NCAA Football 06 (Sony PlayStation 2, 2005)

A brief history of my PS2 football gaming experience:

I bought Madden 2001 for PS2 when it first came out and continued to buy Madden each year since. I never bought another football game title until ESPN NFL 2K5. (It was released two weeks prior to Madden NFL 2005 and was a lot more affordable.) It was by far the best LOOKING football game I had ever played and offered way more of a variety of throwback uniforms but I thought the gameplay in Madden was far superior.

Then came NCAA Football 06.

I don't even follow college football but I decided to give this game a try simply because I enjoy playing football on PS2 so much and I thought it might be a nice change of pace from playing Madden all of the time. They are both made by EA Sports so I expected the two games to be almost identical with the exception of one being college and the other being professional football of course.
Wow. It didn't take me long to come to the conclusion that this was without a doubt the best football game ever. I don't exactly know how to explain why I feel that way but all I know is that if you like to play football games and you haven't played NCAA Football 06 before, what are you waiting for? If you aren't convinced after the first half (or maybe even the first drive) of your first time playing it that this is the best football game out there then you may need someone to check your pulse because you just might be dead.
I still enjoy Madden but I have to say that I was even more convinced that NCAA was the better game after I completed my first four year college career and then popped in Madden 06 afterwards.

In "Race for the Heisman" mode, I like the idea of choosing what position you wish to play and then running some reps in a drill for that position and then seeing what offers you get depending on how well you did. I went with North Carolina my first go around then exported my player into the draft in Madden 06. After a rollercoaster career in Madden, I'm back in school and this time I'm at Tennessee. Coincedentally, I finished my career in Madden as a Tennessee Titan. (I'm a Maryland guy by the way who likes the Steelers).

Anyway, I can't emphasize enough how great this game is. You'll just have to check it out for yourself and I'm confident you'll agree.

This is the latest addition to the long line of NCAA titles by EA Sports. This series has outlasted the other lines and seems to stay strong by adding new features each season. The Heisman section is a fun way to try to win the trophy and gives the game more depth than the original Dynasty mode. I have had fun trying to win the trophy with different teams (you can choose any position for your player). The other addition this season is the "Zone" players that are highlighted by white circles under the player. These players are the best ones on your team and make the most plays- usually. They also have some great replays of the "zone" players when they make a good play. All in all this is another winner for EA Sports- I have been a fan of the series since I bought my first NCAA in the 1996 season with Danny Wuerful on the cover.

This game is fun!! The added Heisman trophy race is great. NCAA is fast paced and fun college football; the game play alone is unbelievable.

The new features are unbelievable and make the game more exciting. The impact players feature is a great feature that allows you to take advantage of your star players. The race for the Heisman is new and innovative. It gives you the ability to rise up as one of the stars of college football from a mere high school football player. After you are done with the race, you can declare yourself eligible for the draft for Madden's NFL Superstar, or you can stay on as a coach with your team.

There is just something about the college atmosphere that gives this game an incredible feel to it. Creating and sustaining a college has gotten even better with this game. As the coach of your team you are responsible for keeping your players in check, and recruiting for the upcoming seasons during and after the season.

In the end this is one football game that you shouldn't miss out on. This game will have you playing for hours with your favorite college team. This is definitely one game you should buy if you have even the slightest desire for it.

This is my favorite football game that, like Madden, doesn’t really go through that many changes year to year. Slight tweak here and there is about it. Sometimes that’s good, sometimes that’s bad. Consumer shells out another $50 and everyone’s happy.

The one thing that puts this game over Madden, for me, is the recruiting mode. Perhaps it’s just me but NCAA’s recruiting beats Madden’s sometimes overbearing draft mode. It’s much easier to scout and recruit players than its big brother. It’s also realistic so don’t expect five star recruits to go to Northern Arizona if USC comes calling as well. This can make it challenging to build a team from the ground up unless you play every game and stack your schedule with college football heavyweights.

That said, the new Heisman mode is a treat and is a worthy addition to the game. Give it a try or two though I find it difficult unless I’m on a good team to do anything noteworthy.

Give it a shot; they’ll be another one along next year but unless you’ve played before, you’d be wise to experience a new version every so often to keep up to date.

The game is a very good game to play, I enjoy the recruting that you are able to do to help inprove your team year by year and also love the fact that you are able to take Draft classes and move them to your madden game. These is usuasal the reason I keep buying the game year after year. The other reason is the graphics get better year by year and they always seem to add something that makes the game better every year. The bad part about the game is sometimes it seems like it makes the computers running back impossible to tackle if you are playing a team that is ranked inside the top 25.