NCAA Football 2006 Review

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(More customer reviews)There's no disputing that EA owns the lion's share of the sports videogame market, especially with their recent 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.The team that developed NCAA 06 apparent set out to soothe gamers' fears and ended up rewarding us all with a top-notch college football game full of both subtle improvements and big-time innovations.

GAME MODES
When you put in the game you're immediately rewarded with a number of gameplay modes, some familiar (dynasty, single game) and some new (Race for the Heisman).The Race for the Heisman mode allows you to create a player and then guide him through tryouts for a scholarship, choosing a school, and then playing a career aimed at racking up the massive stats required to take home the hardware.Along the way, the main menu is your dorm room where you can review your accomplishments in the school newspaper, head off to the practice field (small mini-game drills), and check how your season stats compare versus the compeition.It's a little bit self-involved since you're emphasizing your individual campaign over that of the team, and make no mistake, you will have to put up unreal numbers to beat even the candidates with lesser stats.At the end, the presentation of the Heisman award ceremony is a little bit uninspired given that it's your main aim in this mode.Once you've finished your college days with or without the Heisman, you can port your created player over to Madden 06 to continue your career in the pros.

The real gem here is the 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.Weekly updates are presented as stories in Sports Illustrated magazine, which is a nice visual approach compared to traditionally dry menus.

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.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.

The game also solves one of my biggest pet peaves with prior NCAA games - you can finally 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 is another highlight of NCAA 06 - 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.The control configurations are just about identical to those of Madden, making it easy to switch between the two (Madden obviously doesn't have the option offense).

Before the snap, the right analog stick allows viewing of matchups.This new feature 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.

But is NCAA 06 more than just Madden dusting off its old varsity jacket?To quote the coach once again, "Ab-so-lutely".The makers of the game paid painstaking attention to detail here, making NCAA 06 truly a payoff for fans of the college game.The stadiums are intricately rendered - I play my dynasty as a mid-major (Miami, OH) and even their field is accurate right down to the dorms in the distance being accurately drawn and properly placed.As best I can tell, all of the MAC fields are like this, so enjoyment of that home field experience isn't limited to just fans of the biggest programs at the biggest conferences. This year's game even includes division 1-AA and NAIA schools.Want more evidence of what a massive tribute to the college game this is?Here goes:Mascots?Check.Rivalry games?Check.All year-end trophies?Check.Fight songs?Well, NCAA 06 earns an incomplete for this one.Not all of the fight songs are there - some just get generic march music and drumlines - but I'm guessing that was more due to legal rights than effort by the developers.Fans of ESPN's College Gameday program will be happy to know that Lee Corso does his signature donning of the mascot's head during his pre-game pick.

GRAPHICS
Player models are about the best that this generation of console can deliver.Clarity and sharpness can suffer a bit when looking at a pile of players in the wide field view, but up-close, they look great.The real strength is in the massive stockpile of fluid, natural animations and the way that the game combines them.String together some impressive combinations of moves and you'll find yourself watching the replay over and over again (it's a shame that you can't save them).

The in-studio pre-game show is the biggest low-point, exposing EA's longtime problem with weird lighting of facial models.Everyone at the desk seems to be underlit, making them look sinister.Plus, their movements are surprisingly robotic.But in terms of importance, these problems are miniscule - the developers placed their efforts on the on-the-field action where it belongs.

SOUND
In-game commentary is provided by the familiar voices of Brad Nessler, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit.The game contains tons of commentary clips, but you will hear a lot of the same lines over and over again once you've played a few seasons.The game generally does a good job of mixing commentary up and also playing the right clips at the appropriate times.Nevertheless, if you're not a big fan of Corso and Herbstreit's Abbott-and-Costello routine,...Read more›

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Product Description:
Impact Player and lead him from high school summer camp all the way to Bowl victories as a collegiate legend. As your blue chipper improves on the field, he'll become a big man on campus with a decked-out dorm room filled with stacks of fan mail and the past season's hard-earned awards. With all-new Breakaway Controls, in-game analysis, and studio commentary, this is college football like you've never seen or heard. Get your acceptance speech ready - the Heisman Trophy presentation awaits you in NCAA Football 2006.

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