NCAA Football 2006 Reviews

• Many improvements over 2005

  
  By A24QZ7RVT3FK4T on 2005-07-13
  I've played this for over a week now, so I'm revising my earlier review. I still say there are some definite improvements.
  
  The CPU can actually play offense now! I was getting quite bored with the complete inability of the CPU to run, and minimal ability to pass. It was fun to rack up the stats, but winning 84-0 even in Heisman mode got old. The CPU receivers can actually catch the ball, and the quarterback actually avoids sacks and scrambles for positive yards on blitzes and draws. In All-American and Heisman difficulty levels, the defense AI manages to catch on to your play calling pattern a lot better than before, so you're can't successfully run the same play over and over again as easily as before. There is some benefit though, you can REALLY exploit an over eager defense with the right play action, screen pass (which actually works for positive yards now), or draw plays. It works to your disadvantage on defense though, because if you are not creative and run the same defense on the same formations over and over again, the CPU will burn you. They have also added some new defensive QB Spy plays (e.g. Nickle DE and Nickle OLB Double Spy plays) which work very well against the option.
  
  The best new features by far are the impact players, and "in the zone" modes. Both player and CPU impact players when "in the zone" make some spectacular plays, and fun post play celebrations. Thankfully, the refs are not as trigger happy with the unsportsmanlike conduct flag. The timing of the players going "in the zone" is quite good. It happens at key moments in the game on key plays. Unfortunately, and I may discover this not to be true later, is that you can't seem to develop an impact player during the course of a season. They are locked in and set for the entire season. If you end up with a linebacker with 60 tackles, a dozen sacks, and a half dozen forced fumbles and interceptions by mid-season, I should think that he is an impact player by any definition.
  
  The Dynasty mode is about the same as 2005, but one REALLY nice feature is season long recruiting. You are shown the potential weaknesses in positions where you would lose seniors, so you are given 12 scholarship bids you can put out and monitor recruit interest and allocate 0-100% of points weekly amongst recruits throughout the year. They have also added academics as a pitch. Unfortunately, (and maybe I just haven't figured out how yet), you cannot choose the recruiting pitch criteria nor choose to scout. The AI doesn't do the best job, because let's say you figure the pitch to use is Program Prestige, the CPU continues to pitch other things. The only time you can choose the pitch is during in campus visits. There is a menu option to select when you can pitch, but it's always set to campus visits, and I can't change it even if I disable the recruiting AI assistance. You also get a lot more 5 and 4 star duds with "poor" to "average" potential which was very rare in 2005. Sadly, you are locked in with 12 recruits at the beginning of the season, so you can't replace any choice, and all you can do is change the priority percentage to 0 and hope he withdraws from contention. You cannot target kickers or punters during the season. Another nice new feature is that you can auto-name the select or complete rosters, so no more of the Position + Jersey Number schemes for the first few seasons. However, in Race for the Heisman mode, you have to do that before you start the campaign, because you absolutely cannot edit the rosters in his mode.
  
  The most spectacular feature which makes this game far superior to 2005 is the Heisman Race mode. You select a player position, and run drills for college scouts. Depending on how well you perform, you get scholarship offers from various schools which you can choose to accept, or go in as a walk-on to any school you select. It would seem the ability scores and the number and quality of offers are directly correlated to how well you do in the drill. My first run through with an RB, I only scored 3 touchdowns in 10 tries, and got offers from three schools ranging in rank from #51 to #58 in addition to walk-on. I ran through it again, scored 7/10 times, and this time I got some offers from top-25 teams. This also sets the ability scores which cannot be modified. The gameplay, as I mentioned, is spectacular, and the games when teams are close in level, are exceptionally close. There are some caveats to this mode. It might seem that you have no control over rosters and recruiting in this mode. You also have no access to the pennant collection, and cannot edit rosters (names, equipment, etc.), and can only set the depth chart during the game, and it does not carry over to the next game. You can play pennants during the game, but to cash in points and enter codes, you have to exit Heisman and go to Dynasty mode. Having said that, I think Pennants are irrelevant because the gameplay (especially passing) is much improved. Rushing has become a lot harder which is a good thing, especially because I-Form Normal counter play is not a guaranteed touchdown with 4-3 man coverage & wide receiver motion like it used to be.
  
  There are some other odds & ends.
  
  The Good:
  
  - You can switch the controller to either team's side during the game. This is really fun if you choose to play some of the marquee games and play either offense or defense on both sides. I don't recall this ability in 2005. It will disable pennants if one of the teams is user controlled.
  
  - You can't edit player skills in Race for Heisman mode, so you can't create a super player. The skills are set during tryout.
  
  - There is less discrepency in the coaches/media rankings. In 2005, if a team started too far down, at one point it would be ranked #2 in the media poll, but #25 in the coaches poll.
  
  The Bad:
  
  - You can't redshirt your Heisman hopeful. If you do well enough in the tryout, you may end up on a top team with a 99 skill senior in your position, and it seems insane that a freshman would get the start.
  
  - Players and refs still walk through each other in the post play animations.
  
  - It is sometimes raining with clear blue skies, and sometimes there is sunshine during night games! :)
  
  - The OL gets WAY too many pancakes. After my first season, my center had 288 pancakes! Even mediocre OL players pancake all but impact D-Linemen on 20-50% of the plays. The CPU doesn't get that benefit.
  
  - You can edit *every* skill value when you create a prospect up to the 99 maximum. In 2005, the upper bounds were limited by player position and size. Now every created prospect can be a super Paul Hornung. It would have been nice to create an "athelate" prospect with some limits, but this one goes too far.
  
  - On the Xbox, they switch the select player button from X to B, so it takes some getting used to. The juke function has moved from the right trigger to the right paddle, so it is extremely difficult to pull combination spin, hurdle, juke moves without your right thumb fumbling and flailing all over the place.
  
