NCAA Football 2001 (PS1)

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Product Details

• ASIN: B00004U4R5
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,438 in Video Games (See Bestsellers in Video Games)

Product Description

Amazon.com Review
Despite the tweaked graphics and artificial intelligence, NCAA College Football 2001 from EA Sports is the same old college football game on the PlayStation.

The third incarnation in the series, this game straddles the fence between a realistic simulation and a fast-paced action game. College football fans will have a blast as it allows them to play as any one of the 140 1-A or 1-AA college teams (with as many stadiums) on its way to reaching the coveted Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, or one of 17 others.

New this year is Advanced Player Control, or APC, giving players even more control (and subtleties) to the action. This includes controlling any one player (you choose who you'd like to control before the ball is snapped), finding open field and calling for the ball, and so forth. This gives the player more control on the field, but doesn't take away from the fun factor.

The game offers up a Practice, Exhibition, and Season modes, and the Dynasty mode has been beefed up to allow gamers to review and recruit players at the junior college and even high school level to enhance their rosters. The Situation mode is a collection of scenarios for you to battle through, such as coming back to win a game after a bad quarter or a lousy half. There's also a new mode, dubbed the Bowl Game Playoff mode, which is essentially a do-or-die, go-for-broke game for those who would rather work their way up the ladder, elimination style, toward the National Championship.

Though these additions may sound like a lot has been added to the game this year, after a few hundred snaps and a dozen or so games, it really feels like past NCAA games with a little more flair. If you enjoyed the previous versions in the series, then no doubt you'll like this one too. It's college pigskin done right, and there's nothing wrong with that! --Todd Mowatt

Pros:

• Advanced Player Control adds new subtleties to the action
• Bowl Game Playoff mode allows players to create elimination-style competitions for the National Championship

Cons:

• Plays much like prior versions

Product Description
The crowd sings a roaring fight song, a sophomore in an animal costume jumps around the sidelines, and players fight for their school and a chance at the pros. What are we talking about? College football, of course, and only NCAA Football 2001 can take you all the way to the Orange Bowl. You'll call the plays and control the moves specific to each position on your team. The running game has been improved from the previous year's release and now includes new defensive player logic, pursuit angles, and receiver routes. In dynasty mode, you can build your team from the ground up, even adding junior-college prospects to your roster. If you're more interested in quick-and-dirty action, play in situation mode where you create the scenario--even putting two minutes on the clock and your team within field-goal range. And to amp up the rah-rah college atmosphere of your games, NCAA Football 2001 lets you customize the setting with frat logos and uniforms and even lets you name your players.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars same game, new packaging, August 4, 2000

By	Christopher R. Cicatelli "cicatelli" (bethesda, md) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

ok, here's the deal: ncaa 2001 is great. but then again, so was ncaa 2000, and that is essentially the game you are getting when you pop that beautiful CD into your overused Playstation.

there are some added features that definately add to the hours upon hours of enjoyment, but all in all, if you're happy with ncaa 2000, ncaa 2001 may be a purchase you might want to skip. could i skip it? no way! EA Sports is a company that always brings forth perfection to the gamer's table. the hard thing for EA Sports to look at while creating ncaa 2001 was that ncaa 2000 was pretty much the most amazing football sim (pro or college) ever made. why try and fix something that ain't broke? i agree with the direction EA Sports took with 2001...they added some cool new features (expanded create a school, expanded recruiting system, expanded the ranking system, improved the running game, and strengthened the AI) but they kept the basic core of what made ncaa 2000 so freakin' great.

One thing that was added that i hate is the momentum meter. there's no need for it...the crowd is your momentum meter. the meter apparently is supposed to give more "power and finesse" to what ever team has the meter in their favor. nah...doesn't really work out that way. i just turn mine off. i let my playcalling make or break my momentum, then i feed off the crowd's enthusiasm or rage. whichever their offering at the time.

the running game was improved and given a curve in favor of the gamer. unfortunately, running can sometimes be too easy. gaining a 50 to 60 yard run off a HB-TOSS is not out of the ordinary. and that's on skill level All-American. don't get me wrong, i love the running attack, but sometimes it can get ridiculous. oh, and by the way, the turbo button really kicks in this year. those HB-Toss plays really come through with that turbo button bein' tapped like there's no tomorrow.

the passing game is still great, but man, getting picked off happens way too much. one of the main reasons it happens so much is that when your QB tosses a pass to a receiver, about 4 or 5 defenders just swarm all over your intended target. now i'm all for defense, but let's cut down on the univited guests, shall we?

all in all, i do love this game. but i think i love 2000 just a smidge more. 2001, for all of its new additions and elements is sure to please any college football fan for hours and hours...whether it's in your dorm room, or your living room after the two year old and the wife have finally fallen asleep.

that's all i have to say. EA Sports has come through with another winner. besides, i don't think EA is putting out ncaa 2002 for the PS2. this may be your last offering for a while.

see ya on the gridiron.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not an improvement over NCAA 2000., July 30, 2000

By A Customer

Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

I will start by saying that I do really like this game, I have bought the game each year since College Football USA 96 But I like this game in the same way as I liked last year's, and hat isn't such a good thing, for a video game series aiming to improve on each new edition. This is not a big overhaul like NCAA 99 to NCAA 2000.

