I've had this game for 7 or 8 months now and have gone through a couple of different spells of intensive playing. The passing mode is very frustrating with big time college receivers dropping more balls than they catch, totally ridiculous. Also, the computer's frustrating ability to shift up their gameplay about 27 notches, especially on long passing plays, when the game's on the line makes me feel like I'm putting quarters in an arcade game or something; relax EA, we've already paid for the game! I don't like to cheat by not saving results but it seems like once or twice a year, your players will turn into blibbering, fumbling idiots while the computer's D-minus quarterback will start doing things that John Elway and Peyton Manning wouldn't believe. Adding insult to injury, a team like UNLV will all of a sudden have a couple of Jerry Rice in disguise receivers pulling down catches out of triple coverage to complement the Super-Elway quarterback and you'll watch a game slip away, after your multiple inexplicable fumbles and dropped passes, that is. This kind of cheap crap makes me want to throw the controller through the T.V. screen at times.

On the plus side, the dynasty mode is entertaining and I love creating schools and building them into powerhouses through recruitment etc. On that note, don't let the A.I. do your recruiting if you don't want to get screwed.

It seems like defense is easier to play than offense, for me at least, and the idiotic ham-handed receivers do get frustrating but the game's still fun and can be had for like five bucks now that 2006 has come out. The realistic stadium environments are a big plus as well; it's neat to see every rinky-dink little podunk school's stadium accurately depicted. All in all, definitely worth what it costs these days.

If you have neither this game nor 2006...buy this one. It's half the price and is arguably a better game. The new version goes a little away from a simulation and heads in the arcade direction. This game goes very in depth in recruiting, NCAA rules violation, the BCS, I've had a split National Champion on 2 occassions and if you play on the hardest level and play a difficult schedule you will actually lose games to the computer. Try plaing Michigan in the Big House on Heisman level and let me know how you do. I have had some very memorable games

The graphics are horrible.
Sound effects stink.
Recievers always drop passes.
Controls dont work half the time.
A TOTAL WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY!!!

I've rented this game from a video store and I'm glad I did instead of plopping down $50 for it. The gameplay is slow, the recievers drops a lot of passes, and at least on Xbox, the quarterback occasionally makes throws a pass prior to me initiating the pass. Also the fair catch button doesn't work for some reason. When I go in the practice mode, the quarterback always throws the ball without my input. Lot of people here give this game high marks but I just can't see what the fuss is about, it's more frustrating than anything.

This is a great game for a great price. There are are many good realistic plays and the graphics are great as well. It is a really fun and easy game to play and all the teams you can think of are on there and you can create your own player or team. A+++++

If my reciever drops another pass I'm going to break this CD in two. On average your recievers will simply drop about 5 to 7 passes a game, even at home, where supposively your players are not as likely to get rattled. Don't get me wrong I like the new features but theres still no excuse for anyone to drop that many passes, especially a senior reciever. I like the running alot more on this game, it seems like you're able to *see* the holes better, and an offense with speed really does dominate on this game. It seems a little too easy to be dominate on defense though, if you play the run heavy with an extra linebacker in zone coverage, basically a 4-3 against 3 wide out sets, and then going dime on 3rd and long, it'll be easy to have the 1st rated defense in the country in both pass and run. Also recruiting is just as easy as last year, on my first year I got 6 bluechippers, while no one else even had 3. A good game, but not a great game.

I personally love NCAA 2005 for the X-box game console. This game is fun, and has very simple controlls.

We all hate a game that you don't know the controlls to. This game basically gives you the controlls while your playing...Snap the ball, and then it brings up the button you want to press to throw to each reciever.

Personally, I think this game is about the same thing as madder 2004 (which is a good thing)

buy this game, its a must have party or just time passer game.

