Simulating acceptance into a college based on your performance at a scouting match, you'll be able to balance academics with game practice and social activities to become a top notch athlete. My favorite and the one I was most interested in was the Campus Legend mode.
A series of what the game calls 'spring drills', mini-games that help you practice your individual football skills are some of the first that caught my attention. After that, I could play around with a plethora of different gameplay options. Loading up the game, it asked me for my choice of favorite team, to theme the game for me. Especially when your biggest gameplay change-up in 07, a momentum meter that's supposed to give you more opportunities for making big plays, might as well not even exist-it's not like you can ever tell if it's working or not. But when you start cutting corners between the goalposts, thatfe when I have a problem. Can't institute the current-gen's off-field stuff in your first year on a new machine? OK, fine. Yet what bogg les my sporto mi nd is that the 360 version-which, remember, costs $10 extra-doesn't include all of the new gameplay features of the uglier NCAAs (see sidebar). And for those who require depth, you'll definitely dig the robust 60-year dynasty mode (complete with in-season recruiting) and the minigames (Option Dash-now with multipliers for moves like fake pitches-being my fave). So does this next-gen debut maintain the series' stellar winning tradition? "Notso fast, my friend." NCAA 07still plays really solid (you can actually block kicks now) and is the best looking NCAA game yet-from the players to the picture-perfect stadiums, NCAA Football is starting to outshine Johnny Ballgame's creation. Some say that football season starts with the release of a new Madden, but that's changed in recent years-the tremendous performance of EA's NCAA Football franchise has gotten people now thinking pigskin a month earlier.