NCAA Football 07
Score: 72% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: EA Sports Developer: Tiburon Media: UMD/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Sports (Football)
Graphics & Sound: From the start, it is clear that NCAA Football 07 is trying to bring players, “into the game” so to speak with its new camera system during certain key plays. Rather than staying in a locked position for most of the game, it instead sweeps around the field during plays, giving things a more dynamic feel. Camera changes are limited mainly to kick offs, punts and at moments when the momentum swings in your favor. I’ve always been one to favor gameplay over glitz, but the additions are nice touches. The camera does suffer from one really odd glitch where it has a hard time catching up to receivers. Generally speaking, for a handheld game NCAA 07 looks great. It doesn’t quite compare to its console counterparts, but it is no slouch either. With the exception of some noticeable stadium flaws, everything looks nice and is comparable to last year’s PSP version of Madden, only with reduced load times. Thankfully someone at EA is listening and the EA Trax feature, which felt really out of place in a college game, has been removed from NCAA 07 in favor of college fight songs. College football is 90% atmosphere, and little things like this really go a long way. For better or worse, the usual crew of Corso, Nessler and Herbstreit return for commentary. While the authenticity is nice, their comments feel overly scripted and lack the flow that was present in Sega’s 2K Sports series.
Gameplay: NCAA 07 bases its gameplay on the premise that one play can change the entire tempo, or momentum, of a game. Momentum is represented as a meter that shifts position based on what is going on during a game. A key turnover or stop can cause the momentum to shift towards a team, giving it an on-field advantage. The higher a team’s momentum, the more likely it is that players will begin to pull off big-time plays. It is a great concept, and really helps to capture what college football is all about (besides drunk tailgaters and BCS pollsters), though it does lead to balance issues. If a team is already dominating the game, the added momentum boost only turns a beating into a bloodbath. It only takes a play to shift the momentum, but once a team has momentum it can be hard to stop. The PSP version skips the Campus Legend mode that is included in the console versions. Instead, the focus remains on core gameplay like Dynasty and Rivalry games. Mascot mode is also included, allowing you to take your mascots onto the field for a game. As with most EA Sports titles, ESPN is fully integrated into NCAA 07. Between games, you can check stats and polls in virtual copies of ESPN: The Magazine or see if your game rated as an ESPN Instant Classic. As an added bonus, you can also unlock special archival footage from the ESPN vault by performing certain on-field feats. Finally, if you’re able to take your PSP online you can get ESPN Radio updates as well as a sports ticker.
Difficulty: I’ve been playing the NCAA football games since… well, since EA started doing them and every year, the one sticking issue is always penalties. As with past versions, penalties are called at the most arbitrary of times. Rather than basing the penalties on what is actually going on in-game, it feels like penalties are based on some sort of Dungeons & Dragons style savings-throw. Some receptions are given even though the player is clearly out of bounds, or holding is called when players were nowhere near each other. This is enough to frustrate most players and, dare I say it, tempt them to send their PSPs flying. Most penalties can be challenged by the coach, though I can’t recall a challenge ever going in my favor – so the system feels pointless.
Game Mechanics: NCAA 07 makes a number of changes in all three categories. The biggest of these changes seems to be on the offensive side of things, giving the game a much faster, more exciting feel. First off, all teams have their own playbooks that build more on what the actual teams use. The level of improvement this change alone makes to the game’s feel is great. On the field, players feel more like real players than wooden stand-ins. Players actually feel like they’re doing their jobs on the field which, of course, makes the game feel so much better. Quarterbacks benefit more from the more lively blockers than the running backs. The added blocking, both in the pocket and downfield, gives you just a little more time you need to decide whether you’ll throw it away, throw downfield or tuck the ball in and make a run for it. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for the running game, which is left crippled and broken by a gameplay glitch. Rather than spotting the ball based on where the player went down, it spots it where contact initially takes place. In other words, you might gain a good 5 – 10 yards on a play, but you’ll only get credit for half of that or less. Not only does this take away half of your offense, but it can kill teams built on their running backs. Controls are mapped out similar to the PS2 version, with the only major change being the lack of a right analog stick. All this means that instead of hitting the analog stick to spin or juke, you have to use a combination of button presses. Also, the kicking game has been changed. Rather than use the familiar three-button press option, it instead uses the analog stick, making for much smoother kicks. NCAA 07 does some things right and other things wrong. The number of glitches found within really tarnishes what it could have been. If you’re a hardcore college football fan, or a football fan that just can’t wait for a portable football game, NCAA Football 07 is a decent pickup. If you can hold off, you might want to wait for Madden.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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