Title: NCAA Football 2007

Date: 07.21.2006

Genre: Sports

Platform: PlayStation 2

Developer: EA Sports

Publisher: EA

Intro/Hype

The next NCAA Football game in the string of many. After many years of making the game, one would think EA would run out of ideas, but once again they fill the well with many new additions and tweaks. As 2006 was played more and more, gamers found problems mainly that the deep ball was made way too powerful. Many of these complaints were fixed.

Graphics/Animation

As EA practically reached the apex of its graphic capabilities on the current-gen systems, this year's graphics weren't much better than a year ago. That's not to say that there weren't improvements; they just weren't as drastic as the switch from 03 to 04 or from 05 to 06. The first major improvement I noticed was that during night games (and especially in the snow), shadows are drawn much better. Not quite as good as some cel-shaded games are, but the lighting is much better. I can look at a Quarterback and can tell where the lights in the stadium are based solely on the shadows which are cast over him. It's not like the Xbox 360 version where the graphics are insanely drawn by actual satellites which basically simulate where the sun will be in real life at a certain time in a certain place, but the lighting is much better when watching replays. The player models haven't taken many steps forward at all. However, I did notice SOME improvements. Linemen now actually look fat instead of toned down. In past games, it looked like the shoulder pads were the biggest that players are, but this year I can actually see the stomachs bulge out from underneath the shoulder pads, increasing the line between the looks of a skill player and a lineman.

The player animations are MUCH better, especially when it comes to tackling. It's not longer, “Dive, hit, fall to the ground,” every play. Defensive players actually wrap up and hold on, sometimes dragging players down. If they don't drag them down by themselves (which I'm guessing is determined by the size and tackling attribute of a defensive player) then the offensive player will keep running, only slower because they are dragging a defensive player. I've also seen player wrap up at the waist level, and the runner's feet keep moving, but the defensive player slides down and as they reach the legs of the offensive player, the legs stop churning and the player usually falls, as is in real life. The running animations aren't THAT much greater. It still looks funny how all of the players appear to be the same person while running.

Passing and receiving look much better. When trying to catch a ball, I've seen players leap up and reach out with one hand and pull the ball down for a catch. And unlike old games where one is hoping for one catch animation and get the wrong one, they almost always get the one they're looking for on this game. For example, in year's past one might lob the ball and hope for the receiver to do one of their gigantic leaps into the air only to see the receiver merely reach to the left to try and catch the ball. The entire gigantic leap factor is gone, but the fact remains that one always gets the animation they are looking for.

One thing I have noticed that makes the atmosphere of college football come alive is the stadiums. They look much nicer than those from a year ago. Although the crowds aren't drawn in 3D with each section wearing their specific colors as it is with the 360 version, the stadiums look much better. I can still usually tell where a game is being played just by looking at the architecture of a stadium. Florida State's Doak Campbell Stadium and Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium look very much alike, as they are single-deck stadiums which completely surround the field. Texas A&M's Kyle Field and Miami's Orange Bowl are double/triple-deck stadiums which look very much like their real-life counterparts; even moreso than a year ago. Once again, there are fans that do celebrations or hold up signs after a big play which further increases the feeling of College Football.

Fight Songs/Crowd

Hurray! EA did away with the EA Tracks which flopped a year ago and decided to go back to the fight songs playing on the menu. Many fans were disappointed by the selection of music, although some liked it last year. The people who liked it were in the minority, and most everyone ended up turning fight songs back on. When one start's the game up, they are given the option to pick a favorite team, and when starting the game thereafter, they are treated to the fight song of their favorite team, followed by random others. These fight songs are done wonderfully during the games as well. For example, after a team scores, they play their fight song briefly and wait until after the PAT to play the entire song. Some teams have songs made for first down, big play, or turnover situations. Oklahoma's Boomer Sooner is the first that comes to mind, along with the Tribute to Troy of USC. One can expect to hear those songs if the team is playing at home and has made a big play. One emphasis this year was that placed on the crowd chants. With surround sound, I can hear one side of the stadium yelling, “O-H!” and the other yelling, “I-O!” when playing at the Horseshoe of Ohio State. Sometimes I'll hear them chanting, “Let's go Bucks!” at the start of a game as well. I haven't played many games to hear all of the chants that teams do, but I'm sure I'll hear many traditional cheers that crowds do during games.

