Favorite Collage Football Game

[simgamer0005]

Quote: Originally Posted by Sting

I recommend you guys go back and play '03 and even '02. '02 lacked features but the speed of those two games were spot on. You want momentum? Damnit '03 gives you momentum. Big ol Larry Johnson running off tackle is nothing that a corner wants to see on that game, trust me. I own all of the titles and I feel that '04-'07 are just WAY too fast, arcade fast. '03 feels more like NFL2K5 to me than anything else. The running lanes are beautiful. I can't explain it, you just have to play it to see what I'm talking about. 2004 started the "run into the back of my line and run in place" crap which every ps2 title has since '03. In '03, your back "feels" his way through the line. I had a blast with 2006 as well. I played it yesterday but it's just waaaay too fast. The player models changed too starting with 2004. The 2006 models are all skinny bennies. The 300lb linemen are chiseled with no stomach. I don't want 2010 stomachs but you get the picture. There were so many big changes in design and gameplay that started in 2004, I feel that everyone show go pick up '03 for 99 cents and pop it in. It's the purest college football game I've ever played. The only thing it doesn't have is conference invites I think.

2003 was definitely a pure football game. It just felt a bit too scripted at times, and a lot of times you'd try to throw it, and even if you were in a throwing motion, but a blitzer was within a few yards, it'd make your quarterback tuck the ball, and then eventually get sacked. 2003 didn't have the catching animations that later games had, where'd you be able to jump and catch it. 2003 was filled with long animations, and they improved the tacking animation system in later games. In later games, they added gang tackles, that tackling mini-game (in 06 i think) where you had to tap the button in a psyudo 1 on 1 maul situation. Basically 2003 was probably the purest game, but it was also a much more linear game than the later games like 2005 or 06. The playbooks weren't very varied.

But I may take your advice and go back to 2003. It's definitely a cool game to play from time to time. You are probably right that it's the closest NCAA game to NFL2k5 in that the speed is much slower than games like 04-06. But I prefer the speed of 04-06 in some ways.

As I've said, I've played them all and I find 2005 to be the best overall. And I say that because 2005 seemed to have the smartest overall defense that wasn't cheap. (at least on heisman)

06 was probably the most fun and the most highest scoring. But 2005 was the fairest imho, besides maybe 2003. In 2005, the CPU pass attack isn't unstoppable on heisman. (unlike 06) You really have to mix up your offense in 2005, and take advantage of matchups.

It seems to me that most people say that 06 is their favorite, and some say 04 is their favorite. But not many besides me really hold 2005 as the highest. It may be because 2005 can be frustrating and can involve lots of punting. 2005 involves pinpoint, well timed passing, and user catching to be successful. (moreso than any other game imho)

And although 06 had one of the best rosters ever, a lot of those players were in the 2005 game, without some of the overblown default ratings. So you get a lot of good matchups with default rosters in 2005. (i have a roster with names only no ratings adjustments)

Sting, I think if we could take the defensive A.I. and bells and whistles of 2005 and the pace and purity of 2003, i think we'd have a near-perfect game.

[Sting]

Quote: Originally Posted by simgamer0005

2003 was definitely a pure football game. It just felt a bit too scripted at times, and a lot of times you'd try to throw it, and even if you were in a throwing motion, but a blitzer was within a few yards, it'd make your quarterback tuck the ball, and then eventually get sacked. 2003 didn't have the catching animations that later games had, where'd you be able to jump and catch it. 2003 was filled with long animations, and they improved the tacking animation system in later games. In later games, they added gang tackles, that tackling mini-game (in 06 i think) where you had to tap the button in a psyudo 1 on 1 maul situation. Basically 2003 was probably the purest game, but it was also a much more linear game than the later games like 2005 or 06. The playbooks weren't very varied. But I may take your advice and go back to 2003. It's definitely a cool game to play from time to time. You are probably right that it's the closest NCAA game to NFL2k5 in that the speed is much slower than games like 04-06. But I prefer the speed of 04-06 in some ways. As I've said, I've played them all and I find 2005 to be the best overall. And I say that because 2005 seemed to have the smartest overall defense that wasn't cheap. (at least on heisman) 06 was probably the most fun and the most highest scoring. But 2005 was the fairest imho, besides maybe 2003. In 2005, the CPU pass attack isn't unstoppable on heisman. (unlike 06) You really have to mix up your offense in 2005, and take advantage of matchups. It seems to me that most people say that 06 is their favorite, and some say 04 is their favorite. But not many besides me really hold 2005 as the highest. It may be because 2005 can be frustrating and can involve lots of punting. 2005 involves pinpoint, well timed passing, and user catching to be successful. (moreso than any other game imho) And although 06 had one of the best rosters ever, a lot of those players were in the 2005 game, without some of the overblown default ratings. So you get a lot of good matchups with default rosters in 2005. (i have a roster with names only no ratings adjustments) Sting, I think if we could take the defensive A.I. and bells and whistles of 2005 and the pace and purity of 2003, i think we'd have a near-perfect game.