This is one of the worst football games i ever played. I am so glad this game came with the Xbox. For one thing if you want to start a season on it, it is very confusing. It also takes forever to find the team that you want. It is very confusing to see wear your passing the ball. It is also very hard to to see who has possesion of the ball during the running plays. If you can't read football plays, you'll have a hard time playing this game. It took me a while to get used to reading the plays. My advice is, when you get the Xbox, sell the game on ebay. Remember the title of this review, Bad Game.

NCAA Football 2005 is 5 times better then 2004. I dont understand why these people are crying about the passing game.Its College not madden. the game has some things i like that is in madden 2005 like the hit stick. Even the pros miss 30-50yrd passes.the grafic is better then 2004. they added new things. I hate it how they say the XBOX LIVE is not good on NCAA but when I tryed it it was just fine. 4 PS2 online it is about the same then XBOX LIVE. I say it it werth my money.But if u dont like it thats your problume. I say its the best college game ever. But if you are a real fan you wont cry about a game.

Great game. Realistic stadiums, even the background buildings were right. The only thing it was missing was our scoreboard. I guess they use a generic one. Also the animation has really bad clipping. After you kick an extra point, the male cheerleaders run through the end zone with your school flags. If the return team has two people back deep the cheerleader runs right through the return man. People running through other is a common thing in this game though. It DOES NOT affect game play though. Very realistic game in coaching, players, discipline (had to bench my Heisman canidate for violating team rules). The only other drawback I've seen is that the xbox online has never, while I've been in, had more than 15 people online. But if you are a fan of the college game, you'll love this.

First off, this is a good game, but hands down, The XBOX version of 2005 is not finished and I feel they should not have released it. The PS2 version amazingly while not looking as good, plays much better. I'm continuing to have issues with XBOX Live with this game, slow gameplay, laggy online, disconnects, getting charged for losses and next to the PS2 version of NCAA, there is no comparison, it plays 5 times better on PS2 and if you have it on PS2, you'll be in heaven. I've read E.A. is giving out refunds for the people that want to send back the XBOX version of the game, but I suppose you'll have to contact their tech support to find out. Nonetheless, what went wrong with NCAA for XBOX? I can only hope E.A. listens to the complaints people truly are experiencing. Mind you, the main issues are online play and offline play is decent, but it's still a bit sluggish overall and 2004 actually played better than 2005 in my opinion, if you can live with the slowdown and don't play online, you can probably live with the downfalls of an overall great playing game. It's just hard to see it's qualities with all the flaws this game has. I expect more from E.A.

I'm not going to spend too much time on the new features or the other aspects of the game considering many people have already shared them. What I found right off the bat were better visual menus. Sure it's not a big deal but it's something that is just nice to have. The new features in the game are actually small and really the majority of the changes are when you actually play the games.
Other than that, the game is the same thing we saw last year. My only gripe is that the gameplay seems to have drastically slowed down. While it helps with your running cause you can make split second decisions, but with passing, I am so used to the fast-paced games of Madden 2005 and last year's NCAA game, that my timing is somewhat off and it just makes for bad passes. While the passing is slightly harder in the game, it's more realistic. But at the same time, with the slow pace in the game, it just makes gameplay frustrating at times. I also noticed EA screwed up the Wisconsin helmet. If you look on the right side of the helmet (if you are facing the helmet), the W on the helmet is reversed. EA seems to do that quite often with their sports titles. They seem to improve some areas of the game, but in the process, they screw something else up. While that isn't a mjor gripe, it's just something that is annoying. Even though the gameplay has slowed down quite a bit, this game is still the best college football game out there.

