football

If you're looking for a noticeable upgrade to the past versions of NCAA Football, you're out of luck this year. This game is excellent, but no more excellent than its predecessors.
A lot of things were supposed to be 'fixed' in this version. A particular weakness of video game football has always been the lack of intelligent pass defense play. This version of NCAA Football, while noticably better in that aspect than older versions, still has a long way to go. It's still fairly easy to hit a receiver 35 yards down field while he's double covered. The man coverage still can't seem to make plays on deep balls and coverage guys still have a little trouble when coming around a receiver to make a play on a floating catch. It seems like the man to man covering AI has actually worsened. This makes the four and five receiver sets almost indefensible without better than average personnel when using man coverage. Sometimes the coverage man will even out run the play, allowing the receiver the easy catch behind him. The zone coverage, something that never worked terribly well in NCAA Football games, is slightly better and is often your only like of defense against deep fades and deep posts. THe AI has definately improved when it comes to making interceptions. You won't see a big pick bounce off a corner as much as in previous games. The AI defenders have gotten a little more timid as well, apparently. You'll often see a tackler stop and wait for a runner when they're a few yards away, eventually causing them to be out of position to make the tackle or causing them to not make it quickly enough. Even when it's fourth and one and the runner is crossing the line of scrimmage, you'll still see a corner shuffle over a yard past the first down marker to wait for the runner. By the time you've switch defenders, it's too late. On a similar note, switching your defender while the ball is in midair or when there's a runner on his way upfield is also somewhat of a crap shoot. Sometimes it will give you a tackler slightly away from the ballcarrier (say, behind and to the left) sometimes it will properly give you the one with the angle on the runner or ball.
The rushing AI of computer opponents has also improved somewhat. I've still never had 100 yards tallied against me, but it's at least a threat now. Unfortunately, the opposite has occurred for human rushing. Don't even think about using a zoomed out camera angle when rushing the ball, because even the slightest brush against a computer defender will result in an attempted tackle. Talk to anyone that's ever been engaged in a trench fight with a 275+ lb. lineman, and they'll tell you that you can't just jump off a block. However, the AI defenders do so with ease. Another problem that still exists is the "getting blocked from behind" issue. Even if you're running the opposite direction as a blocker trying to engage you, you'll get held up and "blocked" by that blocker. If you're chasing a run down from the opposite side of the field and a blocker's chasing you, you'll turn around to be blocked by him even though you're heading the other way.
Running with the quarterback, in my opinion, is way too easy now. You could probably pick up a consistent six yards per carry even with a slow QB. It almost makes passing a secondary option when you play against friends. The addition of a camera angle change when a QB scrambles to one side of the field is a long overdue addition. Unforunately, the execution is poor. The camera rotates behind you allowing you an angled view of the opposite side of the field, but that's a little disorienting. A zoom out might have been easier on the user. The rotational effect obscures your ability to see where the defenders are in relation to your receivers. The more I see it, the less I like it.
Return team blocking is also much better in 2004. Blockers are smarter about choosing targets and hold them more realistically.
How about consistency in the kicking game? As Lee Corso says, "Fuggetabahtit." There is little margin for error in your button tapping with average and above average kickers. It's not difficult at all to miss extra points and short field goals if your attention lapses for even a millisecond. This is actually something that's depreciated from former versions, as this was never an issue before. Even the computer opponents will kick more than their fair share of kickoffs out of bounds (I've seen three in a single game), something else that's not terribly common in real life NCAA gridiron. I also dislike the fact that I have to use the left stick for adjustment of the kicking arrow (I think it's less precise since you can't tap out small increments as easily), but that's a subjective thing.
Another major problem that still exists in the passing game is the receiver improvisation. Even when a receiver finds a soft spot in the zone that he can sit in, the QB will throw the pass somewhere that the receiver has to chase it and often right to a defender. Receiver AI should allow the player to recognize that he's uncovered and QB arm AI should throw it to him on that spot, not five yards to his right. Also, receivers that have borken off their routes should move with the quarterback as he scrambles as they would in real life, instead of running off on their own tangents.
I've got a few minor gripes about Dynasty Mode (my personal favorite) as well, but most of them are pretty small (redshirting should be handled before depth charts in the preseason and powerhouse programs shouldn't be so dominant when they have inferior personnel, among others).
On an aside, I've also had this game freeze up on me more than once despite it only being one week old.
All in all, this is still an incredibly fun game and a solid sports gaming franchise. However, I'd think twice before spending the money to buy this version. If you absolutely must have updated rosters (which probably isn't the case if you're a Dynasty Mode fan), then go for it. However, if you're looking for an improved football simulator, you might want to wait for next year's.

What a game! As a college football fan (as well as a fan of EA's Game) I have to say this is the best one yet. The graphics, the fight songs, the little extras all combine to produce on hell of a game...

First, let's focus on the improvements... The Play Action Pass is certainly better this year than in previous editions. Now, as long as you've started to establish the run you can us play action to fake the defense out. As in real life it doesn't always work so you have to be careful not to overuse it.

The kick return teams to a better job of blocking, which is a welcome fix. But at the same time the AI has improved to the point where the almost guaranteed runback days of NCAA 1999 are a thing of the past. Thank god!

Some of the new bells are things like school records in which you can compete against some of the great players in your favorite teams history for records like most sacks in a game, rushing yards in a season, etc... You can even go for Joe Pa's all time win record.

Finally, the recruiting has been improved to where recruits take into consideration more than just team prestige, and its up to you to try and sell them on some aspect of your program (presige, coaching style, location, etc...).

If you are looking for a great college football game, or just a great game, look no further!

This game is so addictive. During the college football season I was playing this every day. In fact, I got through 10 seasons worth of my Ohio State Buckeyes dynasty. It takes some time to learn all of the nuances and get good enough to climb up the difficulty levels (there are 4). Precise timing and solid execution of the plays is critical at the higher levels. Also required is smart playcalling. In other words, you can't be good at this game if you don't know football stratgey at least fairly well. That's a good thing.

The graphics are up to the high level that current EA titles should be. The plays and moves actually develop and look like they would in real life for the most part. The controls are just right but will take a while to get used to and you'll find the moves that you'll rely on before too long. Similarly you will find the plays and formations that work best for you after a few games. This will vary by team depending what each team is good at.

What surprised me most was the offseason. Sometimes I actually preferred the recruiting to the hunt for the national title. It felt good to try to reload the squad every year. There is also a correlation between how well you play and how many players ditch you for the NFL. The more you dominate, the more spots you will have to fill each year as key players jump.

All in all, a very fun game that is the best simulation-style to date for NCAA football.