NCAA Football 07 – XB – Review

NCAA Football has been at
the forefront of college football for some years now, and this year’s entry has
the right stuff to ensure that its place will be kept. NCAA Football 2007 makes
some great improvements over last year’s model, from a momentum meter that’s
driven by the roar of the crowd and wild plays that turn the tides of a game to
a brand new player creation system that one-up’s last year’s already great Race
for the Heisman mode. All in all, NCAA Football 2007 brings a lot of new
elements to an already great franchise, keeping things fresh in the long-running
series.

 

NCAA Football 2007 offers up
an impressive number of teams (119 Division 1A colleges) and features a nice
array of authentic stadiums. As in previous entries to the franchise, you’ll be
able to select your favorite team as a theme for your starting menu and as the
default teams for the “Play Now” option. The “Play Now” option will even
incorporate rivalries into the mix, like Boise State and University of Idaho.
The dynasty mode will also be returning, giving players the chance to lead their
team to glory.

 


 

One of the biggest additions
to the game is the momentum meter. The momentum meter is a bar at the top part
of the screen that gauges the crowd’s response to the action on field. At the
beginning of each game, each team will start out with the same amount of
momentum, and completing big plays, fourth-down conversions, field-goal
blocks and other game-shifting plays, and you’ll gain the cheer of the crowd.
However, gaining favor with the fans will have an effect on how well your
players perform. More than an added boost, momentum is necessary to keep the
upper hand in a game. Therefore, you’ll need to keep your play methods fresh as
you progress and make impressive plays to gain the momentum needed.

 

Fortunately, NCAA Football
2007 boasts the largest selection of playbooks of any NCAA Football title yet.
The playbooks are completely unique for each team, even so far as new formations
that are wholly original for certain teams, which is a great touch to keep the
experience different for each team that you play as. The AI has also received a
good boost, meaning that players will act more intelligently on the field and
perform accordingly.

 


 

A cool addition is the new
third-person perspective that you can use while attempting to block field goals.
This added level of control actually makes blocking a field goal a viable
option, and as you practice, you can actually get pretty good at it.

 

Another one of the big new
additions to the game is the revamped career mode. Whereas last year’s Race for
the Heisman mode had you take a single player from any position on the field and
build them up to the Heisman trophy, this year’s take is a bit more in-depth in
a few key ways. You begin by completing a series of mini-games to showcase your
skills. The better you do the more stat points you’ll have to improve your
character’s attributes. Also, you’ll receive a star rating depending on your
performance, ranging from one to five. This will determine your potential
schools, as five will allow you to get into the best schools with the best
teams, and so on down to one.

 


 

The Campus Legend mode (as
its now called) still allows you to create a player, choose your college and
bring them up through the ranks of a successful college football career.
However, this time around, you must be a little more hands-on in your approach
to non-sports related affairs. This means choosing a major once you enroll in
school, keeping your grades up, studying up for exams, and attending events
on-campus. The whole point of the new mode is to keep your character in high
social standings during his college career, and building him up as (pardon the
oft-used cliché) the big man on campus.

 

Graphically, the NCAA
Football series has always been very impressive, and NCAA Football 2007 is no
different. The player models look refined and facially expressive, and the game
features some great new animations to add to the realism level. The stadiums are
also filled with copious amounts of real details, reflecting their college
locations well.

 

The game features a ton of
fight songs from many different schools, and the commentary is well done.
Something that I found to be really cool was the fact that the announcers will
actually recognize the name that you type in for your character in the campus
legend mode. While I’m sure this feature has its limits, it was five for five in
the names that I put its way, so I found it to be pretty awesome.

 

NCAA Football 2007 is more
than a simple upgrade of last year’s entry. Much the game, from the AI to the
playbooks, has been revamped completely, and the new features and campus legend
mode are a lot of fun. College football fans owe it to themselves to check this
one out.

 


Review
Scoring Details

for NCAA Football 2007

Gameplay: 9.5
From the
playbooks to the new career mode (campus legend) NCAA Football 2007 is a
complete revamp of the series. The game feels fresh, and features a copious
amount of realistic detail from each school. The momentum system adds a new
dynamic to the gameplay, adding intensity to the games.

Graphics: 9.0
NCAA Football
2007 offers realistic player models that will get “battle damage” (i.e. dirty
uniforms) as the game progresses, and great animations that move fluidly.

Sound: 9.0
The fight songs
are accurate and the commentary is very well done.

Difficulty: Medium

Multiplayer: 9.5
NCAA Football 07
plays great over Xbox Live, with ranked and unranked matches, a leaderboard with
stats, and a new club mode that allows you to recruit others on Xbox Live and
play against other clubs for points.

Concept: 9.0
NCAA Football
2007 has been completely revamped, offering tons of accurate details, from play
books to college stadiums.

Overall: 9.5
More than just an
upgrade, NCAA
Football 2007 is a complete revamp of the franchise bursting at the seams with
accurate details and realistic gameplay.