Customer Reviews

NCAA Football 2004

5 star:		(79)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

No sports game out there can compare to the pagentry, passion and depth of NCAA Football 2004. This game can be as simple or as complex as you want. You want simple? Pick a team, line up and play a game. Want a little depth? Create-a-school, involve yourself in every detail: pick your stadium, team colors, mascot, uniform style, type of school (academic, et al), name each of your players, select your type of offense, adjust your depth charts, adjust your substitutions and finally, recruit the next batch of superstars.

See how incredibly detailed it can be? There so much more to this game than playing football, but even that has amazing depth. I play "Dynasty" mode in which I guide my team through several years. Some years, on top of all the "general manager" and "head coach" duties, I'll actually play each game hands-on. Other years, I simply play Head Coach. I'll select the plays on offense and defense and let the computer take control. If you don't want to sit through each and every game, you can simply let the computer simulate your game completely!

The football game itself is outstanding. The crowd goes nuts when a big play happens. Cheerleaders and team mascots dance around. And hit a big play for a TD, you get to hear your team's fight song. It's really adds a lot of pagentry to the game that Madden simply can't do.

The controls are simple, yet brilliant. The learning curve can be a little steep for new folks, but give it a week and the controls will be like 2nd nature. In fact, if you've played Madden, the controls are practicaly identical.

If there is a down side, it's that the difficulty levels are too spread out. I can dominate the game (which means no fun) on "All-American" level, but I get crushed by everyone (including Navy for goodness sakes) if I play on the "Heisman" level.

Bottom line, you can put all the NBA, NFL, MLB, MLS, Golf and Tennis games together and they don't add up to NCAA Football 2004. I simply can't give this game the props it deserves. Go out, buy it for yourself or your hubby (or kids), and then come back and thank me!

NCAA Football 2004 is the greatest football game out. This year they added the online mode. If u have an online adapter you can play againist other gamers online. Dynasty mode is so much better than last (that has to be good). The new sports illustrated feature is great. I has so many different covers. In 8 years of me playing dynasty on the game I have never seen the same cover twice. The best part of the new dynasty is u can get invited to another more prestigous conference and u can also get job offers from more prestigous universities. Recruiting is more improved. U can get recruits to come to ur program by promises of playing time and other ways. Another mode is The College Classic mode. U can play in the 20 greastest plays from the past 20 years. The plays include Fluties miracle Hail Mary verus Miami, Flordia State's wide right field goal, "the play" when Califoria returned the kick for the win verus Stanford, and the fiesta bowl double overtime thriller from last year. Improvements in game play are better zone coverage, TD celebrations that can get u an unsportsmen like conduct penalty, and alot of great trick plays. There are more trophies, more teams, more school spirit, more records (including school), and more fun. If u have a spare 50 bucks u must buy this game it a great game for the casual and die-hard football fan. It would make a great gift for a friend family member or yourself. Once u put this game in the video game console u cant take it out or cut it off. U will enjoy this game 4 a long time.

Last Year NCAA 2003, consumed my life for well over 300+ hrs. I even played it more then Madden 2003(gasp!). But could EA sports top themselves yet again?
The answer is a resounding YES!
Nearly every aspect of last years effort has been improved, from the play-books (a huge improvement) and the # of playable teams. The biggest improvements come in the Dynasty mode, a great feature that allows you control every aspect of your team season after season. The main improvement is the addition of the sports illustrated covers, the recap the week's previous action. I swear half the fun is seeing if your team made any print.
Graphically the game make a few minor leaps in quality, more animations, and improved stadiums, but no earth-shaking changes are found.
Sound, always top notch in the series, receives a few tweaks that compliment and already stellar package. The voice over commentary is still good, but not great. I would like to hear more situational commentary then the general banter that comes from the announcers on a regular basis, but it still stands above the rest of the pack.
Gameplay is as tight as ever with a minor adjustments, on both offense and defense.
When it comes to the presentation, what was great last year, borders on just good this year. Sure a few touches where added here and there (locker room exits, cheerleaders with flags, canons etc.), but I was hoping that more improvements would have been added to heighten the atmosphere.
So are there enough upgrades to warrant another $...?????
Yes, I have to say so. This game is still light years ahead of the competition, but I hope EA doesn't get comfortable.
This game is a five star game, but in the end more upgrades should have been added so I have to pull one star from this great title.
FINAL VERDICT: 4 STARS ****, but if you purchase this game (and I do recommend it!), say good-bye to your life for awhile

I love college football and this game does a great job of capturing the excitement of the real thing. The dynasty mode is great with the new sports illustrated covers that highlight the star games and players.

