NCAA Football 2005 (PS2 Review)

Are you ready for some football? That’s right sport-fans, it’s that time of year again where all of your pigskin favorites get a healthy refresher and are released upon the demanding public. No other division of the gaming world sells as well as the football genre, and there always is a heated debate over which game is the star of the show. Back in the day, it was GameDay and Madden fighting for the top honors on the PSOne. Although Madden NFL Football still is in the running for the top spot, they have a new competitor with Sega’s ESPN series and the discussions over which is the best 2005 football offering is even more torrid. While these two giants battle amongst themselves, they might want to start watching over their shoulder because there is a serious contender looking to take over the genre. Let me introduce you to NCAA Football 2005.

 

Most purists will argue that EA’s college classic just isn’t on the same page as that of the two previously mentioned titles. Others may debate the fact that both of EA’s football games are created by the same developer, hence they are just the same recycled gameplay with simply a different atmosphere. Whether either of these are your pre-established opinions, I simply ask that you suspend your judgments until the end of this simple review. Now let us begin the dissection.

NCAA Football 2005 brings back everything that was great from the previous versions and improves upon a successful formula. Making their triumphant return are the ever popular create-a-school mode, create-a-player, create-a-coach and the create-a-playbook options. This game lets players bring their best customizable offerings to the table in a healthy helping. But that is not all, we also have for dessert a create-a-sign feature. Now during video cut scenes that show your team’s fans, you can make up those cute signs that they all like to wave for the TV cameras. Although not a stunning enormous addition, it is another personal touch that the game allows players to import into their world. Moreover, the return of the adjustable hot routes adds to the flexibility of your play calling and is great for those of us who don’t wish to dedicate a ton of time recreating their entire playbook. Speaking of play calling, there also is an option to help trip up your competition when they are sitting on the couch next to you. When you pull up the playlist, you can pick three additional plays not visually displayed on the screen by simply pressing your L2 button before the regular selection. This option is available for both offense or defense and helps to stop those pesky players who always wait until you have chosen a play before making their selection.

The difficulty levels for the game are many, which guarantees that there is something for every player, no matter their experience or ability. The AI definitely ramps up as you move into the higher levels and once you reach the top, expect to bring nothing but your A+ game to the field. Also teams are ranked in four separate categories, so don’t plan on having the same success over a grade A defense that you do when taking on a lesser ranked opponent. The controller layout is nothing less than wondrous and the analog functions of the DualShock 2 are used to their fullest, including the ability to lead your receivers with the left analog stick to help make those tough catches in heavy traffic.

The overall presentment of the game is a mixed bag of nuts. The menu layout and navigation is exceptionally smooth and easy to find exactly what you are looking for. No matter what you are attempting to accomplish, you can be there within mere seconds. On the other hand, whenever you go into the saving or retrieving of data on the memory card, expect to invest in quite a few minutes of inactivity. EA wisely installed a prompt screen whenever files have been changed and gives you the option to either save or continue on with your gameplay, so you didn’t have to suffer through constantly long waiting endeavors unless you actually want to back-up your files with the new data. 

In this year’s version, the game clock seems to move slower than what I’m used to experiencing. Quarters can be customized for their length and unless you have about two hours to dedicate to a game, I would suggest a setting below the full 15 minute period. Without the proper coordination of both your playing difficulty and the quarter length, games will either last forever or not be long enough to possibly have a fair chance at victory.

The visual presentation of your on-field perspective is clear and precise. You always have an excellent view of everything that is going on, no matter which of the many available camera angles is your one of choice. Having your receivers highlighted with their corresponding controller buttons lets the player focus their attention on the entire field and work their way through all of their options. The new “match-up” ability of the game enables you to find the weakness in your opponents and by using the hot route function; you can learn to exploit it to your best advantage. Using the right analog stick, you can see the match-ups of either; the offensive and defensive line, the backfield and the linebackers or the secondary and your receiving core. This gives you the best information on the field that any player could ask for by exposing strengths in your own players or the loss of composure on the other side of the ball. This might not be an option you use on every play, nevertheless it definitely will be something to will want to look at when you are stacked deep in your own territory and facing a 3rd and 13 with two minutes remaining in the quarter.

