Customer Reviews

NCAA Football 2002

5 star:		(101)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I waited most of a year to get this game. It's the whole reason I paid some guy in Canada a fortune for a PS2. Playing it made all that waiting worth it. I'm now guiding my beloved Crimson Tide to the SEC Championship and beyond with awesome, Madden 2001-esque graphics, a much more fluid gameplay than NCAA 2001 and bells and whistles that make it playable well into next season.

My favorite heightened aspect of the game is recruiting. The recruiting mode is deeper and occupies a larger share of the total package. Visit all the Blue Chips you want, and even if it looks like they're headed your way, it's no guarantee - just like in real life.

Great game. The most comprehensive college football title ever. If EA Sports keeps this kind of performance up, they'll be including a helmet and jersey in next year's game box.

When I bought this game a few weeks ago I was expecting a pretty good game but when I turned it on and started playing I was blown away. First of all the graphics were ridiculous! The detail is amazing. Another cool feature that many people don't know is that if you go to the edit players menu in Rosters you can name all the players! For instance I went in and named all the big name players from college and surprisingly the announcers will actually call out their names! Eric Crouch,Ken Dorsey,Chris Simms you name it! It really adds some personality to the game. I also found the computer on the ALL-American level to be a real challenge, I haven't stopped playing this game yet. The Dynasty Mode is very deep. Recruiting if your not a major college power is challenging. I played with North Carolina and won the National Championship and still could only get 8 of 30 players recruited to commit. You'll notice the dropoff in talent on the field too when your new player's have come in right away and start. ...I'm in year three of my dynasty and they still haven't won more than 5 games in a season. Other than that the AI is exceptional. This game comes highly recommended! Buy it, you won't be disappointed!

I cannot believe some of the nit-picking going on here. Yes, on the sidelines the players walk through chairs. And that happens how many times? The fact is, there's so much detail in this game and the gameplay itself is incredible. This is not Madden 2001 -- the defense is much, much better. I have to actualy play run-stop defense (4-3, 4-4. 5-2, etc.) instead of playing nickle and dime coverage just to try and slow down the opposing team's passing game and lackluster running game. The captured motion is fantastic: a bullet pass over a jumping linebacker who is falling back into coverage and in front of the safety to a receiver who slides to his knees in order to catch the pass -- just for example -- is amazing. That's great stuff! I've played video football games for several years and this is the best I've ever seen. The people who are criticizing this game will never be satisfied, in my humble opinion. If you love football games and for some reason are hesitating on whether or not to pick this game up -- don't. Buy it. Trust me.

this game has everything you could possibly ask for in a college football game. when i bought the game i was suprised to find the connecticut huskies listed among the division 1a teams. as i write this i am in the process of building the program into a national power. some little things that made this game great to me: first the players get stickers on their helmets for great performances on the field. this is a great idea and a good way to see your players development over a season. second when i started the dynasty w/uconn, the stadium was never close to capacity and the fans were very quiet. a few winning seasons later and the stadium sells out and the fans are going crazy all the time. third i love the fact that you have to earn the commentary of the announcers during season/dynasty play. only certain games are "televised" each week and the game annonuncers will only be involved in these games. fourth the expanded recruiting mode is awesome. players come from real cities now and are much more detailed. the scouts do a more in depth job with recruiting as well. ea has truly made a very realistic college football experience. the whole lack of name thing that everyone complains about is rediculous b/c there has never been a college game for any sport with player names. im sure this would be in violation of some sort of ncaa rule. this game is addicting and the best game out there now. and with all this being said i really can't wait for madden 2002.

After playing half way through my first season in Dynasty mode, I decided to read the opinions of others. Sad to say that after doing so, I had to drop my rating from 4 stars to 3. I simply agreed with too many complaints which had been posted.

1) Game is VERY slow at times as it frequently stalls between plays. Very annoying.

2) Pass defense stinks. Often times I will have a triple coverage on a guy and he still catches it. Teams only average 20 rushing yards a game, but usually pass for more than 400+. Ridiculous. Even though I have a top ranked defense, every single team I face can pass at will on me.

3) Not sure how, but the passing features get turned off every so often when I'm on offense. Because I'm unable to pass, I take multiple sacks in a row. Not pleasant when it's a close game.

4) Corso's picks: As a Husker fan, I know full well that NU has a strong ground game with little passing. But in my latest match up against OU, Corso gave NU's passing game the nod over OU's. Herbstreet piped in that NU was loaded with multiple weapons to throw to and that NU would win the game in the air. WHAT?? How realistic is that?? Didn't anyone catch these things during testing??

5) Cannot customize future schedules which would be nice considering the importance of the strength of schedule when calculating the BCS.

Overall, the game is a lot of fun. But some of the complaints listed serve as a drag on game play.

By far the best sports simulation I've ever played. For the few reviewers who claim it's too hard, I don't know what they're talking about. I am NOT a hardcore gamer--never have been. I'm a 29-year-old lawyer who doesn't have time to play for hours on end learning endless controls. These controls are not that hard. It may take a while to get used to spin moves and juke moves and such, but the game is very playable without them.

