NCAA Football 2002 by EA Sports
for Playstation 2
Review
by : Brian
Albertsen
Ah, the
pageantry of college football (sorry, I've always wanted to
say that in a non-mocking scenario), the rivalries, the excitement,
the players who play the game for fun and not the money. I
LOVE college football. Now, I did happen to go to a school
where football was one of the most important money makers
for the school, so it comes as no surprise that I love college
football. I also love EA Sports' NCAA Football games for the
Playstation, but never have I played a game as incredible
as the newest incarnation of the college football series;
this one for the Playstation 2.
 When
I first bought my PS2, I thought about buying NCAA Gamebreaker
by 989 Sports so that I could get my fix of College Football
while I was waiting for the EA version to be released, but
after playing it, it just did not quite get me there, if you
know what I mean. So, I waited, and waited, and this past
Wednesday, when NCAA was released, I bought. I brought the
PS2 to work, where all of my co-workers and I got so involved
in the games, it was almost (ALMOST) like being at a true
college game back at the L.A. Coliseum, which is very impressively
rendered into the game, complete with the empty end zone seats
and the "Trojans" banner in the seats. Fight songs erupt when
you score, and mascots cheer for you as you drive down the
field. This is the most impressive sports game I have ever
played on the PS2, with all the incredible graphics of Madden,
and all the excitement of a college football game.
The graphics
are amazing. They may not look all that impressive when everyone
is just standing around on the field, or even showing a close
up of the players faces (which still show the rudimentary
looks that Madden 2001 did a year ago), but then there
is the animation in the characters movements that will make
you think you are watching a televised game. The mascots look
like the giant animals that you see on the sidelines of a
game, with just a tinge of cartoonishness that makes them
even funnier (in a good way). You can even acquire mascot
teams that play like the regular team, but each player is
a Georgia Tech Yellowjacket or an Iowa Hawkeye (those are
the only two that I have gotten as of now, but the Yellowjackets
are so fun to play and watch). The graphics may now be as
incredible as Metal Gear Solid 2, but it is a sports
game, and there are 120+ teams on one disc, not to mention
all the amazing extras. The only problem with the graphics
is the coaches. Joe Tiller looks nothing like Joe Tiller (wrong
skin color anyone?) and Pete Carroll looks like Jim Mora...
The gameplay,
also amazing, to an even bigger extent. This game handles
like a Porsche. There is even a feature that makes momentum
a factor in how the players move and cut. You cannot turn
on a dime, but if you play it right, the defense also has
to take momentum into account. Sometimes you will try and
turn, but you end up running out of bounds, which sucks, but
it is actually realistic. The play calling is the same as
it ever was, but try running the option, it is amazing how
it handles. You might even lateral the ball into another player,
causing a fumble. As far as gameplay goes, this is the best
in the series far and beyond.
The Extras
in this game are what really makes the game incredible. You
can earn the aforementioned extra teams (mascots and all teams
that have the best players in the history of the school),
extra stadiums (Giza Egypt and Bowl games), as well as cheats
for certain teams and cheats that you can use on your opponents
in-game. You can play a season or a dynasty (nothing new there,
but you can change to another school if you have the clout
and want to take a Ball State or South Carolina to the Rose
Bowl) and you can create players and name a team as you want
to. There are so many facets to this game, I haven't even
begun to find most of them, but I want to play it over and
over until I do find all of them. This game is amazing. I
brought the game to work and all of us got so much into it,
we were still playing it almost into the newscast. Everyone
was playing and getting into the game, even watching the games
as they would a real football game. One of my co-workers went
out and bought it the next morning and started his own season.
I started
my season and am currently undefeated (no, I am not playing
on the easiest level, and they have not been cake walks either).
My unranked in the preseason USC Trojans are now 17 after
big wins at Oregon and against Kansas State. Those teams were
not easy to beat at all, but of course the first game of the
season against San Jose State was a blowout. Just like it
should be. The teams really are as good as they are expected
to be, and the AI of the computer plays them as they would
really play. I doubt that I will ever be good enough to compete
with the Florida Gators or the Texas Longhorns, but, well,
after a few seasons of the dynasty playing, USC may be a force
to be reckoned with.
If you
are not a college football fan, you can still appreciate a
good football game, and this game is infinitely better than
Madden for the excitement and gameplay. If you are not into
football, you probably will not enjoy the game, but play it
once, especially if you went to college and remember any of
the highlights of any game your team played. And if you are
a football fan, love the college game, and own a PS2, then
this is definitely one title that you should really pick up.
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