The audio options for the game are no less than unbelievable. EA has kindly included the Dolby Pro-Logic II option along with the standard stereo choices and the surround sound can rock the house literally when your stadium of choice gets into the on-field action. The all-new Home Field Advantage is a step in the right direction for the series and brings everything that is college football right into your living-room. As the crowd gets excited, your controller begins to rumble and the screen literally begins to shake making everything more difficult to complete. Your players also can be affected by the atmosphere and their confidence can be reduced or increased by how your audience gets into your performance. When you lay down a massive smash, utilizing the all new big hit button, the crowd can become so stimulated that the other team may have difficulty just trying to get the next play called from scrimmage. However, if you let a running back break out into the open field a few times, their enthusiasm can drop to almost nothing. Your players can help to revive the crowd by signaling them from the field, but the best way to get the 12th player back into the game is to pull off something incredible in the way of a sack or an interception. There even is a new top 25 toughest places to play that changes over time, depending on the performance of teams throughout all of the divisions.

Play-by-play is once again done by the tremendous trio of Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Brad Nessler. Their commentary is always on-topic, including any new records that just were broken or the results of the previous offensive drive. Sometimes their comments can get rather stale, especially when you have taken the wind out of the home team’s sails and the crowd goes numb, but it’s an overall quality presentation worthy of any Saturday afternoon contest. One thing that I did notice was that if you did not have a game that was being telecast, these broadcasters would not be available and only the regular PA announcer could be heard during the game. This was a nice touch which drove you to play the higher ranked teams or to be one of them yourself. Once you entered into the top 25, you could expect to have these men cover your every move and if the match-up was big enough you could even have a national telecast, which brings more prestige to your school.

The Dynasty Mode is the heart of EA’s offering. It is here where you can create your own school and try to march through the ranks of the NCAA to become one of the most feared places ever to visit. Arenas, school colors, mascots, location, divisions and playing styles are all adjustable and can change over time. Also, you are responsible for corrective actions when your players step outside the boundaries of the NCAA and break established guidelines. Depending on what the infraction is, you have the option to suspend the player for just a single quarter or the entire season. Each corrective measure requires discipline points and it is up to you to keep both the players and the NCAA officials happy with your decisions. But you want to make sure that you keep points in reserve for those extremely rare major infractions that could result in your school being sanctioned or banned from participating in post-season bowl games. However, your performance is rated by others than just the NCAA and doing well can open bigger opportunities including contract offers from other schools and invitations to different conferences for your current school. Upon completing my first season, I received three different contract offers and an invite for my independent college to join the SEC. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance to enter the SEC and accepted a five-year contract extension for my current school. 

Post-season activity is plentiful and entertaining. Just like the life of real-time coaches, the playing season is only half the battle. You have several steps that need to be completed before the next season can start. School budgets need to be established, players graduate or can even leave for greener pastures prematurely and it is up to you to try to persuade them to stick it out for one more year. Recruiting is a gigantic endeavor which spans five weeks and can be simulated or handled personally. I found this aspect more challenging than matching up against any 1-AA school and was sorry to see it finally end. After getting your new class of recruits, you are given a ranking on how well you did compared to the other schools and then are faced with filling any holes in your roster by converting existing players to new positions. Veteran players are then given a chance at training camp to improve their statistics and you can cut down your rosters if so needed. The final step is reassigning the depth chart and setting up your starting players. This also can either be done manually or automatically, so if time is an issue you can have the PS2 do your work for you and get right back into the thick of the next season.

Score tickers are constantly being displayed on the screen along with the all new Pontiac Drive Summary. In fact, there are real-life product endorsements sponsoring everything from Red Zone statistics to the special college pennants that you unlock for use in the game. The return of the Sports Illustrated stats section continues to be some of the best ever in a simulated sporting event and the available sections change as your season progresses. There are a massive amount of personal awards along with the bowl and NCAA championship trophies to be won and each of these can be viewed in your personal trophy case. All three of the current NCAA ranking systems (Media, Coaches and BCS) reflect the happenings each week and the strength of your schedule really plays an important factor on which post-season Bowl invites you will receive. The Campus Challenge also returns again with almost 400 (396 to be exact) different unlockables that can be purchased with points obtained with on-field excellence. These vary from school specific enhancements to generic cheats to assist you when times get tough.

There are also special venues and mascot teams which can be used in the other various modes of play. Everything has meaning in this game, and nothing should be overlooked with indifference. Even the basic in-game timeouts have a specific function for helping to calm down a rattled secondary or to build some confidence in a production-struggling backfield.

