when tailgate parties begin and couch potatoes are formed, it’s only fitting
that you can walk into any electronic store and see a fairly wide selection of
new football games. Madden has continually ruled at retail, but Sony and
Microsoft are providing fierce competition with exclusive games for their
respective platforms. Xbox’s sports games are relatively new, but Sony’s have
been around a long time and have become household names: NFL GameDay and NCAA
GameBreaker.
In
recent years, however, 989 Studios has had a hard time bringing the two
football games up to Madden’s quickly-advancing level. NFL 2k could’ve
trounced Madden, but sales dwindled once the series went multi-platform. This
year it seems like the tide has finally turned for 989. No, they haven’t
created a Madden-killer (yet), but they have moved GameDay and GameBreaker in
the right direction.
As the title suggests,
NCAA GameBreaker 2004 is based on the National Collegiate Athletic
Association. Its players, stadiums and statistics were taken directly from
college football. Although the player has the option to create his or her own
team, most of what you see in GameBreaker is authentic.
989 Studios has upped the
gameplay to a much more impressive level. I didn’t get the chance to play
last year’s edition, but I wasn’t too overwhelmed by the previous
incarnation. Things were different in GameBreaker 2004 from the get-go. Even
the menus looked better and seemed much easier to navigate. Once a game
actually started, it was easy to see that GameBreaker 2004 had gone beyond a
nice menu screen. The graphics had been tremendously improved, the sound
effects were more realistic, and the commentary acted as a venue for
information, not as a tranquilizer. While important, those outside factors
can be covered later. GameBreaker 2004’s gameplay is what really deserves
your attention.
First and foremost, the
game feels a lot more polished. Saying that doesn’t mean much, so let me try
to explain. One example would the passing ability. Getting the ball from the
quarterback to a receiver is a challenging task at first. As if the pass
itself wasn’t hard enough, opponents are constantly diving at the players that
are most likely to receive the ball. This leaves you in a bit of a bind.
Making things even more difficult, the game doesn’t automatically place the
receiving player in the area that the ball has been thrown – you have to guide
him there yourself. Depending on all these factors, passing can be a real
nightmare! It gets easier though. And when it does it becomes clear that the
game is not cheap – it’s realistic.
The button layout is
typical with little surprises in store for the football aficionado. When
acting as the quarterback, three of the four face buttons (X, SQUARE and
CIRCLE) are designated for passing, as are R1 and L1. By pressing L2 along
with the CIRCLE or SQUARE button, you can spike the ball or kneel and slide.
On the defense, X functions as your trusty speed boost; SQUARE is used to
tackle; CIRCLE will switch the nearest defender; and hitting the TRIANGLE
button will enable the player to jump, intercept, deflect or shed block. The
X button is also used for speed-boosting when on the offense, however, SQUARE,
CIRCLE and TRIANGLE are used for diving (to catch the ball), spinning or
jumping. There are many other functions that these and the rest of the
controller’s buttons perform, but that should give you an idea of how easy it
is to jump in and start playing the game even if you’ve never played the
GameBreaker series before.
Among GameBreaker 2004’s
most notable features is the online play. Offered to both broadband and
dial-up users, GameBreaker 2004 gives gamers the chance to log on and rip the
pigskin right off their opponents. When not scoring touchdowns and bragging
about how good you are, kick back and relax in the chatroom. You can also
find new opponents there and send e-mails to anyone you wish (to set up
another play date – or just to brag!). There’s also a voice chat feature for
anyone who wants to talk trash during the game. (Note: due to technological
limitations, voice chat is only accessible to broadband users.)
GameBreaker 2004 brings
college football to your living room. It’s not perfect, but it is a very
entertaining game. Football fans must give this game a try. Whether it’s
through renting, borrowing from a friend, or from a demo disc that was given
out at the store, just get your hands on the game and give it a shot. The
multiplayer is by far the best part, especially when you consider how many
opponents the online play feature will give you. Don’t expect to see too many
gamers online yet though. The game just came out, so it’ll be a few weeks
before thousands of players start logging on. Until then, enjoy the online
competition that’s there, and engage in as many offline multiplayer games as
possible. Up to eight players can join!
Gameplay: 8
GameBreaker 2004
feels more like a PlayStation 2 football game. It’s fast and realistic, but
has many of the entertaining qualities that simulation titles usually lack.
The controls are really good, and the higher difficulty is welcome. Gamers
will love to go online with this one. They’ll also enjoy having multiplayer
sessions offline. With up to eight players able to compete simultaneously,
who wouldn’t?
Graphics: 7
It’s hard to
avoid comparisons, but despite being less-than-perfect, GameBreaker 2004 does
have some visual perks. While not at all a unique graphic effect, the
real-time shadows are good; the reflective helmets are pretty and the players
have realistic faces that decently represent the real-life counterparts.
Sound: 7
Do my ears
deceive me? Does GameBreaker 2004 have commentary that doesn’t make me want
to go to the cemetery? It sure does. It also has a good selection of sound
effects.
Difficulty: Medium/Hard
The hardest part
of GameBreaker 2004 is learning all of the game’s unobvious tricks. Once
you’ve done that, the game becomes much easier. Little will stand in your way
to victory. World domination is yours! Well, almost.
Concept: 7
You can’t expect
too much innovation from yearly updated football games. But you can expect
them to be improved and play much better than the previous incarnations. Or
at least, you should be able to expect that. 989 Studios is giving gamers
what they want this time around by including more play modes, better gameplay
and better graphics. It should be very interesting to see what they do with
next year’s version.
Multiplayer: 8
Four online;
eight offline. Team Offline may have more points, but that doesn’t mean it
wins. The only thing that can surpass online play is a long tournament with
seven of your closest friends or enemies. And if you’re like most people,
it’s rare that you can cram that many people into your living room on a daily
basis. All hail Team Online!
Overall: 7.7
Is NCAA
GameBreaker 2004 (A) the game to break the competition, or is it (B) merely an
attempt to compete with the leading college football series? If you guessed
A, you are wrong. If you guessed B, you are even more wrong. But if you
guessed hidden answer (C) – that GameBreaker 2004 is 989 Studios’s best
release yet, but is still not quite perfect – you are correct. GameBreaker
2004 is quite a package. It’s $10 cheaper than other football games but has
most of the same features. It offers a few unique ones as well, giving
diehard EA fans a reason to at least rent GameBreaker 2004 and see what all of
the fuss is about.
