Gaming Target - Xbox: NCAA Football 2004

Written by Adam Woolcott on August 04, 2003

Full Review: Sports Illustrated cover jinx now included, for no extra cost!

It has been frequently argued that EA Sports' NCAA Football series now only has eclipsed the rather large shadow of the Madden NFL series and not only is good enough to sit side by side with the legendary series, but even surpass its NFL counterpart. Whether that's true or not is in the eye of the beholder, but regardless, the NCAA series has constantly improved, with the 2003 installment being the finest yet (it was so dominant, in fact, that Sega decided against releasing a 2K4 version of their own college series). That is, until NCAA 2004 was released. While Live fans shall be remiss at the lack of online play (this is, of course, a whole Сnother can of worms that I'd prefer keep unopened right now), EA's latest college gridiron simulation has once again been tuned, tweaked, and twisted in nearly all facets of the game, resulting in the best NCAA Football game yet.

Without question, NCAA 2004 is the deepest football simulation this side of, well, nobody. Not even Madden can really come close to the level of depth and gameplay modes to occupy your Xbox. Of course, the backbone of this is the Dynasty. As always, the Dynasty lets you take any of the 117 Division 1 teams and attempt to bring them glory, trophies, and crazy boosters freaking out trying to recruit players. New to last year's game was the ability to swap out some Division 1 teams for the Division 1-AA teams such as Grambling or Florida A&M. This has been expanded even more, to include Atlantic 10 and Big Sky conferences, along with more teams, bringing the 1-AA roster to about 50. While you still can't add a conference or just add a team without subtracting another (it probably would screw up the schedule generator, which is already pre-arranged by developer Tiburon), it's something to hope for in the 2005 edition. Of course, you also can create your own team and take them to glory as well.

While the main gist of the Dynasty remains Ц that being top 25 polls, the BCS (which of course stands for Bull Crap Selection), and a whole horde of bowl games (just fun, the Sega Sports Las Vegas bowl is just the Las Vegas Bowl, and the Rose Bowl presented by PlayStation 2 is just the Rose Bowl), along with an array of awards to win, like usual. However, EA did include some new stuff to add another level of depth and realism to the game. Thanks to an agreement with sports rag Sports Illustrated, you too can be a part of the SI Jinx, as the main stories of the seasons are spotlighted in covers and mock feature articles as well. It's merely a cosmetic thing, but it's cool to see your team highlighted for whatever reason; especially when you gain the cover of SI.

Also, the contracts tend to be a bit looser and not so restricted Ц while you have set goals, you don't always lose your job if you fail to win a National Title or lose prestige. It can still happen, but it's not an automatic firing. What is revamped is the contract process Ц coach better than expected and roll off a great season (especially when you take over a 1 or 2 prestige team and have a winning season) and you'll get a contract extension offer, and consistent winning will actually net you job offers from around the country. Unlike NCAA 2003, which held those 3-year contracts even if you never lost and won title after title, NCAA 2004's are much less restrictive.

Finally, there's the issue of conference play. Say you're in a mid-major conference such as the Sun Belt, where there's no notoriety or even prestige. But you establish yourself as the class of the league, winning the conference title and even toppling a top 25 foe. In NCAA 2004, this just might net you an invitation to a larger conference, such as the Pac-10 or SEC. If you take it, you replace another team, and begin play in this conference. However, if you do poorly in the conference, you can actually get booted right out as well, which means that it's not all fun and games if you improve. It's unfortunate that this is all there is to the conference switching though Ц it would be cool to customize things a bit more in the future.

It's not just about the Dynasty this year, though Ц NCAA Football 2004 has a few other tricks up its sleeve. The College Classics is a new option this year Ц EA took 20 of the best football games played in the modern era (as in, 1980 and up), and put them in a position when you take control and change history (such as the Wide Right I game between Florida State and Miami from about 10 years go). Many of these are pretty simple and not too hard to beat, but some are mega tough (especially The Play Ц as in the lateral play in the Stanford-Cal game; the one with the band on the field, I know you've seen it at least 597 times) and get a tad frustrating. Matter of fact, the only way I actually beat The Play was when the opposing kicker actually missed the field goal. Crazy. College Classics shouldn't take a whole lot to beat (actually I think they should have just let you play the whole entire game), but are necessary to unlock the involved teams in exhibition mode, and complete your pennant collection.

Finally, EA Sports has one brand new feature that rewards players for playing their games Ц EA Sports Bio. The Bio is sort of a cross-game identity that lives in your Xbox hard drive (shhh, it's sleeping under the motherboard) and tracks your wins, losses, and special achievements (in NCAA, you get noted for winning games against top 25 teams, getting bowl bids, or up to winning the National Title) throughout all your EA Sports games. As you progress, you Уlevel upФ so to speak, and at certain points you unlock new features for your game. So if your level is 10 with NCAA, and you buy Madden NFL 2004, you unlock stuff that you would have already earned had it been your first EA Bio title. It's a tad controversial as it seems you have to play other EA games to unlock stuff (this was seen with the Madden Cards in NFL 2003 last year), but it's an interesting reward (and you actually don't have to play other EA games, just play a lot of NCAA 2004 if you wish) process.

