The good, the bad and the ugly on NCAA Football 07 for the PS2.
1) Gameplay - Once again EA produces a football game with great on the field action. Unfortunately there are those in the industry who would call it a negative if they don't release some huge change each year to the on the field game play but if you have near perfection on the field what are you going to do? They did improve the kicking game a great deal. There's a new kicking interface that is the best I have seen from any football game to date.
2) Graphics - The graphics are a solid positive in this edition of the NCAA Football series. 07 brings you a great visual game on the field that we have all come to expect from EA. They have increased the look and feel of the on the field graphics and you will be able to tell the difference. The players move and react visually smoother than previous releases.
3) Challenge - NCAA Football 07 gives you a great ability to set the games level of difficulty up for the individual user. For a gamer like myself I have to crank the difficulty up to max and then tweak the individual AI settings to keep the gameplay realistic. This game gives the beginner the ability to do well without having to know every play, audible, shift, formation, hot route, read, and what not to have a great time yet gives the advanced user all the ability in the world to make the game challenge them.
4) Special Teams - The improvements to the special teams aspect are note worthy enough to warrant it's own spot on the good list. You now have the ability to change camera views to better attempt a block punt or field goal by assuming an almost first person view of a down lineman. You then can try to beat your man by being quick off the snap. Also, upon the kicking or punting of the ball you can assume an almost first person view of the ball in flight from the return man's view. This gives you a good idea of what it's like to see the field after you receive the kick/punt. In all reality I think that makes it more difficult to make a positive return since you have lesser view of the field but that does make it more realistic. Also the kicking and punting has changed and you now have a new interface that uses the analog stick to initiate the kick as well as varied accuracy indicators.
5) Game modes - If you can't find a way to get your money's worth out of this game then no game will ever live up to the price tag for you. Not only will you get your now standard quick game, rivalry, practice, mascot, and dynasty modes but you now have new additions to the game like spring drill minigames, scrimmages, and campus legend mode. The Legend mode isn't all that innovative this year but it still gives a solid boost to the replay value of this game.
6) Voice work - Another great release for the broadcasting, pre and post game commentary, and play-by-play.
The bad:
1) Ranking system - The ranking system in this release seems much more exclusive to uber named programs like Ohio State, Florida, and USC that the mid-majors or smaller get shafted even if they play a difficult schedule and win-out. Now this isn't all that far from the real BCS, Media and Coaches poles. However, play a couple seasons in and you will give a confused look come the end of your season when you notice a 13-0 mid-major who beat several top 5 ranked teams sitting out of the top 10. This release is definitely favoring the elite programs more so than in the past.
2) Art & Visuals - While the graphics are still top notch for a PS2 release the game need some finer touches visually. With historic stadiums that every college football nut ooo's and aahh's about it's time the NCAA Football series started to give us their attempt showing us more of these stadiums. Also, the band. We need the band! Stick them in the crowd and make sure that you can tell where they are. This is all apart of the college game atmosphere. Needs more mascots.
3) Dynasty mode - I think it's time they added some new features to the mode. This is way down on the list of negatives because let's face it they did a great job with this dynasty mode and there's not much I can think of that they should do. But, they get paid to come up with this I don't.
The ugly:
1) Crashes - Using Kent State I took nationally ranked West Virginia to the last minute and held them off from defeating me, or so I thought. With 40 seconds left the game turned to an image of my head coach and he jumped up about a call made and the game locked up. Oh I wanted to grab the cd and break it in half. Who's to blame the PS2 or the game? Who knows. Other than that one instance I have no gripes with this release.
Overall:
You won't find a better college football game anywhere, EA made sure of that. But to their credit even if EA didn't own exclusive rights from the NCAA I don't think anyone would challenge them for best game on the market. This is a must have game