NCAA06 vs ESPN 2k5

[poopoop]

Once you get past the graphics and ESPN presentation I don't see what's so special about ESPN. I really don't think it's the best football game ever. I know some people will still be sitting in their "EA proof" basements playing ESPN NFL 2k5 in 2009 but seriously, what is so special about the game that sets it apart from any other football game?

ESPN's franchise mode is a joke, and NCAA has the best franchise/dynasty mode out of any of the games easily, it isn't even close. Anyone who hypes ESPN's franchise mode is in denial. For me franchise is the most important mode, and I'm not sure how anyone could find enjoyment in playing ESPN's when it feels so empty in comparison to other games.

All of the games have gameplay flaws. People want to whine about mario running, but on NCAA there actually is an interior run game, and besides how many times do you actually run into a lineman and just continue running at him? Interior running should be about the line making holes, not your right guard giving you a piggy back ride past the chains.

NCAA has nice animations, and it feels really "open." I love how they seemed to capture the big play aspect of the college game so well. Running in the open field is fun and exciting. And the computer gameplans intelligently. I haven't played enough of NCAA as I've only had it for about a week, so I can't give the edge to either game at this point. BUT you can trash any of the games, and try to offer your expert opinion, but all of the games have gameplay issues.

And for the people who mentioned inane things like "espn has better taunts," you really can't be serious can you?

[PodSquad]

I am sorry, but where is the interior running game you speak of? My interior running game involes me handing it off to my RB, my RB getting stuck behind a pile of linemen for 2-7 seconds and eventually falling forward. If you ever played offensive line, then you should know that is one thing that ESPN nailed. It was amazing calling a trap, and actually have the pulling guard moving fast enough to stay out of your way AND make the block. It was cool calling a play like a counter trey and seeing half of your line pull and get blocks. It was nice to hand the ball off in the middle of the line and not get stuck behind the OL and the DL. Thats what I think was so great about ESPN. EA is still living in the running game dark ages.

[poopoop]

Quote: Originally Posted by PodSquad

I am sorry, but where is the interior running game you speak of? My interior running game involes me handing it off to my RB, my RB getting stuck behind a pile of linemen for 2-7 seconds and eventually falling forward. If you ever played offensive line, then you should know that is one thing that ESPN nailed. It was amazing calling a trap, and actually have the pulling guard moving fast enough to stay out of your way AND make the block. It was cool calling a play like a counter trey and seeing half of your line pull and get blocks. It was nice to hand the ball off in the middle of the line and not get stuck behind the OL and the DL. Thats what I think was so great about ESPN. EA is still living in the running game dark ages.

suggesting that every inside run on ncaa involves 2-7 seconds of mario running is about as ignorant as it gets. You're just using extreme exaggeration to try to make a problem seem worse than it is. Newsflash people are using sliders to tone done the effectiveness of the interior run game on ncaa. The running game is much improved, and I think you'd be hard pressed to argue otherwise. Is the mario running animation still there? Yes but unluckily for you in the real world it isn't present 2-7 seconds on every run play. All of the games have their flaws, and like I said anyone can exaggerate one of the game's problems, I'm not impressed.

[edmus]

I guess I'm in the minority in that I'm not sure there's a football game that can keep me interested for very long anymore. I used to be able to play NCAA 2004 for hours on end, and some of the Madden titles lasted for quite a while in my PS2. The problem is that NFL 2k5 really opened my eyes to what a football game COULD be.

The graphics and presentation of 2k5 just blew the EA games out of the water for me. And the interior run game and elimination of Mario running was a thing of beauty. However, as much as I loved these aspects of the game, I still felt 2k5 was a flawed gem. CPU drafting in franchise mode was broken. I could live with that if I could ever fix the CPU passing game and interior pass blocking. To get the CPU to stop throwing an avg of 3-4 INTs a game, you had to perform a huge number of roster edits. It wasn't as big of a problem if you owned an XBox, where there was lots of support and a nice PC editing program. The PS2 was another story. And if you made universal edits to fix the HUM vs. CPU games, you'd find that you created a bunch of super QBs in simmed games. I swear that myself & many of the people on this board spent more time testing sliders and roster edits than we ever did actually PLAYING the game!

Also, I never really felt like I could control LBs & DBs in 2k5 as well as I could in the EA games. NCAA 2004 was where I really learned how to play as a MLB and once I went through the initial learning curve I had a blast. After struggling for a long time on 2k5, I resorted to my old standby of controlling a DLineman. Playing defense on 2k5 just wasn't that much fun. I'm not saying that was the case for everyone but it was for me.

I popped NCAA 2004 back into the PS2 last night for the first time since I bought ESPN 2k5. And I just couldn't get into it. It just felt so antiquated in terms of graphics and animation. I'll admit I still enjoy the passing game in NCAA 2004 though.