  - In the weekly schedules, when you looked at the game info, it would show the teams' current ranking whether they were in the top 25 or not, but now, you only see that right before the game starts, or right after it ends. There is also no longer an overall grade for a team. You just have offense, defense, and special team grades.
  
  The Ugly:
  
  - Who in the blazes picked the menu colors? Dark navy text on a black background? That is what you get for your team in Race or Dynasty mode. The contrast is so poor, it actually hurt my eyes. I can't believe the Beta testers did not riot over this. They also had some nice red-yellow-green shading for NCAA interest level, coach job security, etc., but they've gone to solid colors now. There is no longer a grading system for coach job security.
  
  - All the player pictures in roster and recruiting screens look like county sherrif mug shots. This is a really major step down from the last version. Also, the refs have five o'clock shadows and look like they came to the game all hung over after throwing an all night drunk.
  
  - During late afternoon games, the shadow coverd parts of the field are pitch black! If your team is wearing light uniforms,
  you can barely see them, and if the other team is wearing dark uniforms, you absolutely cannot see them until they tackle you or intercept your pass.
  
  - They changed the kick meter to Madden style, and I personally do not like it one bit. However, that is entirely subjective.
  
  All in all, this game is an absolute "must buy" if only for the Heisman mode. I will be wasting a signficant number of hours of my life on this game!
  
  

• Much improved over last years edition

  
  By A2TOX3E4WZ8BSQ on 2005-07-12
  Well, I picked it up yesterday (7/11/05) and I can say, the passing has been much improved. My star catchers are more likely to catch the ball than drop it. There are still dropped passes, but it's more realistic now and not as frustrating. In fact, when my big star does miss a catch, it's usually because I didn't throw it well or I'm throwing into double or triple coverage. However, I have seen him make the catch when he's "in the zone", a new feature that is pretty cool. Basically, your star player(s) will eventually get into a groove, which means they are more apt to make the big play when you control them. If they do, the game will zoom into slo-motion video to show the big play they made and then zooms back out as the play continues.
  
  The ability to easily scramble your QB is great. No longer do you have to "shut off" the passing icons. On the Xbox, hitting the A button turns off the icons, makes your QB tuck the ball and sprint. As long as you haven't crossed the LOS, you can let go and you are immediately back into the passing mode. Very simple change that makes scrambling a lot easier and less frustrating.
  
  Juking is all done with the right analog stick, as is swimming on defense. Also, the right analog stick acts as the "Big Hit" control, just like in Madden and unlike last years NCAA game. Still no play-maker-style controls, though.
  
  Presentation is not bad, but it's still EA-ish and not as spectacular as the ESPN games were (like ESPN NFL 2k5 and MLB 2k5). Hopefully, next year they can revamp all that, especially on the new consoles. The commentary is new, but it repeats itself quickly, but I'm pretty engrossed in the game at hand, so it's not that annoying. Still, it's nice that Nessler, Herbstreit and Corso recorded new commentary that is still fun to listen to.
  
  The only other minor quibble I have with this game is the collision detection. I've seen my players walk through refs or other players as they get up after a play. It looks pretty weird and I wish they'd fix this. This was present in the 2005 version as well. Still, it's not a show stopper, but it makes the game feel as if it could be a lot more polished than it is.
  
  I've only played a few games, including the Run For the Heisman mode, which is pretty cool as you play as a recruit for up to 4 years in persuit of the trophy. You name your player and then have your choice of how you want your stud player to be: pocket QB, scrambling QB, running back, wide receiver, defense. Which choice you choose then puts you into a "mini-game" to rack up as many points as possible to impress the college scouts. Your stats will be based on how well you perform. This will also give you a list of the top 3 schools that want to recruit you. However, you don't have to go there and can choose to walk-on any campus you wish. At that point, you go to your dorm room and your off! You don't have much control over the off-the-field activities in this mode, though. Still, this mode is a really fun mode to play in as you play the character you created and watch him attempt to garner the Heisman Trophy.
  
  I haven't played dynasty yet, as I'm still playing exhibition games in order to get a handle on the game. You can do recruiting year round, and from what I've seen so far, this year's edition is definitely a big improvement over the previous edition.
  
  I didn't get a chance to play online games yet. I did log on, and the interface for Xbox Live is revamped and looks pretty good. Only about 12 people were on-board, but none were quite ready to challenge me (nor was I ready to be challenged yet).
  
  Overall, this is definitely one to get if you love college football. The graphics were tweaked, but they are still nothing to really gush about. They did tone down the "steroid" look so that the players look more like college players. But overall, the graphics tweaks are not what make this the must-buy college game. It's the actual gameplay tweaks/revamps that were done that have made this one of the best NCAA football games yet.
  
  

• Hands Down The Best College Football Video Game

  
  By A1UXBP7HULMEMK on 2005-07-12
  Bought it last night at midnight and while I only played for just over an hour...I was very impressed. The graphics have seen a huge improvement and the added "Race for the Heisman" feature adds a new dynamic. The EA developers are doing a great job evolving this game into something great on its own rather than an annual Madden tag-along. Improved controls make this game much more fun to play than last year and the gameplay...especially running the option, is much better. A must for college football fans, hardcore gamer not required (I'm certainly not one). My only complaint, and it's just me getting used to it is...it seems to take more skill now in the passing game, which frankly was too easy in previous versions. Running the ball is a treat, with new analog controls for directional juking I feel like I have better control when scrambling or using one of my backs. Hope this is helpful. Go Gators!
  
  

• Almost there...

  
  By A12WNZECREFGBE on 2005-07-21
  Like the last game I reviewed, Need for Speed: Underground 2, I really didn't want to purchase this game, but another family member (my borther this time) brought it home anyway. At first, I was distracted with a rental of mine: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. But after getting frustrated with the final mission (actually, I wasn't frustrated, but I was too lazy to go through the entire level to get to the point where I failed), I decided to pop in NCAA 2006 and see what it was like.
  
