Customer Reviews

NCAA Football 10

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been playing EA's NCAA Football for years and have generally enjoyed it more than Madden. Now that I have young children, I find myself playing most of my games on the PSP rather than with an XBOX or PS - just to hard to find TV time. Thus, I have not played the other versions of NCAA 2010 so I just will be commenting on the quality of the gameplay for the PSP.

Having only played NCAA 2007 for the PSP (skipped the last 2 versions) and enduring all of the issues it had with the running game, I decided to pick up 2010 and give it a try and I am glad I did. (NOTE: I have played about 8 to 10 games on Dynasty at All-American level with an average B- squad in the ACC) As I play more in Dynasty in the future, I will come back and add more comments on recruiting, etc. if there is any interest.

POSITIVES:
1. Gameplay: On the whole, very smooth considering it is on the PSP. The running game is well done and you can see the holes well. If you are having trouble with the running game, make sure you set your audibles so you can adjust at the line - this makes a big difference especially at the higher difficulty levels. Passing has gotten better since I made some adjustments to the AI settings which I detail in the Negative section. One other note about audibles, if you are the away team, plan on your team making mistakes if you try and audible when the crowd is loud. I go back and forth on whether I like this as in real life many teams can now call audibles with just hand signals. I think there is a setting regarding home field advantage that you can turn off and although I have never adjusted it, I think it would allow for audibles in away games if you turned it off.
2. Supersim: Thank you EA for finally adding an option to sim to the end of the game. There was nothing I hated more than either beating a team easily through the first half or them doing that to me and then having to finish out the game - just a waste of time. Now you can choose during the game to sim a couple of plays, one quarter or the rest of the game. Just a great addition.
3. AI: So far I have had no problem against teams that are equal (I am a B- team right now) or worse and had a fairly close game against a B team. However, the first time I played an A- team, they were clearly better players and beat me. I like that in a game. Also, the computer play calling has improved. It use to be that I could blitz a lot and that would solve many challenges against all types of teams. Thus in past NCAA games, I had to stop blitzing so much so the games would be more of a challenge. However, I have found the computer AI for better teams does a great job of calling quick over the top passes if I start blitzing too much. This is the first NCAA game that I remember this happening so now I can still blitz when I want to but I realize I can not do it as much or I will get burned.
4. Dynasty: Too early to give a full opinion but if you have played NCAA in the past, I think you will find this right in line with what you expect. However, EA still needs to fix the Sim aspects of Dynasty. I am using 5 min quarters, thus my scores tend to be lower than the other games that are playing because they are all simmed based on regular 15 min quarters. There is still no way to adjust the length of time that sim games are played at so the scores and stats are in the ballpark of my games with 5 min quarters. This does affect recruiting because since I do not score as many points on average with 5 min quarters, my defense does not give up as many points or yards. Thus my offensive rankings are on the lower end (thus reflecting poorly on offensive recruits) and my defense is always ranked top 5 because it is being compared to games that are being simmed with 15 min quarters. Thus the top defensive recruits always want to play for me because I always have a top defensive team based on the stats. The only way I have found to compensate for this in the past is to rarely offer scholarships to 5 star defenders - thus balancing things a bit. Also, I found in the past that having too many 5 star offensive and defensive players makes the game to easy even at the highest difficulty settings so this aspect does not bother me much. Hopefully EA will add the ability to adjust sim time in the future - as a fan of the old NFL 2K series, they always had that adjustment option and trust me, it makes a difference in the stats.

NEGATIVES:
1. Fumbles: Yes, there are too many fumbles and you can not adjust this in the settings, but I have been able to reduce the occurence significantly. I have noticed that the "Composure" rating for an individual player has a huge effect on fumbles. Younger players have a lower composure rating thus they tend to fumble more. Check your roster and if you have a young freshman or sophmore who is more talented that an upperclassman but has a really low composure rating, than put the upperclassman in the starting lineup and you will notice a big change on the fumbles for your team. This is a strategic call in the end, but unless there is a hugh drop off in talent between two RBs or 2 WRs, go with the one with the higher composure rating. Also, get in the habit of redshirting your freshman and that will raise their composure rating in future years. Overall, I hope in the future, EA adds the ability to adjust fumble occurrences as they do with Interceptions.
2. Wide Open Dopped Passes: This was frustrating in the first couple of games and it did not matter if it was a WR with great hands or not, nor did composure really matter - just too many dropped passes for my team as well as the computer. You can fix this in the AI setting for "Catching" - just keep raising from game to game until you like the balance. I have raised it to 70% for both the computer and me and there is still an occasional drop, but it has made a big difference in the enjoyment of the game.
2. Stuttering after the play: I have seen some 1 to 2 second slowdowns, genrally after a play is complete while it the games shifts to the play call screen. You get used to it and it does not affect the gameplay much.
3. Default AI settings: Like the dropped passes mentioned above, I have found that making some tweaks to the AI for both the computer and my team helps make the game more enjoyable.
Kicking - add some strength to all kickers - in general the kickoffs are much too short. On average, I prefer to see drives begin in the 20s but on the default setting, most drives for both teams start in the high 30s.
Interceptions - Still too many and I have seen defenders jump like Jordan up in the air to make interceptions. Adjust this down some so at least they just knock the ball down more.
Holding Penalty: All I see is holding and hardly any other type of penalties. Adjust this down a bit and increase the others if you prefer to have penalties called occasionally. However, even now, I have Def Interference at 60% and have still yet to see one Def Int penalty called over the last 8 to 10 games. I will probably keep playing with this some more.
5. Special Teams: It is much to easy for both teams to score touchdowns on Punts and Kicks. I should not have games where there are 5 kicks returned for touchdowns combined from the computer and me (and only on 5 min quarters.) No real fix for this except to let them catch you or run out of bounds to keep things realistic. Also, my returns are not superstar players and I still run back a bunch of kicks.

