NCAA Football 07

Jul 26, 2006

Featuring a tagline that beckons "Turn the Tide," EA's newest collegiate football title tries to hone in on the big plays that are key to turning around a game, a season, or even a national championship run. The blocked kick, the well-executed trick play, and the timely punt-return all qualify as elements that might "Turn the Tide." It just so happens that those three areas, among others, received some serious gameplay tuning from EA this past off-season. The result? EA may have turned the tide from next-gen to current-gen, at least for one more year.

While the 360 version saw its commensurate graphical upgrade, the PS2 version of NCAA Football 07 received just about all the other goodies. Mirroring Madden's Superstar mode and building on last year's Race for the Heisman, this year's career mode is dubbed Create a Legend. The gist? Create the player that defines an era of greatness at whichever university you choose. Go to Pitt as a QB and make people forget about Dan Marino. Head to Oklahoma State and break records set by Barry Sanders. Play big enough, and win a national championship or two, and your school might just retire your number in the annals of football greatness.

The mode starts off with the requisite attribute-choosing activities. Dial the figures up or down to suit your particular taste and prep for a mini track-and-field exercise where your on-field skill ratings are determined. Different positions get to go through different drills, and the 40-yard dash is global to all roster spots. Once that's out of the way, you choose a major and head to your dorm, which serves as the hub for managing the day-to-day activities of being BMOC (Big Man on Campus). You'll have to carefully ration your time between the books, the babes (social events), and the practice field. Over the course of a 12- or 13-game season, you're probably not going to want to participate in every practice, but at least EA made practice mean something. If you perform well in a specific "set," let's say the 4-3 over, you'll receive a formation-specific ratings boost that will carry over to game day. Nice.

Once you're into the games it's like a normal EA NCAA affair. You don't play from that one player's perspective, and you're in charge of offense and defense just like any other game. Our guy, Hoss Leahy, had a solid first year as a ROLB at Ohio State University. At the end of the season, 50 tackles, 4 sacks, 3 INTS and a few pass deflections were enough to earn him a spot on the Freshman All-America team. Having big games with your particular player is satisfying, and it adds some backstory and texture to the ho-hum rhythm of getting a win or a loss and moving on.

Create a Legend is immersive, but that's more a result of the rock-solid gameplay foundation upon which NCAA is built. This one approaches the immortal NCAA '04 in terms of sheer playability and football savvy, thanks to improved control in every facet of the game.

On offense, you now have the ability to slide your line protection either way to pickup oncoming blitzes. This is huge for dealing with the hordes of blitz-happy online gamers, and helps add some strategy offline as well. See that nickel back creeping up over your strong-side TE? Nudge the line to the right and enjoy a nice cocoon of protection while throwing to the spot the defender just vacated. Smart routes that go beyond the first-down lines, improved route running, and precision passing are some other nice tools EA added to make moving the ball more fun and less chore.

Defensively, there's the vaunted Jump the Snap feature to help your line get some heat in the backfield. This works quite well and is balanced by the offense's fake-hut camera pullback, which can easily pull an eager lineman offside. On-the-fly defensive hot routes are in, ala Madden, and help add to the defensive creativity available with packages such as the 3-3-5 and 3-2-6 sets. It really is a thinking man's game, even if college ball is weighted towards the O.

Big gameplay moments abound in NCAA 07, whether it's the usual big pass or run delivered by one of your impact players, or some special team chicanery pulled off at just the right moment. New camera perspectives on FGs and kickoff returns add a dash of excitement, while EA's inclusion of some famous trick plays (fumblerooski) bring collegiate authenticity to the stadium.

Online, the game is equally great as long as you're prepared for the wide variety of gameplay styles you're bound to face. On offense, look for crazy blitzing with bump-n-run coverage. On defense, look for your opponent to scramble around like a jitterbug with his QB before either throwing deep or taking off. It's both a frustrating and rewarding experience to get wins online, but the server conditions and overall matchmaking was a snap. You can find a game in no time and the stat tracking (individual tendencies) is excellent.

Visually, the PS2 version is by far the least pleasing to look at. Muddy, blocky, jaggy… whatever you call it, we call it bad. The players animate well enough, but there is some slowdown during play as well. And maybe we're nitpicking, but it wasn't as lightning quick as its Xbox brother online.

We could ramble on about other improvements -- in fact, we will. The Heisman difficulty level seems really balanced for the first time in years. The running game is great, with grind-it-out yardage available inside and game-breaking moves to be had outside. User picks and user catching is enjoyable and spot-on controlwise, offering those with stick skills a true advantage. The only thing missing, in fact, seems to be a tailgate, a grill, and some food and beverages. Those without the next-gen need not worry. NCAA Football 07 for the PS2 is an ESPN/EA instant classic.