I've had the game for a month or so, and I'm doing pretty well. I'm playing Notre Dame in Dynasty mode. I went 9-3 my first season (I lost 2 of my first 3 games), but am undefeated in my second season heading into the BCS championship game against Miami. I'm only playing on the pro-level, though, so I may have to move up.

There are a few glitches in the game, but nothing major. Players occasionally walk through each other. The announcers sometimes say stupid things (e.g., criticizing a team that goes for it on fourth and six with under a minute left in the game and down by 6). There is that "unbeatable play" problem, but that's not horrible if you promise yourself not to use it more than a couple time per possession.

Overall a great game--buy it.

I just got a PS2 for the first time last week, and since Madden2002 isn't out yet, I went with NCAA2002 for now. And let me just say, I'm blown away. I've played my friend's Madden2k1 on PS2, so it isn't just the newness of the system. NCAA2002 is the most realistic game I've ever seen: 1)the commentary is *seamless*, for example, when Lee Corso says that Penn State has to keep Michigan's offense off the field, you can't tell if "Michigan" and "Penn State" have been added to a generic sentence (like in the older sports games). 2) the graphics are dynamite. Not much better than Madden2k1 (why mess with perfection?) but the players seem to be a little more *human* with their movements. Also, there are more realistic catches, tackles, and movements *after* the plays. 3) The gameplay and A.I. is phenomenal. Against Nebraska, my outside blitzes were taking away the option, so they started running draws and tight end dump passes up the middle. Also, the kicking game is more realistic then previous NCAA's: its hard to make a 45 yarder from the right hash mark, but not impossible.

All in all, this game had a bigger impact on me than any other sports video game besides Madden2k1 for PS2 and NHL98 for PS. **IF YOU LOVE SPORTS GAMES, GO GET IT**

I have been a faithful follower of the EA College Football games since the days of Bill Walsh College Football on the old Genesis. Needless to say, it's come a long way baby!

This is probably the most realistic sports game I've ever seen! No cartoonish hits, or super speed bursts...Just good ol smash-mouth football! This is basically Madden 2001, but the updates and college setting make it a must buy! The TV presentation is much better than Madden, and is even more realistic. The dynasty mode is deeper than ever before, with players' hometowns listed among their stats and attributes. Heck, you can even earn Buckeye stickers (Ohio State), Tomahawks (FSU), or other stickers that appear on college helmets as players make big plays! If any glitches do exist, I have noticed that the game has problems with freezing on occasion. Whether this is a software or hardware problem I don't know, so it's advisable to save your dynasty after every game.

And for those who are disappointed in the lack of player names, the NCAA does not allow athletes to use their names to make money. They do this to maintain eligibility standards. If anyone is interested in finding rosters though, Athlon Sports puts out an excellent college football preview that lists team rosters and numbers two-deep by position.

To sum it all up, this is just one of the newer must-have games that finally make it look like buying a PS2 was a smart move! Thank you EA Sports, for giving my life new meaning....

Just played out my first season last night and here are my impressions.

1) Yes, in terms of graphics and gameplay it is almost like Madden 2001, but is that a bad thing? Some animations have been tweaked, and the stadiums are in perfect detail. Though, the problem with the shiny, off-color helmets is still there.

2) The AI is noticably better, for example for the first half of a game, I was tearing the computer up with my passing game. In the second half, the computer blitzed more, and softened up its coverage. On defense I am still trying to figure out how the computer's LT gets covered in glue, he's impossible to get free from.

3) The audio is a mixed bag, the effects are great, but the commentary needs some work. There are three levels of games; local,regional, national and game of the week. Local games get no audio commentary, just the stadium PA announcer. However, I've noticed no difference between the other three commentaries.

4) Just about every stat imaginable can be tracked, through I could see no stats for knockdowns and pressures. The AI finally got rid of it's big school bias in doing the rankings. In past editions I would be a 12-0 Tulane being ranked behind a 8-4 FSU and 7-5 Tennessee and so on. However, how coaches are evaluated is dumb. For Tulane I was given an ultimatum of either go to bowls in 2 of 3 years or one national championship. Considering Tulane has been to one bowl since 1987, this is unrealistic.

5) I haven't even touched on offseason work, and I allready feel this game clearly is not a Madden clone.

I have been a fan of EA Sport's College football series for many years and this is, without a doubt, the best installment yet. From graphics to sound to the game engine, this is GREAT!!!

The game has the usual practice, season, franchise mode, etc... I usually don't mess with any mode except Franchise, and this mode is great. You can take any team through numerous seasons in your attempt to build or maintain a dynasty. The game keeps track of stats for every player and even for you, the coach. Your rating will increase over the years as your team does so.

The game play is equal to Madden 2001 (haven't played the new one yet) and this is a good thing. You can change the route's of your recievers at the line of scrimmage which is VERY cool. You can still change your pass coverage as well. I do wish they'd kept the momentum meter, but oh well.

Speaking of stats, you can see both the Media Top 25 and the Coach's Top 25 Poll, as well as the BCS rankings. You have a Heisman Race and you will be able to see the All America teams. Finally you even have players of the week. If this isn't enough, some weeks you might get lucky and have TV coverage in which ESPN's team including Lee Corso will call the game!

This game is the ultimate college football game. I'd give it 5 stars, but it's not quite perfect so it'll get 4.5