NCAA Football 2005

"A must-have for anyone's who a fan of football."

Well, I finally hopped on the X-Box bandwagon. Since the system came with this game, I naturally gave it a chance. I was shocked at how realistic the game was. The graphics are superb, the commentary is great, and I feel as if I'm actually watching a real game when I watch two computers against each other.

When you're playing a game, you really feel as if you're in it thanks to one new thing --- Home Field Advantage. When you're playing against a team, and you're playing at a very tough stadium (Ohio State, Florida, Notre Dame, etc.) You ill notice the crowd cheering loudly and the screen, as well as the controller, shake. The louder the crowd, the more it will shake. (Don't worry, you can turn it off.) This affects gameplay a lot more besides that. A loud crowd will disrupt the visiting team. Good news if you're the home team, bad if you're that visiting team. It becomes very hard to gain yards, and even harder to pass. Also, if you're the home team, you can press the white button and have the crowd go nuts when the other team's on offense, which will throw them even more off their game.

This goes together with the composure ratings. When you're on a hot streak, the game will show your team (whether offense or defense at the time) as composed or rattled, and whether they are a good or bad player. This consequently alters how that person will perform the rest of the game. If the QB's rattled, he may overthrow or underthrow every pass, or if the WR's bad, he might drop everything. However, if the WR's good, then he might get some nice catches in triple coverage. Basically, nearly every play you make will slightly affect the person's ratings. For example, if you get sacked, then the QB's awareness rating will go down. It's pretty simple stuff that can make every game you play enjoyable.

There's only a handful of things you can do in single-player mode. You can simply play a game, play some College Classics such The Miracle in Michigan or the 1980 Holiday Bowl, or you can play Dynasty Mode, which if like the NFL's Franchise mode. Dynasty Mode is simply great in this game, and nearly impossible to get tired of. You can still see new things even after 7 seasons of of playing it. In Dynasty Mode, you pick a team and coach them/play as them through a season. You choose who starts, how to suspend people, your formation strategies, and parts of your schedule. During the season, you can read Sports Illustrated to find out who's in the running to win the Heisman, the Conference standings, the Top 25 in the Coaches and Media polls, and, later in the season, you will play in what bowls and who will win the other awards. After the season ends, you get to take command of all the off-season stuff. This is where Dynasty Mode becomes very realistic, as you will have to set the budget for recruiting, convince people who are transferring or entering the draft to stay at your school, and recruit as many great players as possible. After all that, you can change player's positions, and hope that their training goes well. if you get a guy who's terrible, you can always cut him. Just make sure you're not stuck with no kicker and six TE's, since that probably won't work well. You can also recruit ATH's in this game, which can fit into many positions instead of just one or two. You can then redshirt players and start a new season, and the process will, to an extent, repeat itself. If you play well, other schools might offer you a contract. Dynasty mode rarely gets tiring, and is always fun to play.

Of course, the actual game itself is great too. The commentary is surprisingly dead-on. They'll explain incomplete passes, say when you're near a record-breaking performance, and even criticise you if you go for the onside kick with the lead. Even though the "and I'll tell you why" 's that Corso says frequently get annoying, it's still great to enjoy. There will even be a ticker on the bottom occasionally, which makes it feel like you're watching ESPN, or ABC, or whatever. The sound is very realistic as well. Along with the crowd and commentary, the sound on the field is great. The tackles work well, and you can easily hear the roar of the crowd when you get a penalty.

Meanwhile, the graphics are the most fluid of any football game I've played. The tackles look realistic, and players run and block smoothly, and the kicks and passes are very fluid. The only problem I have if that the faces look choppy. While it's not an important aspect, as 99% of the time they have their helmet on (The other 1% was because it was knocked off on a big play.), it's still annoying.

While I don't have online capability, it's still a great game to play with or without someone, or even just to watch. It's a great experience that I would recommend for anyone who enjoys the college scene.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/20/04