Picked up NCAA 2006 today...

[therealworldschampion 0]

Pretty decent game so far, haven't tried the Heisman mode yet, but it should be pretty fun. Thankfully they toned down the home-field advantage option this year, letting you turn it off if you want...

 

*The awesome taunting the opposing stadium is still in the game as I had Leon Washington score a TD against Florida and he mocked the Gator Chomp and did a throat slash...*

[Urban Warfare 0]

How did you get the game? Alot of people got the game early due to a mistake by some CompUSA stores. (One copy sold for $217 on eBay). Anyways, I ordered mine of the EA Store and am expecting it within the week. Cannot wait.

[MrRant 0]

I thought it wasn't out till tomorrow?

[Urban Warfare 0]

So did I, but again EA shoots themselves in the foot by not putting a clear release date. Well they did, but thats after multiple stores sold the game about a week early.

[therealworldschampion 0]

The Target in my area(South Jersey) had it out in the video games section. I just asked for it and they gave it to me, no denials at all...

[Urban Warfare 0]

IGN Review

 

9.2 overall rating. I really cannot wait for this game.

[Youth N Asia 0]

The Target I work at put them out this morning. I'll likely pick it up soon. I tend to buy every other year of NCAA football

[Matt Young 0]

I was considering buying this game even though I still have unplayed games and very little money, but I'm not so sure that it'd be worth the full $50.

 

I already own NCAA 2004 for GameCube. I loved that game. I got NCAA 2005 with my Xbox but I've maybe played 3-4 games on it since November due to owning the excellent NFL 2K5.

 

I decided to try playing NCAA 2005 today and I couldn't get into it. It was difficult and frustrating. Maybe I just haven't given it enough time, though. I'm impatient right now.

 

I have a couple questions:

 

1. Is this game, in your opinion, worth $50 for someone in my situation? The game won't drop in price until close to the time NCAA 2007 is released, so if I get it, I may as well get it now and enjoy the huge Xbox Live community. There must be improvements in the overall and offline gameplay, though.

 

2. Speaking of online, will NCAA 2005 still be playable on Xbox Live?

 

3. Gamespot's review said something along the lines of "This game's controls and feel will bring back warm memories of NCAA 2004 for series verterans." Is it true that the game is as fun as (or moreso than) NCAA 2004?

[phoenixrising 0]

Bought it today for the PS2. Pretty cool so far.

 

-- As far as the PS2 is concerned they changed the control layout so it's weird. The right stick now controls jukes on offense and is the Hit Stick on defense. Circle now switches players.

 

--You can now hold down X to scramble with the QB and the icons do not come down.

 

--I played my second game as Florida, and they have an all-shotgun playbook which rocks all kinds of ass. Also there is now packages.

 

--Recievers hold on to the ball better, haven't seen the kinds of frustrating drops I saw in 2005.

 

--Impact players - Each team has three. For example, UCLA's are Maurice Drew, Marcedes Lewis and Spencer Havner. They have a white circle under them at all times, and the circle flashes when they are "in the zone". If you call a play to use them their attributes go up. Neat feature.

 

So they merged some of the Madden elements into the game. The playbook stuff I like but I have to get used to the new control layout. Good game and definitely worth my $50.

[Scroby 0]

Actually EA didn't really screw up, if anything it was the retailers selling the game who screwed up. EA gave all the retailers a street date for the 12th. Meaning the game had to be released on the 12th, if a retailer sells the same before hand, not only can the store get into huge trouble, the store can be fined, and possibly sued, and also may not be allowed to sell the publishers games anymore. The way EA screwed up was by sending the games to some retailers a bit early and possibly the retailers didn't read up on the paper that sits inside the box in big bold black lettering which clearly states DO NOT SELL UNTIL JULY 12TH, STREET DATED TITLE!

 

I know my store didn't get the games until the 11th. They sat in the back, in a box, till I put them out this morning without anyone knowing we had them. I actually got to report a Target in a neighboring town because they sold a copy to someone who had pre-ordered it at my store. The customer came back, got their pre-order money back, and told me they had got it at that target, so I reported them to the right people. *gives self a gold star*

[Fökai 0]

1. Is this game, in your opinion, worth $50 for someone in my situation?

Trade in a few games that are useless to you now (see below). I'd easily pay $50 for the new draft classes for Madden, and the online play.

 

2. Speaking of online, will NCAA 2005 still be playable on Xbox Live?

EA hinted a year or so back that they would turn the previous editions off when a new season begins.

The right stick now controls jukes on offense and is the Hit Stick on defense. Circle now switches players.

All are great changes.

 

You can now hold down X to scramble with the QB and the icons do not come down.

OH GOD YES. A easily-accessible scramble button? Please let this carry over to Madden.

[Matt Young 0]

Hey bravesfan, did you move or something? You were gone for a while, and I don't remember you living in Hawaii before.

