EA hasn't exactly had to deal with a lot of stiff competition in recent years when it comes to the realm of college football games (with last year's only competition coming in the way of 989's less-than-stellar NCAA GameBreaker 2004). In fact, for this year's installment in its long-running NCAA Football franchise, EA is running completely unopposed. This could easily have spelled trouble, since a lack of competition often leads to a product with only minor improvements. Thankfully, it appears that EA Sports has not rested on its laurels for NCAA Football 2005. Rather, the game seems to be shaping up to be another solid addition to an already great franchise. We recently spent some time with work-in-progress builds of all three console versions of NCAA Football 2005, and despite a few minor concerns here and there, we're generally pleased with what we played.

Bust out your favorite college sweatshirts and miniature school flags, because NCAA Football 2005 is on its way this summer.

With EA progressively trying to shake the stigma that the NCAA series is just a loose spin-off of the Madden NFL titles, NCAA 2005 is aiming to really bring the atmosphere of collegiate football to the game. The biggest addition to this area of the game is a new home-field-advantage system that specifically benefits the home team and causes grief to visiting teams. The way this works is pretty simple: Depending on where you're playing, each home arena is essentially rated on how rough the home crowd can be on an opposing team. So, for example, if you're playing at home at, say, Duke, you're not likely to get a huge crowd response. But, if you're playing at home at, say, LSU, the crowd heat is going to be phenomenal.

What does this crowd heat do for you? Essentially, it acts as a massive distraction to your opponent. When playing on defense, especially, a meter will appear at the top of your HUD showing you where the current stadium pulse is at. By pressing a button repeatedly (or, in the GameCube's case, two buttons), you can try to get a heavier rise from the crowd. The higher the pulse, the more effect you'll see. As a result, the screen will shake, the noise level will be deafening, and, eventually, your opponents will become more mistake-prone. False starts, incorrect lineups, and misheard audibles are just some of the effects you'll encounter. The effects of the stadium pulse will be especially rough on freshmen (and generally newer players), whereas seniors will be able to handle the effects better. You'll run into the stadium pulse meter on offense too but usually only when you need to calm the crowd down. Sometimes they can get a bit rowdy after a big play.

Another key area of interest in NCAA 2005 is the new player morale system. Each of the key players on your team has a pair of meters you can access by holding the right control stick down, right, or left. Holding it down brings you to an in-game menu that shows you the matchup between your backfield and the linebackers; holding it left gives you a look at the receivers versus defensive backs; and holding it right shows the matchup between offensive and defensive linemen. On any given player, you'll see a status for both composure and skill. Composure is measured by a circular meter that, when full, means the player is fully composed and calm. However, when it drops, that means the player is rattled. The skill meter occupies the space right next to the composure meter. When a player is looking good, in terms of skill, the meter will be colored green, and depending on the degree of skill the player possesses, it will fill up to a corresponding level. If the meter is red, that means a player isn't going to play especially well. Skill seems to be affected slowly throughout the course of a game, whereas morale can shift dramatically depending on how a series of plays goes down.

By hitting a button repeatedly at the line, you can help bring your home crowd to a fever pitch, which distracts the opposing team and causes its players to make mistakes.

When you do manage to make big plays in NCAA 2005, you'll have the opportunity to determine how you want to celebrate. If you're mild-mannered, you can simply pass the ball off to the ref and go about your way. If you're feeling a bit saucier, you can celebrate in one of three ways once a play is over. By holding down one of two taunt buttons and then pressing one of three main controller buttons, you can have your player, the crowd, or your mascot celebrate. The first celebration button performs a mild taunt, while the second performs a more involved celebratory animation. Too much celebrating is no good, though, because if you do it, the ref will penalize you for unsportsmanlike conduct. Though player and mascot taunts consist of pretty run-of-the-mill stuff, crowd taunts can be a little more interesting. Aside from typical celebrations, the crowd will also usually hold up one of the default signs set for each school (some of which are actually rather funny, such as the trio of Duke fans who hold up the "When does basketball season start?" sign), or it may hold up a customized sign you will be able to design in the game's create-a-sign mode.