For people who play sports video games, you know that some games just feel right or they don't. The highest compliment I can give is that this game just feels fun to play and it has kept me coming back for more. Somehow, EA has programmed the equivalent of a high quality PS2 NCAA Football game for the PSP and if they can just tweak some of the details mentioned by other reviewers from the last 3 years of PSP reviews on Amazon, I will be back for 2011.

If you have a PSP and are a fan of college football, I definitely recommend buying this game. I hadn't played any of the previous versions of this game for PSP, but I read some good reviews for the 2010 version and decided to pick it up. This is a great game, it is loads of fun to play at home or on the go. The last version of NCAA football that I played was 2007 for PS2 and this game is more fun than I remember that one being. The graphics are almost as good, with some details being sacrificed resulting in some generic stadium architecture, no refs and players on the sidelines, and you can't zoom in/out during replays. It doesn't really matter though, because the graphics and animation are great where it counts - for the 22 players on the field. Great animation, great control, bright and colorful graphics, and even real fight songs (although I wish my team's song played more often). The best thing that this has over the console version is that you can play it during TV commercials while watching live college football games (if you only have one TV, that is). Another great feature is being able to tweak the AI in fifteen different categories (for your team and the computer's team) in case you feel that the receivers are dropping too many passes, the defense is intercepting too many passes, or kick/punt returns for touchdowns are too easy. Even if you're dominating your opponent, it's still fun because you'll want to run the score up to help your team move up in the poll rankings. This game is a ton of fun, reminds me of playing Tecmo Bowl on the NES - it's great to mix up passing and running plays (and option plays) to put together some very nice offensive drives. The one control problem is more due to the PSP's design than the game - when I hold my PSP at a comfortable angle for viewing/holding, it's awkward to push the "L" button, which is usually one of your receivers on the left side of the field on pass plays. But it's not too bad and doesn't ruin the game, it just takes some getting used to if you have the same issue with how you hold the PSP. The loading times for the UMD can be a little annoying, but usually you don't mind it because you use that time between plays to think about what offensive play or defensive scheme to use next. As with most EA sports games, all of the licenses are there - all the college football programs that matter (FBS and FCS teams), a good selection of mascot teams, and ESPN logos mixed in. Overall, an excellent game. I had avoided trying the prior year versions because of mediocre reviews I read about them, but 2010 is a winner and worth picking up.

In response to Matthew Baer, in regards to the "Road to Glory (RTG) Mode" if you want your player to be a part of the action on nearly every play then you should set up your audibles to run plays that will highlight your player, running plays if you have a RB. Passing plays for a WR or QB or RB. Also for QB, some QB option plays where he can run the ball. I have found the only way to set up the audibles is to get out of RTG mode and go to some other mode like dynasty, and then set them up, and they will stay when you return to the RTG mode. I wish there were more than 5 possible audible plays. So you can be involved in nearly every play.
For RTG a few keys:
1) Do well in the initial training/try outs. Try to maximize your overall rating to get the most options on the most teams if that is your desire. So if this doesn't go well, you might want to try this again.
2) To maximize your bonus points don't beat the goals by much. In your first game if you go crazy and gain 400 yards, then the goals will be that high for the next game. So for a RB if you want to do well, just make the running goals barely, then go to the pass once you've made them. For a QB make your passing goals barely, then run for glory after.
3) Practice is a waste of time. SIM that. Bonus points come from games and the position training.

Overall Road to Glory (RTG) mode is loads of fun. Dynasty mode is great fun too. Wish they did not limit you to 10 years. What's with that? Joe P has been coaching forever.

For Dynasty I always found you will get plenty of recruits if you win all your games.