Gameplay is fun but it takes forever (and I still haven't figured out) to find the optimum settings for a competitive game. One disadvantage is the fact it takes so long to play a game. If you don't have tons of free time then this can be a problem. It takes me about 45 minutes to play a 6 min. quarter game.

Recruiting is a lot of fun as you fight to draft the stars of the future. I recommend creating your own school and just trying all the options this game offers. That's what makes this game fun. Enjoy!

Lets start with the what matters most - Dynasty Mode. Big improvment over last years. I thought last year was great, this blew my mind. The addition of the Sports Illustrated feature is great, being able to read the headlines and seeing the pictures every week, although having college football grace the cover every week is not realistic, only in a perfect world. The playcalling is much improved with esier to read defensive schemes. On offense there are more trick plays including the reciever throwback to the quarterback. The screen plays this year actually work. Play action has been reinvented in this game, on play action calls the camera follows the running back for a brief second, which will fool anybody in two player mode. After finishing a year, recruiting begins. It's the same as last year with a couple of nice additions like putting emphasis on bringing a player in. You can pick between playing time, school tradition, etc. After a week of recruiting, you may want to put emphasis on playing time and that recruit may not care about that, he may want to come to your school because of the coaching style. You can go in and rethink your stategy and put emphasis on coaching style.
There is also another new feature which is if you have a great game you get awarded points in the Great Games section. This keeps the stats from the game and ranks all your greates games in order and you can reflect on them. I've already had 4 great games in 1+ seasons.
In the stat department, it goes really in depth and there are school records now that you can try to break along with the NCAA records, single game, season and career.
Overall it may be the best football game ever, or at least until Madden 2004 comes out.

NCAA Football 2004, Will it Pass the Test?
Title: NCAA Football 2004
Genre: Sports
Rating: E
Producer: EA Sports
Release: July 2003
Price: $40-50

Did you know that it takes 3,000 cows to supply the NFL with footballs for one season? Well, this is about NCAA Football 2004.I assure you that it is a great game and best of all no cows were harmed in the making of this game!!
First of all, the graphics and sound effects on NCAA Football 2004 are simply unbelievable. The graphics are excellent for many reasons. Firstly, the great player animations. The players actually look real instead of the squarish looking animations on other games including NCAA College Football 2k3.As well as that; there are good contrasts on the colors. The sound effects are as I said earlier, unbelievable. You can hear the tackling rams, the crowd noise and shouts of the players. It's almost as if you're at the game, and is nearly as good.
Like the graphics and sound effects this year's new features are excellent. This year's new features include: EA Sports Bio and College Classics. In the EA Sports Bio you can track your progress across any EA Sports video game (such as Madden NFL 2004,Nascar Thunder 2004) and unlock certain codes. In NCAA Football 2004 these are pennants that will give you ratings boosts, stadiums,and historic teams. In the College Classics you take control of certain events such as: Wide Right 1, The Miracle at Michigan, or last year's Fiesta Bowl and rewrite history.
In addition to the new features and graphics/sound effects being so great the commentary being so good the commentary is "So good it's scary". The commentators are: Kirk Herbstreit, Brad Nessler, and "The Coach", Lee Corso (ESPN's College Game Day announcers). You can press the square button at the play selection menu and Lee Corso will recommend to you a good play to call. Also, if you're playing a Dynasty Mode and break a school record the announcers will talk about it. Then, the announcers will congratulate the player and talk about the part he has played on the team. In addition the announcers are wild, crazy, and funny. The announcers are so funny because they say things such as: Corso: "Let's see how aggressive the Defense is following the pick last time. They're like a wild animal; when they smell blood they go in for the kill." Kirk: "Easy coach your getting excited."Corso: "That's right sweetheart I'm always excited."
If you expect me to slam anything about this game then you're wrong because the Dynasty Mode is great. As an avid sports gamer I know this important aspect of any sports game. In the Dynasty Mode you take control of your team with one goal in mind: Win!!! You can recruit Blue Chip Recruits and change your playbook as well as your coaching style.
Wondering whether or not to shell out $50 for NCAA Football 2004? Think no longer my friend. This is a great game, which I would recommend to any sports gamer.
BOTTOM LINE: Must have game for any sports fan of any age, which will make a great addition to any collection.