 

Thanks for all the info, guys. The improvements make me really want NCAA 2006. I was playing 2005 today, and at first I thought it sucked and I couldn't do well. After a few games, I started playing decently and I'm loving the game. I'm not sure how it compares to NCAA 2004 or NFL 2K5 since I haven't played either in so long, but it's a great game.

 

This leaves me with a dilemma. On one hand, playing 2005 makes me really, really want NCAA 2006. However, at the same time, I got 2005 for free and have barely scratched the surface of the game. I just started a dynasty with UCLA and beat Oklahoma State 24-12. I have a lot left to do on 2005, and I never even completed a season on 2004.

 

The Live factor is a big reason I want to get 2006. I went online with 2005, and the servers still work... but one person was on. Fuck that. However, I got a bunch of sports games with the intention of playing on Live, but with the exception of league play for NBA, NFL, and MLB 2K5, I haven't played online much. MVP Baseball, I've only played online once. I'd play more, and I want to, but I have a short attention span.

 

One last note- Madden is set to be released in August. I prefer the NFL to the NCAA, and if NFL 2K5's servers are shut down, I'll need to buy Madden. I've also heard that everyone stops playing NCAA online once Madden in released. Then again, even if I do get Madden, it'd be nice to have a draft class ready...

 

Those things, the fact that the game is $50, and the fact that I (A) have other games out now I really want, and (B) vowed not to spend any more money on games until I play through the 10-15 titles that are either unopened, or the more prominent case, games that I have only played a few hours into.

 

What to do?

[Fökai 0]

Actually, I've lived here (Hana, Maui, Hawaii) all of my life. I had spent the last two years in Oregon attending a university, which is where I had a broadband connection. I moved back to Hawaii a few weeks ago, back to a dial-up connection (for at least a few weeks, until we move up to broadband) - hence why I'm nowhere to be seen on XBL. My disappearance from TSM can attributed to the fact that my last computer crapped out on me in May. Fortunately, I just purchased a new desktop (3.0 GHZ, 200 GB, 1 gig of RAM, 19" LCD for $1249), so you should see a lot of me on here.

 

Give me a few weeks and I'll be back on XBL.

[Guest Ether]

Bought it today for the PS2.  Pretty cool so far.

 

--Recievers hold on to the ball better, haven't seen the kinds of frustrating drops I saw in 2005.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I was wondering if they did anything about that. Man that drove me nuts. It always amazed me online to watch my opponents receivers catch a 40 yard bomb in triple coverage yet my guys couldn't catch a 9 yard lob pass with no one around.

 

Probably won't get except for maybe a rental to try on XBox Live a few times. I'm still having fun with my two dynasties in 2005, plus I really need to play some other games.

 

One last note- Madden is set to be released in August. I prefer the NFL to the NCAA, and if NFL 2K5's servers are shut down, I'll need to buy Madden. I've also heard that everyone stops playing NCAA online once Madden in released. Then again, even if I do get Madden, it'd be nice to have a draft class ready...

 

I remember it slowing down some, but there will still be plenty of people to play. Even last month I checked it out a few times and there were usually 10 people or so playing.

[Matt Young 0]

Man, I've got the itch for NCAA football. I couldn't sleep unless I played another game of 2005. In my UCLA dynasty, the Bruins improved to 2-0 following a 50-0 thrashing of my favorite (in basketball, at least) and hometown school, the University of Illinois.

 

I'm not sure whether to crank up the difficulty or not. I'm getting the hang of the game, but I still was beaten when I played as a top team against another top team earlier. I'm thinking the only reason I'm winning so easily with #50 ranked UCLA is because I've faced one mediocre team and one shitty team.

 

This all makes me really want 2006 even more, but why spend my last $50 on a new game when this "old" one is bringing me so much fun? If only the game cost $30 or so. That's about how much yearly sports games should cost. I used to have no problem dropping $60 of rare Christmas money on Super Nintendo NBA Live games as a kid, but for some reason I choose not to pay that much nowadays.

[Guest Ether]

Man, I've got the itch for NCAA football.  I couldn't sleep unless I played another game of 2005.  In my UCLA dynasty, the Bruins improved to 2-0 following a 50-0 thrashing of my favorite (in basketball, at least) and hometown school, the University of Illinois.

 

I'm not sure whether to crank up the difficulty or not.  I'm getting the hang of the game, but I still was beaten when I played as a top team against another top team earlier.  I'm thinking the only reason I'm winning so easily with #50 ranked UCLA is because I've faced one mediocre team and one shitty team.

 

This all makes me really want 2006 even more, but why spend my last $50  on a new game when this "old" one is bringing me so much fun?  If only the game cost $30 or so.  That's about how much yearly sports games should cost.  I used to have no problem dropping $60 of rare Christmas money on Super Nintendo NBA Live games as a kid, but for some reason I choose not to pay that much nowadays.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Rent the game and see if the new features are worth paying the $50. I'm still having fun with 2005, so in my case only two reasons for me to buy it would be to play again on XBox Live (which drove me nuts in 2005) and to have what should be a good Pitt team for once (they were alright in 2003 and not very good in 2005, and I didn't get 2004).