What differs from this years NCAA Football are small, almost unconspicuous details. Now to add a greater deal of the college atmosphere, EA has tossed in actual 'home field advantage'. So now, the visiting team will be booed when they come on the field, and the home team will be hugely appluaded after a good play was achieved. The momentum meter keeps track of which players are playing at their game and those who are not playing so well. Just because you may have a wide receiver whose overall rating stands at a strong 94, doesn't mean they will always play at that level. If your receiver drops several passes and is unable to get open, their confidence (or momentum) gradually goes down. I liked this little design, until I started missing a few passes here and there, after a few hiccups my players were not playing up to par, and as a result I lost that particular game. I wouldn't have mind, if only there would have been a little more control of the players' momentum...which I guess could only come from not calling any stupid plays to begin with. There also are other little gameplay quirks tossed in, like the ability to make a hard tackle to break apart a pass. With just the touch of the 'white button' at the right moment, you too can be a vigorous defensive "madman". If a receiver is about to catch the ball, all you must do is tap the 'white button' at the correct moment, with an exact split second reaction you can break the pass, sending the receiving quarreling to the ground with barely a glimpse of integrity left in them. One final gameplay inclusion is the ability to do a celebration dance after any given play. You can either make your control player perform a single dance, get together with other members of the team and perform a group celebration or lastly, make the fans extol. But all these little gameplay additions are merely specks in a grander scheme of things. The game still pretty much uses the Madden NFL engine just branded with a college license.

As far as the aesthetics go, NCAA Football 2005 isn't much of a step forward for the series. The same looking player models are intact, I wish EA would finally get the right geometrical shape of the player heads right. My eyes I know are not deceiving me, because I clearly see players on the field with bigger heads than what their body compositions are. But hey, it could be worse, at least the days of the "Alien eyes" are gone, no longer do the players look like beings from Mars, disguising themselves as humans in order to further manipulate our minds. There are some new animations added to the players, like new juke moves and even a handful of celebrations but for the most part they are only subtle and not easily identifable unless you've really eyed previous incarnations of the series. Sound-wise, this years game didn't take too drastic of a leap either. The 'expected' two-man commentary fills in the void of unsilencing the game, however the commentary is far from being entertaining, more like forced. The in-game sounds do a pretty good job of increasing the games' overall feel, many of the teams have their fight songs and team chants included, and now players actually say words while on the field instead of walking around like mute puppets.

The greatest feature this game has that previous installments didn't, is online play. Now through either Xbox Live or PS2 Online you can play the game against real life oppositions. So now, you don't need that fat cousin who reeks of putrid body ordor and eats all your food at your house in order to play this game with people. For those who are inexperienced in a online sports game setting, the game is played the same, except automatically set on All-American diffuculty. Each of the quarters also span 5 minutes each, but for those who either are losing real bad about halfway through or those gamers who just for whatever reason can't finish the game, EA thought about them and included a 'forfeit' feature. If you win, you gain the other players' points and if you lose, they gain your points. Every player starts off with a certain amount of points, and depended upon rather you win or lose and with which teams, results in how many points you get. The point system is equal, and if choose to challenge yourself, you can pick teams that are unranked and take a chance at beating a much harder nationally-ranked team, if you win your winning pot of points is higher. The points are used to determine who is ranked at what level on the polls. There hasn't been any annoucnement of late that EA will provide online tournaments --I wouldn't rule out the possibilities either, and I have a hunch that rankings are going to determine who gets qualified.


With fall just around the corner, it sure is a ideal time to release this game, also EA Sports has no contenders in the college market, since Visual Concepts has yet to mention any NCAA Football 2k games in the coming months, and 989 Studios has been quiet of late too. So, if you are craving some college pigskin, this could be the only choice you got, it's a good thing it's a good choice. Howbeit, I just wished there would've been more innovation compared to what we have been seeing and playing for the past three years. I guess EA feels, if you got something nailed right, why fix it with the chance of maybe ruining it. In short, NCAA Football 2005 just basically takes a good game, beefs it up a bit with some new spices and pretty much becomes the best college football tramples the competition.

