NCAA Football 07 (PlayStation 2)

NCAA Football 07 is the sixth game to appear on the Xbox and the PlayStation 2 from EA Sports' long-running college football series, and it once again maintains the high level of quality the series has come to be known for. New control tweaks and a revamped career mode are highlights to a package that will undoubtedly be attractive to fans of the series and to college football nuts. Even those who are new to the sport, however, will find something to like about this approachable and depth-filled college football game.

It's time to warm up your coach's poll: NCAA Football 07 is here.

Because the series has been around for so long, it's natural to expect a lot from it, both in terms of quality and quantity. The modified Madden engine, which has served the college football series well for many years now, is further refined in NCAA 07. The result is a game that will feel familiar to veterans of the series while still being approachable to those who are new to it. Familiar controls, such as the precision passing mechanic--which lets you glide in a pass in front of, behind, above, or down low on a receiver--are still well intact. When running the ball, jukes are controlled with the left or right triggers, or with the right analog stick. By using the stick, you can dodge defenders left or right, as well as plow through them by pushing forward, or you can even pull off a tricky back juke (essentially stopping in place while the defender sails right past you). The slight delay between the input on the stick and the player's reaction on the field means you'll want to make your juke decision early, but you'll warm up to the timing pretty quickly.

Most of the new control tweaks are found either on defense or on special teams. A new kick meter, for example, is a big improvement over the old three-button-press system. Here, you use the left analog stick to aim your kick before the snap and the right analog to send your kick flying by first pressing back on the stick to load up power and then forward to send the ball flying. Where your kick is aimed will determine what angle you use on the right analog stick. If, for example, you are kicking at more or less a 60 degree angle, you'll need to make sure your backward and forward path on the right analog stick follows that same degree. The description sounds more complicated than it is--once you get used to the timing of the kick, you've more or less got it. Onside kicks have a new mechanic as well. Instead of choosing a direction for your kick before kickoff, you choose exactly where you want the kicker to make contact on the ball. Kick it low to chip the ball into the air or kick it up high to keep it rolling along the field.

Those aren't the only changes to the special teams, however. Blocking punts and field goals, which were more or less anomalies in previous versions of the NCAA series, are easier this time around, thanks to some new controls that add a real sense of drama and immediacy to the play. The first is an optional third-person isometric viewpoint, which you can switch to while on defense. From this vantage point, just over the shoulder of the defender, you can see a better path to the kicker in order to get your hands on the ball, especially if you use the jump-the-snap option. By pressing the A button (or X on the PlayStation 2 controller) at precisely the right moment, you can get a small jump on the snap and give your player that extra edge when making his way toward the ball. You can use the jump the snap on defense at times--it's a great way to put some extra pressure on the opposing quarterback.

Momentum has been part of previous EA Sports titles, but the phenomenon of fortune swinging from one team to the next makes no better sense than in college football, where a game, a season, and the hopes of a fan base can be made or broken on a single play. It's not quite that dramatic in NCAA 07, but the game does a pretty good job of modeling these changes of momentum by giving each team a momentum bar that builds up with each successive play and is decreased for each negative result on the field. Gain enough momentum and you'll get incremental bonuses to your entire team's performance (and conversely, if you screw up enough, your opponent will reap the benefits). Another noticeable change to NCAA 07 is the playbooks, which have been beefed up considerably from previous entries in the series. Because college football playbooks vary so wildly from school to school (compare Air Force's option-heavy attack to the Nevada pistol, for example), this might seem like a small addition but, for the faithful, it's a compelling addition that brings even more authenticity to the game.

The new kicking meter plays more like a golf swing in Tiger Woods.

One thing's for sure: You won't lack for things to do when playing NCAA 07. In addition to the standard quick game, practice, rivalry, mascot games, and dynasty mode, the game also includes a number of new modes to check out--including new spring drill minigames, scrimmage mode, and campus legend mode. Spring drills are essentially position-specific minigames that let you test your skills as a quarterback, running back, or wide receiver on offense via drills such as the pass skeleton, rushing attack, and route running. On defense, you can practice being a lineman, linebacker, or defensive back on such positional drills as DB cover, rush the QB, and defending the option. You can even practice your punt and kickoff returns, if you're so inclined. Beyond being a short diversion from regular 11-on-11 games, these drills can help you hone your skills by playing in positions you might not be familiar with (we found the DB coverage drills to be especially challenging). Scrimmage mode gives each team five minutes of offense apiece to rack up as many first downs and touchdowns as it can before the other team gets the ball. The mode also serves as the all-important spring game in other modes to help you evaluate new, incoming talent on your roster.

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