On the surface, the Xbox version of NCAA 07 looks like a middle of the road upgrade to the '06 version. Sure, there are a smattering of new features sprinkled into the design but it looks almost exactly like the game we have played for several years. To knock the game for a lack of star studded new features is missing the forest for the trees; this is a significantly better game than both the '05 and '06 versions. You can make the argument that this is the game that NCAA '06 should have been, but in the end it doesn't really matter. EA Sports has finally recaptured the magic of this series – and better late than never.
No longer do wide open receives repeatedly drop passes. Now, receives drop passes when the ball is jarred loose or they hear virtual footsteps of a nearby defender. The deep pass, which ended up being the bane of NCAA 06, is now no longer a certified money play, particularly on the Heisman level of difficulty. In addition, NCAA 07 marks one of the few instances in an EA Sports game where both player ratings and gameplay slider settings make a drastic difference in how the game plays. You can easily tell the difference between players who are rated 80 and 90, which is a real rarity in an EA football game.
What makes this stand out even more is that the slider settings can dramatically alter the game. In previous versions if you lowered the 'quarterback accuracy' slider to 0% you couldn't tell a huge difference in accuracy. Players didn't catch the ball as much but it all looked the same. Now, if you lower that setting to 0% a QB will throw the ball literally all over the field. It's the same for other settings, too. Boost the run block slider just a smidge and you can tell a noticeable difference. The new slider prominence combined with the better ratings make for a great game of football. With a little patience you can get NCAA 07 to reflect real football better than any EA Sports game to date. Low rated receives drop more passes while poorly rated quarterbacks are more likely to throw a horrible pass and defenders with low awareness are more likely to get themselves out of position. Everything fits like a custom-made glove.
The gameplay isn't filled with just fixes, though. The fact that you can finally block kicks is another huge plus. Another welcome addition is the new "jump the snap" feature allows defensive players to get a leg up on offensive linemen; this is a bit over the top at times as defensive tackles can destroy even great offensive linemen if you time it right, but boosting the user-pass rush isn't a bad thing. It was needed. After the snap, a quick flick of the right stick tells defenders to commit to the run or the pass; this helps defenders react more quickly to a specific play. This is all compounded with the new "momentum" meter, which boosts player ratings (and downright luck) once your team captures it. It can be difficult to stop the bleeding when your team is under the weight of a full momentum shift.
These gameplay tweaks make NCAA 07 a significantly better game, and it's a good thing that these changes were made because the rest of the game is either the same as last year or only mildly better.
Recruiting is pretty much the same as always, the only significant change is that there are now fewer 5-star prospects than before. The Dynasty mode remains an addictive way (and the best way) to play the game but now that the gameplay is back on track it's time for EA Sports to take this portion of the game to the next level, and that does not mean by adding more silliness like the game's Discipline system where you need to suspend a player for a half because he missed a few classes. In all fairness, the suspensions are fewer than they were in previous editions but this system still needs to be redone or just plain abandoned or at the very least made as a feature that can be disabled. Dynasty mode now has a new Spring Game feature that is another neat idea on paper that doesn't translate particularly well. It's a glorified scrimmage.
EA Sports paid top dollar to obtain the ESPN license and the company continues to ignore it. The only way you would know that this is an ESPN licensed game is by seeing the ESPN Magazine covers each week – that's it. Where's College Gameday? Where's the post week wrap up show with game highlights? If the NFL 2K franchise could do this there is absolutely no reason why an EA Sports game can't.
The new kicking meter and kick return cam are both 'so-so' additions that don't advance the gameplay all that much. Kicking now consists of using the right analog stick to rather than a simple button press. This is a good idea in theory but it's hardly a new feature worth cheering about and the kickoff cam makes it terribly difficult to see the field. Realistic? Yeah, perhaps. But it's certainly not as fun. There are other issues such as a bug that allows 4-8 teams to sneak into Bowl games on occasion, the late game CPU clock management could still use a shot in the arm and after you play a few Dynasty years the schedules become too easy for top ranked teams which leads to an over-abundance of undefeated and one-loss schools.
The graphics and sound are also pretty much the same as last year (if you want it to look pretty you need the 360). There are a few new animations and a sprinkling of new lines of dialogue but you're going to hear a lot of the same play by play and color commentary speech as you have the past two or three seasons.
Last year's Race for the Heisman mode is gone and in its place is the equally silly Campus Legend mode where you are a star recruit and have to juggle college life tasks in with your football responsibilities. It's as much fun as it sounds.