  When I first entered the game, I decided to try out the new flagship mode of the game, Race for the Heisman Mode. In the beginning, you are at a college scouting session picking which position you will play (they're all specialty positions, leaving out the underappreciated O-Line). When you pick your position, you will enter immediately into the spring drill which best suits your position (Oklahomas, Pass Skeleton, etc.). When you are done with your drill, you are then immediately given the choice of three schools (their strength depending on your success rating at your drill) or you can choose to walk-on to any school you like.
  
  Once you are in you dorm room, you have the option of doing several things, one being playing your games (or simming them). Other things you can do is look at your achievements and awards over the years, look at fan mail (I never knew that college football phenoms only got one letter every several weeks talking about their career choices... interesting), and look at a picture at an really ugly-looking girl on your computer (when you are a freshman, at least).
  
  When you play a game in RFTH mode, I expected it to be as I just playing as myself throughout the game and resting when on defense. But what I got was pretty much a game that I could've played with the Quick Start option. I control any player on field on my team, I control offense and defense, I control playcalling, etc. This is extremely dissapointing in my mind. Once again, this is supposed to be about me controlling my player and bringing him to glory . Controlling the entire team destroys the illusion that I am slaving to bring my custom player to glory.
  
  A few more gripes about RFTH mode is that no matter what team you play for, you will always start off the bat, no matter who you are replacing. Once again, this is very unrealistic. Also, about controlling your personal player, you do not control his actions off the field. I would've liked to see at the very least an answer based thing which allows us to shape the character of our player. I have only gone to my sophomore year (with no Heisman trophies), but I beginning to feel that RFTH mode is just a worthless novelty mode brought in to garner in the feel of the game. Hopefully, this mode will be improved upon in 2007.
  
  Onto the actual gameplay, it seems to be more "Offense-friendly" than seasons past. Recievers and halfbacks drop fewer passes than last year (thankful for this), the kicking meter is slower on All-American than last year, and it is much easier to bust big gains on the ground with a few well-placed jukes. Another thing that may contribute to this is the fact that the defensive controls have been unfairly altered from last year (player change and sprint on defense have been switched, which results in confusion and sometimes frustration). There is this new feature in the game called Impact Player and at random times, Impact players will be "In The Zone". Besides this, no other new features in the gameplay.
  
  For it's flagship Dynasty mode, It is pretty much the same Dynasty mode as last year with a tune-up to make it better for the current year. Several things new to the mode include an Athlon Sports preview of the upcoming season (nothing new inside, though), pipeline states to have an easier time recruiting (you need at least 5 players on your team in a state to have it considered as a "pipeline" state), and a key new feature called In-Season recruiting, which allows you to recruit hot prospects in-season, as the title suggests.
  
  The graphics have been relatively unchanged from last year, except for the fact that the heads have been pretty much "inflated" to a weird level. The collision detection bugs after the play seem to be gone, as I have seen none as of yet.
  
  The Create-A-School, player, sign, etc. options remain unchanged from last year.
  
  At the beginning of the game, NCAA takes a page from ESPN NFL 2K5 and has 3D renditions of Brad Nessler, Lee Corso, and Kirk Herbstreit. Unfortunately, these previews get repetitive really quick. Here's the basic skeleton of these intros: Brad introduces the broadcasting game, he adresses the weather, the home team comes out, the away team comes out, Brad makes his prediction, Kirk makes his prediction and his key player to watch for, Lee makes his prediction with some helmet or mascot head of the team he is favoring. I feel ashamed the way that they changed Lee from a person who made a decision based on the analysis of the game to a person who just puts on something and says "I'm favoring Team A!" If it was a way to try and make the situation of broadcasting the game looser and more relaxed, then it failed.
  
  For the music, I am disappointed with this as well. From EA's view, it seems that all college football fans want to listen to is Punk Rock with a splash of Ska and Old-School Rap (One song each). As for the bands they chose, they have a nice blend of new and old tunes for you to listen to (the better songs are from De La Soul, The Pixies, and The Clash). And if you get sick of the EA Trax, here's a tip to all of the unknowing reviewers out there: THEY DO HAVE MARCHING BANDS IN THE GAME! If you want bands on the main menu, go to MY NCAA, Audio, and then change menu music from EA Trax to Bands. Personally, I like the fact that EA put new music in the game instead of listening to the bands which were fun in the beginning but got irritating later on in the gaming experience. The only thing I don't like is that it does not support custom soundtracks (Bummer. I would've liked a mix of EA Trax, my music burned onto the XBox, and marching bands).
  
  In final, this is game that is pretty much a must own for any colege football fan out there. It simply is if you liked NCAA 2005, you will be very pleased with the new rendition of NCAA.
  
  

• Unbelievable....

  
  By A33JKDELFZIK0F on 2005-07-12
  They did it again! I got my copy last night at midnight, and put in 5 hours on this beauty. The folks at EA have completely overhauled the graphics of the game, and it looks amazing. Playing as my beloved buckeyes, The Shoe has never looked better in a game, not even close. Add the new stadium graphics to the new player graphics, the endless amount of tackle animations, improved reciever and db play (Ted Ginn Jr. routinely slows up and jumps over a smaller DB to make a play downfield, exactly how it looks in real life) and the improved speed and flow, and this is the best new football game out in years. The Race for the Heisman mode is new as well, and gives a different perspective on playing the game (there is a picture of your girlfriend on your tackboard, the better you play, the better looking she is). Thanks EA Sports for stealing the next few months of my life. My girlfriend is going to have words with you.
  
  
• How to Play This Game
  By ACZHWB40SZ1OY on 2005-07-16
  Here is in my opinion the best way to play this game on the Xbox.
  
  WHAT'S RIGHT ABOUT THIS GAME
  
  1. Set it to Dynasty. Heisman mode is kind of a waste -- it's funner to control a coaches career.
  
  2. Set it to Heisman difficulty level. DO NOT mess with the AI sliders.
  
  3. Set it to EAsy Play. Your runingback will find the holes and your receivers have indicators to tell you which one is open. You will not always be successful, however. It isn't that EAsy.
  
