should I buy NCAA for PS3 or PS2?

[i3man]

I bought the PS2 version and have no regrets. Like everything, there are pluses and minuses but overall I like the PS2 version better than the 360 version.

Pros

- Biggest difference is a good pass rush. It's actually too good at times but I much prefer it over the non-existent pass rush in the 360 version.

- WRs frequently catch the ball in full stride and keep on going. 360 version had too much unnecessary jumping to make catches resulting in very little RAC yards.

- Good teams are good and bad teams are bad. In the 360 version you could take the worst teams and still play very competitively with the best teams. It's like player ratings had very little effect on the game...probably the main reason why there is no pass rush and a 70 rated OL can block a 90 rated DL all day long. In the PS2 you really don't have a prayer with a "D" rated team playing a "A" rated team.

- One of the big surprises I found I really missed was CPU vs. CPU games. This is where you can really see the better AI in the PS2 version. CPU teams getting 4-5 sacks per game against each other.

- No robo QB, enough said.

- The running game is much better. Tosses and counters actually work quite well but a good Dline will frequently get into the backfield stopping these plays for a 2-3 yard losses. In one game against Virginia on only 3 minute quarters I used Nebraska and did not throw at all and ran for 257 yards with Lucky and had 5 runs over 30 yards for TDs. I think momentum and motivation played a big part in this because I took the opening kickoff back for a TD, then Virginia threw an INT on it's first play and I scored again, and then they fumbled the next play and I scored again. Each time the motivation results in a boost for the team.

In the very next game I used Nebraska against Colorado and ran the exact same plays as I did against Virginia and I struggled with the running game. So either Colorado's defense is much better than Virginia's, or the motivation boost turns your team into a super team.

Cons

- It's not all a bed of roses. My biggest gripe is the ability of QBs to shed 2 and sometimes 3 rushing defensive lineman on the same play. The QB avoidance AI is way overdone. And not to mention more times than not when this happens it results in a big play.

- The deep ball is money and can be completed much too easily. When playing against the CPU you can show self-restraint an not overdo it. The DBs are in seeming perfect defensive position to make a play on the ball but they don't. You can turn the defensive awareness and knockdown sliders both to 99 but it makes no difference.

[rudyjuly2]

My biggest beef with the PS3 version is the terrible cpu running game. They just can't establish a consistent ground game on any difficulty level and the sliders are so watered down that you can't really fix it. I haven't played the PS2 version in a couple years and I probably won't bother since I'm getting NBA Live and the Show will be out in a couple months.

I just probably won't play much more of NCAA in the new year unfortunately. I had fun for quite a while and played a lot of dynasty games but a few things are just starting to bug me too much.