EA's long running NCAA Football games have always had a high standard to live up to.  Developer Tiburon has also been developing Madden for years, so when it comes to making football games these guys should know a thing two.  So far, Tiburon has kept the college game up to the standard of the pros, and at times even exceeded it.  This year's release, NCAA Football '07 continues the tradition of great college football games.

 

After Tiburon's first Xbox 360 offering, Madden NFL Football '06, many people were worried that the NCAA game would fall victim to the same problems Madden did.  For the most part this is not the case.  The general football gameplay is just as solid as it has been the past few years.  The controls, now customizable, remain tight and intuitive and the graphics are as good looking as ever.  If all you ever did with previous versions of NCAA Football was pickup games and dynasty mode, you’ll hardly notice a difference in the game you’ve loved for years.

 

Unfortunately, NCAA Football ’07 did suffer the same fate as Madden NFL Football ’06 in a few ways.  Just as Madden dropped many popular features due to a from-the-ground-up approach to the Xbox 360 version, several popular features from previous versions missed the 360 cut.  One of the most noticeable and notable is the plethora of schools that have been dropped.  The past few years had seen more and more Division 1AA schools being added to give the smaller schools some love, but the Xbox 360 version contains only the Division 1A schools that compete for the NCAA national championship every year.

 

Another big feature missing is last year’s focus feature, Race for the Heisman.  While it is included and even expanded upon in the current-gen versions of NCAA Football ’07, the Xbox 360 lost this feature because of the massive overhaul to the game.  Hopefully Tiburon will find a way to include the mode in next year’s edition.  Also missing is the Create-A-School mode.  Create-A-Player has survived, but it is a barebones version compared last year.  The hot route system has also been reworked, and now its more complicated.  Many a delay of game penalties were called on my offense over the course of my review sessions.

 

On the bright side, not all of the changes are negative.  For one, the new analog kicking controls make much more sense then tap-release-tap method that players have been dealing with for ages.  The new ESPN ticker also makes perfect sense, allowing for a real-time, real-world ESPN Bottomline displaying scores and stats from all the major sports while you play. 

 

Tiburon also saw fit to drop the spring practice drills for three excellent mini-games: Bowling, Tug-of-War, and Option Dash.  Don’t let the titles of the mini-games fool you, they are still football based.  Bowling is my favorite of the bunch, challenging the player to score in two plays from the opponent’s 10 yard line.  The yards gained are the pins with strikes and spares being touchdowns on the first and second plays respectively.  The mini-games add an enjoyable change of pace to dynasty mode as well as give new players an opportunity to learn good plays for key game situations.  My only complaint about the mini-games is that they aren’t playable over Xbox Live.

 

The Xbox Live component of NCAA Football ’07 is somewhat hit or miss in my opinion. The gameplay itself doesn’t change at all, so you’re still getting the same great game you were playing offline.  Unfortunately, as with all online games, lag can be a problem.  This is especially evident in the kicking game.  The split second delay between moving the analog stick and seeing the meter can mean the difference between a missed or made field goal.  Another common lag problem is lag only on one end, causing one player to see the play unfold earlier, giving a major advantage that can cause big turnovers or lost yardage.

 

Overall, NCAA Football ’07 is still the great college football game you’ve come to expect from EA Sports.  Sure some teams and modes are gone from previous years, but the core gameplay is still as solid as ever.  NCAA Football ’07 will be a welcome addition to any Xbox 360 game library.  Now let’s all hope Madden NFL Football ’07 follows suit.