NCAA Football 07

Vibe.com, August 15th, 2006

Storyline: Race for the Heisman has been transformed into "Campus Legend" mode in that you can create your own player which allows you to try to earn the Heisman Trophy, enter your school’s Hall of Fame, plus try to maintain a 2.0 GPA. Yes you have to study and take tests, but that also improves your play on the field. The folks at EA also added a “Momentum Meter” in which big plays or turnovers can fill up the meter on your side of the ball and make it easier for your team to make even bigger plays. The downfall of the momentum meter is that it can quickly go to the other side with a big play from your opponent.

Audio/Visual: Visually, the game still looks good with solid animations through out the game and easy menus to navigate through - don’t be surprised if you find yourself playing in a snow storm or heavy rain. During kickoffs or punts, the camera now follows right behind you on the field and then goes up to normal view, kind of mimicking the on-field camera you see on Monday Night Football. During defensive field goals or punts, you have the option of going into third person view, allowing you to go behind one of your defenders to try and get a shot at blocking his kick. Still isn’t easy though. The music is still your favorite college fight songs with commentary from Lee Corso, Brad Nessler and Kirk Herbstreit, which kind of sounds the same as last year’s.

Controls: There are a few changes in the controls with one of the most obvious being during kickoffs and field goals. Inspired probably by the swing on the Tiger Woods Golf titles, you pull back right analog stick to get power and press forward quickly to kick when the meter is at its highest. There’s also “Jump the Snap” on defense where if you press A at the right time, you burst through the line and get a sack or tackle a loss of yards. If at the wrong time, you can get an offside penalty, or not get through the line at all. It’s your call.

Hotness: One of the best parts of the game is its presentation which utilizes everything ESPN-ish. You can get info from ESPN Magazine, ESPN Radio and if you have a real amazing game, it’ll get replayed on ESPN Classic. Dope right?

Wackness: Not being able to celebrate. You’ll get flagged every time.

Test Drive Rating: 4.5/5