Top Five NCAA Football Games of All Time

[umd]

Re: Top Five NCAA Football Games of All Time

No it wasn't.

Yeah it was. heh.

They were all pretty good on PS2 minus the horrendous 05. Man was that game a huuuuge letdown. 06 was a pretty good game especially I think because 05 was just so terrible.

'07 and '08 were both pretty mediocre for 360. '07 was understandable because it was the first try. '08 the CPU turnover AI was a huge replay gamekiller for me (even post patch) - similar to the drop problem in 05.

The old school PS1 days - NCAA strategies we used to pass the memory card save around.

Of course Bill Walsh is the college football version of Tecmo Bowl. I used to have this huge spiral notebook and make my own seasons and keep my own team stats. That was in middle school.

[RaychelSnr]

My personal list would have probably included these two games as well:

A)NCAA Football (SNES)

I honestly don't remember the exact name...and honestly, the game probably wasn't that good. But I remember running the otpion with Oklahoma as i battled through best of the decades tournaments with them running the option out of the wishbone. I was a cheesy mfer as a kid too, as I played punt block as my default defense.

B)NCAA '99

This is the game that started it all for the NCAA community back in the day. It deserves it's spot because before 99, there weren't really any big sites out there. Afterwards..you had Doug's NCAA 99 site, good times.

[Cebby]

Re: Top Five NCAA Football Games of All Time

08 I don't think was awful. At final, I thought it was pretty good.... but after playing it for a while I changed my mind. We made huge strides there (video highlights, deep recruiting, 60 fps on xbox), but it just didn't "come together" to make it a great game.

08 was solid enough, but it had a few flaws that annoyed me too much and one that ruined the game.

Outside of the game, the recruiting was more or less the same, but with more options. This would have been fine, but with the menu loading, it was absolutely unbearable to me.

The actual gameplay was probably the best of all the NCAAs if you ignore a certain problem with interceptions. However, that would be like if Michael Jordan went blind in 1991. On paper, he may be the best player in the history of the world, but with his blindness, he's completely worthless. In dynasty, I would amass 60-70 INTs a year, and Campus Legend which I was really starting to like was simply pointless. Ignoring the challenge and supersim problem, I'd lose every CL game because my AI QBs would have TD/INT ratios on the year of 5/67 or something. It was a shame, because I loved the way the spread option was implemented, the running system was pretty good, and the video highlights were fantastic, but the interceptions were impossible to ignore.

I played 15-20 dynasty years on each of 07, 06, and 2004, but couldn't play 4 on 08.

[2krules]

Re: Top Five NCAA Football Games of All Time

NCAA 2004 was better than NFL 2k5!

NCAA 2004 was the best college football game ever. It was almost perfect; it had a wonderful college atmosphere, it had team specific traditions (like the canon for Texas A&M), great presentation, and it had fun gameplay.

That being said, I think it wasn't as good a game overall as NFL 2K5 or even NFL 2K4. If those games had been college games, they would be sitting at the #1 and #2 positions on this list.

[2krules]

Re: Top Five NCAA Football Games of All Time

Here's some reasoning:

5. NCAA 06 - One word: Girlfriends

4. NCAA 08 - Next gen at 60 fps, video highlights, and really deep recruiting.

3. NCAA 03 - First time playing NCAA when I started working at Tiburon. The recuriting and playing as UCF in the Citrus Bowl...er... UCF Stadium instantly converted me from Madden. Also loved mascot mode (sorry guys).

2. NCAA 04 - Everything just came together on this one. Sports Illustrated covers were a really cool feature as well. Only negative was the new memory card manager was full of crashes and standard violations that had to be fixed, taking away dev time from the stuff that makes a game great.

1. NCAA 09 - Just as good as 2004, but next gen/hi def makes it the new #1.

I understand you have to promote your new product, but do you really believe what you wrote about the # 1 position?

From the videos I've seen of the 09 game, including the demo, there's no way will it take the #1 spot from NCAA 04. The presentation and college atmosphere aren't nearly as good, it doesn't have as many features (ie: create a school, classic teams in classic uniforms), and if the gameplay is anything like the other next gen NCAA college games, it won't be nearly as fun as NCAA 04.

[bigwill33]

These are some good lists and fun to hear everyone's memories with these games!

[Solidice]

Re: Top Five NCAA Football Games of All Time

I would amass 60-70 INTs a year,

wow, i was lucky(if you want to call it that) to get 20 INTS a year after the patch in '08. the most was 24, least was 11.

[2krules]

Re: Top Five NCAA Football Games of All Time

wow, i was lucky(if you want to call it that) to get 20 INTS a year after the patch in '08. the most was 24, least was 11.

The problem with the patches is that they are released so late into the season and so long after the game is released that people have given up on the game. Last year, I gave up on NCAA and Madden (because of the turnovers) long before the patches were released.

[Cebby]

Re: Top Five NCAA Football Games of All Time

wow, i was lucky(if you want to call it that) to get 20 INTS a year after the patch in '08. the most was 24, least was 11.

I never got the patch. I can't use the internet on my 360, and even if I could, I don't want a patch in January for a game I bought in July. I don't think I played the game after September.

[2krules]

Re: Top Five NCAA Football Games of All Time

I never got the patch. I can't use the internet on my 360, and even if I could, I don't want a patch in January for a game I bought in July. I don't think I played the game after September.

I agree with you completely. Late-released patches are useless for many people.

[cdawg44]

For Me its:

1.) NCAA 04 simply the GOAT.
2.) NCAA 2000 PSX. I still play it to this day. This game had everything i wanted including Division 1-AA dynasty, the ability to have neutral site games in dynasty and post season all-star games. I played 20 seasons with Princeton and Florida A&M. Right now I am doing a dynasty with Prairie View.
3.) NCAA 07 (XBOX) Campus Legend was a nice touch ( I loved taking Chemistry tests), discipline was toned down in dynasty and impact players were toned down as well.
4.) NCAA 09 XBOX 360
5.) Bill Walsh

[Longhorn33]

I think my favorite NCAA game was in 98 or 99.. on the playstation.. All i remember is playing it in college against my buddys. We had some awesome dynastys.... the game even had play editor where you could create your own plays in 98 i think.
You know its been nine years since I have played a dynasty with those guys and thanks to 09.. we get to relive our glory days online dynasty!!!! THANK YOU EA!

[richmond_rocket]

the best 5 ncaa games are ncaa 04 to 08

[BSherrod]

Re: Top Five NCAA Football Games of All Time

Notre Dame was the only real entrance. The others were generic. Did you watch it every time? Just wondering.

After about the first 2 or 3 months I was done with the team entrances, but don't they say in absence the heart goes fonder?

I think there are elements of the last gen game that I enjoy now, more than ever. I dream of the day when I play Colorado's buffalo comes out before the game, the Clemson players rub Howard's Rock and Corso puts on a crazy hat in beautiful next gen glory. I have so much more faith in you guys now, that I feel you guys are building up to a great game on now gen and I am eagerly waiting for 09.

1. NCAA 2004
2. NCAA 2006
3. NCAA 08 Tecmo Bowl ( Best rom hack ever.)
4. NCAA 2007
4. NCAA 09 (?)

P.S. 2k5 and 2004 are close, but I have to give the nod to 2k5. Unmatched presentation still impresses me to this day.

[auburntigersfan]

Re: Top Five NCAA Football Games of All Time

That being said, I think it wasn't as good a game overall as NFL 2K5 or even NFL 2K4. If those games had been college games, they would be sitting at the #1 and #2 positions on this list.

reads post, looks at username.