- Nobody offers the same amount of
extras for the fantasy league fanatics that buy football games
- Challenge from CPU artificial intelligence is improved
- Can import graduating players into Madden 2003 for NFL draft
- Some minor annoying issues from
last season’s game engine remain
- Lack of actual player names (for obvious reasons) makes it
difficult to gauge players abilities without a scrutinizing
study of your roster
- Actual football gameplay still not as complete as NFL 2K
series
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NCAA
Football 2003
Score: 8.9 / 10
Football gamers who bought an Xbox were
treated to three good NFL football titles last year (Madden 2002,
NFL2K2, and NFL Fever 2002) even though Microsoft didn’t release their
system until November 2001. However, because of that late-year release
and with the college football season nearly over at that point in time,
the Xbox missed out on college football gaming as publishers decided to
wait until 2002. This season Xbox-owning college gridiron fans have two
choices, including the long running Electronic Arts entry, NCAA Football
2003 (Sega Sports’ NCAA Football 2K3 has also been released). Despite
some minor gameplay issues, NCAA Football 2003 captures the true
electric atmosphere surrounding college football and is chock-full of so
many goodies and extras you won’t be disappointed as you set your sights
on the virtual National Championship.
To me, a football game earns high grades for its on-field gameplay and
its challenging artificial intelligence, not on the amount of extra
features like create-a-player and a dynasty mode. That was my biggest
criticism of last year’s Madden. While it by far outdid its Xbox
competition in the amount of extras, it wasn’t quite up to NFL 2K2’s
more genuine on-field gameplay. But NCAA 2003, which uses the same
game-engine which powers Madden 2003, surprisingly improves the
gameplay in all but a few areas to become a
true champion of the video game college gridiron.
College football is markedly different in its rules than the NFL, and
NCAA 2003 has it all part of its package. In college ball, there is no
two-minute warning, a liberal use of option plays, field goals are
harder because the spot can be on either side of the hash marks, a catch
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is
considered good if a player has only one foot in bounds, and offensive
ball carriers are down on contact with the ground, not necessarily on
contact with an opposing player. These are some of the totally
contrasting rules that come into play while you are playing NCAA 2003,
so Madden veterans who haven’t played a college title in a while may
want to brush up on their NCAA official rulebook before they start a
dynasty or season.
Like I said, I am more scrutinizing of the gameplay of a title. I’ll
start by looking at areas of NCAA 2003 that reflect on its actual
gameplay before delving into the excellent features that are packed into
it. Last year’s Madden gave me some serious problems learning to pass
efficiently. In NCAA passing is a much easier task. Maybe it has
something to do with the fact that I played a lot of Madden 2002 and I
am now more comfortable with the game engine’s passing, but I really
don’t have any criticisms of NCAA 2003’s passing attack. The most
necessary skill to learn is the art of touch passing. Because of the
pressure-sensitive nature of the game’s passing, you must learn to hit
the corresponding receiver button harder or softer depending on how open
your receiver is.
The running game has seen the biggest improvement. Last year the game
engine was plagued by the treadmill effect, where your running back that
had hit the line would run in place if there wasn’t an lane to burst
through. In NCAA 2003 however, that problem has been rectified by
borrowing from Sega’s 2K series. Now if the running back gets in the
above predicament, he will attempt to squeeze through the line instead
of staying stuck running in place. It helps make the running game much
more realistic than it had been before. Another problem that hasn’t been
changed is the inability to set your quarterback off on a scramble or
bootleg without crossing the line of scrimmage first, unlike its
competitor NCAA 2K3. This can really be aggravating particularly if you
are in a game situation when you only need one of two yards to get a
first down and you want the option of using your signal caller to
scamper for the necessary yardage.
But because this is college ball that isn’t always a problem because of
the inclusion of the option plays that college football is known for and
the NFL is terrified to use because of the high risk of turnovers. This
was one of my favorite facets of NCAA 2003. By calling a option play,
you run your quarterback along the line until the time comes to either
have the QB keep the ball for a rushing attempt with the ability to use
a fake pitch (using the black button) or really pitch it to a trailing
running back (using the left trigger). It takes some skill to pull the
pitch off because if you do it with any little bit of mistiming you will
fumble the ball away.
Compared to Madden 2002/2003, the punting and kicking game is much
better handled through the use of the improved kicking meter. But the
skill of booting successful field goals still has a learning curve due
to college football’s rules that the kick will take place on either side
of the hash marks if that is where the ball was downed the previous
play. This requires some angling techniques that take some getting used
to. Also, while punting isn’t hard to do, returning them is a different
matter. Almost always if you are attempting to return a punt, before you
can even get started, the coverage team is in your face, ready to
deliver a crushing tackle. Pressing the “Y” button is supposed to allow
you to call a fair catch, but every time I tried to call one, for
whatever reason it never worked for me. I do like that there is the
occasional muffed punt, which adds to the realism of the game.