  4. Turn the unsportsman like conduct down to about 30% in the penalty section. You can still get nailed for it, but when you suspect your player is doing something stupid pause the game and unpause it -- no penalty.
  
  5. Use the Auto-Name function in the roster section. No more ROLB #54 -- they will all have names now except for the really small schools like Maine Black Bears (example only -- you may find differently). Brad Nessler will actually pronounce the names.
  
  6. In the contoller section you can switch to the 2005 control layout. There's too much whining about the controls. If you want last year's, you can have it.
  
  WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS GAME
  
  1. There's still too many long bombs.
  
  2. It's too easy to block punts. All you have to do is take one of the men on the far right and scooch him over to the rest of the lineman, but yet not right next to them so he can get around the offensive line. Then since the defense won't jump offsides you can already have him running in place with your finger near the B button. When the ball is snapped hit that B button and nail that punter.
  
  3. The soundtrack stinks. I mean really stinks. Go to the audio section and change the music to "bands".
  
  That's about it.
  
  
• Easy? Yes. Groundbreaking? Hardly.
  By A2JZ2MVZA172D3 on 2006-01-16
  Sure, this game is still fun to play; but on the other hand, we've all played this game last year when it was called "NCAA Football 2005." The only REAL difference between 2005 and 2006 is that the latest title is 100x's easier than 2005.
  
  On someone's recommendation, I started out playing on All-American level. The Game Difficulties are Junior Varsity, Varsity, All-American and Heisman in case you were wondering. All-American is STILL TOO EASY by the way.
  
  In my first game as the Seminoles, I beat Miami 72-3. In my next game of the season, I beat the Citadel 114-6. Then for my 3rd game, I beat Boston College 70-13. So, I'm basing my review after 3 games under Dynasty Mode.
  
  I just want to say that "Race for the Heisman" is very over-rated. I don't want to build & create my own player (like an RPG). All I want to do is take the Seminoles to the BCS. If I wanted to play an RPG, I'd go play Final Fantasy. And it's pretty darn annoying that the game AUTOMATICALLY puts you in "Race for the Heisman" Mode when you first load the game into your XBox. 'Dynasty' and 'Play Now' are the only modes I need, thank you.
  
  Graphically, the game is mostly superior to 2005. As far as actual gameplay goes, the movement does indeed look more natural. I do have to ask this question though: did the game designers COMPLETELY NEGLECT the Coin Toss scene? Did no one realize that the players' heads were almost bigger than their torsos?
  
  What else?
  - The commentary in the game is still exactly the same as 2005.
  - The passing game is way too easy (at least against computer).
  - You now have a GREAT chance of running the ball back for a touchdown during kick-offs and punts.
  - Despite having the 'Exclusive NCAA License' on this game, EA is still too lazy to give us the names of the players. All of your favorite players are known only by the numbers on their jerseys.
  - This game is $50. Why is EA's Madden Football only $40?
  - This game is $50, and ultimately, it's still the same game as 2005 (but with a dumbed down AI opponent).
  - The Seminole Tomahawk chant is still off tune. And the Gators still have more unique chants than the Noles. Why can the Gators say "It's Great to be a Florida Gator?" The only thing the Noles get are the Victory song and the Tomahawk chant. Doesn't EA realize that fans of the SEC and the ACC actually HATE Gator fans? If EA's gonna charge us $50 for the same game, they can at least market it for the mainstream of college fans.
  
  If you're a poor college student, don't waste your money on this if you already have "NCAA Football 2005." That's money you can be spending on food/dating.
  
  EA, you should be ashamed of yourselves for monopolizing the NCAAF license and jacking the price up. I'm glad your family is eating well tonight while the rest of the college folks have to eat bread & ramen for a week because they squandered their small allowance on your recycled game. Good job. And since you probably still have some extra money to spare, you should definitely invest in some morals.
  
  
• More "god-mode" than the last title
  By A51KZKIGU4RZ8 on 2005-07-22
  It seems that the only way that EA can increase the difficulty in their sports game is to add a "god-mode" factor. Like earlier games, when a player makes a spectacular call or even gets ahead by a few points the game goes into this mode. The closing speed of tacklers increases and the amount of broken tackled by the computer team on offence adds exponentially. This game is no exception and even worse on some aspects. Because of the new impact players, the effect is doubled on certain players.
  
  At the easiest modes, the game becomes boring because of blowouts. At higher difficulties the "god-mode" factor is the only thing that creates a difference.
  
  The game offers 1-AA and 1-A teams, but doesn't give you the option to play these teams except in "mascot games". Even though the game focuses on the Heisman race, it would be nice to get to play a team for a season from a smaller school.
  
  The Heisman race itself is a joke. Even with a losing team, my freshman player took the Heisman with little effort, making one wonder why play another three years with him.
  
  In my opinion EA fails to deliver a game that distinguishes itself from previous titles in regards to the gameplay. The added features are not enough to keep the attention of most players.
  
  
• WAY better then last year...
  By A1T5N5S0MKQ0PY on 2005-07-13
  I got my game at midnight the first night it came out and have been playing it for about 6 hours now, going into some of the different game modes and extra stuff they have for this year. I LOVE the heisman mode, it's really cool how you can take someone through their four years in college and add more attributes to your player and see how close they are to the heisman, and hopefully win it. The graphics are a lot better then last year, and the gameplay is pretty much the same...except there aren't as many dropped passes, which is a good thing. The presentation is okay, I'm defiantly going to be missing the 2K series in football this year. I haven't been online yet, because I dont have xbox live, but from what I have heard its really good. I would defiantly suggest getting this if you're a football fan. It's an awesome game!
  
  
• Very good football game
  By on 2005-07-15
  Im not much of a fan of college football, infact I dont like college football at all. However I was hungry for a different kind of football game since Ive have been playing Madden 2005 for the past few months.
  
