- Still the best college football
title, regardless of owning the exclusive license or not
- Race for the Heisman mode is a great addition that will have
you completely immersed in the quest to capture the trophy
- Graphics on the Xbox best among all console versions -Rosters
(including historic ones) for practically every college football
program, no matter what the level, in the country
- Great online play setup
- Black and white button controls
on Xbox controller make for some uncomfortable
- Pumping up the crowd with the crowd meter at home contests
more of a novelty act than a useful, game-altering advantage
- Long passing game takes a lot of time to develop
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NCAA
Football 06
Score: 9.1 / 10
With back-to-back national football
championships and a serious threat for a three-peat this upcoming
season, USC is unquestionably the best college gridiron program in the
country. They're so good, that they could probably win 10 games in the
NFL this year. But as good a run as USC is currently enjoying, that's
nothing compared to the dominance of the college football gaming genre
that Electronic Arts has had with their NCAA Football franchise. Even
though EA secured the exclusive rights to publish NCAA football games,
they really didn't need to: There is no better college football game on
the market today and when there was competition, EA's NCAA Football
easily vanquished any and all opponents it faced on store shelves.
NCAA Football 06 is no exception, and instead of simply sitting on their
exclusive license and not offering any new features EA did the exact
opposite by coming out not only with a great playing, features packed
title, but adding another one of the famous immersive modes, Race for
the Heisman. If you had fun creating a player in previous NCAA Football
games, it doesn't compare to the Race for the Heisman mode that's in
NCAA Football 06. And if you actually play well enough to be honored
with a Heisman Trophy selection, you can
import your now-legendary doppelganger into Madden NFL 06.
In Race for the Heisman mode, you start by trying out in drills (at a
position you select beforehand) under the watchful eyes of college
football coaches. Depending on how well you do in those drills, you'll
be offered a scholarship. If you don't like any of the schools
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willing to hand off a scholarship, you can go to the school of your
choice as a walk-on.
From there, you go through a typical college preseason (without the wild
frat parties and even wilder football groupies) and proceed to hit the
field in a four-year quest for the Heisman individually and a national
championship for your team. Of course, you have the best shot at the
Heisman if you're a quarterback or running back, or even a wide
receiver, and if you rack up awesome numbers throwing, running, or
catching the pigskin, you'll give yourself a shot at that legendary
hardware and enhance your opportunity to enter the NFL as a first-round
draft choice (in Madden NFL 06) and the shot at fame and glory as a NFL
superstar.
It's a great mode that involves you in the game more than any other
college football game that's come before NCAA Football 06. And it's not
the only new feature added. There's the inclusion of the Impact Stick
that can help you pull off jukes and hits that can make the difference
between a five-yard run and a 50-yard touchdown. Along with the Impact
Stick is the Impact Players, who are stars on the field on both sides of
the ball that can use their "impact" as a top-flight player to alter the
game in their respective teams favor.
Who Impact Players are on your team can change from game-to-game
depending on their previous game's performance, but they generally tend
to be a quarterback, running back, wide receiver, defensive lineman, or
cornerback and stay in the impact zone (which you can see by the pulsing
white circle under their cleats) for most of the season. In short, if
you've got an Impact Player or two, use them to your advantage.
Conversely, keep a keen eye on an opponent's Impact Players while
playing defense or stay clear of them while you're playing offense.
Another addition is all-year recruiting, and mini-games that serve as a
practice mode. Also, more teams and their rosters, including historic
teams, are available for nearly every single college football program,
no matter what the level, playing today.
Controlling the action on the field is generally problem-free as is
usual for an EA sports title, but the Xbox version doesn't quite control
as well as the PS2 version, mostly in part to the not-well-placed black
and white buttons on the Xbox controller being used. Especially the
black button that controls the option pitches of the QB. Overall, the
game doesn't function as well on the Xbox controller as it does on the
PS2's, although not by much. Regardless, gameplay remains tight once
again, especially on the offensive side. The passing game definitely
requires some practice, particularly long passes, which require a deft
touch on the throw. Even after you learn how to toss the ball with the
proper touch, opposing defensive backs play the deep ball tough. They
make you earn every long toss you complete.
While it's certainly not visually stunning, NCAA Football 06 is a
good-looking game, more so in the highly-detailed stadium environments
than the player models, with the Xbox version noticeably better-looking
than the PS2 edition. It's the stadiums and the frenzied college crowds
that make each college game a special occasion, and EA recognizes the
need for creating virtual stadiums that match the real-life stadiums as
close as possible.
Helping bring the stadiums to life is not only the visuals but the
sounds of the stadiums, including the college bands playing fight songs
and the rumbling roar of the crowd that gets louder and louder at home
games with the pump-up-the-crowd control. By pressing the "pump-up"
button, the crowd gets more raucous and the stadium (and the game
screen) literally starts to shake, rattle and rumble. It's supposed to
fire up the home team and disrupt the visitors, but it is really hard to
see any difference in the results of plays with a rowdy crowd versus a
sitting-on-their-hands gathering.
If you can resist the temptation of playing the Dynasty and Race for the
Heisman mode for just a while, get online via Xbox Live and experience a
great online football game. Although it's tough if you play someone
online that uses the option play a lot (and racking up a lot of yards
unless you can shut it down), for the most part, there's smooth-running
online gameplay requiring solid football strategy for consistent
winning.
Even when NCAA Football had competition, it easily came out on top and
with the good controls and plethora of the famous EA immersive modes, it
was destined for greatness even before the addition of the Race for the
Heisman mode. There's no doubt that NCAA Football 06 lives up to the
pre-release hype and keeps the dynasty going by staying on top and
garnering yet another title as the best college football game around.