First of all do not listen to the guy who thinks this game sucks.
Well after playing NFL 2K5 i thought no game could ever match up. This still stands but i liked the EA Sports game just as much. My favorite feature was the Home Field Advantage. It causes ur opponent to miss play or causes players to have a hard time to hear the audible being called. Another thing i really enjoyed about this game was create a player/create a school/create a stadium. Unlike the SEGA game u were able to totally customize your players, your school, and your stadium. With the SEGA game when calling the name of your team they call it either "Home Team" or "Away Team". Also in NFL 2K5 game you were not allowed to customize your uniforms, stadium. In 2K5 create a player is missing alot of things. I totally recommend NCAA 2005 nice gameplay. Its full of tradition. Graphics wise i would rate NFL 2K5 just a tad bit higher but they both have nice graphics and gameplay. This (NCAA 2005) is also the best create a player, school, and stadium in a sports video game yet.

This game is by far the best title out for Xbox live. Unfortunetly it is the worst title when it comes to disconnects and lag. The improvements are OK over last years version, but if it weren't for the online play, it wouldn't be worth the upgrade.
If you loved playing against your friends on 2004, you will love the game online.

I love this game, online play is great. My only complaint is I cannot pass the stinking ball. Which does not bother me too much, since I tend to run a ton of option. But boy does it make me mad when a 94 rated reciever drops a 10 yd slant w/ no one on him. This happens a lot, too much, almost unplayable if I'm online and the other dude can stop the option. But other than that its a great game. Of course, this can be a huge problem and has cost me one controller already (got so po'ed I jumped up and down on one)

So, even moreso than in years past, EA has figured out that the best way to make a football game is to make it impossible for the user to influence games' outcomes. (Ah, yes computer, why don't you just go ahead and play and I'll sit back and watch? Yes, that's worth $50.) Quarterbacks take off on their own, ignoring your inputs. Runningbacks override your juke commands. Your defensive linemen can't spin without falling down (and when they fall down, it's like raising the Titanic trying to get them back up). Most abhorrently, for some reason EA also decided that receivers should no longer be able to catch passes, which makes for some ridiculous statistics (receivers end up with more drops than catches).

There are some ridiculous slow-downs in the piece-o-crap title now as well. Last year's slowed down when the ball was near the goal line. Now it slows down at various random times, but especially when the vibration is going thanks to the "homefield advantage" nonsense. The game is now MUCH slower to let you escape out of its various celebrations/replays/other crapfests. Beyond that, the company has the gall to whore out its games even further -- you can no longer score a touchdown without finding out about Pontiac's fine employees and their horrible tag line.

The commentary and in-game stats displays are a complete mess. EA added virtually no additional commentary content, so you're still stuck listening to Nesler, Herbstreit, and Corso say essentially the EXACT SAME CRAP that they have over the last three years, much of it irrelevant to the gameplay. Additionally, this year's version has introduced some new bugs in the in-game stat displays. Sometimes, if you're inside your OWN 20, it starts going on about how bad your team is in the red zone -- and it counts that possession as a red zone trip. Beautiful, well-thought out, and meticulously tested. Obviously.

Someone else mentioned the colors are washed out. They are. The fields are a weird pale green color now, whether they're grass or turf. And for some reason, when your unis get grass-stained, the grass is day-glo green. You know, just like real life. Awesome design there. Oh, and playing on HDTV resolution doesn't work AT ALL as doing so causes massive frame-rate slow-downs.

As for the new features, sure the match-up stick is interesting enough, though it would be more interesting if your receivers were still allowed to catch balls thrown to them. The homefield advantage, though, is horribly implemented. In order to get your crowd pumped up, for some reason you have to hit the white button repeatedly. It's not challenging. It's not interesting. It's like being transported back to the mid-80's and playing Track and Field at the arcade. Ever wonder why there weren't more games where success depended on your ability to repeated tap the same button? Because it sucks. It's ridiculous.

I was pleased to see that this year's version allows you to create a custom playbook. Unfortunately, they seem to have eliminated most of the "good" plays that have existed in past years. There are very few plays going over the middle and all your wideouts are ever asked to do is run fly patterns. (In honesty, they DID fix the problem with playaction passes -- they no longer automatically result in sacks as they did in 2004.)

