Best NCAA game on the 'Cube! Must have for football lovers!
User Rating: 8.9 | NCAA Football 2005 GC
NCAA 2005 was the last in the NCAA series for the Gamecube, but it lives up to all expectations, and if you are a person who only owns a Gamecube, pick this up. By now, it's probably 5 dollars in your local bargain bin. Now, onto the review. Graphics: The graphics of NCAA are solid and a good, solid improvement from its predecessor. The helmet reflections are great; when the player moves his head, you can see the sun/light moving with it. The details in the uniform are quite impressive. You are able to see tiny details such as the C-USA logo on the Louisville jersey. When you are playing in a rainy or snowy game, your uniforms get dirty all over. The player's faces are good and detailed except for the fact that by law EA cannot make them look like the actual players, but that's not their fault. The only problem is that sometimes the game lags and glitches, but it truly does not affect the main gameplay or disrupt anything. The stadiums are nice and realistic and surprisingly accurate. Nothin' like playin at the old Horseshoe in Ohio! Presentation: The menus are for the most part the same as 2004, and the whole theme of only playing fight songs is the same. The Sports Illustrated weekly is pretty nice, having the top 25, Heisman watch, etc. Nothing too new though. Corso, Nessler, and Herbstreit give good but repetetive commentary. The one HUGE improvement from last year is the new Toughest Places to Play feature. This ranks the top 25 Stadiums in college football that are the noisiest and toughest to play in. When you are at home and its 3rd down for the other team, pump up your crowd and they go nuts. The screen starts shaking and all you can hear for the most part is the crowd screaming. All I can say is that it's awesome. Gameplay: The heart of the game. Now, for the most part, the game is the same as 2004. The option game has been improved a little, and there is a helpful tutorial that you can access and watch. Trust me, even if you think you are an option pro, this helps. The button layout for the Gamecube version isn't great, but it gets the job done. There are a few bad instances of button choice though. For example, timeout is Z+a, and pump up the crowd is Z+b. The running game at times seems a bit too easy. If you are running an HB Dive play, you can almost always just run around your tackles and TE's into the open. The passing game is the only failure in this year's game. It seems as if the WR's drop 60% of their passes, its ridiculous. They will drop it on simple slant routes when they are wide open. It hits them in the hands and falls down, which gets EXTREMELY frustrating. But this problem can be fixed in the sliders menu. Dynasty Mode: Dynasty Mode is the GREATEST part of the game. You assume the role of coach of a D-1 school. You can coach up to 30 schools in one dynasty. You can also put a 1-AA team in 1-A, or even put your created school in 1-A. At the beginning of the season, you choose your out-of-conference schedule. If you want to bash NC A&T State in week 1, or have a National Championship deciding game versus Ohio State in week 15, its your choice. You can also redshirt your players at the beginning. Throughout the season, there is the Sports Illustrated Weekly which keeps you up to date on the Top 25, Heisman Race, Conference Standings, etc. At the end of the year, you can save your draft class, accept jobs for other schools if you are a good coach, and recruit in a process that takes 5 weeks. Random Facts: 1)You CAN edit players' names, equipment, hair, ratings, etc. 2)You CAN create a school, player, playbook. 3) Dynasty takes 197 blocks and roster takes 58 blocks. 4) NO, I repeat NO online for Gamecube. 5) The reason i put the learning curve at 1-2 hours is because mastering the option takes time, and so does recruiting and handling your dynasty. When you get the hang of it its extremely rewarding though! Overall, this game is a MUST for all football lovers and owners of the Gamecube. Run out and buy this game now!!! Buy Madden 05 with it and you can export your draft classes into Madden 05. For example, if you are coaching ND and Brady Quinn goes pro, you can draft him in Madden!!! Have fun with this great game!