Control-wise NCAA 2003 has some problems on defense when tackling
players. Your opposition consistently finds ways to shed your defenders
and break away for gains of yardage that by rights they shouldn’t be
getting. And on offense, receivers are still assigned by only a yellow
letter relating to a controller button instead of being color oriented
as in NFL Fever and the NFL 2K series, which makes deciding who to throw
to much easier. But putting those two instances aside, NCAA 2003’s
controls are responsive and easy to use. And even though its not
anything that EA has authority over, but having my players assigned as
“QB 7” and “LB 56” and not knowing who that player really was, created
the need for really studying my roster and learning the skill levels of
my key players. (Because of NCAA regulations, EA can’t use the actual
names of college players still in school.)
One area the game is really stellar is the challenge given by the CPU
artificial intelligence. This game pushes you and makes you sweat to
win, especially when it comes to contests against ranked opponents and
when squaring off in a rivalry game. The game is tough and when you are
able to beat one of these ranked opponents or rivals you’ll get a strong
sense of accomplishment, believe me. Its difficulty level even on the
lower settings is one of NCAA 2003’s biggest upsides. One minor
disappointment, however, is the lack of online support for Microsoft’s
soon-to-be unleashed Xbox Live service. This game would be awesome
online, but EA is only supporting Sony’s online service right now. But
maybe next year if Xbox Live has established itself, EA may reconsider
online support for its Xbox sports titles.
Now that I’ve addressed the gameplay aspects of NCAA 2003, let’s examine
the bread-and-butter of EA’s line of sports games: the incredible amount
of extras and features that will keep even the most extreme fantasy
league maniac totally satisfied. To start with, there is a dynasty mode
that allows you to recruit players for your program and set off in the
quest for the national championship over multiple seasons. Your primary
goal during a season is to break into the Top 25 poll which gives you a
excellent chance at a bowl bid and if you can manage to lose only one or
no games, you will probably get a chance at playing for college
football’s Holy Grail, the National Championship.
There’s a full complement of statistics, rankings, standings, and player
awards for each year of your dynasty. There is full control over your
roster and the depth chart. Before the season starts you can even
redshirt young impact players to give them some seasoning so that they
will be ready the next season to take over an important position from a
graduating starter. Speaking of graduating players, if you have Madden
2003 you can import them for availability in the Madden NFL draft. If
you want, you can create your own players and aspiring deans can even go
as far as creating your very own school, down to the stadium name and
designing the uniforms.
Collecting points during the course of a game by attaining specific
goals like throwing four touchdowns in a game or getting an interception
allows you to accumulate points to buy pennants that give you power-ups
or opens up team stadiums or classic teams for you to play. The mascot
game is an eclectic touch, giving you the opportunity to play a game
with a roster full of team mascots versus an opposing team of mascots.
NCAA 2003 can’t be touched by its competition in the extras department.
EA has made that part of their game package second to none.
The game’s graphics and sound are an above average mix, although in some
instances they can slip. NCAA 2003 perfectly captures the audio aura
that fills the college stadiums of all 117 Division I-A programs with
team-specific chants and over 200 team fight songs, and the crowd reacts
to the action on the field with loud cheers if you are home and make a
great play. They sound great although they can be a little on the
repetitive side. The announcers Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, and Brad
Nessler show up only for big games, and they actually do a good job
calling the game and many of their remarks are fluidly interjected and
hit the mark with what is happening on the field, especially Corso. So
you better be ranked in the Top 25 or playing a traditional heated
rivalry game, like Florida versus Florida State if you want to have the
national spotlight shined your way with NCAA Football 2003’s lead
announcing crew.
Otherwise, the only announcing you’ll hear will be from the stadium’s
public address announcer. I tried out some games with my alma mater, the
lowly Temple Owls (hey, we have a strong basketball tradition though).
Playing my home games in an authentically replicated nearly empty
Veterans Stadium, it was a disappointment having only the PA announcer
calling the game action, but it only motivates you to build a winning
program with the dynasty mode.
Also included are 50 team mascots and cheerleaders (both male and
female). While the player animations of NCAA 2003’s players are rendered
photo-realistically, the cheerleaders aren’t exactly up to the same
standards. These are supposed to be good-looking athletic individuals
that are part of a cheer squad, but are anything but. Anybody still in
school with desires for dating a cheerleader will think twice if they
get a good look at the cheerleaders on NCAA 2003’s sidelines. However,
this isn’t anything that detracts from the top-rate animations that
you’ll encounter with your team’s players.
Personally I’ve always preferred the football gameplay of the NFL/NCAA
2K series to the Madden/NCAA series of the last two seasons. But NCAA
2003 was an enjoyable experience and is a solid title for diehard
football fans everywhere and may rekindle a little of that old college
pride in you. Online Xbox Live connectivity would have made NCAA 2003
unbeatable, but even without it this game really captures the excitement
that is major college football. With the incredible amount of options at
your fingertips and years of EA’s college football game designing
know-how behind it, NCAA 2003 receives its fair share of votes in the
battle for this year‘s best Xbox college football game crown.
