“If it’s in the game, it’s in the game.”  What started out as a simple, yet effective, but no where near true marketing jingle many, many moons ago, has proven strangely prophetic and more true with each subsequent release of this little bundle of football joy.  Oh NCAA Football, how I love thee, let me count the ways.  Well, I won’t go that far, because I’d probably be writing until the release of next year’s game, cutting seriously into my game time, but rest assured there is a whole lot to love, both new and old, in this game.

For veterans of the game, you already know what to expect.  You know the outstanding and deep gameplay, you know the bowl games, you know the post-season awards, you know all about the incredibly deep dynasty mode, you know stomping a mud hole in a hated rival and walking it dry, you know the pageantry, and you certainly know the finer points of the deadly triple option.  All of that is a given, but there is so much new to this years addition that you’ll soon find yourself gushing and professing your undying love to all things NCAA Football and EA Sports.

Probably the biggest addition this year is the “Stadium Pulse”.  “What’s that?” you ask.  Well for anyone even remotely familiar with college football, you know the importance of playing in front of the home crowd.  You know how dreaded it is, as a visiting team, to play in places such as “The Big House”, “The Horseshoe”, “The Swamp”, Memorial Stadium, and so on.  You know that no matter how great the team is you’re bringing into these hallowed grounds and how bad the home team is, anything can and often does happen in front of the rabid home fans.  The stadium has a soul and yes, a “Pulse”, all its own, and NCAA Football 2005 captures that aspect of the game brilliantly.  In years past, you could always hit a button that would cause a player to try and rile the crowd up or cause the quarterback to hush the fans, but in years past, it really didn’t mean anything within the game.  That’s not the case anymore.  When on defense you can whip the home crowd into an absolute frenzy, causing the screen and controller to shake, making it nigh impossible for the offense to effectively audible into another play.  But it doesn’t end there.  The crowd noise can actually force opposing teams and even individual players into making costly miscues.  However, if you let the crowd down by giving up a couple of big plays, suddenly the fans aren’t quite so energetic and supportive, and if you don’t do something in a hurry to regain their love, you’ll soon lose a very valuable asset.  I cannot even begin to put into words how much this adds to the game and the immersion factor.  Try kicking a go ahead field goal late in the forth quarter at “The Big House” against the Wolverines, and you’ll quickly find out what pressure is all about.  With the screen shaking wildly, the controller trying to vibrate its way out of your hands, as you try and manage the kick meter that you can’t seem to quite focus on, all that I can say is, “Holy Freaking Cow!!!”

Another big addition this year is the “Match-Up Stick”, which allows you to compare the composure of individual, competing units, such as O-Line vs. D-Line, Receiver vs. Secondary, and Backfield vs. Linebackers.  By pressing different directions on the right analog stick you are able to see the composure rating of the individual players of these units, allowing you to game plan appropriately.  For example, say that you notice that the opposing team is replacing an injured defensive tackle with an inexperienced or dreaded freshmen replacement, chances are he’s not going to be real comfortable being placed squarely into the heart of the battle on such short notice.  The “Match-Up Stick” will illustrate this, giving you a hand delivered invitation to run the ball right down “Mr. I’m About To Wet My Pants’” throat.  Or better yet, you burn the other teams stud cornerback for a couple of big plays, suddenly “Mr. Confident” isn’t so sure about his “mad-skills” anymore, begging you not to throw his way anymore.  Absolutely BRILLIANT!!!  With just these two additions, EA Sports has captured the intricacies and dynamics of a sport in a way never before imagined.  Once again, if you know college football, you know how vital these factors are in determining the outcome of a “third and long”, a “fourth and inches”, and whether you win or lose the game.  Such things often decide rivalry games, conference championships, and national championships and it is no different here.

New to the gameplay this year is the “Big Hit” button and the ability to fake a pitch when running the option.  Now, I know that this doesn’t sound like a whole lot, but what you’ve got to remember is the gameplay was already as close to perfect as most of us could hope for.  Beyond that, don’t be too quick to discount the new changes as “not that much”.  These two additions add a surprising amount to the gameplay.  The “Big Hit” is especially useful when defending passes, because if you time it correctly you can absolutely lay out a receiver causing one of two things to happen: 1) You jar the ball loose for an incompletion 2) You rattle the receiver’s composure, firmly planting the dreaded “sound of footsteps” in his fragile little mind.  Lay out a receiver a couple of times with the “Big Hit” and suddenly hanging onto the ball is the least of his worries.  You can also use the “Big Hit” to force fumbles.  As far as the fake pitch goes, most of us know just how integral the option is to most college football programs.  Virtually every team features an option play of some sort, some teams relying completely on it as their bread and butter and the fake pitch is a vital part of successfully executing the offense.  By faking the pitch on a defensive end or a linebacker defending the option who has neither committed to the quarterback or the pitchman, you can force him to commit one way or the other fully opening the deadly art of the option.  The feeling of forcing some big, dumb linebacker to bite on the fake as you turn it up the field for a score is second to none.

