Official ConsoleSports.net NCAA 2006 XBOX Review
by Bangpow

What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time I was fairly disappointed with the way NCAA 2005 played on XBOX, but this year it’s the exact opposite. NCAA 2006 is a solid football game that is quite enjoyable. The gameplay is back to being tight and the experience is apt to get people pumped up for the college football season.

Gameplay

The first thing i wanted to look out for upon playing my first game was how smoothly the game played, or was there any slowdown problems that hampered the game last year. Well, I have to report that there is SOME slowdown in the game, but not nearly the magnitude of last year. It really only seems to happen during tackling animations and some throws over the middle, but like i said, it’s not as bad as last year and it shouldn’t hurt your gaming experience. It has most definitely improved over last years game and I haven’t had any problems with it. I remember playing NCAA 2005 for the first time last year and totally being bent out of shape about the slowdown, but not this year. The game is a heckuva lot smoother and faster this year.

EA has also added some additional functions of the R stick this year, too. On defense it is used as the Hit Stick and on offense it is used for jukes and stutter steps while running the ball. This adds a whole new element to the running game. The trigger buttons can still be used for juking, but being able to do it on the R stick just adds another element of control that hasn’t previously been in the NCAA games. One a side note, I would like to see EA use the R stick for jumping with WR’s while the ball is in the air, like in MVP. To me, it seems like there would be a little more control for the receiver rather than hitting a button to jump. There’s also a new button configuration for this year. The A button is always used for sprinting on offense and defense, and the passing icon’s stay up at all times for the QB, even when he’s rolling out. Because of that, there are no WR’s assigned to the A button. You do have the ability to use the controller configuration of NCAA, but I noticed that even when using the 2005 controller configuration, they moved the Stiff Arm to the Clear button rather than the L trigger we were used to last year. Instead they have Juke Left and Juke Right on the triggers, where last year they had Juke on R trigger and Stiff Arm and L Trigger. It takes a bit to get used to, but it’s still manageable. There’s also more defensive hot routes that can be called pre-snap. The DB’s coverage can be changed from straight up Man, Cover 1, Cover 2, or Cover 3 no matter what defense you called. I personally like it, I just wish they would let us call double-team hot routes, like in Madden.

Leading up to this week, we’ve all read about the “Impact Player” feature that was being introduced this year. I know I was concerned about just how effective Impact Players were going to be when they were “hot”. Well, I can say that it has been done pretty effectively. On defense Impact LB’s tend to swarm to the ball better, DB’s tend to cover tighter, and DL’s can get to the QB a bit faster and easier. On offense, Impact QB’s have better accuracy, RB’s break more tackles, and WR’s have the ability to catch more balls. Although, the one thing i have noticed about Impact WR’s are that it seems that they don’t make more spectacular grabs, but the non-Impact DB’s covering them don’t try to make a play for the ball as often. What I mean by that is If an Impact WR is being covered by an “ordinary” DB and the deep ball is thrown, the Impact WR doesn’t necessarily go up and grab it from the DB, the DB just doesn’t try to jump for the ball period, it’s like the “ordinary" DB’s are being dumbed down at that particular moment. I have to explore this one a bit more in depth, but that’s what I’ve noticed up to this point. All that being said, Impact Players don’t have super human abilities as you will see Impact WR’s drop balls, RB’s fumble, and DB’s getting burned. So I can say that the feature isn’t overblown and it does give you an opportunity to acquaint yourself of rival team's players that you need to pay extra attention to.

Home Field Advantage is back and it still seems to be pretty effective, but it’s not quite as powerful as last year. It’s still pretty powerful as teams play harder at home, but you can still manage your offense a little bit better than you could last year if you were the visiting team. The Matchup Stick is also back, I don’t really use it, but it looks the same as last year.

NCAA 2006 has added a new mode to their game, The Race for the Heisman. Here you create a player and run him through some drills to see which school will recruit him or you can chose to have him walk on to any school you want. Race for the Heisman is a very interesting touch to those gamers that like to create a player and bring him up through the college ranks and into the pro’s. What I have noticed is that the drills can become somewhat easy after some practice, which makes it easier to get recruited to a top tier program. For instance, I think most hardcore gamers would get the Pocket QB down rather quickly and would get recruited to programs like USC, Tennessee, and Texas, I know I did. Some people don’t really get into creating players, but I know I do. I am one of those people that like to create players and bring them up and import them into Madden, so I’m quite entertained by this, but I tend to have a hard time figuring out which team I would like to play for. After you decide your team, you move into your “Dorm Room”. Here you find your teams schedule, a box for fan mail, a computer to check stats, a trunk for all your trophies, and other goodies you can acquire like girlfriends. I can honestly say it’s almost like ESPN’s Crib, but you can’t go out and buy things, you just kind of acquire them after games and what not. Once you check into your dorm room and view your teams schedule, it’s time to hit the field! Your Freshman is placed at the starter at whatever position you created him at, which is a good and a bad thing. It’s good to start him for 4 years, but I guess for realism purposes, no Freshman comes up and dethrones a Senior Impact Player out of the gate. But this isn’t reality, it’s a video game and if coach wants me to start, who am I to argue? Anyway, if you create an offensive player, be careful, he will have a tendency to fumble quite often. It’s understandable since he doesn’t have his composure yet, but I just thought I would warn you. One thing I don’t like about the mode is the absence of creating Offensive Lineman. I mean, I know they’re not glamour positions, but if you don’t have a solid O-Line your offense is going nowhere. Know what I mean?? But anyway, I can say that RFTH is also a fun mode for the gamers out there that don’t want to deal with the micromanagement of in-season and off-season recruiting as you have no control over those features because you are a player, not a coach. I give this feature a thumbs-up, I have fun with it.