I'm tempted to pick up NCAA 2006, but I'm worried that if I now feel this way about NCAA 2004 (a game I used to love), 2006 isn't going to be improved enough to maintain my interest.

[PodSquad]

I dont exaggerate, you must be playing the game on too easy of a difficulty. I dont even bother running it up the middle any more, it is completely unrealistic, and really unexcusable that EA still hasnt figured out a way to make it stop when their competition did 2 years ago. The running game in NCAA is slightly improved and no more than slightly. Come this time next year, I really wont be surprised if EA still haddnt figured out how to make a realistic simulation of running the football.

[Playmakers]

Quote: Originally Posted by DawgcityClev

ESPN is THE BEST Football game made to this point, on ANY console period. Tecmo Bowl is the LEGEND of Football games. I've been playing ESPN 2K5 for the past 2 weeks with cousins. We hadn't played it in a few months, and it was heart felt playing it again. Now I get NCAA 06, and I want to find these EA Developers, and it wouldn't be pretty what would happen. The same freakin game for 2 years in a row, yet this time, online is absolutely HORRIBLE!! Offline, is not as bad, I'll admit. I'm having decent games on AA against the cpu in the RFTH. THey refuse to throw to my CB though. My issues with the game, is after playing 6 games online, and 4 games offline, THAT's 10 TOTAL FOR THE SLOW PEOPLE, this game is the exact replica of last years. They just turned the DB's into COMPLETE MORONS this year. That's it. Blocking at the O-line is still bad. Downfield blocking is ok. Special Teams is a joke. It's disheartening EA can't get this sh*t right. And fanboys give tons of excuses for them. I think the Dynasty Mode will provide more of an interest than RFTH, because it's basically boring. All I can say, is EA's games are steered more towards little kids. And people with no skill levels. ESPN is a true sim football game, with extraordinary graphics, and a SUPER deep Franchise Mode. I'll keep NCAA though. Madden 06 I expect to be a waste of time.

Is this the same ESPN game that I have in my place somewhere which hasn't been touched for months after the fancy little graphics and presentations wear off after about 10-15 games?

By that time many will realize that the game is eye candy and that's about it. The franchise mode you speak of is terrible buddy. I can't even belive you made that comment. A true SIM let me go back and check to see when was the last time NFL teams made over 20 trades within the season?

I hated simulated scores because games were up in the high 40's no matter who played. If you have over 100 hundred hours of free-time in a week you might actually be able to adjust every single player ratings in the game just so that it will fuction. QB's throw on average 3-4 INT's per game and unless you spend the time editing other things not including sliders it's unfixable.

The best part of the game was custom soundtracks I created and why on earth does every guy in ESPN look like they are 50 years old or something? Then that **** walk they have is the best movement ever.

Quote: Originally Posted by Playmakers

Is this the same ESPN game that I have in my place somewhere which hasn't been touched for months after the fancy little graphics and presentations wear off after about 10-15 games? By that time many will realize that the game is eye candy and that's about it. The franchise mode you speak of is terrible buddy. I can't even belive you made that comment. A true SIM let me go back and check to see when was the last time NFL teams made over 20 trades within the season? I hated simulated scores because games were up in the high 40's no matter who played. If you have over 100 hundred hours of free-time in a week you might actually be able to adjust every single player ratings in the game just so that it will fuction. QB's throw on average 3-4 INT's per game and unless you spend the time editing other things not including sliders it's unfixable. The best part of the game was custom soundtracks I created and why on earth does every guy in ESPN look like they are 50 years old or something? Then that **** walk they have is the best movement ever.

Well, you know this makes you a Madden fanboy now, right? Oh my God, to point out flaws in ESPN is an unforgiveable sin! It wasn't a perfect game, nor is it the best football game ever made. You actually had simulated scores in the 40's? Geez, I had 70-56 scored games all the time.

I love how people keep comparing the EA NCAA series to ESPN 2k5. The NFL game is completely different than the college, or didn't you know that? If you want to compare, look at NCAA 2003 vs NCAA 2k3. Ever wonder why it was dropped? No, EA didn't buy an exclusive license; it's because the game sucked. And low and behold, it sucked worse than the previous year. Sega knew it couldn't compete with the higher quality EA NCAA offering, so it cancelled the series. Whoa! VC isn't the be all end all of the video gaming world.

[Geekboy]

ESPN was the best football game made except their interception AI was a joke.

Graphics and gameplay were clearly better than NCAA.

By the way, I HATE PRO FOOTBALL! I LOVE college ball and wont watch one single down of pro ball. That being said the ESPN experience is better than EA's NCAA.