Playing Live isn't worth your time, since you can't adjust the sliders (remember that your receivers have no hands any more), so you're stuck with the game's worst-mongrel brand of default crap settings. Plus, if you accidentally unplug a controller in the middle of an online game, you get booted from the game. Just like in real life, again.

Absolute unbelievable EA Sports "we're the only game in town, so if you don't like it, take a hike" hubris-driven infinite pig tripe. The previous years' games were addictive and fun -- some of my favorite games I've ever played, though they got a little too easy after a few seasons. This one is much, much worse.

I got one for sale if you're interested. Relatively cheap.

Last year, NCAA2004 was the best football game, and possibly the best football game ever made.

This year, well it's another story.

First of all, there is tons of slowdown in this game which makes it unplayable. Sometimes, it's as if you playing in slow motion.

Graphically, the game takes a step back from last year. The uniform colors are less detailed, the stadiums look like they need a paint job, and the grass/ turf colors are horrible. The whole game has a dull and washed out look to it.

Gameplay wise, the Home Field Advantage is cool at first, but gets really old really fast. They made passing harder but most of the time, the computer will get beat on long passes. Also, when you play defense, if you play a zone coverage every play, the computer offense WILL NOT score on you, even if they are a high powered offense like USC. The cpu only scores on long bombs and those seem to be random. The cpu never runs the ball and there is really no short passing game since your zone defense kills their offense.

Its a very disapointing game this year since the last 3 years it was the best game on the market. I dont know why they decided to mess up a good franchise but ncaa2005 is very unplayable.

NCAA 2005, overall, is a great game but it doesn't, wow me. I think many things have been improved upon in the game. There are some neat features such as, homefield advantage, player composure, the match-up stick, season player progression, and user celebrations. The one area EA lost me was at gameplay. To catch a pass seems impossible, like many other people have said. Even the best WR's drop passes when no defender is around them. I overcame this problem by adjusting the AI sliders in the game. After I increased WR catching the problem did, for the most part, disappear. Lastly, the defense in this game as definately been improved but almost to the point when it is un-realistic. My run stopping average is about 56 yards a game. And pass average is about 120 yards a game. Even after I adjusted the CPU's sliders the statistics remain.

Overall I think NCAA 2005 is a pretty good game that is tough to beat dispite the small issues it has. Remember NCAA also compliments EA's NFL 2005 with it's draft class, so I'm looking forward to that.

I have been a long time fan of the NCAA football series put out by EA, so naturally just like every other NCAA junkie I immediately went out and laid down $50 for the game. While last year I couldn't stop playing NCAA 2004, I am already tired of NCAA 2005.

They added a few nice features such as home field advantage, where your controller and the screen shake when you are the visiting team to a pumped up home crowd. Other than that, I wasn't impressed by any extras. They jazzed up the graphics a good bit and adjust abilities if a player is on fire or rattled.

The thing that makes this game worse than NCAA 2004 is that they obliterated the passing game. I like OU, and OU has Jason White and a corps of great receivers. I have yet to play a game with OU where White completes 40% of his passes on the Varsity level. Receivers drop perfectly thrown balls like burning hot coals. If that weren't bad enough, the lacking pass defense from last years title was improved, making it a great game if you can get around 25% of your passes completed. The only way to play this game is to build the core of your team around a running back and throw in the occasional play action pass. For me, that's a bore and not worth my money. Do yourself a favor and save yours.

this one is the best one yet!the runnings good! the passing is good!and the graphics WOW!they blew me away!but i just dont get one thing.every year the catching hase gone down down down but the running has gone up up up!any ways if you want to have a good football game let this be it!

this is an awsome game. i loved the dynasty. it has so many features. like make a coach and players bteak rules. i also love the how you can play games from a long time ago. like the fiesta bolw and the hoiladay bowl. it does have repetative annocers after a day but this is a great game if you overlook that.

