NCAA Gamebreaker 2003

Keith Jackson in the broadcast booth is as much a part of college football as are marching bands.

989 Sports has sidestepped the latter, but Jackson’s sonorous voice is one of the reasons that NCAA GameBreaker 2003, for the PlayStation 2, is a solid game. The game does stumble in a couple of areas, but the program pulls together a wide range of elements for a challenging and enjoyable day of gridiron action.

Some of the game features include 117 NCAA Division 1-A teams and stadiums, 66 of some of the greatest college teams in the history of the sport, 27 bowl games, All-American awards as well as the Heisman, top 25 rankings, and three distinct playbooks.

The program has five game modes: scrimmage, bowl season (complete college football season), tournament season (complete season plus postseason tourney), tournament mode (just the postseason tourney) and coaching career (start at a smaller school and work your way to the upper echelon).

The game does a very good job of letting players work inside the college athletic department. You can create a walk-on, convert players to new positions, and recruit players from the blue chippers coming out of high school to junior college transfers.

The coaching career and athletic department phases are enjoyable, cerebral challenges. This is an aspect of the sport that is oft overlooked by fans, but gameplayers will get a real understanding and appreciation for what goes on behind the scenes.

The control elements are similar to other 989 PlayStation outings, but if you are unfamiliar with the style used in this game, you should (obviously) start with scrimmages and give yourself at least 30 minutes of learning-curve time.

The game’s audio track is crisp and you are not only treated to the commentary of Jackson and Tim Brant, but you will hear all the sounds associated with the game. Of course, because this game precedes the start of the season and rosters can change, you will not have players identified by name. All players are referred to generically and by number.

The video portion of the program also has a generic quality when it comes to sideline shots. Think of it akin to a cutscene: a timeout is called, the quarterback saunters over to the sideline and the coach makes a series of gestures with the clipboard. It is played over with several teams. Unfortunately, there seem to be only a few models available for the coaches.

Most of the environments are well rendered, though one, the blue turf at Boise State University is overblown a bit. You can see textures in the artificial turf at other schools, but when it comes to the blue turf, you will have to adjust your monitor or television screen to pick up details. In the action category, plays seem to move at a rate slightly under real time. It may be the imagination, but the movements seem a little lethargic and stiff. Some of the hits are very well animated and a particular crushing blow will likely elicit a shudder from the game players.

Of course, the one aspect that this game does do very well is generate the kind of excitement that only college football has. When you are talking about the NFL you are talking about teams that have behemoths across the lines, speed-burners at the ends and in the backfield. There are very few players undersized for the positions they are playing. That is not the case at the collegiate level. With a few lucky bounces, sharp play calling, even a small school can give the big boys a run for the money. This game supplies that in abundance.

NCAA GameBreaker 2003 is rated for Everyone.

Gameplay: 8.3
There are numerous replays after every play, but you can cut through those. The interface for calling plays will take some getting used to, but there is a game clock to keep you moving.

Graphics: 7.8
The players seem a little stiff and slow (compared to other console-platform football titles), though there is definitely some well-rendered animation. The game is bright and colorful, though the generic attributes steal the individualism and identity of schools and style of play.

Sound: 8.8
Keith Jackson and college football are a wonderful match, and this game provides that. The crack of pads connecting may be too crisp, but the roar of the crowd and Jackson will bring the sense of the game to the screen.

Difficulty: Medium
Give yourself a learning curve of 30 minutes to get comfortable with the controls if you haven’t played a previous incarnation of the game on this platform. There are several difficulty levels, and the administrative mode is quite challenging.

Concept: 8
The playbooks are displayed as overlays on the screen and three plays at a time are shown. Because players can select from numerous formations, this is akin to drawdown after drawdown menu. It takes time to go through the formations and find that perfect play ­ time you don’t have because of the play clock. The athletic department and coaching career aspects of the program are nice touches and enhance the overall package. The game also has a solid options package.

Multiplayer: 8
This game is for 1-2 players, but will have online capabilities in the future. The CPU is tough and can be adjusted, but like all games in this genre, the fun just begins when you go head-to-head against your friends.

Overall: 8.1
NCAA GameBreaker 2003 is a good game, it just isn’t up there graphically with its main competition from EASports. Still, the game is challenging and entertaining, and will certainly give college football fans a video-game fix.