Score: 91
Overall User Average: 8.88 / 10 (90.6%)
Gameplay User Average: 9.50 / 10
Graphics User Average: 8.88 / 10
Sound User Average: 9.12 / 10
Homeless_Hacker
Date reviewed: January 3, 2004.
Overall: "Four seconds left in the game. The ball is snaped. The quarterback looks frantically back and forth to his deep running recievers. He breaks a sack, pivets and launches the ball to the farthest team color he could spot right before getting slamed in to the home turf. Laying on the ground, not looking in hope of a reception, the QB arises. and look! the band was blasting there horns and banging there drums, ballons were let loose, the fans trampled the field. We Won!"...ah yes, what a beutiful defining moment, and none the less, That right there is the same kind of rush NCAA football 2004 promises to deliver. So this title really does pack a punch for all of you hardcore sport fans out there.
Gameplay: Yes its true, ea still has more clever extras up there sleeves left to present to you through the making of NCAA fotball 2004. The new EA sports bio doesnt just record, and reward i might add, your progress through ncaa, but also diferent ea sport titles such as madden. But it doesnt stop there, with an all new extended dynasty mode with the appearence of the number 1 sports magazine, "sports illistrated", helps to keep the game alive and interesting whether your team is down in the dumps or at the top of the barrel. But if that still doesnt ring your bell, then im sure all of the extra goodies such as the mascot game mode, creat-a-school mode, rivalry mode, and even an ncaa classic game mode will most definetley catch your attention. But wait!...still not interested..hmmm... well take this in to mind, the amounts of "in-depth stradegy" is enough to keep even the most hardcore gamer out there playing for weeks, months, and years! Ohhhhhh, so many things to mention but so little time, there is just no way i could say everything that this game has just to offer, so ill leave it here and let you find out for yourselfes...so what im trying to say is, ...go buy it!! trust me...its worth the price of admission.
Graphics: Smooth, slick...and just plain great looking character models help this title reach out even greater than just with the excelent gameplay alone... Well, as a big college football fan, i geuss i need to say that the coaches could use just a little help on making them look like actual coaches!! urg!! ...er..i mean...umm, anyways...the graphics are solid.
Sound: Solid sound throughout the game with band fight songs from all schools and even "theme songs" help to keep this title in the feel of a true college football game.
Suggestions: hmmm... i am going to have to agree with the other reviewers on this one and say that the online play could use some..."touching up".
Overall: 90 %
Gameplay: 100 %
Graphics: 80 %
Sound: 80 %
bretman1234
Date reviewed: December 15, 2003.
Overall: What isn't there to like about NCAA 2004. It was an awesome football sim, they've expanded the list of schools, songs, and mascots, taken it online (PS2 only...grrr) and added a slew of new features, and unlockables. This is more than a 'minor update' this is a must have football game.
Gameplay: Let's cut straight to it: It's a fun game to play. If you like football sims, and you liked Madden you'll love NCAA Football 2004. Yes it sorta looks like Madden, yes it kinda plays like Madden, so what keeps this game from being Madden Jr.? Extras, extras, extras. There are no other games with this many extras that I have found on the xbox.
Graphics: Graphics are good for an EA game, and it looks sweet on a HDTV! If I only owned one! But this game deffinately has some peeks and perks, and graphics are one of em. They are similar to Madden 2004, in that the player models are the same, but the stadiums look better, and the mascots are very detailed.
Sound: The music in this game is the best part! I love all the fight songs for each school, because each schools is different! I wasn't sure how they would make them all different, but they accomplished it! Kudos to EA for finding a way to get them all into that tiny disc!
Suggestions: Work on Live, and it will be a perfect game. I can't find any other flaws in it!
Overall: 90 %
Gameplay: 90 %
Graphics: 90 %
Sound: 90 %
Luke007
Date reviewed: November 26, 2003.
Overall: Overall NCAA is a must by, even if you have last years. The only thing that is keeping this from perfection is the lack of online play.
Gameplay: Ok I have not found anything majorly wrong with the gameplay for me to give it a bad or les the perfect score. The plays in the game are extrodinary, and the way the game carriesitself out in gamewise is superb. There are a few minor glitches but they can be bypassed (ie a random football sitting on the field). The action sequences are great, the new tackles and player animations add wonders to the game. The penalties are real/deserving to the offender, unlike last year where the holding calls would pop up over and over again. The new endzone poses add a new element to the game, even allowing the player to get a penalty for overcelibrating. Also there is alot of added in game effects that add to the flavor of the game. When you fake a hand off to your back the camera will follow them, making me get faked out by my own play. Also it is much harder to throw over the middle of the field and throwing the long bomb does not result in big gains all the time like it did in 2003. Also there is the addition of delay routes that fake out the comp if used cautiously. But the comp will learn from its mistakes and fix its gameplan to fit yours. The ratings for all the players matter more then last year, low leveled QBs and RBs will fall under pressure, and low lvled LB will allow a WR to school him in his zone.
