Official XBox/PS2 Impressions thread***

[noplace]

What are the differences between the X-Box & PS2 versions? I have it for x-box but was thinking about exchanging it for the PS2 version because most of my friends play the PS2 version. And I refuse to pay to play online. Are they any differences in gameplay, graphics or features?

[ehh]

After about 7 games last night I'm impressed. Played it from about 4:30pm through 1am with a few breaks here and there - man am I paying for staying up so late on a Sunday night!

A lil more indepth initial impression...

The Good:

Passing. Love it - on Heisman it's pretty damn perfect. The precision passing works great, you almost have to use it on every play. The mid-range game is completely fixed from last year, however I've still seen some issues throwing to RB's in the flat. It's not a major part of my offense so it shouldn't be a big deal for me. People who said the deep ball is still there, I don't see it at all. I'm having serious trouble completing fly/streak patterns. In 7 games I'm probably about 3 for 15 on those patterns.

Running. I haven't had beef w. the running game in the NCAA series cept for the slowdown issue of '05. I can run up the middle, bounce it to the outside occassionally. My YPC is probably a tad to high, but I really don't care.

CPU Defense. No more superman LB/DB's. The game finally seems fair. If your WR is open and you time it right, you'll hit him and have the chance for some YAC. On Heisman an LB w. 84 for speed won't track down your 91 speed RB anymore.

The extra lil things. All the new hot route stuff you can do at the line of scrimmage is great, for both O and D. I like the momentum meter and new kicking meters. The onside kick-specific meter is also a welcome addition. Blocked kicks! I saw two yesterday - finally! The new animations are noticable, not mind blowing, but a cool addition. The one-handed grabs, big-hits, and spin-juke animation are the three new ones I'm enjoying the most.

The bad:

Really, there aren't any....yet. IMO, this is the game we should have receieved after NCAA '04. Everybody loved NCAA '02-'04, but it was a mixed bag of reactions for '05 and '06. Fortunately, '07 seems to get the series back on track.

Still on the fence:

The CPU offense. Espeically in dynasty mode. Hopefully it will stay potent enough - on Heisman it should.