First I'll go over some of my initial impressions. The basic format is almost exactly like last year's. The opening FMV is short and a little disappointing, but that can be attributed to the large amount of memory FMV takes up. That's OK. I'll deal with that.

The game has a more computerized feel to it rather than traditional college football feel. The music is computerized and a little awkward in a football game. The best music in it is the music that is rehashed from last year's game. There is no new feel in this game at all. That was a little disapointing.

Next is the features, which are basically the same with a few little adjustments. Dynasty mode is still the most valuable aspect of the game, shooting up the replay value. Main changes in this area lie in recruiting, where now you can recruit Junior College transfers. Nothing really that special, except they are just a little better than most of the recruits. Some of the buttons were changes in recruiting which got me hung up a little since I played 2000 so much. No biggie.

One of the nicest new additions to the game was also in the Dynasty Mode area. There are now 2 polls to be ranked in (EA Media, EA Power polls), as well as the famous (infamous?) BCS poll. This was a great addition, mainly because it makes it more authentic. They seem to work OK, maybe not flawlessly, but it is close.

The gameplay in the game is almost exactly like last year, with only a few new animations in catching, and spin move. The players look the same. The running game was supposed to be a main concern this year, since it was too hard to run up the middle in 2000, and it is better this year. The speed burst is different, you can outrun the computer now, and vice versa, which makes it more real.

The biggest new feature in gameplay is Advanced Player Control, which allows you to control one player during an offensive play. QB, WR, RB, or OL can all be controlled by you, but you also have no control over any other players, so it takes getting used to. Sometimes the computer will not go exactly how you want it to, screwing up the play. Thankfully, this can be turned on or off during a game.

A momentum meter was added during the game too. Basically whichever team has the momentum, its abilities are enhanced. One of the problems with this seems to be when the computer does not have the momentum, it runs all passing plays, which is very irritating. Some games the computer will not run a single run play, which is the biggest drawback in the game. Thankfully, this can be turned off as well, but there still seems to be a tendency for the CPU to pass too much. Not good.

Custom options like creating a player and school are still in, and a new custom conference option is in 2001. Custom schools is a little deeper, giving you more options in designing the uniforms, and more logos. Seems to work pretty well, though it takes some time to configure all the colors, etc.

One of my biggest problems in the game is saving a dynasty. One dynasty now takes up all 15 blocks on a memory card, instead of just 14. This is a problem because you will not be able to save your user profile unless you have 2 memory cards. That is inconvenient, and takes a lot of time. You may just forget about a user profile.

Pros: Easy to understand like 2000, still the best college football graphics, great stadium graphics, better player control, more realistic player speed, a few more features in polls and recruiting for the better, works the same as 2000.

Cons: Basically the same game as 2000, no major improvements, the computer AI is very bad on offense, not a college football feel to the interface, bad music, some fight songs removed, will see a few bugs in the game, has frozen on me a few times, can't save player profile and dynasty.

NCAA 2001 doesn't improve a whole lot over NCAA 2000 except for new rosters and a few new licenses. APC needs a lot of practice to get used to, and playing vs. the new computer AI is frustrating. It should have been put out for PS2 also, like Madden. If you are looking for the best college game out, this is it, but just know it is basically no different than 2000.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NCAA Football 2001 "best game ever", September 16, 2000

By	anonymous (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews

It has been my experience that EA Sports has always had a "cult" following with their NCAA titles. Many people who do not like the real sport of college football, hate EA sports version of NCAA football. If this is you, do not buy the game. However, if you like strategy, commanding a team through a "dynasty", and real game play this title is for you. Each year the title adds new things and improves others, while keeping the game basically the same. I will not repeat all of those changes, since they are covered in the other reviews quite extensively. I will tell you that EA Sports has once again out done themselves. Few video games capture sports as well as their titles. Some basic suggestions:

1. If you want a good feel for the entire game, do not always play as a perennially ranked team. Control some lesser known teams and get the full experience of the stadiums, fan chants, fight songs, and other bowl games.

2. Try not to run the same plays on offense all the time. After 6 or 7 seasons of HB toss, you will master it. Part of the fun is trying to master the other plays.

3. Although Dynasty mode is the reason to buy the game, the other modes are fun to play against other people.

So, if you want a real type game experience buy NCAA 2001 by EA Sports. Every year I say I will not buy the new year title, too much like the old version. But, every year the little changes make the game better, without changing the game too much. The one problem I have with the game, and I'm sure I am the only one who feels this way, is that the celebrations are not needed. College football unlike pro, doesn't need 'pro wrestling' type celebrations to bring in fans. Buy NCAA 2001 if you have been debating it (the recruiting alone makes this title worth the money).