I know for most of us, these stellar additions would have been more than enough to keep us happy as we play through season after season after season, as we anxiously awaited next year’s new game, but hold onto your knickers sports fans, it doesn’t end there.  The recruiting has been revamped and anyone who’s played the previous games can attest that the recruiting is every bit as vital and fun as actually playing the game.  Whereas in years past you were presented with a list of four options of varying point totals when it came to wooing that prized recruit ranging from a visit from the head coach to a phone call from the assistant coach.  This year, you are presented with a pool of points in any given week of recruiting, and how you choose to divvy up said points is entirely up to you.  Want to spend an obscene amount of points on that Blue-Chip quarterback?  Go for it, but know that by doing so you may be alienating your other recruits.  More so than any other year, it is a careful balancing act as you decide how and where you’re going to invest these valuable points.  Also, it seems more important this year than in the past, that you are careful to recruit the three and four star players as well, lest you only end up with a couple of Blue Chippers and a roster of walk-ons.  The heart and soul of any team is not your Blue Chippers, but rather your Blue Collar players, recruit accordingly.  Also new to the recruiting aspect, is another very important, yet troubling aspect of modern college football, which is the discipline of the players you populate your roster with.  When you are recruiting a player, as always you are presented with his “measurables” such as speed, strength, and hands, but now you are also given a rating on his discipline level.  The importance of this rating in the game cannot be overstated as players now can and will get into trouble, requiring you to discipline them.  Each season you are given an allotment of Discipline Action Points.  Depending upon the severity of the infraction and the severity of your disciplinary action, you are charged points.  The stronger the action you take, the more points you spend.  Where the strategy comes into play is the little meter that shows how closely the NCAA is watching your program.  Let players off with a wrist slap for something serious and suddenly the NCAA is watching your program like a hawk.  On the flip side, if you throw the book at every player for every violation, no matter how well deserved, you’ll exhaust your discipline points and you’ll be left without means to discipline any other troublemakers that season, ramping up the NCAA’s ire and you’ll quickly run the risk of having your program put on probation.  This is an absolutely ingenious way of incorporating this aspect of the real world game into the videogame.

Visually, while on the surface not a lot has changed, but spend a little time with the game and you’ll quickly see that the visuals have indeed received an upgrade.  The player models do not appear all that different than last year; save for possibly a somewhat higher polygon count, but where you’ll really notice a difference is in the player animations which are phenomenal.  The players move so lifelike that it is almost unsettling.  That tackle animations are out of this world, the way the players change direction is spot on, the way a shifty running back or receiver carves up a defense is almost worship worthy, and the way a quarterback sets up and delivers the rock is perfect.  Adding to this is the vastly improved physics, both of the players and the ball.  A runner that has received a glancing blow will momentarily stumble as he regains his balance, and if the glance was hard enough he’ll stumble and eventually fall realistically, rather than just suddenly falling flat as he would have last year.  A tiny defensive back that tries to rocket in and blast a monster fullback is likely going to bounce of like the annoying little fly that he is.  But the biggest and best improvement in the physics is in the ball, that’s not really a ball at all.  Finally, for the first time in the history of football games, the oblong, pointed piece of pig flesh behaves like the oblong, pointed piece of pig flesh that it is.  Batted balls no longer just drop straight to the ground, no, they’ll stay airborne as long as someone is batting that sucker in the air, or until someone snatches it out of the air.  This leads to spectacular catches and interceptions, and leads to stress induced crushing of controllers as your errant pass is batted about amongst a mob of enemy players or as that batted ball falls nicely into the hands of that receiver you had covered so expertly just a second earlier.  Same goes for fumbles and just as those of us that have played the real world game and have chased a loose ball amongst the giants; you too will be convinced that the ball is somehow alive.  It is amazing just how much realistic ball physics was added to the game.

Presentation wise, not a whole lot has changed beyond some aesthetic upgrades.  You’ve still got the “Old Spice Red Zone” reports, Sports Illustrated covers, and running stats during the game, but new this year is the “Pontiac Drive Summary”.  Also new to the presentation this year, which I really like, is when the player’s season stats are presented, you are also presented with how the player stats stack up either against the rest of the NCAA, your conference, or your team, depending on which is most prestigious.  Say that your back leads your team in rushing, but is last in the conference and ranked sixtieth nationally, your going to get how he ranks on his team rather than the other rankings.  Also new to the presentation is crowd specific celebrations, i.e.…”The Gator Chomp”, “The Tomahawk Chop”, and so on, as well as team specific signs and so on, some of which are pretty humorous such as, “Sorry dad, I’m no longer enrolled here.”  Also added this year is the players dumping the Gatorade on the dear old coach.  Not really all that big, but doggone it, “If it’s in the game, it’s in the game.”

