Prodigious Powerhouse- NCAA Football 10

The best sports games have the power to bridge worlds. As a college student, I was an avid gamer and casual sports fan, and purchased NCAA Football ’98 on a whim. The title quickly caught the attention of my non-gaming roommate, and soon highly spirited daily matches became the norm. Some of my best college memories involve the revelries heard around the block when the University of North Carolina and Notre Dame met for a virtual matchup.

Over the course of several console generations, Madden gradually replaced NCAA as the football game of choice. Although I preferred the splendor of college pigskin, Madden had the larger budget, and consequently received more refinement to the core game engine. This year, NCAA Football 10 looks to have caught up with the pros, and offers a magnificent recreation of college ball.

This year the developers at Tiburon, seek to silence the “I’m not paying $60 for a roster update” detractors with a healthy amount of new content. NCAA Football 10’s Teambuilder allows players to create a custom squad, while the Season Showdown which cleverly showcases school loyalty.  Additionally, the game has received a number of mechanical and graphic enhancements that contribute to the game’s already-magnificent recreation of the celebratory spirit of collegiate football. 

Once player’s direct their web browsers to the Teambuilder site, players have the ability to craft a real or imagined team using a variety of potent tools. Would-be coaches can import logos, design jerseys, and even modify existing stadiums using an intuitive interface. Within fifteen minutes, I had a fictitious team assembled, along with uniforms sharp enough to instill doubt into any opponents. A field with corresponding colors was carefully groomed, along with the team name in the endzone. Importing the saved data into NCAA Football 10 was extremely easy, as well as browsing through other player’s handiwork. A game with my newly formed squad showed skillful integration, the only caveat was a left over team logo displayed on the stadium scoreboard.

New to the series is Player Lock, which allows gamers to control a single specified athlete during a play. While this option can’t produce consistently interesting gaming moments, it does feel invigorating to control a blitzing linebacker or safety.  One of my fundamental concerns with any football game is exploitable A.I- most titles allow the player to replicate successful plays persistently. NCAA 10 is quite savvy, particularly on the higher difficulty levels, requiring gamers to keep a varied repertoire. Last year, players that had a sizable lead over a CPU opponent could turn on the game’s Super Sim to have the console calculate the results of the game. Unfortunately, the option lead to a high number of unrealistic underdog victories for the computer. This year’s game rectifies these outcomes, allowing for a much more accurate estimation of game results. For sports fans that are casual gamers, there’s also a handy ‘family play’ option that simplifies the title’s control scheme.

Although the title’s Season Showdown won’t become fully realized until the start of the actual NCAA football season on August 31st, this component of the game looks to expand the already-competitive nature of the game.   Once players select the Season Showdown from the main menu, they will be prompted to select their favorite collegiate team. While in pre-season, every single and multiplayer-game grants their preferred team units. Upon the game’s release, trivia questions will also add to the pool. Although unproven, Season Showdown could be a robust enticement that lures players back to NCAA each week, giving the title a large online constituency.

NCAA’s graphical strength lay in the title’s diversity- from the carefully rendered stadiums, to the range of real time weather conditions culled from The Weather Channel. Late summer games in the Midwest displayed ominous thunderclouds, while a game at the Rose Bowl displayed lucid azure skies. When the gamer is controlling the on-screen action, the game’s framerate remains buttery smooth, allowing for split second jukes and precise passing. Between play cheerleading exhibitions add authenticity to the proceedings, but don’t display the same fluidity as on-screen interactions. NCAA still exhibits an occasional split-second pause immediately before the play calling menu appears; although this is a negligible quibble that will likely be overlooked by many fans. Players connected online are treated to real-time tickertape scoring of actual sports, along with ESPN radio, appreciably augmenting the overall experience.