NCAA Football 2001
by EA Sports

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Product Summary

Video Game Reviews of NCAA Football 2001

Customer Review: Not an improvement over NCAA 2000.
Summary: 3 Stars

First I'll go over some of my initial impressions. The basic format is almost exactly like last year's. The opening FMV is short and a little disappointing, but that can be attributed to the large amount of memory FMV takes up. That's OK. I'll deal with that.

The game has a more computerized feel to it rather than traditional college football feel. The music is computerized and a little awkward in a football game. The best music in it is the music that is rehashed from last year's game. There is no new feel in this game at all. That was a little disapointing.

Next is the features, which are basically the same with a few little adjustments. Dynasty mode is still the most valuable aspect of the game, shooting up the replay value. Main changes in this area lie in recruiting, where now you can recruit Junior College transfers. Nothing really that special, except they are just a little better than most of the recruits. Some of the buttons were changes in recruiting which got me hung up a little since I played 2000 so much. No biggie.

One of the nicest new additions to the game was also in the Dynasty Mode area. There are now 2 polls to be ranked in (EA Media, EA Power polls), as well as the famous (infamous?) BCS poll. This was a great addition, mainly because it makes it more authentic. They seem to work OK, maybe not flawlessly, but it is close.

The gameplay in the game is almost exactly like last year, with only a few new animations in catching, and spin move. The players look the same. The running game was supposed to be a main concern this year, since it was too hard to run up the middle in 2000, and it is better this year. The speed burst is different, you can outrun the computer now, and vice versa, which makes it more real.

The biggest new feature in gameplay is Advanced Player Control, which allows you to control one player during an offensive play. QB, WR, RB, or OL can all be controlled by you, but you also have no control over any other players, so it takes getting used to. Sometimes the computer will not go exactly how you want it to, screwing up the play. Thankfully, this can be turned on or off during a game.

A momentum meter was added during the game too. Basically whichever team has the momentum, its abilities are enhanced. One of the problems with this seems to be when the computer does not have the momentum, it runs all passing plays, which is very irritating. Some games the computer will not run a single run play, which is the biggest drawback in the game. Thankfully, this can be turned off as well, but there still seems to be a tendency for the CPU to pass too much. Not good.

Custom options like creating a player and school are still in, and a new custom conference option is in 2001. Custom schools is a little deeper, giving you more options in designing the uniforms, and more logos. Seems to work pretty well, though it takes some time to configure all the colors, etc.

One of my biggest problems in the game is saving a dynasty. One dynasty now takes up all 15 blocks on a memory card, instead of just 14. This is a problem because you will not be able to save your user profile unless you have 2 memory cards. That is inconvenient, and takes a lot of time. You may just forget about a user profile.

Pros: Easy to understand like 2000, still the best college football graphics, great stadium graphics, better player control, more realistic player speed, a few more features in polls and recruiting for the better, works the same as 2000.

Cons: Basically the same game as 2000, no major improvements, the computer AI is very bad on offense, not a college football feel to the interface, bad music, some fight songs removed, will see a few bugs in the game, has frozen on me a few times, can't save player profile and dynasty.

NCAA 2001 doesn't improve a whole lot over NCAA 2000 except for new rosters and a few new licenses. APC needs a lot of practice to get used to, and playing vs. the new computer AI is frustrating. It should have been put out for PS2 also, like Madden. If you are looking for the best college game out, this is it, but just know it is basically no different than 2000.

Description of NCAA Football 2001

The third incarnation in the series, this game straddles the fence between a realistic simulation and a fast-paced action game. College football fans will have a blast as it allows them to play as any one of the 140 1-A or 1-AA college teams (with as many stadiums) on its way to reaching the coveted Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, or one of 17 others.

New this year is Advanced Player Control, or APC, giving players even more control (and subtleties) to the action. This includes controlling any one player (you choose who you'd like to control before the ball is snapped), finding open field and calling for the ball, and so forth. This gives the player more control on the field, but doesn't take away from the fun factor.

The game offers up a Practice, Exhibition, and Season modes, and the Dynasty mode has been beefed up to allow gamers to review and recruit players at the junior college and even high school level to enhance their rosters. The Situation mode is a collection of scenarios for you to battle through, such as coming back to win a game after a bad quarter or a lousy half. There's also a new mode, dubbed the Bowl Game Playoff mode, which is essentially a do-or-die, go-for-broke game for those who would rather work their way up the ladder, elimination style, toward the National Championship.

Though these additions may sound like a lot has been added to the game this year, after a few hundred snaps and a dozen or so games, it really feels like past NCAA games with a little more flair. If you enjoyed the previous versions in the series, then no doubt you'll like this one too. It's college pigskin done right, and there's nothing wrong with that! --Todd Mowatt

Pros:

• Advanced Player Control adds new subtleties to the action
• Bowl Game Playoff mode allows players to create elimination-style competitions for the National Championship

• Plays much like prior versions

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