Sound wise, the game is as stellar as ever.  Not a whole lot of the commentary has changed, but then again, when you listen to Corso and Herbstreit in the real world, not a lot changes from game to game, much less week to week or year to year.  What is new is that they will make comments on players that are vying for prestigious awards during the game or they’ll make mention of a certain player being an All American if he’s involved in a big play.  Where the sound really takes a quantum leap forward is in the “Stadium Pulse”.  If you’ve got surround sound you may end believing you have died and gone to football heaven.  The way the crowd ramps up at appropriate times is stunning and very realistic.  Also new is the way the crowd will boo bad decisions on your part, dropped balls, fumbles, interceptions, and so on, which weighs on individual players’ composure.

The game modes are the same as last year featuring the aforementioned Dynasty mode (the heart and soul of the game), exhibition, rivalry game, mascot game, online, and the Pontiac College Classics mode, which puts you in the middle of some of college football’s greatest moments as you to try and recreate the outcome of these historic contests.  The game performs flawlessly on line, with no visible signs of lag or slowdown.

In closing, I’ve read other reviews by other publications praising the game on the one hand, while complaining on the other that the game is in danger of becoming stale or not doing enough to separate itself from its big brother Madden and I can only scratch my head in disbelief and wonder, “What in the heck game are they playing?”  Yes, the graphics are virtually identical to last year, but so what?  The game still looks great.  In every single other facet this game has rocketed forward giving college football fans everything that they could ever hope for and some things we might not have thought of.  For as much as I love the pro game and Madden football, which is at an almost sickening level, the NFL will never be able to compete with the atmosphere, the pageantry, and the pride involved in this incredible sport, and EA has captured it perfectly with NCAA Football 2005.  Short of suiting up and playing the real game for yourself, there is nothing that comes even close to replicating what it is really like to don the colors of your favorite school and battling amongst the thousands and thousands and thousands of adoring fans.  Simply put, this game is football heaven.  Which leads me to my final thought, “If it’s in the game, it’s in the game.”  Indeed.

Gameplay: 10
This game controls and plays absolutely spot on.  You have option after option on the field, all of which can be pulled of with ease and a lack of concerted thought after a short time with the game.  The Dynasty mode is a masterpiece in and of itself, and by far the deepest and most immersive in all of gaming.  Add in a constantly changing and evolving roster of players, mixed with the myriad different ways to play offense and defense, this game will never get old. (At least until next year’s game comes out)

Graphics: 9 
The player models are accurately modeled, visually showing you the difference between the giants in the trenches and the speedy backs, receivers, and defensive backs trying to run through, around, and over the trenches.  The stadiums are lovingly and accurately rendered right down to the placement of the student sections.  The skies over the stadium have received an upgrade more accurately representing weather conditions and time of day.  And I’d be remiss if I did not mention that cheerleaders are now almost “hot”.  (Female cheerleaders of course)  Everything looks nice, clean, and smooth.  The new animations are phenomenal.  Player uniforms also now more accurately show the wear and tear through the course of the game.

Sound: 9
The commentary while not all that different from last year, is still some of the best in the business.  They do a good job of making you feel as if the commentators are actually watching and commenting on the very game you’re involved in.  The ambient sounds of the crowd and the sounds of the game actually being played have been ramped up considerably, creating one of the most immersive experiences in gaming.

Difficulty:  Medium
There is a difficulty setting for everyone.  Once you get into the top two difficulty settings, be prepared to bring you’re “A” game as the AI is very good.  You’ll have to be adept at reading zone/man coverages, as well as using a fair bit of coherent game planning rather than just running random plays and defenses.

Concept: 9.5 
If you’re going to try and simulate anything in the real world, you’d better plan on doing it right, warts and all, which is exactly what EA Sports has done.  They’ve included virtually every facet that makes this the greatest sport on earth, as well as including some of things that aren’t so pleasant such as player infractions.  It took a whole lot of cajones for EA to include this aspect and they should be applauded for doing so.  We may wish that it weren’t a part of the college game, but the truth of the matter is that it has become a huge part of the game, and you are forced to deal with it accordingly. 

Multiplayer: 10

Whether online or off, it just doesn’t get any better than slugging it out with friends, strangers, or rivals.  The game performs flawlessly whether with two players or with four, making for a very visceral and exciting gaming session.

Overall: 9.7
If you are a fan of football period, run, don’t walk, and buy this game.  It is far and away the most accurate representation of the sport that we have in gaming.  There is so much to love here and to keep any football fan occupied for months to come.  In the real world there is nothing quite like college football and in the world of videogames, there is no other game quite like NCAA Football 2005.  This is the game we’ve been waiting for.  The only smudge on this otherwise perfect game is that the graphics while still great, haven’t received the upgrade most of us thought we would have seen by now.  I really hate to keep beating a dead horse, but never before has EA’s slogan been so true, “If it’s in the game, it’s in the game."