I have played this game for a day now and I have got to say the action is way more intense then last years version. The celebration's are amazing and you can control them for yourself! The gameplay is much better and the create a player is much more fitting then last years version. I like the new sports illustrated collum every week, so I can look who pulled off the biggest upset. I can also earn cheats by how much I have played the game. The recruting is a little complex, but you'll get used to it. The game has some of the best graphics I have ever seen! the cheerleaders look twice as hot as last years version.This is a fantastic game and I am looking forward to more games from ea sports!

I'm still hooked on NCAA 2003, but I had to get NCAA 2004 anyway.
Unlike what was said by some reviewers, this game is not like last years; game play might be familiar but the graphics are much better and the plays actually run as designed (2003 didn't perform well on the trick plays where in NCAA 2004, they actually play as drawn up).
Not only do the trick plays actually do what they're supposed to, they also get defended realistically by the cpu; you can run them maybe 1 or 2 times in the game before the cpu catches on.
Like 2003, the offensive line actually blocks (so does the FB if you have a decent one) and the receivers actually lock their blocks up also. It's still hard to get lined up properly in order to tip or intercept a pass but unlike earlier installments of this series, if you are lined up properly, the ball doesn't just bounce off you; so the interceptions are more realistic.
The extra stuff such as; weekly Sports Illustrated covers and articles, more trophies, better/more realistic recruiting, etc, just add to an already fun game.
The #1 advantage of this game is that, unlike Madden 2004, the regular season, team performance and fan support actually mean something; the better you do and the more fans you draw, the higher the bowl game you get to play.

Hard to believe but EA has topped last year's NCAA 2003. Here are the highlights.

Online Play-Note only for PS2-setup was a breeze, plenty of rooms to find players, though not many were entering games. We'll see if EA's fair play system works, as my experience in Madden 2003 was marred by people quitting games frequently.

Graphics have been cleaned up (less shine on the helmets), player animations have been improved (players no longer fall like an anvil hit them), and the camera has vastly been improved, though I think the play-action has been exagerated.

Offensive and defensive AI has improved. On offense, you will see downfield blocking and receivers fighting with DB's for position. On defense, the DB's are more accute, playing for the ball instead of letting receivers torch them. However, I noticed that on fumbles, some players will just stand there by the ball.

Presentation has improved, with the SI license adding alot. Now each week there is an SI cover, and simulated exerpts from the magazine. It was a hoot after I took my alma mater. Tulane to the top 10, to see a SI cover proclaiming "Who-Lane, who are these guys from New Orleans"

There were a great many new teams added, including all 1AA teams, and scores of historical teams. The rivalries have been expanded, with most teams having all their true rivalries available.

This is not a simple upgrade from 2003, very much worth the purchase.

I almost didn't buy this game, because I really didn't think it could get better than last year's NCAA Football 2003. Wow, am I glad I didn't listen to myself! NCAA Football 2004 is the best football game yet!

Everything has been improved in NCAA Football 2004. The controls are more fluid than ever. This takes a little time getting used to (hit the speed button too soon and your player will stumble around a bit), but it adds an element of realism to your gameplay. New animations make the game a lot of fun (what's more satisfying than watching the opposing quarterback slam his fist into the ground after you sack him). Also, there are more teams, more mascots, and more historical games than ever before.

But the cream of the NCAA Football crop has always been the Dynasty mode, and NCAA 2004's is vastly improved. If your team does well enough, you can change your division or renegotiate your contract. Do poorly and you're out of a job. And while it's cosmetic, one of my favorite additions is the "Sports Illistrated" mode, where your team just may grace the cover if you perform well enough.

If you like football simulations, definitely buy this game. If you don't like football sims, but this game anyway. You'll be so engrossed with this great gameplay, you won't even remember that Madden 2004 comes out next month.