NCAA Football '07 VG

Lord, no. I can't afford that console (yet).

 

I'll rent it and rip it to my xbox. I"m stoked.

 

A first-person view on kick returns? Isn't that what the 2K series for the NFL did?

I think I'll go out and rent this a few times before I buy it...If I even buy it. Heck, this weekend I went out and rented EA's Head Coach and hated it, took it back and rented Madden 06 and I can't stand that. Is it unamerican of me to hate Madden?

 

The more reviews on here, the better. It'll help me decide to buy it or not.

 

Yep, the 2K series did that. When you played a season, you wouldn't be in first person view. But you could play a whole game in first person, even as QB or RB.



And I think I've bought Madden once since I got my Xbox. And that was about 7-8 months after it came out when it was on sale at Target for $18.

 

I changed my mind on the kick meter. Upon further review, it's actually much easier.

But the first-person kick/punt returns are absolutely terrible. You can't see where your blockers are, where the seam is, etc.

Also, why do the teams have '06-'07 rosters, but '05-'06 head coaches? For example, Kansas State has its roster for this season, but Bill Snyder is clearly still the head coach.

 

I agree on the first-person kick returns. I used to love returning kicks to see the whole field and all, but now you pretty much just run ahead and don't know where you're going. Awful. Kick meter is OK once you get the hang of it.
Also, why even have extra points. They're impossible to block without cheat and they're impossible to miss. It's a waste.

 

I picked this up yesterday. Quite frankly, I'm very impressed. The Heisman Mode is gone, replaced by Campus Legend mode. This is much-expanded (you have to do all the actual drills, i.e. run the 40, passing skeleton, option attack, etc.) and then it gives you points to build your player prior to choosing a school
Also much more in-depth in season. You can choose whether you want to study for school, study your playbook or attend a social event. You also pick a major, which in and of themselves are hilarious. You can major in Mascots, ESPN, etc. You have to answer questions about these things in order to become an academic All-American. Kind of fitting I thought.
As for the game play, I was very pleased. We complain about the first-person kick returns, but what does a real kick returner see? He sees a swarm of his team's jerseys and a swarm of opposing jerseys and just prays that he finds a seam.
Still getting used to the controls, particularly cycling through the players on defense.
And as for the graphics, is anyone else impressed. I'm still playing on a lowly PS2 and I was struck by how much better this looks than the '06 version.

 

This is where this video game junkie gets off the boat.

Why the hell would I want to sit there and do drills to play a game? This is where franchise modes on most games have totally jumped the shark. Just let me play a season with stats, a franchise mode that emphasizes the game play, not distract from it, and give me greater editing power. I'd love to have a draft where you could input the names of say, the 1979 draft class, but no game lets you do that.

It's why I like FIFA '06, because its franchise mode is involved enough, but doesn't require you to do drills, pass out popcorn, beat up hooligans, etc.

EA is the biggest abuser of this. It's why I'm sad 2K Sports no longer has the NFL license.

 

Bub ... totally agreed, which is why I never even touched the Heisman feature in NCAA 06. Not my cup of tea. I want to play the games and recruit and build a dynasty. I don't want to run spring practice. That's too much.

 

I returned my first kickoff for a touchdown, but on punts I can't see anything. You think you have plenty of room and as soon as you catch it, the gunner just drills you and you fumble...so I fair catch a lot.
The expanded playbooks was an excellent addition. Before it was just balanced, run-heavy or pass-heavy. Now you've got different option attacks, spread options, or stuff like Nevada's Pistol, so it makes it more fun to play with a ton of teams as opposed to just your favorite. I heard they made running easier, and since that was all I knew how to do before, I am getting 200 yards a game with Hugh Charles. Probably need to up the difficulty already...

 

Precisely my problem with Madden now. I want to run an NFL team, not a franchise. What do I care about the price of concessions and playoff tickets? Since when did I need a spreadsheet and a copy of Microsoft Office to start a dynasty?