First Impressions- NCAA Football 10

At 10:30 this morning I pulled up outside Blockbuster on my way to work. I was welcomed by two (very loud) fire trucks blocking the entrance. I wasn't sure what to do, but I knew I wanted to rent NCAA Football 10 for the Xbox 360 before work, or I would never find it before my game pass runs out this coming weekend. So, I pushed through the firemen (read: asked them if it was safe to go inside), and demanded that the nice girl let me rent NCAA Football 10 (read: asked if they had it in stock after staring at the other games and not finding it for ten mintues). She opened the box of shipment, and I became a very happy man. NCAA Football 10 had arrived, and it was all mine to play...after I got out of work, of course.

NCAA Football 09 was the greatest college football experience I had ever found. For the first time in the years I had been playing Madden and NCAA, NCAA trumped everything Madden had to offer. I played NCAA 09 religiously until Madden came out. Then, I played a couple games of Madden and came crawling back to NCAA because I missed the option plays, and the speed that NCAA offered. Campus Legend made my entire summer (going into and through fall, and most of the winter) a memorable one. My USF Bulls team (where I played starting QB for 3 seasons) kept getting shafted out of the National Title game (after 3 undefeated seasons, but our prestige kept us out), and after I won the Heisman Trophy twice, I decided not to risk a bad injury in my senior year, and head to the pros (aka: Madden 09). Well, I'm still a Buffalo Bill, and I have yet to finish my rookie season because Madden just doesn't have the spark, and the energy that NCAA Football 09 has.

Why in the hell did I tell you all of that, you ask? Well that's simple- because NCAA 09 was so good, and the fact that EA hasn't been able to sell me on the new features, I planned on skipping NCAA 10 and going straight for Madden 10. But, thanks to the game pass and my determination to fight flames and ridicule (from Blockbuster employees), I am able to play the game free of charge on release day! Now, let's get to the real reason you're here|

NCAA Football 10 (Xbox 360)|

First things first, this game looks even better than last years effort. The player models (though not necessarily accurate to the real life counterparts) are very detailed, and look unique. The fields and stadiums are gorgeous, and they even added a marching band to the pre-game. But, the graphics are quickly outshined by some of the new features in this years edition.

The big draw for NCAA 10 is the customization that TeamBuilder allows. TeamBuilder is an online feature (from your web browser on your computer) that lets you create fantasy teams, or other college teams that are not in the game and import them into NCAA Football 10. You can customize the team colors, upload or create logos, fully set your playbooks, and decide what type of team your new school will be. This can add a huge amount of replay value to the game for those that love customizing, and will appeal strongly to those that enjoy micromanaging their teams playbooks.

Another new feature which wasn't really talked about (at least I never heard of it) is a mode called Season Showdown. Season Showdown allows you to pick "your team" (you know, the college you graduated from, or simply the one you root for), and as you play games with said team you will either earn or lose points based on your performance (sportsmanship counts, so running up the score will lose points for your school). The cool thing is, your points are added to a pool of everyone else around the country who chose the same school, and the race is on to determine the #1 team in the country. You can earn points online, in Dynasty mode, and even in Family mode and Play Now modes, so every play counts.

My #1 feature from last year is back in, but it has a name change- Road To Glory is the new Campus Legend mode. A very cool addition to this is a video package that comes up every so often. If you allow ESPN to follow your career through the high school playoffs, and your eventual college days, it will automatically save the big highlights throughout the game, and you will be rewarded with a great video package narrated by Erin Andrews, with commentary on your performance from Kirk Herbstreit. It will even keep your stats once you start playing as a starter in college. This is really just a minor addition...but I absolutely love it. It reminds me of NFL 2K5's halftime video packages. Very well done on EA's part.

BUT, the biggest improvement in NCAA Football 10 has got to be the small gameplay enhancements. There are so many little things that have been improved on that it truly makes this game worth its $60 price tag. From bobbling catches, to improved AI blocking on offense, and from higher camera angles during pre-snap when you look at your play, to cleaner and crisper blocking, running, and tackling animations, and highly improved AI, EA has truly blown me out of the water with the steps forward they have taken with NCAA Football 10. Which, to be honest, is unfortunate, because my game pass runs out later this week, so I will be forced to buy this game.

First impressions are very important, and I can say with confidence that NCAA Football 10 has given me a wonderful first impression. This is not just NCAA Football 09 with TeamBuilder; this is NCAA Football 10, and EA makes sure you can not, and will not mistake the two. NCAA Football 10 is an excellent choice for any college football fan.

Go Mountaineers!

Thanks for reading.