Nevertheless, this is not your only playing opportunity for NCAA Football 2005. You can also recreate some of the greatest games in the history of college football by using the Pontiac College Classics option. Also there is a Rivalry mode where you can match up famous contests throughout the decades and win trophies for each of these including the ever-popular Commander’s Cup, which is awarded to each years best military college (Army Vs Navy anyone?). But that is not all. Now you can also take the field with your team made up of nothing but mascots. Nothing is more laughable than watching a full field of these costumed characters competing on the gridiron for bragging rights. Finally, there is a practice mode to work on your team’s plays and familiarize with the entire playbook.

Probably the only downpoint in the entire game would be in the full-motion videos (FMV) that supply a break in the action or spotlight a player after a big play. Even though the player models are improved over last year’s edition, the famous EA ghosting is still alive and well. In case you are unfamiliar with this reference, it basically can be broken down to define the fact that the highlighted character has a habit of walking through other players, coaches or any other object that happens to be within the same space that your player wishes to occupy. This is exceptionally distracting from the experience and ruins the real-life aspect that NCAA Football 2005 has attempted to achieve with their graphics engine. If EA could have fixed the collision detection problem in the FMV, I would have been hard pressed to give the game anything less than a near-perfect score.

Very few games available pack as big of a punch in the extras department. To start off, NCAA Football 2005 has a remarkable online service that allows just about every bell and whistle a fan could desire. Both broadband and dial-up users have the ability to join into the fun. However, only broadband players can use the Logitech USB headset for smacktalking with your opponent. Also, the game allows the use of any USB keyboard for typing messages, which is much easier than using the game’s built-in keyboard. The online service provided by EA has a bunch of different modes including; 32 player tournaments, the Overtime Drill and the Even Teams mode which levels the playing field by making each roster equal. Created schools can’t be taken online, which is regrettable since I was looking forward to leveling the competition with my own creation, PSX Tech College. 

Online cheating is also a big concern for EA and they have attempted to correct the problem by adding stat checkers and penalties for delays or disconnects. This way you can see the past performance of anyone who is online and stay away from those people who pull the plug when things are not going their way. For those of you who are not online with your PS2 yet, there also is multitap support for up to eight players. This is something that very few franchises still offer for players and is definitely great to have when a large group of people come over to visit. Thanks EA, for remembering that some people still prefer to have physical contact with their friends and enjoy the act of getting together for some old-styled gaming.

Even with this outstanding online package, my mind wonders to the question why there wasn’t any additional peripheral support for either the EyeToy or the Hard Disk Drive (HDD). For creating a player, there is no better device available than the EyeToy, especially for mapping your face onto the starting quarterback. The HDD would have cut down greatly on the extensive loading times that the game suffers from when loading or saving one of the many program files. I realize that this may seem minor to most people, however I have come to expect EA to be on the cutting edge where the PlayStation is concerned and mostly I’m disappointed in the fact that they didn’t push the envelope further.

However, EA does supply the player with a small tidbit of information on the upcoming Nascar Thunder 2005 in the way of the standard advertisement. Moreover, they do continue the use of the EA Bio option, which rewards brand loyalists with special unlockables when they have multiple games that fall under the EA umbrella. Also, owners of both of EA’s 2005 pigskin games can export their college players up to the professional ranks via the draft option found in Madden. This is something that I have enjoyed since its conception, having the ability to continue my player’s career and draft them into the next level.

So, we come to the end of yet another excellent EA Sports title. Honestly, I can pronounce this to be the finest offering for NCAA football ever seen on any home platform. The game is so packed with exceptional touches that I really find EA with their back up against the wall for any future releases. Perhaps the inclusion of a front office to be decorated with your trophies and accomplishments would be the only thing missing from having the experience completed. As stated before, the only downfalls of the game are the lack of extra peripheral support and the FMV ghosting, and since I always rank gameplay over eyecandy in importance, neither distract greatly from the overall score. In this era of professional primadonnas, I much prefer the task of molding unknown talents rather than haggling over contract bonuses or production incentives. Although I have yet to physically experience any other 2005 football title, I can fearlessly pronounce this game to be easily within arms-reach of anything else we may see this year by any developer. This game comes highly recommended to any sports-fan and it simply should be experienced by anyone who owns a PlayStation 2.

Difficulty: 9

Control: 10

Audio: 9

Visuals: 8

Replayability: 10

Overall: 9.5