Also, if your team used those little footballs or leafs or hatchet stickers on the back of their helmets in real life, (I believe they give them to the players after a great play or a real good game) then they have them on the game too.
My team does not use them anymore (Michigan, I think they were costing the school too much money. LOL!)
Anyway I don’t know how they are handed out or anything because I have not used a team that has them. I have seen them though. Like when I was running over an ohio state buckeye I looked down and thought (right before I stepped in his head) aren’t those buckeye leafs pretty. LOL! I’ll be seeing the little hatchets tomorrow after I crush florida state in the championship game.
Another cool thing is that they have all the Bowl games and also the top 25 rankings (WITH a national championship game)
They also have the heisman trophy award. Which is cool.
There is some other feature also that I will just mention.
Practice ***e (self explanatory)
Campus challenge (A way to get campus cards by completing various challenges)
Dynasty ***e (keep your team going by recruiting ect…)
Final 8/10
Bottom line. If you like college football (which you should!) you will like this game.
If you just like football and don’t care who is playing then Madden will probably do just fine. This game is 90% like Madden. With the 10% being dedicated to enhancements on the Madden series. Its not a total re-design but more like a tweaked version of Madden.
Like I said, I love college football and this game by far is the best out there.
So if you want something different from madden then stay away.
If you want an NCAA game that plays a lot like madden but with slightly it’s own feel. Then this is your game!
G.
Topic: Full NCAA FOOTBALL review inside! (Read 563 times)