NCAA Football 2010

Publisher: EA Sports
Developer: EA Tiburon, EA Canada
Genre: Sports Simulation
Release Date: July 14, 2009
Platforms: Playstation 3, Playstation 2, PSP, Xbox 360
Rating: E - Everyone

Reviewer: Dan

The only certanties in life are death, taxes, and this year's batch of EA Sports games. NCAA Football 2010 marks the second game in a yearly cycle that is as often hated as it is highly anticipated. Everyone already knows that '10 is this season's College Football with updated rosters from the previous year's game. Anyone savvy enough will also know that EA at least tries to add enough improvements to get you to keep buying a legitimately better game rather than just a roster update.

I am very happy to say that this year's NCAA Football is very much worth the cost, even on the PS3. I can report that the gameplay on the PS3 version is a vast improvement over any previous NCAA Football games on the PS3 and it's even a noticeable improvement over last year's Xbox 360 version. I can only make assumptions about the 360 version, but I'll assume that EA has that one working as well. However, I'm just glad that the PS3 version has finally caught up with (and perhaps passed) the 360 version, as I was getting rather sick of throwing to the wrong receiver when I would press what I thought was the X button.

But enough about my random complaints. Let's discuss why this one is actually worth your $60. The first and most obvious improvement is the graphics. While the player models remain the same, the atmosphere surrounding them is noticably better. The new progressive lighting system, much like the one in MLB 09 The Show, looks very impressive as I'm leading the Pitt Panthers to yet another National Championship victory over USC during the twilight of an evening in early January.

You'll probably also notice a few of the supposed 1,000 new player animations, which include some very nice gang tackles. One of the neater ones I've noticed is hitting a receiver in stride while he makes an over-the-shoulder catch. But one of the nicer improvements with the visuals would have to be the apparent lack of frame-rate issues on the PS3 version. I haven't really noticed any big slowdowns or choppiness that plauged previous PS3 versions. Everything just seems to run silky-smooth in this one.

Another feature that I'm just in love with at the moment is the new Player Lock. Before the snap, you can select any player on your side and, well, lock on to that player. No matter what happens during the play, you will always have that player selected. When you lock on a player, you get this rather neat change of camera to this zoomed in, low angle 3rd-person view. This veiw will always be behind your player, which helps out a great deal on defense. I can't possibly count the number of times I've been fooled on play-action because of the angle (yes, I know the purpose of play-action is deception, but that's really easy if your only angle of viewing the running back and quarterback are from behind).

But I think one of the more underappreciated aspects of the Player Lock would be the fact that EA seems to have finally fixed the scale of the players vs. the surrounding stadiums. It always seemed that the field and the players appeared too small compared to the rest of the stadium. I guess it could be a matter of perspective, but the Player Lock angle makes it seem like the fans are a lot closer to the players than before.

The gameplay really hasn't changed too much, but one of the bigger improvements to this part of the game would be the quarterback play in the pocket. Maybe I missed this in the previous years, but when a defender is close to the quarterback, the controller starts to violently rumble; letting you know to get rid of the ball. Speaking of getting rid of the ball, it's now actually harder to bring down the quarterback for a sack. Gone are the days when in mid-pass animation the QB would magically tuck it into their gut and take the sack. While the QB does get rid of the ball more often, the hit will most likely cause a wounded duck to be tossed in the air, making it more likely that the ball will be intecepted.

Another one of those little "detail" things they've added to '10 is that plays can be "Setup" when you're running your offense. Depending on what plays you run, you can fool the defense into over-anticipating a particular play. When that happens, you can run a play that is "Setup" with a much higher chance of success. Receivers more easily get open on passing plays and there seem to be bigger holes for your running back to run through.

The one rather annoying thing I found was the rather questionable downloadable content. If you're like me and only really play the Dynasty Mode, then you can be given the chance to download these "Dynasty Boosters." Being curious, I bought a few of them just to see what they were. Turns out that all they really do is somewhat help out your recruiting efforts. If you're that desperate to turn the Temple Owls into an unstoppable juggernaut a year sooner, then I guess you should check these out. Otherwise, it's up to you if you want to spend the extra money to unlock what's on the disc already.

Final Verdict

Besides the rather lame DLC, there are enough improvements over the previous year to justify a purchase of NCAA Football 2010. The Player Lock system and the added attention to detail outside of the game on the field really push you deeper into the experience. If you're still on the fence, then I'd wait until you can find a used copy.

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MetaCritic: 8.1/10
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NCAA Football 2010 Trailer