  Anyways though, NCAA Football 06 is a great football none the less. I definately like the new impact players. Its cool how when you make a good play with an impact player, the camera goes into "impact" mode, and slows everything down and does some fancy camera zoom in action stuff. Also a cool feature is that they added in the "Hit" stick from Madden, although its not as powerful. In Madden, using the "Hit" stick correctly can result in some very sick looking tackles. In NCAA 06 though, the "Hit" stick tackles just arent as good, they look more like regular tackles.
  
  Even though this game uses the Madden engine, the graphics have definately been beefed up. The sound is good, but I wish there was an option where you can select what kind of stadium music you could have because listening to the dorky college band music after I make my touchdown is just too corny.
  
  One thing Im definately liking about this game is the huge selection of teams. Theres gotta be over 100 teams in this game, its crazy!
  
  Overall great football game that should be able to hold me until Madden 06 comes out.
  
  
• Better then last year, thank goodness
  By A281Z3I2DYWQC9 on 2005-07-26
  In the 2005 version of this game, the catching of the receivers was pretty bad. This year isn't a great improvment but, they catch alot more balls then the previous year. I still have guys that are wide open runing a 5 and in across the middle and I lob it to them so I dont hurt their little hands and they still drop the ball 40% of the time. You can really rack up passing yards in this game though. Just keep throwing the deep ball and the reciever will catch it more often then not. To me that is not fun unless I'm losing.
  
  Now, on to other things. The race for the heisman has been covered in other reviews so I wont go into it, except that I dont care to play it.
  
  Dynasty Mode is great, the only major addition is the in-season recruiting. That is actually pretty fun. You can invite them to a game and depending on how you do when they are there determines if they want to play for you or not. You determine how strong you want to recruit them, you get 100%, and you divide that up into how many recruits you have. The better players get more of a percentage for stronger recruiting.
  
  Some of the gamplay changes are being able to flip the running back route when you are under center. Just hit Y and then push left or right. It doesnt move you formation just the running backs route. The safties and CB's can be adjusted, hit Y and push down to move in the CB's and hit Y again and down and the safeties move in. That is different than last year when they all moved in. Also if you hit Y and push left or right, the safeties will zone left or right.
  
  There is a new "In the Zone" icon under select players. It's not bad, I just find it hard to believe that when I played against Navy and was beating them 49-7, the Navy quarterback was in the Zone for a couple of plays late in the 4th quarter. But thats minor. When your in the Zone, the white icon on your player pulsates. The matchup stick is still there and its a good tool to use. There was one review that said the Dynasty Mode didn't have Create a Player. It does, just not until after your first season.
  
  The only way to play this game is on Heisman and adjust the sliders so you dont get blown out every game. Make it competetive but not to easy and also you need to have the real rosters. The rosters makes the whole game.
  
  
• Your Choice...
  By A1YYN07O1K8Q9W on 2005-08-11
  Three years ago if I would of said that the NCAA Football dynasty was better then the Madden games, I would be hated. Now, it sounds realistic. NCAA used to the the "other" EA football game, but in 2005, that all changed. Why...
  
  -If you are a college football fan, you must own this game. If you are an avid football fan, you should choose this game over Madden.
  -The gameplay is better then ever. Unlike last year where the receivers dropped every pass, you could actually depend on your passing game to win, which is shocking to NCAA fans. Rushing is how it always has been, brilliant.
  -The good old Dynasty Mode returns, along with rivalry games, mascot games and new spring drills. The college classics situations have been removed this year.
  -New add-ons include in-season recruiting and an all new mode. The Race for the Heisman. You create a college stud and go to summer camps. Depend on how you do in your respective position drill, you could either be selected to go to USC or Florida International. Since you become a starter automatically, you can lead your team to victory, win the Heisman and get drafted. Also, you can auto-name every player, so your halfback's name wont be HB#6.
  
  All in all, the NCAA games continue every year to be the best of the best when it comes to football games. Madden is not a bad game, but the college tradition is why we all love college football, and with the new modes and all the bugs fixed (unlike Madden), NCAA again comes out on top in 2005!
  
  
• A must have football game!!!
  By A2KFWP9V75ZVA8 on 2005-11-14
  I'm 36 years old and I have played many football video games on many different consoles over the years and I must say that this game stands out above all of the rest!
  
  There are a "zillion" college teams to choose from! The stadiums are beautifully detailed! The players, coaches, and referee models, and their animations, are superb! When playing in a stadium with a natural grass surface your players get grass and mud stains on their uniforms! A friend of mine at my workplace that has had this game longer than I have says that occasionally a player's helmet will fly off after a big hit! I have yet to see it happen but I'm looking forward to it! The crowds look and sound truly alive! The fans celebrate and hold up signs! The cheerleaders and even the teams' mascot look fantastically detailed and their celebrations are exciting!
  
  The ESPN College Gameday crew, Brad Nessler, Lee Corso, and Kirk Herbstreit provide interesting and funny in game commentary with some but not much repetitiveness! It's pretty cool when Corso makes his winning pick in the Gameday booth before the game he will be wearing either his picks' mascot head or the teams football helmet as he's speaking!
  
  Overall the gameplay is great and the learning curve is fairly easy especially if you're familiar with the Madden series! On NCAA 2006 you can adjust your game settings, etc. any way you like and reset them to the default with the touch of a button!
  
  I'm not much into all of the different options that many sports games have such as creating teams, players, playbooks, making coaching decisions and such (although you can do all of that on this game); I play solely for the visual and atmospheric stimulation which this game in particular provides! In my opinion NCAA Football 2006 blows other football titles out of the water as it is the TOTAL PACKAGE!
  
  Football fans, GET THIS GAME!!! You will feel like you are involved in an actual college football game complete with all of the emotion and pageantry! You will become addicted to it and you will want to play it over and over again!
  
