Hands-onNCAA College Football 2K3

At a press event held at Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco, Sega was showing off the latest build of NCAA College Football 2K3 for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, and GameCube. The game is running on the NFL 2K2 engine but still features many of the enhancements in NFL 2K3 for this year.

The gameplay modes included in NCAA College Football 2K3 include practice, tournament, season, and legacy. The legacy mode is the equivalent of the franchise mode, and representatives from Sega stated that you'll be able to play it for more than 30 consecutive seasons. Within the legacy mode you can look at and adjust your depth chart, cut players, scout high school prospects, adjust coaching strategies, examine your team's needs at each position, and redshirt players if you have eligibility concerns. When you're scouting players, there are five different attributes that you can examine. You're awarded with a set number of visits per scouting season, so it's important to spend your time on the prospects that will fulfill a need on your team.

All 117 Division I-A teams and stadiums have been included in the game, and while the real player names have not made the cut, you can rename players or change their numbers to create the real teams. Once players graduate, you'll be able to draft them and import them into the franchise mode of NFL 2K3. The Heisman award will be given to the most outstanding player at the conclusion of each season, and all 25 bowls, including the BCS series, are included as well. College-specific formations, such as the wishbone and power I, are available for selection, as well as plays run from those formations, such as the option.

While the graphics look very similar to those from NFL 2K2, there are still some improvements. There are a wider variety of player models in the game so that linebackers no longer look exactly the same as tight ends. Field textures have also been improved, and each team has its logo in the appropriate place on the field. While the ESPN license has yet to be fully implemented, there are already overlays featuring the sports channel's logo, and Dan Patrick, one of the channel's anchors, introduces the game. The play selection interface is the same as in previous Sega sports games, though you can now set up four different hot routes before each game and then instruct your receivers to perform them on the fly.

The commentary has been completely reworked for this year's game, though it will not use any talent from ESPN. As for online modes, Sega stated that you will not be able to play the game online but that you'll be able to upload your records to be ranked against players from around the world.

NCAA College Football 2K3 is currently scheduled for release in early August on all three platforms. Look for more on the game in the near future, but in the meantime, check out our exclusive screenshots of the Xbox versions of the game.