NCAA Football 07

I can’t believe that college football season is finally looming upon us once again. Last year was one of the best seasons in memory, especially the Rose Bowl game, go Longhorns! With the new season about to start up, it was only a matter of time before EA released their annual college sports game NCAA Football to the world. What is new in this game, and how does the next generation game stack up to current generation versions? Read on to find out.

There are plenty of things to keep players occupied in this game for a long time. You can go and practice various aspects of the game and hone your skills. Then there are three mini games that are very entertaining to partake in. First there is bowling, where you play in a bowling-style scoring formation. You start at the ten yard line and try to make a touch down. If you get it on your first try it is a strike, or your second time it is a spare. The frame is open until you finish your second try. Next up is tug of war, where two teams start at the 50-yard line and alternate plays until one team scores. Finally there is the option dash, in which you are given two minutes to go down the field as many times as possible. These modes really help give the game a really unique and fun twist, and a nice change of pace.

If those modes do not “float your boat” then you can hop online to play against other players from around the world in ranked and unranked games. You must have an Xbox Live account to play this game online and it is a real pleasure to do so. If you are sick and tired of beating up on the computer and you can’t find anyone to come over to play, all you have to do is sign on and get your game on.

Finally let’s get to the real meat of the game which, as always, is the dynasty mode. In this mode you try to become a national powerhouse and try to get into and win the championship year after year. Everything is in the players' hands to get this accomplished, the only thing that you need to ask yourself is if you are up to the challenge that this presents to you.

The one thing that I didn’t like about this game is how it is missing many options from last year’s version and even this year’s game that is on the PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox. The exact same thing happened with Madden 2006 on Xbox 360 when it was first released, and it is really disappointing. While it is nice having the various mini-games, it is a shame that many of the core elements from the other games is missing, and make this game feel sort of incomplete. Hopefully next year we will get a fully jam packed game with all of the extra “fixins.”

One of the very first things that I noticed that was changed in the game is the way you kick the ball, and to be honest it took a couple of tries to make it work right. Instead of hitting the a button you will now kick off using the left and right thumb sticks, similar to how many of the golf game works. The left stick will let you choose the place you want the ball to go, and the right determines the force of how much you hit the ball. After playing this way several times I think it would be very hard to go back to the older way of kicking off the ball.

Momentum is very important in this game and it is shown by a bar in the game. As the game first starts each team holds an even amount of momentum, but when you kick off it can shift either way. In order to gain more momentum you have to perform big plays on offense, get a touchdown, get a sack, as well as many other things. The higher the momentum is in your favor the better off your team will do because of the fans cheering you on to do better.

The graphics in this game are really outstanding, and I am not referring just to the player models. What is really photorealistic is the stadiums that you will be playing football in. Everything has been modeled to be as accurate as it can be, and you will be able to tell this immediately. With that being said the player models are really well done, especially when you are close up in the huddle you would be amazed at the amount of detail they all have. As was stated earlier, the player models also are really well done and seriously upped in the detail department.

The sound in this game also has been stepped up a few notches because it really makes you feel that you are actually there. The commentary in this game is really well done and does not get too repetitive or mundane as it could have been. The real use of the sound is when you are on the field, hearing the noises that the players make when they are getting tackled, the noise from the cheering fans at the stadium, and everything else. This game makes you feel that you are really on the field about to play a game.

These two departments combine to what EA boasts about a “living stadium” and this game is the first time I have seen something of this level come to fruition. The fans react to all aspects of the NCAA experience, from wearing specific colors to watching the bands and mascots perform. What is even better is that they react to what is going on in the field better then ever.

NCAA Football 2007 is rated E for Everyone. If you want to use your memory card it will take up 8 MB. The game also supports multiplayer for up to 2 players.

Gameplay: 8.9
NCAA Football 2007 is a blast to play. I really enjoyed how the interface from Madden 06 on the Xbox 360 is carried over, as well as the play calling, because it makes things much simpler and allows you to get into the action of the game at a much quicker pace. Everything about this game is really smooth from the running, passing, and tackling. Even though the new kicking will take a while to get used to, once you do it will be hard to go back to the old way of kicking.

Graphics: 8.9
If you are looking to find the best NCAA Football 2007 version for the graphics alone, then this is your game. Everything is extremely well done and it makes the game feel alive. There are still some issues with clipping and a weird animation here and there, but overall the developers did a really good job on their first 360 college football outing.

Sound: 9.0
The game sounds great because it makes full use of in-game Dolby Digital, which brings the game closer to realism. Commentary spoken throughout the game is extremely really well done and doesn’t get old or repetitive. This year there is a lot more crowd interaction, as well as fight songs, and other things that give the feeling that you are sitting in a football stadium. You will actually swear you are in a stadium with thousands of screaming college students because the game does sound that real.

Difficulty: Medium
The game will be hard for any beginner, but as time progresses on, players will be able to adapt to how the computer AI plays. The AI keeps getting better and better, but it really cannot beat playing against another human.

Concept: 8.1
I really liked some of the new features in this game such as the momentum and the feeling that the stadium is really alive when your are close to making one of those “money-making” plays. What I didn’t like is that this version is missing some of the features that are in the PS2 and Xbox platforms. Other then that, the mini games and everything else makes this game really fun to play.

Multiplayer: 8.6
Xbox Live is one of the best online gaming services out there for a gaming console. It is so easy to set up a game and get right down to the “nitty-gritty” of playing against another person.

Overall: 8.2
EA’s first next-generation iteration of their popular college football game is good, but it is lacking many things that should have made it great, such as many features that are in current-generation versions of this game. I don’t know if it is due to time constraints but I hope that this gets fixed in the next version of the game. Other than that, if you are in the mood for a good college football game for your Xbox 360 then you will want to pick up NCAA Football 2007.