  
• A great Arcade Game!!
  By A2X8KN82L07RSK on 2005-12-05
  Boy, the folks at EA really outdone themselves this time. Just when I thought 2003 was the greatest NCAA ARCADE game ever EA releases NCAA 2006. This blows 2003 out the water. I never knew it could be sooo much fun having the CPU complete 80 Yard TD pass every single time. Nor did I know that the bomb is the most acurate pass in the game. Who needs realism in a football sim when you can just bomb the ball down field and have it be on target every single time. This game punishes you for trying to play like a real football game, so why not just bomb it every time. If your receiver drops a wide open 5 yard pass, that just means he wants you to throw it 60 yards down the field and he'll have a much better chance of catching it.
  
  Where else can you find a game where QB's constantly break tackles, spin on one foot and throw a perfect spiral 40 yards down the field right on target? ITS IN THE GAME!! WOW!!
  
  I love how RB's can break 7 tackles on there way to a 81 yard TD run.
  
  Oh yeah those safeties are beasts. They apparantly have a very strong gravitational pull which causes your TE and OL to completely ignore the D-Linemen and linebackers and run to block the safeties who are not even in the play. Every safety should be in the NFL if they are able to do that. WOW!
  
  Oh and don't forget about the kickers. Only in an arcade game can a mid 70's rated kickers can drill 50+ yard FGs against the wind with 10 yards to spare every single time.
  
  And if you don't believe that this is a great Arcade game, check out the scoring of my latest game!! Sexton threw 6 picks, yet still had the composure to throw 6 TD passes and for nearly 500 yards on only 13 passes. WOW, IT REALLY IS IN THE GAME!!!!
  
  [...]
  
  
• great game if you like BS plays and inconsistency
  By A2HJDYQE2Q7X3P on 2006-01-03
  I really tried to like this game, being that EA chickened out and bought their way out of competition.
  
  The graphics and sound are great in this game, but its ruined by EA's cheating AI. I have never seen a game cheat this much in my life. No matter what play you call the defense always knows what you are calling, even if you think you have them beat on a play, your receiver will purposely drop a wide open pass or better yet the defender turns on his nitrous oxide that was installed in his uniform and cover half the field in 2 seconds to deflect a pass. If you throw a high pass, not to worry the lineman has installed jet packs which allows them to jump 10 feet in the air and deflect or pick off your pass. If the CPU wants you to lose you will lose no matter what you do.
  
  If you QB is going back for a pass and a lineman is 3 feet away from you, even if you press the passing button, your QB will just stand there so he can take a sack. This game is total BS, there is no way to get off passes in heavy pressure becuase the game forces you into a tackle animation.
  
  When you are playing defense, you are better off putting down your controller and clipping your nails or flossing your teeth while the CPU pulls of BS miracle plays on every single down. Remember how I said your receivers will purposely drop wide open passes? Not the CPU receivers, the CPU receivers, regardless of their rating can catch passes in double and triple coverage every time. if they don't catch it, the ball just gets tipped over and over again until he can catch it. Think you stopped a 3rd down conversion? Think again, you will get flagged for pass interference or a face mask penatly. And remember about your QB being forced into a tackle animation? Not the CPU, the CPU can get of 60 yard spirals while he's being hit!
  
  What about the inconsistency you ask? Well let me explain. How is it that one game you can be totally on, but the next game, you can't even complete ONE pass! I'll tell you why. The CPU wants you to lose, so you will drop every pass, fumble every run and get called for every penalty in the book. I was playing a game, and managed to run back a punt and KR for a TD, before my offense even touched the field. Then all of a sudden the CPU turned on its God Mode and every thing went right for the CPU. BS lobs, BS runs and BS calls. I did not complete ONE SINGLE pass in the entire first half. Its not because the CPU was playing good defense, its because my receivers dropped every ball that was thrown to them, wide open or not. I ended up only completing one pass in the entire game, 1 for 20 I think. At this point, I knew I had no chance of winning, so I just started punting the ball on first down to avoid any more frustration. My so called impact RB only got 2 yards on 20 rushes, and my so called impact CB gave up 3 TD passes to a below average receiver. What is the point of playing if you are not even given a chance to win?
  
  Yes you can win games as I have, but it is so inconsistent. If the CPU wants you to lose you will lose, nothing you can do about it.
  
  I see why EA bought the license, after putting out crap like this, they were sure to lose a lot of customers to a game that knows how to develop better AI, instead of this cheating crap. I am taking this game to the store for store credit and I am done with EA for good. EA sucks and so does this game!
  
  
• Excellent
  By ACTMGD4E698W on 2005-07-14
  
  
  PRO'S:
  
  The "race for the heisman mode" is probbally one of the best features current sports games have to offer.
  
  Enhanced digital graphics and an interesting pre-game show.
  During the game they have slow motion replays of your best performances.
  
  In-season recruiting: scout out players whom you think will have a impact on your team.
  
  Very easy to remeber controls that have been slightly altered from 2005. Such as you now can just press the "A" button to rush with the QB. They have converted over to madden setting for kicking and they now have a "hit stick" for better tackling.
  
  CON'S
  
  The "switch player" button is now B instead of A. and defensive turbo is now A instead of B. Just a minor detial that will at first confuse you if you are a former player, but you will catch on quickly.
  over all one of the best sports games behind ESPN NFL 2k5.
  
  
  
  
• Save your money
  By A2QSG05QLS3YL4 on 2005-07-19
  This game is absolutely the same as the one they came out with last year. They added the Heisman race - which isn't bad - but all in all it's the same game with the same flaws. The receivers still drop too many passes, it's difficult to play pass defense and the graphics just aren't as good as some other games.
  
  
• 2004 is still the best
  By A3T2HMC7DTRCYP on 2005-07-19
  I became a huge fan of the NCAA series with the 2003 edition, and absolutely fell in love with NCAA 2004, a game I never tired of for even a second while playing more than 20 dynasty seasons. NCAA 2005 was a tremendous step back in my opinion (I returned it within 3 hours of renting it), but I was eager to give 2006 a shot when it came out last week.
  