Graphics

The graphics on the XBOX have been improved over last year. They have the “light bloom” effects in the stadiums, the players have been touched up, and the field surfaces look better. But I have noticed that the “jaggies” have made an appearance in the stands. There are no jaggies on the field lines, like in the previous PS2 versions (I don’t know about this years, though, QC could answer that), but I can definitely see them around the stadium and in the stands. It’s not really that big of a deal to me, but it’s worth mentioning. That’s about all I can really say about the graphics. There’s nothing mind blowing, just some touchups.

Sound

I just hooked up my XBOX to my surround system correctly, meaning with the optical cable, and i can tell you that the game sounds pretty darn good. The crowds get loud and rowdy and the bands hammer out their tunes. It creates a fun college atmosphere, especially in surround sound. The only thing that lags behind is the commentary, it’s annoying. Phrases get repeated often and Lee Corso has added the term “sweetheart” to almost everything. If there’s one thing people have been complaining about over the last couple of years, it’s the commentary. I really wish they would address that sometime soon. Which brings me to my next point...

Presentation

I don’t really like it. I mean, it’s pretty much the same presentation as previous years with the added bonus of....... a pre-game commentators booth where Lee Corso wears the head of the mascot of the team he thinks is gonna win! Um, yeah. It’s too bad that we have to wait for about 2 minutes in order for them to get to that point, and even then it’s done kind of shoddy. Like, it cuts right to the animation and only shows it for almost a second, it’s not smooth at all. The Impact Cam is pretty cool, though. It will slow-mo during the game if your impact player breaks some kind of tackle, then it zooms in also. This is done rather well as it doesn’t happen very often and it doesn’t interfere with the game at all. I think it adds that exclamation point to a nice run if you pull off some nice moves.

Artificial Intelligence

I think NCAA 2006 AI is “smarter” this year rather than cheaper. I think the gameplay is realistic and that you really have to hunker down and scheme your way to a victory. You can’t expect to be able run around all game with your QB and throw bombs and win every time. But I will say the deep ball is still there, especially with Impact WR’s, which I think will affect online play. I had this happen to me on XBOX Live already. I was playing a guy who did nothing but throw Hail Mary’s to his Impact WR and I couldn’t stop it. I mean, I could stop it here and there, but he still completed more of those than I stopped. As I stated earlier, I think it has more to do with the DB’s being “dumbed down” while covering Impact WR’s than the WR’s making spectacular catches. While playing the CPU, though, it seems that they finally added the realism in opposing teams game plans that we have been asking for. Teams that like to pound the rock in real life, pound the rock in NCAA 2006 and the same goes for the passing teams. The CPU will also adjust to your defense game plan accordingly, too. If you decide to blitz them all day long, it will counter with quick, high percentage, passes. If you decide to play man coverage all game long, it will counter with deep balls into single coverage. If you decide to sit back and play zone, it will run the ball up the gut and hit you with some screen passes. You really have to mix up your defensive and offensive plays when playing against the CPU because it will make you pay. I also noticed that you can’t take some of the lower ranked teams for granted either, which also plays into how the gameplay is. I was using Texas and my first game was against University of Louisiana-Lafayette, I ended up going down by about 21 at the half and couldn’t believe it. I didn’t finish the game, but I did end up playing that same game the next day and rolled to a 72-10 victory. I didn’t save those games as I was just trying to test out the difficulty of the gameplay (I was playing on All-American) and I was really impressed. If you get lazy, you lose. Plain and simple and that’s what I am impressed with in NCAA 2006. Another thing I am very impressed with is the running game. Offensive Lineman pull and actually put a hat on somebody and holes actually open in between the tackles. Not only that, but I’ve seen some great downfield blocking by WR’s that have made me watch the replay over and over again. They don’t just stop blocking after they take one guy out of the play, they will find another guy upfield and go after him, and then find another. Thus, creating a nice seam for the RB to run upfield with, I think this is a MAJOR improvement over last years game. Although, some of the good blocking can be a bit too effective in the return game, but it’s college football and there tends to be a bit more Special Teams breakdowns than in the Pro’s.

Depth/Replay Value

The Dynasty mode is as deep as it’s ever been, especially with the addition of In-Season Recruiting. The depth of the NCAA series has always been it’s strong point which I know gets me through the summer after the NFL season is over with and guys switch teams all summer long. I always tend to go back to NCAA during that time and see what I can do with random schools or I like to create a school and bring them into the national spotlight. This year will be no different and I get to have a Race for the Heisman candidate to manage. Plus, it always helps to go to FKRosters.com to go and download the real rosters for your Dynasty. That also adds a bit of life to the replay value, too.

Closing Comments

NCAA 2006 has definitely improved over last years game. It has kept the depth that has been a strong point and made the AI smarter. The running game is back to being fun and the overall gameplay is very challenging yet rewarding at the same time. I do think the deep ball might be a problem in online play, but that is one that will be dealt with in the many leagues that are out there. The new features, Race for the Heisman and Impact Players, and a bit of depth to the already deep game. I think the casual gamers out there will especially dig the Race for the Heisman feature because there isn’t a ton of micromanaging going on. Then on-the-field game is great, but I feel that the game is severly lacking in the Presentation department, and that takes away from the total gaming experience. Overall, this game is back on track to being every bit as good as it’s pro game, Madden. Even with the presentation being the way it is, I don’t think XBOX gamers will be disappointed with how this years game plays.