 

As far as difficulty, once again, it is what you have fun with. Even I got tired of pounding Penn State 50-3 after a while on All-American, so I bumped it to Heisman. Heisman level can be a pain in the ass because they make the kicking meter go super fast so even extra points can be a challenge, and the computer tends to run faster so you have crap like linebackers running down your wideouts while their tight ends outrun your cornerbacks - I would prefer to see the computer make better play calls and find the open receiver better, etc., with each increase of difficulty instead. Still, if you adjust the sliders, you can get an otherwise more realistic experience at that level than the lower levels where you can take a B level team and consistantly thrash an A level team.

[Guest Black Widow]

1. Is this game, in your opinion, worth $50 for someone in my situation? The game won't drop in price until close to the time NCAA 2007 is released

 

That's not true. The NCAA series drops faster than any other sports titles. By Christmas, it will be less than $20. That's why I'm waiting. Plus, I've barely played '05.

[Matt Young 0]

Yeah, I'm seriously considering waiting so that i can enjoy NCAA 2005 and the many other games I haven't spent much time with while at the same time saving my precious $50. I may still get Madden next month, though.

 

My main concerns are losing interest in college ball by the time Christmas (and the end of the season) comes around, as well as the possibility that NCAA 2005 may be dead online soon, and by the time Christmas arrives, 2006 could be dead, too.

[Urban Warfare 0]

Got the game today from the EA store and am very impressed with it thus far. They have fixed most if not all of last year's problems including super conerbacks and volleyball in the secondary. The passing game is much more open, though I do find the deep ball a little to easy to complete.

[The Tino Standard 0]

For those of you not in favor of the switches to the control setup, good news: Go to controller setup, and you can set it to the 2005 controls. Saved me an awful lot of grief, plus the hit stick still works. Now if only they'd put the PlayMaker on NCAA, so I could reverse running plays at the line, we'd be golden.

 

Other than that, big thumbs up from me for '06.

[Agent_Bond34 0]

I love the hit-stick being on this game.

 

I took UCLA's Jarrad Page and fucking LAID OUT some bitches.

 

Anyway....

 

I'm pretty impressed with this, this was definitely worth my $29.99 that I paid for it. (You did read the price right)

 

The dropped passes aren't nearly as bad as last year (still needs some work) the slowdown on the Xbox version is GONE (that pissed me off so bad last year along with the dropped passes)

 

Although, the number of tipped passes that result in completions or interceptions is a bit annoying.

 

And I love the impact players on this.

 

I would also like to add, for no real reason, that UCLA RB Maurice Drew is fucking FAST. I love how I can just blow right by some defenders with Drew, turn the corner and be gone for either a huge gain or a touchdown. It rocks.

[skullman80 0]

I got the game from a torrent file..

 

I have already played through the first year of my dynasty.

 

I'm lovin the game...a definite improvement over 2005, and even better that I didn't have to pay a cent for it. I love my modded xbox all you gotta do is download, burn and copy to HDD.

[Urban Warfare 0]

I really like the addition of Impact Players, but it seems to me that becoming "In the Zone" is absolutely random and has nothing to do with performance. For instance, my D just sacked Erik Ainge and the next play he is in the zone.

[MrRant 0]

For those who are iffy about NCAA 2006, at Gamestop if you reserve Madden as well and decide you don't like NCAA 2006 you can trade it in when Madden comes out and get Madded for 19.99.

[Art Sandusky 0]

I really like the addition of Impact Players, but it seems to me that becoming "In the Zone" is absolutely random and has nothing to do with performance. For instance, my D just sacked Erik Ainge and the next play he is in the zone.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

For such a mighty feat, he had better be in the zone after that. It takes considerable effort to penetrate such a wall of an O-line.

[fazzle 0]

Am I missing something.....or did they take out the EA Sports Bio for this game?

[skullman80 0]

Am I missing something.....or did they take out the EA Sports Bio for this game?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I didn't notice, but I think you are right.

 

I'm actually glad they did...it was annoying anyways, IMO.

[Matt Young 0]

I liked the EA Sports Bio. It kept track of all EA games I played, although there weren't many. I know it was in NCAA 2004 and 2005, but if I recall correctly, it was not in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 or MVP Baseball 2005. I'll have to check.

[fazzle 0]

I freaking LOVE the ability to pass on the run, instead of having to stop and bring the pass icons back up. Juking backwards kicks ass too.

[Urban Warfare 0]

I have been playing this game like crazy and I noticed something about all the QBs that are up for the Heisman. I was Chris Leak, up for the Heisman, with 43 TDs and 12 INT and all of the other QBs had superhuman numbers. Matt Leinart had 49 TDs and 2 INT, Reggie McNeil had 45 TD and 0 INT and Vince Young had 33 TD passing and another 10 rushing. All of them had over a 80% completion rate and winning the Heisman is basicly impossible. Has anyone else noticed this?