Before the now-crazy football season even began, the first video-game to initially step into the huddle usually is EA’s NCAA Football series. This year, the bar has once again been raised for the series’ well-known atmospheric feel, as both the crowd and the real-life stadiums have been modified to their actual counterparts. This includes the band, the players on the sidelines, the coaches – NCAA Football 07 for the Xbox 360 creates an immersion so incredible that players will feel the passion behind this historic, non-professional sport. Without a doubt, NCAA Football 07 is well on the right path to increasing the satisfaction of next-gen football games.
Some of the differences of the game from its PS2 and Xbox versions include the introduction by Brad Nessler, which is preceded by a series of presentation tweaks, such as the ever-growing student sections within the stadiums. Some of you might even notice familiar on-campus buildings within close proximity for some of your football stadiums. NCAA Football isn’t a game anymore; it’s an experience.
As you might’ve already noticed, the stadiums in NCAA Football 07 are far and away the best thing about this game. Each college stadium is created with such loving detail, that when combined with the series’ amazing visuals and gameplay, you have one well-developed sports product. Player animations have also been vastly improved, with new hit animations that would make a Ray Lewis (NFL) type hit of the norm. Another addition to the sense of realism to the game includes an important element that most football games usually don’t take into account. The best example of this begins with quarterback passes, which will increase in accuracy if their back foot is planted, with the same thing going for wide-receivers whose shoulders are more parallel to the ground. There are some occasional glitches, such as minor clipping and collision-detection problems, but they’re nothing too big to deter the user experience. At the very least, these changes to the physical realism element works rather well, especially when you’re paying close attention to those instant replays.
Other notable changes in presentation include broadcast camera close-ups of each of the players, grass getting stuck to players’ helmets, and the actual field keeping its same exact condition even after a large amount of the grass is damaged due to player tackles. Seeing the game in 720p HD is also a huge visual treat, especially when you’ll notice that each of the players look more like superheroes than actual football players.
Controlling the game for the Xbox 360 is slightly different than the current-gen versions, but they’re not too foreign to veterans of the sports genre. The new jump-the-snap control (Y button) is also a new addition, allowing players on the defensive end to get an early run at the quarterback or kicker. A fake-snap option is also possible, which actually moves the camera to simulate snapping the ball, all in hopes of your opponent from being drawn offside. Even the AI gets into the mix with the fake-snaps, as you never can be safe with third-and-short plays. Of course, all of the game’s controls are completely mappable and able to be changed to the fly to your exact likings.
Similar to EA’s play-calling interface for its football games, you can organize plays by formation, play type, key player, or even ask for the advice of infamous NCAA Football guru Lee Corso. One thing that’s always great with NCAA football titles is the large variety of playbooks for each college team. Some of them are simply so different that you would swear that it was a different game. One of my gripes is the more complicated menu system, which is controlled rather oddly by holding the right trigger down, while moving the control stick left and right.
Will this game catch Madden in quality?
As far as the most important gameplay mode is concerned, Dynasty Mode, large presentation overhauls have taken place. This time, a large 3D map of the United States is shown for locations in recruiting, practice sessions, and areas of team facilities. The recruitment part within the Dynasty Mode is easily the most rewarding, with a good amount of depth that will help mold your favorite college team.
Other cool modes include snapping a screenshot of a particular play using the replay tool, and saving it to your hard-drive for use later on. Even better, there’s photos of your favorite college team and even its campus at times to showcase NCAA Football 07’s robust authenticity. Of course, without the audible effects of Nessler, Herbstreit, and Corso to provide amusing and color commentary on the field, we wouldn’t have the type of NCAA experience that we’re all used to seeing on Saturdays. Gladly, fight songs have finally replaced EA Trax songs that made each college football game feel more of a professional matchup. And yes, that include band hymns. Thank you EA.
Sure, there are still a few things that could’ve been improved content-wise for this next-generation college pigskin title such as a more extensive pickup-game mode, but there are several features that were left out. There’s no create-a-school option, and spring drills and scrimmage modes aren’t anywhere to be found either. Still, you’re better off sticking with hours and hours of time with the game’s seemingly endless and addictive Campus Legend mode. Online wise, there’s certainly plenty of lag, but the amount of Xbox Live Achievements (easy ones at that) will certainly vividly help the gameplay experience.
The game has already ran away with millions of sold copies.
NCAA Football 07 for the Xbox 360 isn’t the best football game for Microsoft’s next-gen console, but for college students and passionate NCAA gurus, this is certainly the game to get. It isn’t feature-packed as the current-gen versions, but this next-gen pigskin title will definitely satisfy the collegiate-infused gamer.
