A few months back, the big news came out: Electronic Arts' games, starting with their summer lineup, would finally be compatible with Microsoft's acclaimed Xbox Live online service. Xbox fans everywhere rejoiced. The world seemed brighter. Especially important to the life of Microsoft's machine were the EA Sports games, top sellers on every platform they sought to conquer. The lack of online play in these titles for Xbox led the Playstation 2 to take a large lead in the sales of sports games. But not anymore - starting with NCAA Football 2005, EA Sports titles will finally be as strong on Xbox as they are on PS2. Or will they?
When the game starts, you may notice that the interface has been improved, sporting a very impressive, more professional look. This made me all the more excited to actually get on the field and see what improvements had been made in the presentation and graphics. Boy, was I disappointed. The pre-game introductions are exactly the same as last year. The players run out of the tunnel with virtually the same exact animations. When the game starts, you will notice that the player models have been improved slightly, so that there is a greater disparity between linemen, linebackers, receivers, etc. There are also a few new animations that make the game look more realistic. While these are welcome changes, they are nothing to get excited about. The lack of detail in the uniforms and faces that have been present since NCAA Football 2002 are still intact. Overall, the graphics are a disappointment, as this game is rapidly falling behind Madden and ESPN in terms of visuals.
There are certain things about the gameplay that have not been fixed; They did absolutely nothing about running backs getting stuck behind the lineman more often than not. Tipped balls still have quite unrealistic physics and trajectories, and interceptions are still a bit too frequent. One gameplay change that is immediately noticeable is that it is much harder to complete passes than in past years. For instance, receivers will drop passes when they are wide open, and throws will seem completely off the mark. This has initially thrown off many people, and judging by the online forums, many of them are still frustrated. This is because the development team has developed a new facet in the gameplay: The user is expected to take control of the receiver and make the catch himself. Once the user learns to do this, the passing game feels very comfortable. It takes a while to learn, though: I spent several hours in the "Practice" mode just getting my timing and route-running right. Even with the steep learning curve, the game is worth all of the hard work. As the old saying goes, practice makes perfect.
There are several new features in the game. First off is the Match-up stick. It works like this: moving the right analog stick in various directions before the snap will show your players' respective composures in comparison to their defensive counterparts'. It is important to pay attention to composure, because if there is a big discrepancy between two players, a big play becomes likely. Low composure will also result in low performance; For example, if a quarterback throws three incomplete passes in a row, his composure goes down. In addition, the game will make it very difficult to complete the next few. Freshman and players who do not get much playing time tend to have lower composure as well. Another new feature is Home Field Advantage, which is fairly straightforward. In the bigger, more intense stadiums, visiting teams will have a tough time hearing their audibles and making hot routes. That's basically all it entails, but the whole thing is very cool and very authentic.
The sound is a mixed bag. It is very repetitive but, as always, Lee Corso is the man. Nobody touches him in terms of humor and excitement while calling the plays. The sound effects are very exaggerated, with pads crunching and players grunting, but this is not a bad thing. It makes the game seem that much more intense.
I recommend this game only to those who are active on Xbox Live. For a more cost-efficient and stable game, go with last year's version. But the Xbox Live play sure is worth it. While initially very, very buggy, EA promises to have the problems with the servers all ironed out in a short time. I have played a few matches online with only a few laggy moments. The quick tournament and even-match (Where all teams are equal so, for example, a Vanderbilt fan could play a Miami fan without too much discrepancy) modes are awesome. Offline, the dynasty mode is excellent, as always, and even has new gimmicks like player suspensions and transfers between colleges. Also present is a Pontiac College Classics mode, where you relive the most intense moments in college football history. Very cool. Overall, the replay value of the game is through the roof, and is the best thing about NCAA Football '05.
Before going out and purchasing the game, it is necessary to know several other things. The Xbox version, at least, is very sluggish, with significant slowdown present when running up the middle and during gang tackles. It almost feels as if the game is running in slow motion at times. Supposedly, this drawback gets worse when running the game in Widescreen mode, so just be prepared.. It doesn't ruin the experience, but it does lower the fun factor by a slight amount.
