Posted by Dan Watson?on 08.17.2012
Dan Watson takes a look at some of the best moments and features of the past twenty years in the NCAA Football history
Welcome back to the Average Gamer. It has been a crazy week and finally we are at the weekend.
I was out of town last weekend and have felt like for the past month I have been going and doing and not taking much time for myself. That changed a bit this week. I have been able to sit down and enjoy my evenings a bit as well as this upcoming weekend should be fairly relaxing.
In the gaming world, I have been playing Borderlands a ton. This game is pretty solid still and is still a great multiplayer experience. I am just working on the achievements now as I have gone through the story a total of five times now and it just isn't the same. I just have a few of the collectors' achievements as well as the arena achievements left. Feel free to join me, send invites to Dag821 on 360. I am also playing NCAA Football a bit more. The freezing has stopped so now I can play entire games and seasons without issues. This has led to some great gaming experiences.
Before we go any further with NCAA, let's go back to the unrelated video game top five chart. This week, top four movies I wish could be remade?
4. Goodfellas. This is one of my favorite movies of all time. The problem is it is so dated now, that I would love to at least see it get remastered and updated a bit.
3. Masters of the Universe. I loved He-Man growing up. This guy was awesome in my eyes. I had the toys, watched the cartoons, etc. The problem is the movie wasn't so good in my opinion. I'd love to see them re-make this movie and give skeletor a bigger role.
2. Mario Bros. This movie needs to be remade and made larger than life. I am sure you guys are going to destroy me in the comments section for this next comment but I have to say it. I would love to see a Mario Bros. movie done like the recent Batman series, dark but still true to the roots of the original character.
1. The Outsiders. This movie kickstarted a lot of careers or helped a bunch. The book was one of my favorites growing up and I still enjoy the movie. I would love to see this movie get redone and made even better than the previous.
NCAA Football
It is very hard to imagine that this series has been around for twenty years. Well part of the reason is technically it hasn't been twenty years. EA Sports created a game called Bill Walsh College Football back in 1992 and that started EA Sports on their adventure into more than just pro football. During the past twenty years we have seen a ton change though in this series. Even down to the last five and ten years this series has changed, some for the better, some for the worse. Let's take a look at the series and weigh some of the pros and cons.
Bill Walsh College Football started off very simple. There were just a few teams and they were supposed to be the best teams ever since 1978. This game was very basic with only sixty eight plays. Then the game Bill Wash College Football 95 came out. This game featured only 36 division 1-A teams and a windowless passing mode.
Finally, EA dropped the Bill Walsh name and went with College Football USA 96. This game was a bit closer to what we have today. It featured all of the division 1-A teams at the time, a total of 108 teams. Also, it included over 400 plays. The big deal here is that it also featured real bowl games.
Then in 98, a mere fourteen years ago, we were introduced to NCAA Football 98. This title has stuck and the game has evolved a ton. Normally, in my experience, this title features upgrades much quicker than Madden, the series' Pro football counterpart. This game featured the first multi-season dynasty.
Since then we have seen a lot come and go. For example, in 2000 we saw Division 1-AA teams, which made me happy as I could play as my college Eastern Illinois University. We have lost that feature recently. In 2005, the defense was given the ability to get the crowd energized. This still makes the game fun.
Just like Madden, the series features a variety of athletes on the cover. A bit different than Madden, the player has to have graduated or been drafted as college athletes are not allowed to receive benefits such as this while playing in the NCAA. So, some of the highlights of cover athletes include: Carson Palmer, Joey Harrington, Robert Griffin III, Desmond Howard, and everyone's favorite Chris Weinke.
So what are some of the benefits that have been added? Well, as I have already covered, having real teams, real bowl games, and real trophies are all benefits. The game also features real sponsorships such as the Allstate Sugar Bowl. Another great addition is Road to Glory. This has been a very rewarding experience that continues to grow. It started out by just playing from the first day of college, then evolved to a high school playoff where you were offered scholarships, and now it has become a full on season of high school ball, where you are being recruited. The dynasty mode has been a great addition as well. In this mode, it has evolved to a point where you are under contract and have goals to meet as well as the recruiting process is a task in its own. Overall the series has gotten much better than worse.
Some things that I miss include the create-a-play and team options. Also, the game is lacking the fun features it used to have like interacting with mascots. Overall, the game has gotten better but removing teams like the Division 1-AA teams was a mistake. I loved taking a lower team and bringing them to the top.
Well that is all I have guys. Have a great weekend and enjoyed pre-season football. Please feel free to email me or find me on Xbox live at Dag821.
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Source: http://www.411mania.com/games/columns/251135
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