This is the first NCAA Football game that I have tried, so I can't compare it to previous versions, but it is a good game. It is NOT however, the best football game out there (the two major NFL simulations are both better, particularly ESPN NFL 2k5). The gameplay is excellent, challenging yet enjoyable. The homefield advantage feature is a nice addition, your players can get rattled (particularly the under-classmen) in a hostile environment, or your fans can rattle the players on the other team. It can lead to some upsets (good and bad for the player).

The one negative is the graphics. The player models look a bit cartoonish (especially compared to the ESPN NFL 2k5). Most of the time when I hand-off to my Fullback he jumps ahead due to a complete lack of animation for a handoff, players on defense will move laterally to the line of scrimmage at a rate of about 5 yds a second (MUCH faster than a human could shuffle), and it is VERY common to see body parts go straight through another player or official's body.

Other than that, I would say that if you are a fan of college football then you would probably enjoy this game a great deal. (BTW, I would have like to have seen the mascot game feature include the Stanford Tree, that would be pretty entertaining).

NCAA Football 2005 does NOT have any downsides. I hate when these people cry about the passing. If you hold down pass too hard, they won't catch it, especially if you have a good quarterback. If you just press the pass button, more likely the reciever will catch it because it isn't thrown as hard.

Besides passing, NCAA 2005 is a huge improvement from the 2004 game. Not only does the running game get more challenging and passing is REALISTIC, but players aren't putting up enourmous stats anymore like in 2004. In 2004 I had 42 sacks in one season with a player, now I only get like 10 or 11 sacks a year because EA has noticed its tweaks and has fixed them. The gameplay is great and so is the Dynasty Mode.

Not only that, but you can also play college classics and get a bunch of cool unlockables. Not that, but you can play rivalry games to get trophies to keep with the rest of the hardware. Not just that, you could even play those old mascot games. WIth the create a school feature and a complete Dynasty Mode, don't even think of giving NCAA 2005 less then 5 stars.

Why is everybody crying, the is a whole lot better than last year. The tackling is much better and more realistic. Runnning the ball is a whole lot better. As far as passing goes, just like in college they drop the ball some times when it is a and wide open play, but in the clutch they catch it. My whole point is this, stop f@#king crying play the game or convert to that espn bullsh*t.

I am tired of hearing about how hard it is to pass on NCAA 2005, it's not supposed to be easy to pass. I average about 200-250 passing yards a game and i don't even have that good of a quarter back. so stop complaining because this is a great football game

I recently play this game and at first was stunned by the games power. I later found that it was not much different then Madden 2004 after playing it for a full game. Though the fan stuff and home field advantage is nice i would like to see the gameplay a little nicer, i found that everything seemed to move slower which made the new running style that the game uses very hard to gain yards with. Though the passing is nice still defense has become a lot harder to play on. The only thing I must say is I only played the game for about 2 hours before writing this review. I would recomend Madden 2004 over this game just because I found the game to play very stiff.

after playing "2005" i only had one complaint, when you go to cut, it looks unreal and slow. if you think, they catch the ball all the time in any football game then you never been to one. even in the pro's they drop the ball alot on third and long. EA keeps it real, a hail mary is rarely caught so welcome to real NCAA football. the running game is and will be first before the pass so get over it and knuckle up or go pick up that other weak arcade yk2 or what ever. but if you game to compete trust me, just like any other game, it only gets better. see you on line halla

Trying to pass has got to be one of the must frustrating aspects to this game. I anxiously anticipated the release of this game and was a little disappointed. If you expect to have a lot of success plan on running, running, and running some more. I even turned on the Easy Play setting to allow for catch assist and a reciever/quarterback combo averaging over a 90 rating will still drop 50 percent of the pass attempts. I enjoyed the play of NCAA 2004 better. Granted the numbers you put up in 2004 are not realistic, but your A+ receivers don't have 10 drops in a season much less one game. The other glitch I'm having with my game is the playbook is not saving. I chose a different team's playbook to use and my team's is still selected each game I play. I have to remember to change it each time before starting a new game. The recruiting is a little confusing. I'm not sure how to gauge the number of points to allocate in order to have a really successful class. Last complaint is the hurry up offense does not work very well for me. Sometimes they will rush back to the line and sometimes a celebration or instant replay messes it up and I will have to select a formation/play.
Aside from the negatives there are some positives. The Home Field Advantage is a nice concept and a little something extra to keep things interesting. The Match up Stick is nice, but not that effective for passing since chances are you receiver will just drop the ball anyway. You can see your players' overall rating increase throughout the year as they have big games or decrease if they perform poorly. I like the different celebrations and the fact that they can be done after any big play. Hopefully they will work out these kinks and NCAA 2006 will be an awesome game.

