Amazon.com: NCAA Football 07: Playstation 2: Video Games

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67 of 87 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars EA's All-American Gets Redshirted after Its Breakout Season, July 19, 2006

By	D. R. Jeanclerc "Reader, Listener & Obsessive... (Brunswick, OH USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars

There's no disputing that EA owns the lion's share of the sports videogame market, especially with last year's acquisition of exclusive licenses for both pro and college football. Many (understandably) feared that this lack of competition would lead to lackluster games, i.e. each year's release being reduced to not much more than a full-price roster update. A lot of people also figure that the NCAA series is probably just warmed-over Madden clothed in a different set of uniforms. Nothing could be further from the truth - in fact, it's the Madden franchise that suddenly has some catching up to do. So if you're looking to get your first college football game, look no further. However, perrenial fans of the series will quickly find that the 07 version of NCAA bears too much similarity to last year's superb game, leaving questions as to whether or not it's worth the price.

GAME MODES
All of the familiar game modes are here, such as single game and a great multi-season dynasty mode (more on that later). Last year's Race for the Heisman, where you take an individual through his college career, ultimately turned out to be a fresh idea that was lacking in the execution. In NCAA 07, it has been reintroduced as "Campus Legend" mode, but the improvements don't make enough of a difference. The goal this time is expanded beyond simply chasing the Heisman - now you're out to become an all-time great by balancing performance on the field, strong academics, and popularity on campus. Academics begin when you choose a major during player creation. There are three levels of difficulty, with the easiest covering sports topics like team mascots and sports trivia and the most difficult covering real chemistry, U. S. history, etc. Then, during the season you take a mid-term and a final exam to determine your grades. If you do well, you earn ability bonus points. Different majors affect different abilities and the harder the major, the more you can potentially gain. On the other hand, if you blow your exams, you could be declared academically ineligible or even booted off of the team. I tried the U.S. History major and found most of the questions to be a mix of everyday knowledge, although there were some topics that I genuinely had to guess. But don't worry - you've got opportunity to study each evening during the season to get some tip-offs about the questions that will be on the exam. Of course, if you sit in your room and study all the time, you're blowing your chance to become a true big man on campus. You've got to throw some nights out on the town into the mix or else your popularity rating will suffer. Beating a rival school or turning in a record-breaking performance will also help out, just as sins against the alma mater such as declaring early for the draft will cause your stock to plummet. You've got to keep an eye on all three factors in order to attain the "Campus Legend" status when you graduate. But ultimately, these additions just mean more button-pressing (and sooner rather than later, probably just simming) - there's not much feedback or visuals associated with whatever you choose to do with your time. EA needs to continue to improve on this mode or else just scrap it.

So once again, the best way to play NCAA is dynasty mode, where you control a school's program year-round. During the season, you get a great mix of responsibilities: you're the Athletic Director looking to avoid NCAA sanctions by disciplining problem players, you're the coach sorting out the depth chart while also courting high school recruits, and of course you're the players strapping on the pads each Saturday. In-season recruiting is one of the best additions to this year's game - it works basically like a poker game where you bet your finite time on how much attention each recruit needs and what kind of pitch will attract him to your school. If you leave it to one of your assistants to call him about the school's prestige, don't be surprise to watch him commit to your rival whose entire coaching staff showed up at his front door promising an immediate starting role. You also schedule recruit visits to your school, which can go a long way toward securing the signing if you beat up on your on-field opponent that week. There aren't any unsavory aspects of the NCAA represented here, i.e. you can't buy a recruit a car and so that he'll immediately sign. In fact, it's quite the opposite - if your team is under any NCAA scrutiny for rule violations or disciplinary problems, you'll find it much harder to attract blue chippers, so don't slack on your AD responsibilities when your superstar decides to stop going to classes. As the season winds down, you'll get your committments and start playing for the bowl rankings and player trophies.

OK, so your dynasty school just ran over the competition in their bowl game. Mission accomplished, right? As Lee Corso would say (and does say quite a bit in the game) "Uh-uh. I don't think so, Sweetheart." You've got to look at who's graduating, who's going pro, who you might be able to talk into staying (furthering the integration with Madden, you can even export that entire NCAA class to become the draft class for Madden's franchise mode). After that period is over, you hit the recruiting trail. The off-season recruiting works much like the in-season session but with even more detail. For instance, over the course of the several years, you can set up specific states as pipelines where the many of the top candidates will already be interested in your school on day one. Still, it's up to you as coach to figure out the right buttons to press to get the commit. Recruiting continues week by week for five weeks; however, if you're not into this much detail, you can opt to automatically have the computer do its best for you. This 07 version of NCAA also adds the spring game to the year-round schedule, which is useful both as an evaluation for who you should reshirt and also an additional way to increase select players' attribute points through reps. Afterward, you check on your players' off-season skills progression, set the depth charts, redshirt players and then you're ready to suit up for the next upcoming season. You can also change up the team's non-conference games in order to bolster your strength of schedule or generate a new rivalry.

