My early Gamecube version impressions(preview of Madden Hit Stick too)

[WatchdogXC]

Well, I managed to stay strong and hold off until Thursday to get the game in order to get a free $10 gift card at Circuit City. It was definately tough waiting a couple of days, but was nice seeing everyone's early impressions and knowing what to expect here. When I heard about the Xbox slowdown and its problems, I was worried that my GC version would get the shaft like it usually does in multiplatform games. All I have is a GC so that is the only option unless I picked up a whole new system (which I was considering getting an Xbox soon).

First off, there is no slowdown at all during gameplay of NCAA on Gamecube. There is a tad of slowdown if you are near your own endzone when you and the defense break the huddle so all 22 guys and the goalpost are visible. Actually, if you press the matchup stick it speeds up right then. It has yet to have slowdown during gameplay. I simply played on a normal 27 inch TV with Stereo sound.

The last NCAA I extensively played was NCAA 2003. I played over 300 games of it. I don't buy NCAA and Madden every year. I bought Madden last year so I went back to NCAA this year. I played a little of NCAA 2004 on PS2 last year, but no dynasty mode. In 2 years, the graphics are much better than they were on my 2003 version. I don't know if the big change was this year, or last year, but regardless what some reviews have said, it feels like a new game to me. I really like the grass stains and the mud on the uniforms in the rain. It is almost like they went too overboard with the grass stains, but it is cool. My last game I played with Ohio State, Justin Zwick was almost wearing a green jersey! (Oh yeah, the announcers say his name too!!!)

Well, for those who have other versions, this part might be interesting. As most of you know, Gamecube's controller doesn't have clickable analog sticks and lacks the 4th shoulder button that PS2 has or take your pick of black or white on Xbox. The game controls great in my opinion. Of course, the GC controller is second nature for me though. Here is a rundown of the control setup and I will mark where I beleive it is different than the others.

QB scramble is Y which would be triangle on PS2 and I'm almost positive that L2 is scramble on PS2. I like the Y/Triangle method for scrambling better personally because that was how it originally was handled when I first played EA's games with the ability to scramble.

The c-stick (right analog) is more used on GC I beleive. On defense, it is the Big Hit button which gives you a preview of what the Madden Hit Stick will be like even though that is supposed to be more extreme. On offense, just like my 2003 version, the c-stick pump fakes when passing.

The only other differences than the other versions control wise I think are stiff arm and juke. I'm not sure of the exact way of doing it on the others, but in NCAA on GC, R is your Juke and if you hit a direction and R it jukes that way. In my Madden last year L was left Juke and R was right Juke. I actually prefer the NCAA method and you could change it on Madden. L is stiff arm/switch ball hand. It is context sensitive to who is around you. Z is lateral.

All and all, if you aren't interested in online play, I think the GC version could be a great option for you if you have the system and are frustrated by slowdown. The graphics are nice and the field textures look great. I personally prefer the control setup on my GC to the PS2 control scheme, but that may be because I constantly play with my GC controller.

One last thing, Home Field Advantage is awesome.

[WatchdogXC]

Oh yeah, another control difference is the crowd pump up button is Z+B like past versions.