Commentary

Once again, Brad Nessler, Kirk Herbstriet, and Lee Corso are back. One will hear a lot of the commentary from past years, but this year I noticed that there are quite a few new lines that are used. Corso still has his, “Not so fast, my friend!” and “Goodnight, sweetheart!” cliché and cute, but he also says much more this year. Brad Nessler will call the play as it happens, and then will ask for the opinion of Corso who will tell what he thought of the play of the running back, defensive line, whether the play was the right choice or not, and Herbstriet will usually agree with him, but I've heard them get into it a few times as well. The only problem with this is how the computer keeps up with what is happening in the game. Usually they don't get behind like some other EA Titles do, but they tend to mess things up sometimes. My friend threw a pick which I returned for a TD, and at the start of his next drive, Nessler claimed that his last drive ended by way of a fumble. If I hadn't been paying close attention, I wouldn't have noticed, but it's just something less than satisfactory. So once again, EA is changing some things up, but still left a lot of the same.

Controls

The controls haven't changed much. Pressing X still sprints or starts a play on offense. Triangle goes for a pick or catch. O still spins on offense or selects a player on defense, and the passing is still easy. Icons will appear over the heads of each receiver, and pressing the button will throw to the corresponding receiver. One thing EA DID change was the jukes. In years prior to 06, R1 and L1 juked depending on how hard the button is pressed. However, with the inclusion of the Juke Stick in 06, the soft jukes disappeared, and the L1 and R1 buttons became stiff arms. That changed this year as the soft jukes were brought back. Also, during a pass, precision passing is done with the analog stick which I enjoy greatly. Those who played 06 should be used to the exclusion of X passing to a certain receiver and merely sprinting while triangle no longer throws the ball away, but to a receiver. There really is no adjusting as there was in the transition from 05 to 06.

Momentum

Just like in the real college game, teams can gain or lose the big MO on a single play. After a big play, the momentum meter will increase for the team making the big play, or decrease for the team losing the momentum. As a team gets momentum, the players play slightly better; not too good to keep the momentum, but slightly better. I assume this also has an effect on the matchup stick and composure of players, although I haven't done much research. The momentum meter moves proportionally with the crowd noise. If the home team has all of the momentum, the crowd will go nuts, but if they don't they will quiet down a lot.

Jumping the Snap

A great new feature which I feel was done right. Not made too powerful, but when done right, it will give a slight advantage. The player on defense can take control of a defensive lineman and jump the snap. If they are too early, they will jump offsides and get called for it. If they are too late, they will likely get planted by the offensive lineman. However, if it is just right, they will drive the offensive lineman back and hopefully pancake him to get a clean run at the quarterback or running back. That isn't to say that every time one gets a good jump that they will plow over the O Line, but they will do much better on the play than if they didn't get any jump at all.

Campus Legend

Going a step further from Race for the Heisman a year ago, Campus Legend bring more Micromanagement into the life of the student. Not only will the player take part in more drills to get their stats (such as the 40 yard dash time to determine speed), more offers are made, and the player can do much more. Once they get to the college of their choice, the gamer can pick a major. There are easy majors which don't require much studying, but also don't look good for campus popularity, or there are medium or hard majors which might be slightly harder, but more rewarding when it comes to campus popularity. Once moving into the dorm room, the season (and practice) begins.

During practice every day, the player can work on a formation and run 10 plays out of that formation. If they do a good job, they will gain points for the good plays, and will become more adept at that formation. After practice, the player can choose to attend a social event, work on game mechanics, see a tutor, or study. Attending a social event slightly raises the campus popularity. Studying will give a random answer to a question which might be on a test. Seeing a tutor will give a sample 5-question test which is a practice exam, but it takes two nights to do this. Game mechanics gain attribute points to spend, but also takes two nights to get down. Going through the season day by day and week by week, progress (both athletically and academically) can be watched so the gamer can focus on what they need to work on. A Mid-term and Final exam are given, and the player needs to maintain higher than a 2.0 (I think) in order to be eligible for the next season. I'm not sure what happens if they aren't, although I presume they have to raise their average before they can play again. As with Race for the Heisman, a player can either go pro or else become a coach to start a Dynasty.