If you build up your school's program over the course of several seasons, you may receive an invitation to join a better conference and play in front of better crowds, all of which will attract better recruits. Of course, your head coach may also opt to take a higher-profile job elsewhere, so success is a dual-edged sword.

Recent versions of NCAA have also solved one of my biggest pet peaves with the older generation of NCAA sports games - you can just substitute made-up names for the players instead of going with QB#7 handing off to HB#23. I understand why legally you can't use these players' real names, but I never understood why you couldn't just go with any name instead of position and number. Of course we all know who that stellar Texas signalcaller or USC ultra-back is, so made-up names work just fine. If it really bothers you, you can take the time to edit them.

The main menu also features options to quickly set up one-time games, including all of the major rivalries, and even a goofy game played between mascots.

GAMEPLAY
In-game control remains another highlight of NCAA 07 - you can perform a lot of cool moves with relatively simple and sensible button/stick combinations. Chief among these is the use of the right analog stick to perform juke moves on offense and big hits on defense. Earlier EA games turned the right stick into a Superman button where your player would defy the laws of physics as a reward for you merely touching the stick. Thankfully, this has been reeled back to more realistic limits while still keeping the excitement factor. You even have the option to zoom in and slow-mo particularly well-executed moves. You can't help but get hyped up when you look to be caught in the backfield by the other guy's blitzing backer only to spin, stiff arm him to the turf and then hurdle over him on your way to six. There is even an optional camera mode in this year's game that will zoom in and show you your fancy moves in slo-motion as they happen. Of course, some will see this as disruptive to the flow of the game - there is an option to turn this off.

NCAA 07 touts "momentum" as a key element to gameplay, meaning that when you make a big play, your team gets on a roll and the big plays just keep getting easier and easier to pull off. I wasn't a fan of this idea before I'd played because I don't like too much artificial tampering with the competitive balance. However, when actually playing the game, the results are suitably subdued - at its peak, you only get a 5-point boost to your team's performance attributes. So don't worry about getting trounced by lesser opponents just because they put together a string of lucky plays. Talent still wins out in this game.

Introduced with last year's version, the "matchup stick" let you use the right analog stick to evaluate individual matchups - the camera zooms out to field width and shows player skill level and composure for particular matchups, e.g. wideouts vs. defensive backfield, o-line vs. d-line, or QB/RB vs. linebackers. It's a nice feature that allows you to see if you've got any potential mismatches to exploit from play to play, giving you an idea of which receiver to key on or maybe even enough insight to audible a different play. With NCAA 07, you've now got a lot of options of how to actually do something with this information before the snap. You can slide protections, dynamically change individual coverage schemes, or set up a pass rusher to guess the... Read more ›

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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Barnburner from College Football Fans, August 18, 2006

By	Adam Rothleder (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars

I've been playing NCAA 2007 for a few weeks now, and here are my thoughts:
1) The game simply does as good a job at capturing the feeling of it's sport as any other game. Anyone who has been to a big-time SEC game understands that the stadium does shake.
2) I did not play the "career" mode, I simply prefer control over the whole program.
3) Gameplay is very strong, anyone who has played NCAA or Madden in the past will notice the tightening up of the controls.
4) I personally do not like the first person camera on special teams plays, it makes it frustratingly difficult to return kicks.
5) Likewise I could do without the auto slo-motion on "key" plays. It absolutely destroys the flow of the play to highlight a catch or hit during the play. EA, that's what replay is for.
6) The system is annoyingly apt to hit me with unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, not just on TD's but simple catches or defensive plays.
7)You now have more control over recruiting with in-season recruiting, including mulitple pitches and on-campus visits.
8)After all these versions can EA come up with a new set of unlockables. Changing the logo, or the sponsor(!) does not a new unlockable make.

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11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NCAA Football , ITS IN THE GAME !, July 18, 2006

By	P-SWIFT (Queens , New York) - See all my reviews

Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars

What can i say besides NCAA Football 07 continues its run with enhancements to each phase of the college game. The popular momentum meter found in previous installments returns with added emphasis, as each play from scrimmage has the potential to increase or decrease a team's all-important impetus to win the game. Fans of the Superstar mode in Madden NFL 06 will be able to embark on a similar path with the game's new Campus Legend feature. Players must manage their star athlete's hectic schedule by committing time and energy to scholastic pursuits, practice, and parties. The on-field action has also undergone tweaks on both sides of the ball. Defensive-minded players can call hot routes to stop offensive drives, while hotshot quarterbacks can pinpoint their throws with the precision passing system. The kicking game features a new interface supporting analog control, allowing players to place the right amount of touch or finesse on their field goal attempts. Over 100 new formations have been added to the playbooks to incorporate a variety of team-specific schemes and trick plays. Additional features include 11 training-oriented mini-games, annual spring games for scouting underclassmen, and with full ESPN coverage on this installment , Makes it 10 times more fun too play. If your a fan of Madden NFL , Or just a sports fan in general this game is definately for you. With just a days worth of playing this game im hooked and you will be too.