I have heard so many bad reviews of NCAA 2005, It's unbeleivable! I don't think they have put that much time into their thoughts...

First off, the game IS an improvement over NCAA 2004 - HOWEVER, the improvement does not compare to that of NCAA 2004 compared with NCAA 2003. Whereas 2004 seemed like a completely different game than 2003, 2005 has alot of similarities to 2004. As everyone seems to rat on the passing game in NCAA 2005, I will agree that is is very bad. Receivers will rarely catch wide open passes, and passes thrown off the back foot of the quarterback into quadruple coverage will be caught for a 30 yard gain. Most people see this as a detriment to the game, I see it as a positive point. Gone are the days when I would easily blow out any CPU opponent 72-7 using an average team - it is much harder to score in this game when compared with any electronic football game put out in the last 5 years. NCAA 2005 is a game where the score of a 5 minute quarter, punting is rare, football game is similar to that of a real college football game.

So aside from the passing, the running in this game is excellent. It is slowed down a tad so that you are able to choose holes and maximize your gain. Again, gone are the days (2003 and 2004) when with a running back with a 85+ speed it would be easy to bust 40+ yard gains simply by running counter plays. If I break out a 20 yard run, it actually means something, just as a real game would.

The home field advantage addition is a welcome treat, where NO electronic football game ever has had this element. It has its limitations here and there, but adds a nice touch when playing at Florida with a big play on the line and the screen is shaking......

Lastly, PLEASE stop comparing this game to MADDEN! Madden 2004 was a !@#@%$ joke, even the best defense in the league was a non factor, the game was built for 63-64 decisions, and defense was just an obligation.

Go Buffs!!!

I have always read other peoples opinion on games...some I agreed with other I didn't....it's a free world right!? But after playing NCAA Football for the last three weeks I just had to let some steam out....this games is horrible....EA sports should be smacked for putting out such a incomplete game....let me break this disappointing game down to you.....first and foremost the WR's are all suspect....they miss so many passes it's crazy and these all the All-Americans....the blocking is horrendous the blocker never hold their blocks and half the time lead the defender right into you...the CPU makes catches with 3-4 DB on him....come on with that crap....I had to catch myself the other night when I called a audible at the line and the CPU shifted it whole line the the side I was running the ball to almost as if they had a spy in the locker room a couple of minutes ago...I was very close to breaking my controller but then I thought HELL NO ESPN NFL2K5 comes out tomorrow....that's a real football game....everyone out there you have to go and cop that one...EA sports and the whole production company should be ashamed of themselves for putting out a half-ass game...they need to step up the the plate and give the players what they want and put out a fair and balanced game and not rush a product out there just to line their pockets....EA sports need to go back to that drawing board that got them to the top back in 92-93 and look underneath that table to see if someone left some of that magic they HAD there. They have been falling off the last couple of years in my opinion and again it's just my opinion...BUT it's true....holla

started to play this game and thought to myself, man this does not seem as fun as last years game.

1) Receivers cannot catch, it is boring and it makes the game one dimensional

2) Lag on running plays, terrible and slow.

3) Online is OK, but when you can't pass it leads to games where all you do is run for 4 yards at a time, not fun.


