NCAA Football 07

What’s the Story?

NCAA FOOTBALL 07 features solid video game football. Just don't expect this installment to be too different from 06 or 05 or 04... Football fans who prefer the be-true-to-your-school intensity of college games to the cool professionalism of the pros will find a lot to like in NCAA 07. There are scores of teams to choose from, and they play in decent approximations of their real stadiums.

The game balances on-the-field action and game strategy. Controls are complex but pretty clear and provide a lot of play-calling depth while also accommodating casual fans who don't care about the difference between a PA Rollout and a PA Strike.

Is It Any Good?

NCAA 07 now captures the quick momentum shifts that characterize college contests. Gameplay is quick and engaging, with just half a minute to decide player formations, plays, and any last-second changes before the snap. Pulling off big plays improves a team's chances of executing more big plays. Such shifts help struggling teams quickly get back in a game.

The game makes at least a pretense of presenting college athletes as students as well as gridiron warriors. In a game mode called Campus Legend -- a variation on the previous year's Race for the Heisman -- players create a freshman, pick a major, and manage his study habits and social calendar over four years against a backdrop of practice drills and Saturday game days. Most of the action will be familiar to players who have seen previous games in the series, but for die-hard fans or those new to the NCAA games, NCAA 07 is a surefire score.