I'll pop in '05 tomorrow and give it a spin. I played 2 games exhibition mode tonight of 06. I'm in my 6th year of my 03 dynasty currently but I'm gonna start an 06 dynasty (maybe 05, I'll see tomorrow). Last summer I bought 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, and 07 at Gamestop and didn't pay more than 1.99 for any of them. I have all of the roster files as well. I did notice what you just mentioned about 06 being high scoring. I played GTech @ USC and it was 21-21 after the first before I turned it off and googled for sliders. It's fun as hell though. 05 and 06 will give me a nice break from my 03 Dynasty.

[simgamer0005]

Quote: Originally Posted by Sting

I'll pop in '05 tomorrow and give it a spin. I played 2 games exhibition mode tonight of 06. I'm in my 6th year of my 03 dynasty currently but I'm gonna start an 06 dynasty (maybe 05, I'll see tomorrow). Last summer I bought 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, and 07 at Gamestop and didn't pay more than 1.99 for any of them.

Nice. Question about 07. Does the CPU ever miss field goals wide left or wide right in 07? I know they never miss field goals on 08 on original xbox. Basically I think I remember when the implemented analog kicking (which I loved) and making it easier to block field goals, I remember the CPU started never missing field goals wide right or wide left like they used to. But I can't remember if they missed FG in 07. If it wasn't for that, and some strange field position glitches that occurred once in a while, 07 was very good.

Do you play these games on PS2 or original xbox?

Quote: Originally Posted by Sting

I have all of the roster files as well.

Nice. I love the roster system of PS2 / Original Xbox / Gamecube NCAA games. I love that every rating difference seems to have a tangible effect in-game. The height of receivers matter. I don't play the 360 / PS3 versions of these games. They can't touch PS2 / Original Xbox / GC NCAA Football. It's totally amazing that EA abandoned the old engine and started from scratch. Some people like the 360 games, but I just don't understand how anyone could think those games are better than 03-06 on PS2 / Original Xbox / Game.

Quote: Originally Posted by Sting

I did notice what you just mentioned about 06 being high scoring. I played GTech @ USC and it was 21-21 after the first before I turned it off and googled for sliders. It's fun as hell though. 05 and 06 will give me a nice break from my 03 Dynasty.

Yeah the thing about 05 is that you can actually play 15 minute quarters on default heisman sliders and the final score isn't crazy. Like I get results of like 28-13, 21-18 on 15 minute quarters. In 06 it'd be much higher scoring.

Next time I load up 2005, I'll post my heisman sliders. But there are very close to default. I may turn RB ability up a few notches and tacking up the same amount of notches as RB ability. Or put Run / Pass blocking up to 55% and maybe break block up to 55%, but you don't have to deviate too much from default to get a realistic game. On heisman, it's a balancing act between getting good blocking and being able to stop CPU rushing attacks. The great thing about 2005 is that you can leave defensive awareness slider at default (50%) and it's as realistic as I've ever seen in a game. You don't need to put it up to 70% or something to play defense.

In 2005, I play a lot of zone, with a little man-to-man mixed in at times. 2005 was the first year that knockdowns really worked. For 98-99% of scenarios, the collision is perfect.

I also prefer the interface of 2005 as opposed to any other game. The overlays are so clean in 2005, the best of any game by far imho. The silver football in 06 is nice, but the rest goes to 2005.

The running game is pretty good in 2005. The manual shift that you can set in controller settings is a thing of beauty. You press /\ then X when the CPU comes out in an unbalanced formation, and your linebackers / free safeties move over wide to stay with men, even in zone. I love that.

In 2005, on heisman, neither you or the CPU get automatic 15-20 yard passes. You have to earn those by developing a strong running game and literally out-coach the opponent. (CPU or human) PA passes also work great in 2005. In 06, you and the CPU can routinely pull pass plays out of your ***. The 3-3-5 seems to be much more effective in 2005 versus 06. I use that a lot.

Basically in 2005 it's more satisfying to me than 06. 06 the deep ball is way to easy. In 2005, even in single coverage with user catching, it's hard to complete passes. In 2005, there's more incompletes. In 06, there's more catches / interceptions.

In 2005, you see more situations where the CPU overthrows semi-open receivers. It does happen in 06, but not nearly as much. In 2005, it's very, very hard to complete 50%+ passes. Also, the CPU A.I. is good at limiting scrambles. Yeah I've had games where I scramble for over 100 yards, but that's on 15 minute quarters and when linebackers are spying, they will not let you scramble. It's all about playcalling in 2005.

Let me know how your matchups go in 2005. Hopefully we can use some of the same sliders and compare matchups. I recommend at least 10 minute quarters on heisman in 2005. 15 minutes may sound like a lot, but 5 minute quarters is not nearly enough. Stamina and fatigue play a major role, and you'll notice that in the 2nd half the teams play and react differently then they do in the first half.

[Buckeye]

I'm going to pop in NCAA 08 when I get home today possibly