NCAA Football 07

[Moodini31]

EA always picks players on teams who made the finals but lost. Like Kidd for live in 03, same with Faulk in Madden 03. and MVP baseball 2004 with Albert Pujols. And Madden 06 with Mcnabb.

Good observation Steve. I guess I never noticed that.

[Moodini31]

OK, I just downloaded the NCAA 07 trailer for the 360 from Xbox Live and I drooled all over my couch!

It begins with the sound of a drum in the background. Then you are in a first person view entering "The Swamp", the stadium is packed and the ball is being kicked off.........fade to black.....fade into another first persion view as you walk down a second level tunnel at Notre Dame Stadium and you're looking directly at Touchdown Jesus (drum is still drumming)......fade to black.....fade into another first person view as you see a big rock inside "Death Valley" at Clemson. Then the gameplay footage begins and the entire band can be heard, the Florida-FSU rivalry is shown, Mike Hart jukes an Ohio State DB along with many other clips, all in HD! The trailer ends with Sparty celebrating. WOW boys and girls, WOW!

The image above has been resized. Click on it to see the full version.

The image above has been resized. Click on it to see the full version.

PUUUUUUUURE HOTNESSSS!

[Baker]

I have a huge freaking boner right now. I'm serious. I can't freaking wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Moodini31]

LOS ANGELES--The Xbox 360 version of NCAA Football 07 was available to play on the E3 show floor, so we took the opportunity to get hands-on with the franchise's first appearance on the Xbox 360. Graphically, the game looks spectacular, getting a Madden-esque treatment as far as the level of detail put into stadiums and in the character models. You'll see meticulously crafted stands and 3D crowds surrounding manicured grass fields, with shadows cast by light fixtures and press boxes shrouding portions of the crowd depending on the sun's position in the sky. Player models also look much more detailed, with visible musculature on arms and calves, and helmets that glint in the light with their glossy surface. Not all college stadiums will be included in the game, but the development team is putting focus this year on getting the high-profile home fields in the game. We noticed, for example, that the Rose Bowl looked pretty accurate, with the press box at the top and the backdrop of the San Gabriel mountain range to the north.

The play-calling interface has also taken a cue from Madden for the Xbox 360. You can pick plays based on formation, play type, key players, or by asking Lee Corso for his recommendation. On the field, we immediately noticed a new kicking system for the game, which requires you to pull back on the right analog stick and then push forward in time with a meter to measure out your power. Your steadiness with the push forward affects the direction of the kick and, presumably, how much you hook or shank the ball. What's interesting is that on punts, you don't just snap the ball with the A button as normal and then kick. Pulling back on the analog stick initiates the snap on punts, and then you push forward to step up and get the ball away. If you wait too long for the power meter to rise, you run a higher risk of getting the kick blocked.

The development team has given you some new tricks on defense, such as a noticeably larger playbook. It feels like there are almost twice as many different plays to choose from. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that you're more easily able to browse through different packages of the same base formation with the play-calling interface than in past versions of NCAA Football. On the field, you can tap the Y button off the line to try to get a jump on the snap. Obviously pressing this button before the snap will result in an encroachment penalty, but if you can time the snap just right, the defensive lineman will knife right into the backfield to blow up the play right from the get-go.

The main thing we noticed about the feel of the game is the wealth of new in-game animations. Finally, NCAA Football feels like it's getting a premium graphics treatment--you'll see decleating tackles, where the defender knocks the ball carrier right off his feet. One time, while we were running a delayed blitz with a linebacker, the computer-controlled fullback stepped up and chipped the blitzing LB right in the side, knocking him over sideways to buy more time for the quarterback. Horse-collar-style tackles (despite being illegal in the NFL) are available in the game when you run down ball carriers from behind, and on most basic head-on collisions, you'll see player models do a better job of wrapping up the man that they're tackling. Running backs can drag one or more defenders for extra yards and roll back over the top of players on the ground as they're taken down. A defensive lineman who gets a free shot at the quarterback can truck the passer mercilessly, knocking him flat on his back and then crawling over top of the prostrate QB on all fours. We also noticed a new throwing animation for QBs who throw short patterns with touch. We could go on for pages about how the game looks in motion, but suffice it to say, NCAA Football 07 will be college football as you've never seen it before, if our brief play test was any indication.

Unfortunately we didn't have an opportunity to check out dynasty mode or any other play modes, but we were more than satisfied by what we saw with the basic gameplay. Stay tuned to GameSpot for more details on NCAA Football 07 as they become available.

http://media.xbox360.ign.com/media/8...15/vids_1.html (video, looks very smooth)

[Baker]

16 New Screens...enjoy!

http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpage...asp?screenid=7

[bangpow]

FYI, the 360 version is now going to have the same playbooks as the current gen version.

check this out from IGN....

NCAA Playbooks

In your preview for NCAA Football 07, you said how the playbooks in the 360 version aren't as good as the ones in current gen, but then I read on a message board that you were wrong. Stop giving us wrong information.-John

UPDATE

What can I say, believe everything you read on message boards. EA was in our office last week and during the demo, they specifically said that the Puntrooskie and formations like the Pistol did not make the 360 version. This is exactly what they told me when I went to Tiburon and saw the game. We bitched and bitched about how stupid this was, and now it looks like someone is listening. According to Jeff Luhr, the game's producer, they are now adding these plays and formations in the next-gen version (even though they still weren't in the version we saw last week, and when asked, we were told they were not going to be in the game. Confused? So are we). Looks like all of the complaints finally paid off as it forced EA to upgrade the game and add these formations and more in next-gen (as it should). Anything else you want to see in the game? Looks like EA is paying attention to this column and your complaints.

Sorry for the bad info (and the original smart ass response), but the team at EA told us the wrong thing, more than once, and only now is adding these plays into the game. Hope this helps clear things up.

[Moodini31]

I hope the playcalling isn't like Madden's was on the 360. I didn't like how your selecting box only went over one play. If you're playing with a buddy they could look at the screen and see exactly what play you're picking. (Which is absolute cheese by the way) Fix it EA!

[Varsity]

I hope I can adjust to the new controller. I've been playing College Football with a PlayStation controller since '97. I played one game on the Xbox a few years back, and it wasn't pretty.

Yeah it takes a little bit of time to get used to, but it's fairly cool after a while.

[Moodini31]

I hope I can adjust to the new controller. I've been playing College Football with a PlayStation controller since '97. I played one game on the Xbox a few years back, and it wasn't pretty.

Yeah it takes a little bit of time to get used to, but it's fairly cool after a while.

I'm all good with the 360 controller now, and I actually prefer it to the PS2 controller. I'm looking forward to waxing all of you chumps on Xbox Live July 18.

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[Baker]

You won't be waxing Dr "King of NCAA Football" Tre! haha

I never know when it's coming, but every summer it hits me. I get hit with unbelievable I'm ready for NCAA excitement. It comes at different times each year. Moodini brought up NCAA a week ago and I wasn't feelin it all. I wasn't ready for it. But, it hit me today. I don't even know why, but the excitement of NCAA 07 hit me like a ton of bricks. This year the wait won't bug me so much because I don't have enough time for Hitman and Recon right now. But, when it comes, my life changes.

NCAA dominates my world and I am officially excited. I caught the bug! Even better, I'll be playin' it on the 360 this year! YO!