  The first thing I noticed that was wrong is that the college fight song music is gone from the main menus (I didnt play 2005 enough to remember if that was the case last year also), replaced with non-descript tracks like every other EA Sports game. So basically half of what makes the NCAA series distinguishable from Madden or other games is already gone.
  
  As for the new features, Race For the Heisman is something that will only appeal to those who favor arcade-style play, since all you'll basically do is feed your Heisman player the ball over and over in order to pad stats. For those who enjoy more of a simulation play, like myself, you'll probably never bother with it. The impact player feature is very good in my opinion -- it's actually pretty exciting to see when one of your key players is poised to make a huge play, and even more exciting when you pull it off. In Dynasty mode, the season-long recruiting is a decent addition, but it doesn't really add much to the experience.
  
  Overall though, I feel like EA has over-"tweaked" the gameplay, and it has actually regressed since 2004. The players are smaller, holes and gaps are smaller and harder to find, the uniforms are actually less polished than they were before, and the playbook is clunkier. The interface seems slower than in the past, from what I can tell. Even the pre-game "studio" analysis with Corso, Nessler and Herbstreit is disappointing. And the fact that EA switched two main buttons on defense is mind-boggling.
  
  I threw in 2004 just to refresh my memory, and I quickly realized that it's still tops in my book in just about every aspect of the game. I'm sure many will disagree -- and I'm sure there were quirks and glitches in the older games that have since been fixed -- but all I can say is that I tired of 2006 after about 5 games, and nearly two years since 2004 came out, I haven't given up on it a single time.
  
  
• Good Game
  By A2OE0RA95MG1Y9 on 2005-07-23
  On the whole this is a very good game. The added feature of being able to create your self as a high school player and going to college with a scholarship or as a walk-on is very fun. I would have to rate this as the best sports game ever overall. However ESPN Football 2k5 had better gameplay. Don't bother with reading fan mail either, it's very repititive and is the same for whatever position you play.
  
  
• Worst in the series!
  By A30MJYKHT750UV on 2005-07-24
  First off, I'm a big fan of the NCAA Footbabll series. I've been playing it since 1997 or 1998 (can't remember), anyway, since its Playstation 1 days. This is easily the worst incarnation of the game ever. First off, the graphics are about as good as or slightly better than the first PS2 version, needless say, the graphics are much worse than the 2005 xbox version, and kind of a slap in the face for anyone who plays xbox. Secondly, the gameplay has changed significantly, making much harder for those who been playing the series on xbox for the past 3 years. Now on defense you have to press B to change players, then go all the way over to x to tackle, making you lose about a half second, not to mention the 5 seconds you've been pressing A, because thats what the old button configuration was. Juke, has been changed too, no longer the easy trigger, you now have to use the right stick to juke, causing you to lose another half second when you have to switch from holding A down for speed burst. It seems they've changed everything so that it will be more like the ps2 version, but for people who hate ps2, this makes the game really really suck. Please, don't buy this game. Show EA that we won't put up with this crap, and maybe next year they'll come out with a good version.
  
  
• MUCH better than last year
  By A37NYKZBDKOLL6 on 2005-07-26
  I have written reviews since 2002 for this game, and have played all the way back to Bill Walsh college football when Kirk Herbstreit was a player in the game, not the analyst. So let's say this game is not perfect, specifically the race for the heisman mode. You create someone, play the entire season and then realize you cannot control the other dynasty aspects, so that is weak. So then I switched to dynasty mode, no create a player, which is fine. I downloaded the rosters with my action replay which makes the game a lot more fun. The gameplay is a little different from last year, specifically on Defense, I am still getting used to it. The buttons have been changed a bot, but you can go into controller settings and change them back. On offense the passing is vastly improved, last year you had so many dropped passes that it was unplayable. This year it may almost be too easy to pass deep. Double covered you have to actually take over the DB even in double coverage to deflect the pass.
  
  Graphics were supposedly complately over hauled. I am playing on plasma tv with component cables and the game doesn't look any better than last year, if anything it looks worse. The screens in the studio are embarassingly bad. It reminds me of old nintendo games with the analysts gums just flapping, no where near synchronized. The dynasty mode is amazing as always but nothing new besides in season recruting which is knd of cool. All in all the game is not ground breaking, but it is acceptable.
  
  
• not totally revolutionary
  By A12CSWSHTAHESX on 2005-08-07
  First thing, if you are even the slightest bit of a college football fan than you will like this game. It is always great to turn on the xbox after an embarassing loss on a saturday to brighten your day by playing on your teams dynasty where you have won 50 straight games.
  
  For those people who aren't college football fans and are just looking for an entertaining football game this is also the game for you. Enough new improvements have been made with 2005 to keep you busy for a long time. The most prominent improvement is the all new game mode of Race for the Heisman. You create your own player and start off in summer camp as a blue chip recruit and you play all the way through your senior year (or junior if you plan on leaving early for madden). This game mode will keep you busy for quite a while especially when you try to have your offensive lineman win the heisman.
  
  Other new features include new impact players along with a impact camera. When an impact player makes an impact move the game slows down and zooms in to show the special move (i.e. a running back stiff arming a defender to the ground). also there are 4 new 'spring drills' that you can participate in. Oklahoma, option attack, rushing attack, and pass skeleton provide a fun change of pace from regular game play. The one thing I disliked about this game was the constant changing of controls year after year. After being so used to the controls of 2005 it is very difficult to get use to the controls in 2006. Thankfully though you can set the controls from default back to 2005. Overall a very very solid football game. There are many changes since the last installment but overall the game has the same vibe as the previous ones that keeps you coming back for more year after year.
  
  
• Dont Buy If You Like A Passing Style of Play
  By ASK3WF3Q1XBFC on 2005-08-14
  The graphics are good, so is the dynasty mode, the Heisman mode is boring but the gameplay is absolutly frustrating, espicially if you like pass plays. Your Qb will never have a high pass completion percentage, ever. If you like the option or running plays, this is your game, but the passing is horrendous. And on defense, you will never stop the long bomb or a team that runs the option everytime. I have loved the past 3 NCAA, but this one sucks.
  
