
<MAP NAME="boxmap-p6"><AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="1, 140, 83, 150" HREF="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm/privacy-policy.html?o=1" ><AREA COORDS="0,0,10000,10000" HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/thearmchairem-20" ></MAP><img src="http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/rcm/120x150.gif" width="120" height="150" border="0" usemap="#boxmap-p6" alt="Shop at Amazon.com">	Platform Playstation 2 Genre Sports Publisher Electronic Arts Developer Tiburon Studios ESRB E (Everyone) Released Q3 2001

- Good Looking - Perfectly simulates college football atmosphere - High replay value

- No collision detection on replays - Shoddy commentating

Review: NCAA Football 2003 (Playstation 2) Review: NCAA Gamebreaker 2003 (Playstation 2)
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NCAA Football 2002

Score: 9.2/10

The Brilliance of college football is found in the numbers. Take the number 1.23 million for example, we find that this is the salary of a successful division 1A coach, it is also the amount of SUV’s, sports sedans, and platinum fountain pens that have been obtained by college athletes as “gifts” from their prospective school. I find this quite brilliant, it gives the young Olympiads means of transportation and penmanship during the oh so strenuous years of college grade tampering, and it gives the uptight corduroy wearing coaches a chic and exhilarating method of law breaking.

This thoroughly intriguing aspect of the college football system was left out of EA’s latest college pigskin offering, and this warrants outrage. Nevertheless Tiburon Studios based in sweltering Orlando, FL. deserves kudos for it’s newest effort. Based on the same engine that is powering Madden 2K1 with added animations, NCAA looks and plays great. Players movements are incredibly fluid, finally perfecting that whole momentum thing (gamer physicists rejoice!). The tackling and pass receiving animations have been beefed up. In fact through a full 20-minute game you should never see the same pass reception animations more than once.

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The realism quite certainly is top notch throughout the game, especially the mascots that have the ability to walk through walls and players as if they were but mere mists (the players in replay mode have a similar ability). O quit you’re sarcasm! Truthfully though, the game realistically portrays the college football atmosphere. The option plays abound, the fight songs intermittently remind you of the fact that you’re not getting paid, and celebrations resemble frat boy glee.

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The game introduces some new features; the campus challenges are a cool idea, seeing how you can stack up to some of histories greatest teams. You are given a set of goals to meet, such as three tackles with one player, or intercept a pass for a touchdown. As you meet these criteria, you are given points which, when added together, enable you to purchase cards, the function of which I am uncertain. You see I have not yet obtained the points necessary for such a purchase (drat!).

Also the Dynasty mode allows you to take your hometown hopeless to up to five consecutive national championships. Though this might be exciting for some there has never been a game with the replay value to warrant the amount of time needed to accomplish these “dynasties”. The neat part about the dynasty mode is the “sign a player” feature. Taking the role of the coach, the way in which you pursue and flatter the prospect will determine whether or not he will sign to your team, unfortunately SUV’s and Rolexes aren’t at your disposal.

NCAA Football 2002, is the best college football game ever made, invoking the passion, glory and injustice of college football like no other title before it.

- Tolkiemingway

(September 22, 2001)