Of course, you do actually get to play football, instead of just setting up games and stuff. NCAA 2004 isn't terribly different from 2003 (it is very hard to improve on what already was really good, you know), but it's been tweaked to offer more challenge and make it that much harder to develop your team into a powerhouse. The passing game seems to be the most revamped Ц it's not as simple as last year to rocket passes and get them completed; instead you actually have to work an open receiver and figure out the right touch for the pass Ц do you chuck it and have your WR drop it because it was too hot to handle, or loft it so a defender could possibly pick it off? Interceptions are way up in 2004, for both your team and the computer AI. After you throw 4 picks in a game, you have to learn that you never, ever throw it when a defender is in position to leap and steal it, because they damn sure will. The only thing that tends to bother me is the ineptness of the receivers, who tend to drop perfect passes wide open, even if they're pretty highly rated. As Corso might say in the game, you hate to see the perfect pass ruined by butterfingers dropping it like a ninny.

They also toughened up the running game, but not quite as much; no more can an average back tear up a good defense. While a great back is usually unstoppable, the others will have to work pretty hard and actually work the holes to gain an opening. EA still hasn't really mastered the getting skinny move that Sega did (though Sega did end up really making it way too easy to run thanks to it), as players tend to get stuck behind blockers and tend to stand still because of it, which is still a pest. Running the option is still as fluid as ever, though when the computer is running it, they tend to be very stupid which makes it a weak point when playing a Dynasty Ц playing an option team is pretty much always a win as long as you learn how to contain it; which is tougher than last year.

In terms of defense, it naturally lies in the hands of the player, but it's still solid. What I really like is how well they fixed up the pass defense. If you have a crappy secondary, you'll tend to give up lots, and lots of big plays, and generally suck. However, as you get better players through recruiting, you see marked improvement. This doesn't sound particularly shocking, but it's more noticeable than ever this year. Before, a bad secondary could be УwilledФ to playing better than their numbers, but not this time around. This also shows in terms of interceptions, as the stronger secondaries will gather more and more picks as they learn how to play pass defense. Usually I hate pass defense, but NCAA 2004 is the best implementation I've seen yet.

NCAA Football 2004 is still a sim, and it shows at all times. Momentum is again tuned down a tad to create a bit less pain when making turns and slowing down, but there's enough so it doesn't turn out like NFL Blitz. Defensively there's no flying tackles, even if the tackling could use some improvement to look less like players bouncing around and a bit tougher, though it has improved drastically. No matter what though, NCAA plays like a football game, and especially a college game Ц it plays radically different from Madden in terms of pace and style, creating a perfect balance between the two.

When you combine this outstanding (if not revolutionary) gameplay with the loaded depth of the game, NCAA 2004 tends to be strong enough to last longer than even the 2003 version which personally managed 100 hours plus of wear on my Xbox. Even if you don't play a lot of Dynasty games, the incentive to unlock crazy mascot teams (I'm still waiting for the Stanford Cardinal mascot so I can play as a team of freakin' trees), all time teams, All American teams, and classic teams is enough to gain hours upon hours of playtime with the game. The lack of online play on the Xbox version is unfortunate, but the deeper, more involved Dynasty I'd assume is much more satisfying than an endless line of exhibition contests anyway. However, hopefully the 2005 version will be the first EA game to support Xbox Live. Somehow I doubt it, but stranger things have happened.

Though obviously not intended to exploit the Xbox console, the graphics of NCAA Football 2004 get the job done, even if they aren't perfect. The look itself is quite sharp, as the fields and stadiums look great, and the animated crowd, which still isn't as lively as Madden, still is nice looking. The players still look realistic as ever, with the exception of the small player models. There's a load of new animations, from tackling to breaking tackles to even injury animations, based on the location of the injury. The most important thing is that at the end of the day, it looks like a football game, through and through.

If there's one thing disappointing about NCAA Football 2004, it would be the sounds. The atmosphere itself is great, with loud, rowdy crowds and loads of college fight songs peppered around, very little was actually redone. The commentary itself is good, but is 95% recycled from last year, as the team of Nessler, Corso, and Herbstreit apparently didn't get around to adding a whole lot of new stuff, besides announcing the new team names and a few token phrases here and there chastising you for using the same play twice in a row or going for it on 4th down despite leading 35-3 in the 4th quarter. It's definitely not bad, as it's the same commentary as 2003, but the problem is, it's the same commentary.