  
• Better than Madden.......
  By A9TNVK8EWTOI6 on 2005-12-05
  I just got this game last night and I am amazed. EA Sports really delivered with this one. The Race for the Heisman mode is simply amazing. All the problems and slowness of the game from last year have picked up and the presentation is a lot more appealing. The game is probably the best football game i have ever played. Definately a must have for any Football Fan.
  
  
• Lobs gallore, 80YD TD passes everytime. BORING.
  By AUA2D2MEXTXST on 2006-01-06
  I can't believe how many people are saying how "realistic" this game is. That can not be further from the truth. All the CPU does is lob the ball down field on 3rd and long plays and the receiver catches it 80% of the time regardless of coverage. What fun is that? This in itself is highly unrealistic. Don't even get me started on the other things this game does. NCAA 2006 is nothing but an arcade game, realism is thrown out the window in this one. EA does not know the meaning of AI. The only difference between the levels is the amount of cheating the CPU does.
  
  Don't waste your money, and don't make EA any more richer, its obvious they just throw these games together. They just take our money and laugh all the way to the bank.
  
  
• Fantastic!
  By A3GQYKCNSTX0NK on 2005-07-15
  I had abandoned the NCAA franchise for the past three years. However, I decided to give 2006 a chance, and am glad I did. This game is the total package.
  
  
• WHO IS IN CHARGE OF MAKING THIS GAME BETTER?
  By A2RV5CJT179MN2 on 2005-07-20
  I WAS EXCITED ABOUT THIS GAME. I WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED IN IT THOUGH WHEN I PLAYED. I DON'T LIKE IT AT ALL. I DIDN'T THINK THEY COULD MAKE IT FROM GOOD(2004) TO BETTER(2005) AND THEN STINKS(2006), BUT THEY MANAGED IT SOMEHOW. THE GRAPHICS AREN'T AS GOOD, THE MUSIC STINKS, AND THE FEEL FOR REAL FOOTBALL IS GONE. IT IS LIKE AN ARCADE GAME. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I WANT MY FOOTBALL GAME TO BE AS REAL AS POSSIBLE. THIS JUST GOT MORE FAKE. RENT IT BEFORE YOU BUY IT TO SEE WHAT I MEAN. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY.
  
  
• NCAA Football 06 Wins The Heisman!
  By A3D1ZXLBGPWQH9 on 2005-07-20
  This is the best NCAA Football game ever. Passing is easier and running is not like in 05 where you couldn't run away from the defense. This is too the guy who said this game is not realistic: You say NCAA Football 2005 is realistic? I'm sorry but 9-31 passing is not realistic it's stupid. Also a WR dropping 10 passes in one game is not realistic. All that is gone in 2006 I don't know what kind of football you're watch but I always see an impact player on every team. That's whats so cool about this game you have impact players who can make a big play for you when you really need it. Also the Computer is not a push over anymore they play real plays and don't just do stupid QB draws. The Heisman mode is fun but needs a little more work they should have made it where you could only be your player on Heisman mode. They should also have made you earn your start. Season mode is great I hate the simulation because it has Tennessee beating Florida by 21 in Gainesville and I don't think that's going to happen. But other then that it's a great game.
  
  
• Amazing Football Game, Better than Madden!!
  By A17Z1F44Q9HEDI on 2005-08-03
  NCAA 06 College Football is a very addicting and incredibly fun game to play. The game controls are easy to pick up (very close to the layout for the Madden series) and the gameplay is stellar. The new "Race for THe Heisman" mode is really cool. I am currently in my third year as a starting quarterback and have now become an impact player. One thing I have noticed is that the game is somewhat on the easy side even with sliders adjusted. I just completed a game where I beat the computer 210 to 21! I was able to intercept a number of passes and run down the field for a touch down. Though the graphics are acceptable, I wish the developers would improve the quality of them much like in Sega Sports ESPN NFL 2k5 football. There are plenty of different play modes in the game to keep you busy for a while. The reason that I like the NCAA football games better than Madden ( and I do like Madden, don't get me wrong) is that in college football you have option plays like the "triple Option" that you will not find in the Madden series. If you have never experienced running a succesful "Triple Option" then you have not lived! The in game commentary is really funny. Some of the wise cracks and jokes that the commentaters mentioned had me laughing out loud. There is no noticable slow down in the game that I have experienced. I would loved to have seen a more in depth manual for the game. As it stands the manual is just over 15 pages and for such a deep game this is simply unacceptable.
  
  
• Now everyone has a reason to go to college
  By A31DRH7K7DFBRG on 2005-08-17
  NCAA Football 2006 captures the college atmosphere extremely well. The game is loads of fun. The load times are decent, the Dynasty mode adds tremendous replay value, the Quest for the Heisman is a pseudo-ripoff of NFL 2K series Crib feature. I still love this game. I even like the music. It doesn't bother me that Lee Corso's and Kirk Herbstreit's commentary is repetitive. The only thing I take issue with is every year EA brags about the strength of the AI and yet you can run the option successfully hundreds of times while the computer controlled team struggles to find a defense capable of stopping you. Maybe that is why some people prefer to play online opponents. Let me wrap up. This a great game. The graphics are impressive and EA did a wonderful job here. Buy it for your son, buy it for your daughter, or buy for yourself. You will love it. I wish I could provide a more helpful review. Head on over to [...]and read the wonderful review they gave this game. That will be more helpful than anything I can contribute.
  
  

• NCAA Football 2006 (Prima Official Game Guide)
• The Official Xbox Magazine [1-year]
• Electronic Gaming Monthly
• Play

• Madden NFL 2006
• NCAA Football 2007
• MVP 06: NCAA Baseball
• Madden NFL 07
• NBA Live 2006