Graphics: I recently hooked up a PS2 and and xbox on side by side TVs (same type of TVs) and I was able to see the differences clearly. the graphics are much crisper and the attention to detail is more present in this Xbox game then any before. The uniforms look crisp and beautiful, the player faces are the run of the mill EA faces but more facial features seem to have been added. On the field the play runs smooth and it is almost as fun to watch a game as to play it.
Sound: The chants during the game are perfect, cept more of a diversity for team specific chants would have been great, but not greatly needed. The sounds on the field almost make you beilive your actually on the field. The in game commentary is better then last year, but the only reason I cant give sounds a 10 is cause of Corso, I think he gets more annoying with age.
Overall: 50 %
Gameplay: 100 %
Graphics: 90 %
Sound: 80 %
bulls27
Date reviewed: October 27, 2003.
Overall: A great football game without all the hype that surrounds Madden. Offers hours of fun gameplay and many great modes that you can play. Dynasty mode being the top, but also the option to play rivalry games or even relive historic moments in college football. With all the Different teams this should keep you occupied long enough till next years version. Another new things that is very cool is the sports illustrated covers which will highlight the events going on during you season as if it were really a cover story in the magazine. If your tired of Madden and if you like to run the option, cause who doesn't, give this game a chance.
Gameplay: Very similar to madden, same controls, pretty much the same look. Gives you the college feel with the cheerleaders and the mascots, as well as the plays only a college team would ever try.
Graphics: Looks pretty good, excellent look on the uniforms, faces look better than they have in years past, but still kinda big heads. Stadiums look good, still not the best thing in the world to see the crappy fan animation. You'll be too into the game to care about if everything looks good.
Sound: Sound is great, with fan chanting and players yelling and grunting. College fight songs are what you will hear throughout the entire game so that does tend to get really annoying after a while.
Overall: 90 %
Gameplay: 90 %
Graphics: 80 %
Sound: 80 %
db808
Date reviewed: September 2, 2003.
Overall: It doesnt get any better than this. For real. Every day there are people here playing this and madden. People that dont even like football. Wow.
Gameplay: It plays like football...gosh imagine that, a game just like REAL football...what ever will they think of next???
Graphics: Progressive scan WOW. Finally!!! Yeah it looks great. Amazing. Kinda like youre watching a real football game except the view is different obviously.
Sound: It sounds like....football. The announcers are pretty good, not too annoying. I like it. It sounds good.
Suggestions: DOWNLOADABLE ROSTERS!!!!!!! I understand wanting us to have to buy next years game, but at least keep us up to date through the end of the season!!!
Overall: 100 %
Gameplay: 100 %
Graphics: 100 %
Sound: 100 %
Chogori
Date reviewed: August 11, 2003.
Overall: The game that consumed my life. I already loved the 2003 version, but EA has really gone overboard this year in continuing to make this a "must have" for any college footbal fan.
Gameplay: The actual in game portion has been improved in several ways. Defensive AI has been greatly improved (although I still say the computer cheats, i.e., has an uncanny ability to know what play I'm going to run or what audible I call). The sliders that allow you to minutely tailor the gameplay experience are excellent. For example, with sliders on default on All-American level, I tend to kick !&%$@#* on defense and do about what I'd expect from The University of Texas on offense. The problem is that the defense is TOO good, leading to unrealistic statistics and lopsided games. The solution is to adjust the CPUs offensive sliders upwards, until I feel that I have an accurate simulation. The Dynasty mode continues to highlight this game. The have added depth to the recruiting and have added a feature that allows you to expend recruiting points to talk underclassmen out of leaving early. About the only way this gets better would be to go with 85 player rosters (currently 55) and add a mini-camp (training) mode (ala Madden). Currently, off-season training and development is automated with no user input.
Graphics: Moderate improvements from last year. The tunnel entrances are cool. The fans could use a little work. The are still very 2-D and they jump up and down all the time, even when their team is getting pasted. The Sports Illustrated feature is really cool.
Sound: Really excellent work that captures the escence of college football. The crowd is more intelligent now as far as cheering at the appropriate times (they react mid-play to a good play by the home team). A bigger plus this year is that they got my school's (UT) fight song right ("Texas Fight" instead of "The Eyes of Texas").
Suggestions: Copy Madden's mini-camp mode in place of the automated offseason training.
Overall: 100 %
Gameplay: 100 %
Graphics: 90 %
Sound: 100 %
treyz3
Date reviewed: August 7, 2003.
Overall: After playing last years excellent game, I was looking forward to all of the changes to this years. And I wasn't disappointed. Improved graphics, more teams, more features in the dynasty, college classics, etc. The only missing here is Xbox Live support. This game would get a perfect 5.0 if it had that.
Gameplay: The gameplay is great. You can play a game between some all-time teams, fire up a college classic or build your team into a national power in dynasty mode. This is where the game really excels. The new Sports Illustrated covers are really cool looking, as well as the Heisman Watch. You can play this game all the way through the release of next year's game or into the future.