Dynasty Mode Additions

One of the main things that people wanted were Spring Games & Drills. There are MANY more spring drills than last year (which consisted of about 4 or 5 drills.) The player can engage in sack the QB drills to covering drills, to pocket presence drills. There are many, and of course the player can test their new recruits out in the spring game. A small scrimmage, the Spring Games are home to some great discoveries. For example, I didn't know which running back would start the next season, but after the spring game, I easily knew who was going to line up at RB. One put on a great performance while the other fell behind.

Precision Passing

A small addition which many gamers liked in the Madden series. Pressing the stick in the direction the player wants to throw with regards to the receiver will make the QB throw it that direction with that much strength. For example, if a receiver has his defensive back burned and is running due east across the field, the QB does not want to throw where the receiver is at, but more of where he is going. So the player can tilt the stick slightly to the right and lead his receiver so that he doesn't have to stop to make the catch and then get his momentum running again. Precision passing is a great way to avoid throwing a pick to defenders or anything. If there are two defenders playing deep, the QB can under throw his receiver to throw where the receiver has leverage, not where the defenders do.

Defensive Hot-Routes

What has been available in Madden for a few years now is finally available. By selecting a player, the human can Hot-Route a defender to cover a specific player, cover a random zone on the field, or even blitz. It makes creating mismatches harder, and can confuse the offense when a cornerback suddenly runs to cover where they were planning on hitting their TE in an open spot on the field. So now, instead of having to audible to a completely new play to get one or two players to do something different, it can be done simply by hot-routing.

Third-Person Mode/Kick Blocking

When on defense when the other team is ready to punt or kick a field goal, pressing triangle takes a third-person view of the highlighted player. This makes taking the right trajectory to block a kick much better. In fact, I've actually seen a blocked field goal this year about once every 6 games I've played, which is about where I want it to be. I don't want every kick there is to be blocked, but I do want at least ONE kick to be blocked every once in a while. In past games, that rarely, if ever happened. Through 04, 05, and 06, I blocked ONE punt using fair methods (not glitching the CPU) and no field goals. Third-person makes it much easier.

Running

Running is much easier on the defense in this game. The HB Direct isn't too powerful like it was last year. In last year's game, if the defense wasn't blitzing to the outside, the HB Direct would automatically go for at LEAST 6 or 7 yards depending on the speed of the running back. Even then, most impact running backs would break the first tackle and still gain many yards. Impact players are greatly toned down from a year ago. Now, running is much more realistic in terms of the strength of running backs. Holes still open up, but the stats of running backs overall are toned down, making it so that it isn't an automatic huge gain whenever the RB busts through the line. Running is done the hard way ala 04, but not the impossible way ala 05, and not the easy way ala 06. Lineman actually run to block downfield as well instead of turning to run the other way inexplicably. That is the main thing I noticed when running the first few times. Once again, that isn't to say that the defender will always get blocked, but at least linemen make an effort to block downfield which they never did in past games.

Passing

Passing is much better as well. It's no longer “lob the ball deep” every down, but more of “strategically spread out the defense and find the open receiver”. Corners will allow shorter routes of only 2 or 3 yards, but won't allow the deep ball as much. This is what I like. In 06, a 5 yard in route was impossible, and more likely to get picked off than not. Now, it's the deep ball which is harder to execute, and the short, safe passes which work. To do this, EA added the crazy cornerback jump ability which nobody liked from 05, but it's not the same. This time, if a receiver is open and the ball is thrown to them, the ball will reach them. A corner won't come out of nowhere to knock the ball down, but if the ball is thrown deep to a receiver, it's possible that the DB, even if beat by a yard or two, will jump up to knock the ball down. The addition of precision passing makes the passing game MUCH more player-controlled. In 06, I'd get frustrated with a good QB sometimes overthrowing a receiver. Not as bad as some games did, but every once in a while, I'd have a receiver open but would either insanely overthrow or under throw them, sometimes to the computer.