A big plus of 2010 NCAA seems to be slightly faster load times versus the previous versions. PSP needs to get this to near zero. I was hoping this would be the case with PSP go, but I'm not sure about that.

See the psp gamer review for a pretty good and complete review for this game. I agree with pretty much all that's said from him however, I just wanted to add one more little detail. The "road to glory" can be very upsetting to the point where I just want to pull my hair out! It's a mode to where you create your player and try to get on the team you want. Once you're on a team depending on your position you may play in more plays than not. For example, I choose to be a reciever and I play only in the formations which my create a player lines up in and the rest of the formations are computer simulated. With this being said, I become very upset at the plays the computer picks almost every play. In this mode all you can control is your player for the most part. The computer chooses the plays, players, and all the other horrible decisions. Urrrrrgh!

My son had been asking for the NCAA 2010 game for his PSP for months. We had looked everywhere and could not find it. We were even told that they did not make it for the PSP, but after checking amazon, there it was, at a good price and it arrived within a couple of days. It has worked perfectly, and every chance he gets he plays that game. Thanks for the great condition of the game and the great price and the quickness of it arrival.

This game is a must buy for college football fans with a PsP. Crisp handheld graphics, and many different gameplay modes. ;)

With EA not planning on making any further versions of NCAA Football for the PSP system, this may be the last one. It always a fun game. For me, the best part is playing in dynasty mode and building a winning program. A great game as always.

I am definitely a sports gamer and I love all sports video games. I have a PSP and an XBOX 360. I recently picked up NCAA Football 11 for my 360 and I decided to pick up NCAA Football 10 for my PSP. I wanted to have a portable college sports video game that I can play whenever I had the urge. After reading great reviews about the game, I decided to purchase it. Once it arrived, I immediately put it into my PSP system and got started.

The very first thing that I noticed was that it was a bit slow going between menus and what not. Alot of PSP games are like this due to the UMD so I looked past it. Once I actually got into a game though, I could not look past some of the issues of the gameplay. Maybe it is just me, but there is a 2-3 second pause between plays. I figured I could get used to it but the more I played it, the more it irritated me. Sometimes it would even pause for about 3-4 seconds right before being able to choose a new play. This, in my opinion, ruined the gameplay. I could not really get into the game because it was sooooo slow. I also had the quarters set to 5 minutes but because of the snail-like speed, it really turned into an hour game. I noticed also that it is even slower in RTG (Road to Glory) mode. I think it is because the CPU chooses the play for you and the UMD has to load it or something. Needless to say, I stayed away from Road to Glory mode, which was actually the highlight mode of the game.

As far as graphics go, it is pretty good. I personally feel that Madden on PSP looks better. The colors in NCAA though are very vibrant and have a WII-ish feel to it. Not a hard game to look at. The only thing I wish would improve are the player's faces. This not only goes for this game but all sports games on psp actually.

Besides the slowness of the game, one thing that really bugged me was the fact that receivers ALWAYS DROPPED PASSES. They could be wide open and STILL drop the pass! I went into the game options and turned passing assistance on and it still did it. So I even turned it all the way up to 100 and passes were still dropped when they were wide open! I understand not catching passes if the receiver was in coverage...but c'mon, dropping a wide open pass? Not good. Also, it was very hard to get any type of running game going. Maybe it was just my HB, but they run extremely slow and get caught in the backfield a lot. So what other choice do you have? Passing the ball...which will probably end up being dropped. Don't get me wrong, there were times where I constantly completed successful passes, but I think its really a game of luck and NOT skill.

Overall, the game was okay when I had it. I eventually traded it in at Gamestop for something else. But I would recommend this game to people who can download it from the Playstation Store. Slowness wouldnt then be an issue. But if you have to play it from a UMD, please save your money since the UMD slows down loading times. If you can look beyond the weird passing and sometimes odd running game, then this game will keep you occupied. To summarize:

PROS:
-Graphics look nice and vibrant.
-Offers an interesting Road to Glory Mode
-Dynasty mode is pretty deep

CONS:
-SLOW!!! (if you are playing from a UMD)
-Passing and running game is off
-Super Sim option is SLOW ALSO

I completely agree with everything else everyone is saying. This game is very "dumbed down" while I understand it has to be to fit onto a psp screen, I think it's been down a little bit too much. With that being said, It is a good game for what I paid for it. it is football pure and simple. The problem that i have with it is you have to tweak it to get it to the settings. Unless you are a diehard video game player, rookie is way to easy (68-0), and the next level i was getting my but kicked (32-14, 35-10). It could just be me, but It took me a while to get the game tweaked to a level where i could play it and keep the games challenging. All in all I like it, I just wish they would make a new hockey game for PSP.

Not as fun as NCAA for the PS2 or Xbox and the graphics are far worse than the graphics in Madden for the PSP