NCAA Football 2002

"Not much different from Madden 2001...but if you can just wait for Madden 2002"

Throughout the years the college football franchise from EA has been in the shadow of the name Madden. This year maybe it can break out of Madden’s franchise and be known as it’s own game, or maybe just be ''another'' sorry college game.

Last year the EA's NCAA Football franchise was absent on the PS2. NCAA has almost identical gameplay to that of the Madden engine while at the same time tweaking it a bit. Here’s the good the bad of EA's latest sports game, NCAA Football 2002.

Well, I think everyone is familiar with Madden 2001, and if you are, you expect the same model players just with college jerseys on. For those of you who don't know... FIND OUT! The graphics are definitely the best from a college football game (cough, there was only one other game, cough). As with Madden you'll see those super shiny helmets which gives it a nice effect. Not only will the graphics be smooth and sweet during a game but also everything before the game offers a lot, too. When you first start it up, you get a great intro which is about one minute long. It really gets you pumped to get your season started. Oh, and don't forget the menus, cause EA sure didn't. The menus are highly detailed and the main menu features different mascots in the background doing what they do best, making fools of themselves, and at the same time, creating a few smiles. There where two graphical flaws that I noticed. One, being the poor referee design. His mouth looks strange and doesn't move to what he's saying. The second thing you might notice heads are huge. Their helmets look like a mear shell to fit their head perfectly. Other than those minor flaws the visual presentation is very impressive and the graphics have a lot to offer and really ''shine''.

If you've played any EA games in the past then you know that they're jam packed of great beats all the way through. The intro has a great track to pump you up. If that isn't enough, than the music at the menus will definitely do it. The tracks include some hip hop and other fast moving beats to get you in the game. The commentating was done very well. There are hardly any repeats and they actually say what’s being done on the court. Before the game they somewhat talk trash about a team with lines like, ''Florida is going to wipe the floor with Tennessee'', which is pretty funny and you wouldn’t usually expect this from a sports game. I was really impressed on this part of the game. The only big problem that I had with the sound was the kickoff or punt for that matter. When you boot that ball around 60-70 yards you should hear a big old thump, but what you year is barely even a noise. This may seem very minor, but check it out for yourself and you will see what I am talking about.

The whole control aspect of the game really hurts it and doesn’t give you the control that you’re looking for. Many think the gameplay is usually the most important aspect of the game, but I don't think EA slipped up on this title. The gameplay just seems downright awkward. The controls aren't very responsive at all. Half the time you will see yourself getting knocked to the ground when you had hit the juke button two seconds earlier. Another major flaw is the control you have when you're running. This is a football game right? It feels like you're in a hockey rink. Once you choose a direction, you're gonna go that direction. If you try to change the direction before you get smoked by an oncoming 350 pound tackler than you’re in trouble. Your player will just start ''sliding'' as if he doesn't have any grip in the ground. Sometimes the tackling animations look really bad and it don't even look like a tackle. As far as the running and passing plays go, you can pull them off very smoothly without any trouble. They are actually very responsive, the only problem is actually running with the ball. Another thing I thought was quite odd was when I played my first game, the difficulty was on varsity, they scored a touchdown within the first quarter. Don't worry, that's not the strange part, this is. The kicker should have kicked it right through the uprights, but instead he missed by a good 10 feet to the left. Okay, there is something drastically wrong here. Either he had a broken foot or the fifth string kicker off the bench. He was wide open for the kick too, no coverage at all. One thing that I thought was cool, partly because I had never seen it before, is that they will show you warming up before the game, just like in real life, nice idea huh? The overall gameplay felt like it was rushed had it’s ups and downs but feels like it was rushed.

Okay, now we come to one of the coolest features any game has come up with. Coinciding with another game. When you play the dynasty mode and graduate you can save all the players you want for the pros, yes, the NFL. When Madden 2002 is released you will be able to draft your college players from your memory card over to your favorite NFL team. With this feature you can create a dream team full of pros and college players. This feature was a really good idea and it will be a good reason to rent/buy it.

I was impressed with this game, but at the same time I was disappointed. If you own Madden 2001 then you should just leave this game alone. Yes, it's a good game, there's just too many obvious flaws that really hurt the gameplay. This will give EA a lot to revamp for the 2003 game. If you're a big football fan, then you should probably just wait for Madden 2002. But if you are a diehard college fan, this game will do you just fine. It has 131 games, 120 of them from the I-A and the others from the I-AA. You can also customize all the players names that way you can make them the actual players in real life or anyone you want them to be. If you had to ask me whether this is a purchase or a rental; I would have to say rental. Even with all the gameplay flaws it's still fun game and reigns as the ''College Football King''.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 08/13/01, Updated 08/13/01