New Formations/Playbooks

Here is where the game takes off, and was the entire reason I had interest in this game. Over 102 new formations were added, 80 or so of those on offense. There are many variations of current formations and even many NEW formations available. For example, there are many kinds of shotguns in the game. Some where the RB (or both RBs) is flexed a yard deep from the quarterback, some where receivers are flexed out into slots all on one side of the field, and some even where there are no receivers flexed out, and the entire formation is bunched up. Along with this was the introduction of new formations. South Carolina's Ace Emory and Henry features a play where only a center and two guards are down linemen, and the TACKLES are flexed out with the receivers to create a weird-looking formation that can be run or blocked from on a screen. Also, possibly the greatest innovation that gamers can experiment with is the Nevada Pistol formation. Like the name indicates, it's a smaller version of the shotgun. The QB isn't under center, but isn't already in the pocket. He is lined up about 3 yards directly behind the center while the running back is lined up about 3 or 4 yards directly behind the QB. This disguises the run or pass, and can be used to do many things. There are so many formations to try out, and so little time to try them out in.

Defense

To reiterate, the deep ball or running game are no longer too powerful. Impact running backs will no longer plow through the entire defense, and will sometimes even be tackled by the first man even while pulsating! Jumping the snap is a welcome addition that contributes to stopping the running game. Also, with the many new formations on defense, there are many new places to blitz and such from which is hard to read as an offense. Also, the defensive hot-routes make it much nicer on defense when trying to get one of the blitzing backers or safeties to give cover support to one of the corners that is going against an impact WR. Also, when doubled, one can tell one of the corners to try to jam the receiver at the line while the safety can cover deep. This wasn't possible in 06, as either players would try to jam at the line, or both would cover deep. Also, the Hit Stick works MUCH better on defense this year. Timing was EVERYTHING last year, and it was likely to miss and result in a huge gain for the offense. This year, it's easier to do on a whim and won't likely miss and result in a huge gain on offense. Also, the defensive backs cover better on the deep pass. They can once again jump high in the air, but I've only seen it happen when the player tries to throw a deep ball and the CB is only beat by a yard or two. It doesn't happen when the CB is beat by 5 yards like in 05.

What they left out

Many people have wanted the ability to choose between a college playoff and the current system, but EA left this out, and with good reason. The NCAA tells EA what can and can't be put on the game. For example, the NCAA won't allow EA to have a celebration of fans rushing the field because they think it would encourage fans in real life to do so. So the NCAA is stuck with the BCS, and even hinting at a playoff system is out of the question. Sorry BCS Bashers.

Vision Cone

There's a mixed audience on this one. Some people love it, and some people hate it. On the 360 version, it's included, but on this one, it isn't. It's mainly used to pass better to where the QB is looking, but is also used to “look defenders off” and make them think the ball is going one way and throw the other. I don't know if I'd like it in this game or not. But those who like it are apparently Madden fans, and Madden will have it again this year, so more power to them!

Create-A-School Additions

Many people want additions such as remodeling stadiums and an Athletic Director Mode. I doubt those will happen because they involve money which EA and the NCAA try to keep down as much as possible; only a minor inconvenience. If you want a bigger stadium later, then put up with only 2,000 fans showing up your first few years at your created school.

And that's a wrap! EA did a great job of changing things up and giving gamers a whole new experience. With the next-gen systems coming out soon, it saddens me to see the illustrious series of NCAA come to an end on the current-gen systems. With the many additions to the game, EA once again fails to disappoint. I got the game for the playbook overhaul and new formations, but I ended up enjoying other things such as the new passing engine and Campus Legend mode. However, the improvement of graphics was minimal, and still some things were left out that some gamers wanted, so that keeps this game from being perfect.

Game Score

9.0

Reviewed By: Contributed