Unfortuantely, no Xbox Live!
Graphics: The visuals are great. They did a terrific job on the stadiums this year. The uniforms and player models look fantastic. The new presentation is very appealing as well.
Sound: The audio is fantastic. The commentary is much improved over last year. They'll actually comment on how you did on your last drive ('they went 3 and out on their last drive' or 'they moved the ball through the air well on their way to a touchdown'). The fight songs are good as usual.
Suggestions: Xbox Live support! Duh!
Oh, and bigger rosters certainly wouldn't hurt.
Did I mention Xbox Live support?
Overall: 90 %
Gameplay: 90 %
Graphics: 100 %
Sound: 100 %
LastMasterChief
Date reviewed: July 16, 2003.
Overall: Last year, while all the attention was on the NFL football games, EA Sports quietly released what many consider the best football game of the year, NCAA 2003. How good was it? Try this - it was so good that Sega didn't even bother with a college game this year, as EA's NCAA franchise is proving too complete and too strong. This year, NCAA 2004 isn't coming quietly - instead, the hype surrounding the game, no matter which console it's on, is just as strong as any Madden NFL game has.For good reason too; NCAA 2004 only improves on the already near-perfect 2003 edition. While it lacks the gimmicky online support that many EA haters have demanded, everything else is fine-tuned to perfection. Fair warning, once you get addicted to the deep and immersive Dynasty, or get in tune with the College Classics, this game will eat hours, days, weeks, even months out of your Xbox playtime. EA's latest college powerhouse is without question the meatiest football game the Xbox has ever seen.
Gameplay: NCAA 2004 carries over all the playmodes and features of the 2003 edition - so you'll be able to play single seasons, exhibition games, and of course, the mighty Dynasty mode. New to the series is College Classics - with this, you can relive 20 great college games, right at an important period in the game. Beating these unlock special pennants that open up the classic teams involved for in-game play.The Dynasty is similar to last year - only with a few changes. The biggest thing is the involvement of Sports Illustrated; SI covers track major events during the season - it's cool to see your team in lights on the covers. The coaching and recruiting is tuned even more, thanks to more involved recruiting (read: you can now take an angle with going after a player, be it playing time or the prestige of playing for your school), and a different structure to contracts that make the game more involving.And no, there is no online play included with NCAA 2004 on Xbox - boo hoo. As someone who sees online play as a poor gimmick of meaningless exhibition contests, it hardly affects my enjoyment of NCAA 2004 - the involving dynasty is 50 times better than any possible online competition. While EA putting XBL play would silence some of my fellow Xbox fans, it wouldn't mean jack personally.On the field, the game hasn't changed from the already solid engine, but the tweaks are noticed after extended playtime. The biggest thing is the difficulty ramp - the computer opponent is much smarter with calling a play over and over before stuffing you, and tends to be smarter moving around the field as well, recognizing your plays and stopping them as fast as possible (especially passing, where they tended to be a tad slow on the draw last year). Computer games are very intense, especially when you take control of a poor team and go up against a powerhouse. This, along with the redone playbooks that can throw off a player using the same team year to year (as in last year's NCAA game), but only adds to the challenge of finding new plays that can help you win. While the game isn't a total overhaul, it's good enough and anyone who says it's the exact same game as last year is impossibly clueless. When a game is nearly as perfect as possible, what can be done besides tweaking, anyway?Oh yes, while EA Sports BIO has been passed off as a gimmick, it's actually quite cool and will only get better when more EA games hit later on. There's nothing wrong with rewarding fans, instead of kicking them in the crotch, and the BIO is just that kind of reward.
Graphics: As a PS2 port, NCAA 2004 is slightly improved graphically, but overall lagging behind, as always. And as always, it means little to a real gamer, as it's just good looking enough to not be ugly and take away from the on-field action. There's a smidge of slowdown in some places, and the players could use some more detail, but nothing here is ugly or poor. The stadiums and atmosphere are great - cheerleaders all around firing cannons and running around with flags is repetitive but cool, and the huge stadiums (well, most are pretty big) dwarf the teeny ones. Anyhoo, NCAA 2004 looks fine and is touched up nicely compared to the PS2 game, lacking the rough edges of the original version of the game. It'd be nice to see EA push the Xbox hardware, but it's better to get the game as is instead of not get it at all, correct?
Sound: As usual for an EA Sports game, the audio is perfect, if not similar to last year. The announcers speak almost the same lines as even NCAA 2002, and the lifeless PA announcer is dreadfully boring. However, the booming fight music and excited fans (which vary depending on attendance that day) even things out, creating a great atmosphere for college football. The pageantry is faithfully recreated with this game, making it the most complete collegiate football game on the planet.
Suggestions: It would be very cool if you can create bigger stadiums to house more fans a la Madden 2004 will have - it sucks to be a new powerhouse team playing in a stadium that only houses 15,000 people.
Overall: 100 %
Gameplay: 90 %
Graphics: 80 %
Sound: 100 %
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