The X360 version isn't quite as full-figured as its console brethren, but it's still in the game. by Patrick Evans

July 24, 2006 - The sound of the school band, the massive home crowds, the years of tradition; all this adds up to make NCAA football more attractive than pro football for some fans. EA Sports has given it the good old college try to recreate the atmosphere and energy of the college game while giving their college pigskin franchise looks that could kill. Like the entire EA Sports season year last fall, NCAA on 360 is lighter on content than its current-gen counterparts, preventing it from reaching the head of the class.

Heading up your favorite program and leading it to glory is nothing new for this franchise. Players looking for a challenge may pick team from a weaker conference, or a middle team from a top conference, and raise it to football glory, while fans of powerhouse programs will certainly get a kick out of heading their favorite teams to continued supremacy. Armchair coaches have a decent-sized list of duties to attend to, from in-season scouting across the country red-shirting freshmen to customizing their non-conference schedule. Beyond that, however, there aren't a whole lot of things to do off the field. In fact, just as with Madden in '06, EA Tiburon falls short on depth on Xbox 360.

Take, for instance, recruiting a player in high school. The menu system can let you go through state-by-state, but this route is inefficient. Instead, you can apply "recruiting points," which in the real college world probably means coeds and parties, to the top prospects all from the same menu. A problem that cropped up with my dynasty was that after dumping all my recruiting points into players that were moderately interested in my program, most of them decided that they favored other big-time programs, mostly in my conference. The nightmare of this situation was that, when picking which prospects to start with, there are very few indicators on who to go with. If a player states that he doesn't agree with a program's emphasis on tradition or coaching style, but you have dumped a ton of effort into him, you are essentially sunk. The indicators available really don't work as well as they should and feel stripped-down from what they should be.

While what is present in '07 on Xbox 360 is excusable and holds up well on its own, it looks sad when it is compared to the current generation on PS2 and Xbox. The gigantic playbooks with fancy trick plays and patented formations are absent from the 360, as is the most engrossing single-player mode the franchise has ever seen. Your buddies on the old Xbox will be able to take their players to class to improve their on-the-field stats while living it up on campus. Instead of the choice between focusing on the player or a dynasty, you will be stuck wondering if your fourth-year Junior is going into the draft early. At the end of the season when you attempt to keep a player around, the entire process feels cheap. Every time I talked to a player getting ready to enter the draft or transfer nothing I could do would change their mind. Besides, who transfers from Michigan after a Sugar Bowl appearance for Bowling Green? I'll never understand college football players.

Most players that are interested in next-gen NCAA is probably in it for the improvements on the field. Fortunately, NCAA doesn't disappoint in this department, offering plenty of solid football action with little fuss. After all, this is the same team that handles Madden every single year, so there is really little worry about them botching the basic mechanics of the game.

At the end of the day, however, college fans have to decide whether reduced depth and minor bugs are worth the extra ten bucks over the current generation. At first glance, NCAA is easily the best looking football game to date, which shouldn't be tough considering Madden isn't here yet. While most people point to the fancy high-definition stadiums and crowds, I focus on the helmets every time I sit down to play. The lighting in the various stadiums isn't overdone, leaving the players to look photorealistic in certain lights and situations. Giving unique close-up angles of the players coming to the line or setting for a kick gets repetitive after a while, but the visuals in general are very impressive.

Mechanically, there is little wrong with the gameplay here, but it feels like there are a few things that are just a smidgen off from what the developers were aiming for. While it looks fantastic, the player models are iffy with collision detection, especially during the running game. All a running back can do up the middle is try to follow his lead blocker and hope for a couple yards. Collision detection with engaged blockers is iffy at times, causing you to run straight into a tackler that you thought was blocked. Balancing the chance of blowing up a play against jumping early and getting flagged with the new "Jump the snap" feature is useful and well-implemented, but the advertised "Momentum" meter isn't so effective. In all my review play, I never witnessed comeback from a scrappy team against a powerhouse. The opposite, however, happened every single time. While some people report not noticing the Momentum aspect, it was my experience that it wasn't balanced to allow the big upset.

Online games against human opponents are thrilling when they stick it out the whole way through. While there is noticeable lag at times, it usually doesn't have an effect on gameplay. The additional mini-games- Bowling, Tug-of-War, and Option Dash, are clever distractions and nothing more.

When making a decision on the Xbox 360 version of NCAA 07, it really boils down to whether you can stomach losing out on single-player depth in favor of improved visuals and stadium experience. On its own merit, this title provides near-perfect football gameplay with a decent dynasty mode. But when stacked next to the Xbox and PS2, its hard to justify the extra ten dollar price tag for a less extensive overall experience.

Features:

• All-New Momentum System—Capitalize on your window of opportunity as big plays, defensive stops, trick plays, and special teams keep you in a constant struggle for momentum.
• Back to School—Excel in the classroom to improve your overall character, and then balance your time wisely between studies, practice, and social events as you live the life of a Student Athlete.
• All-New Spring Game—Determine your depth chart in Dynasty Mode and decide whether to red-shirt incoming blue chip freshmen by evaluating their performances in the annual spring game.
• New Spring Drills—Hone your skills with 11 new and challenging mini-games focusing on all aspects of the game, including Rush the Quarterback, Passing Distance, and more.
• New Ways to Play—Utilize new gameplay mechanics like Jump the Snap, Slide Protection, Smart Routes, Defensive Hot Routes, and Precision Passing to gain every advantage over your rivals.
• All-New ESPN Integration—Get the latest sports news with real-time updates from ESPN Radio, and track all your latest Dynasty information via ESPN the Magazine and ESPN.com.
  

By Patrick Evans
CCC Staff Writer

Rating out of 5 NCAA Football 07 (Xbox 360) 4.5 Graphics It's the prettiest football on the block, but minor collision problems keep '07 from perfection (X360 version) 4.5 Control Everything on the field feels fine and the new kicking system works well, but menus could use some work. 4.2 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting Clean, crisp, and interactive, the crowds are pretty responsive to the game they are watching. The announcers are livelier than Madden but are much more repetitive. 4.3 Play Value Online will keep college fans busy for the coming month until Madden, but a lack of depth hurts. 4.3 Overall Rating - Great Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.