Granted I really did like Madden last year, and I thought that was the reason I didn't like this as much because I was used to Madden. I went back and played 2004, and it was a better feeling game. As stated in another review, you CANNOT throw screen passes to your RBs. I only broke 1 run over 30 yards the whole season, and I was Ohio State. The passing is impossible if you do not turn on WR assist. I added it up and I had more "drops" than receptions until I turned it up. Defense, incredibly easy I only gave up maybe 5 TDs the entire season, and I have never been very good at Defense in any of the NCAA games going back to Bill Walsh College Football. I just feel that this game lacks the fun, and definetly the feel of the previosu games

I don't know why so many people are giving such negative reviews of this game. It is a great, fun time. I'm in the 7th week of my dynasty season and I am loving it every night I play. The new features are great. The Matchup stick, the crowd gets crazy and actually throws something different into the mix, when you have to adjust to the noise. Overall, EA has made a great improvement with NCAA 2005. The people who are giving bad reviews just want this game to be Madden, and it is never going to be that. Madden is the king of football titles and pretty much, the greatest video game ever made. It always will be. So lighten up guys, NCAA 2005 is just what it should be. Tons of fun. So strap on your helmets, get yourself a cold one, and tee it up. NCAA 2005 Rocks!

Like everyone that has been reviewing this title I am a EA loyalist when it comes to football games. I have owned every incarnation of NCAA and Madden but this game just doesn't have that excitement of playing a new game. The reason why there have been so many negatives about this game is because it is the same game as 2004 with a couple new toys that don't work too well. The homefield advantage is cool but doesn't really work as a selling feature. The recruiting is very strange and I don't really know what is going still. I needed to fill so many holes on my team and I only got six recruits! I want the old system back so bad. It seems to work in theory but is poorly executed. Passing is the real factor that makes this a negative experience. If the passing was better, then I could ignore the other little bugs. But when a 90 quarterback can't hook up with an 85 reciever on a slant pattern something is wrong with your football game. Now the reason why I and a lot of other reviewers are sad about this game is because we save our 50 bucks each year for this game and if it turns out to be a steamer then it kind of bums us out. All that aside I love this game still because I am a fan of college football and EA sports games. I just wished they would have stepped up a little bit more. Also, just a little end note we can't complain too much because EA offers the only playable football franchises and don't tell me that ESPN crap is playable.

WOW! I rented this puppy, played a couple games in front of a raucous crowd at Mountaineer Field, and rushed back into town, returning this title 36 hours prior to it's due date. The reason? I had to own this one!

First off, the "pick-a-play" interface shows the home stadium behind the various formations. Not a big deal you say? Just pop in your copy of the '04 version and compare. This is not the only graphical improvement, either. The premier stadiums have also received an upgrade. For example, WVU's home field now has realistic-looking glass which fronts the weight room in the south endzone. Fans hold up signs that YOU create! That's right, you can develop vulgar, sexist, racially-insensitive...ugh...I mean you can design signs to support your favorite teams and players!

In addition, the "Home Field Advantage" touch makes for a much more realistic gaming experience. The controller vibrates and the camera shakes as a result of the frenzied crowd! (You can turn off the shaking-camera feature if you like.)

Furthermore, players are no longer limited to post-touchdown celebrations. Just sacked the quarterback? Celebrate! Dislodged the pigskin with the new "Big Hit" button? Celebrate! Just activated a sign which tells everybody how big of a slut your ex-girlfriend is? Cele...Well, you get the picture.

In short, NCAA Football 2005 belongs in any football fan's collection. Pay no attention to the reviewers who say, "My receivers can't catch." These people evidently do not make use of the sliders which can alter virtually every aspect of gameplay. And if that does not take care of what ails you, then follow these simple rules for catching the ball more effectively: Throw to desired receiver...press 'A' while ball is in the air (this allows you to control the desired receiver)...Press 'Y' as ball approaches receiver's hands. Done! This is much more reliable than throwing the ball and praying that your guy will reel it in.

O.K. Stop reading and go grab NCAA Football 2005. Your XBOX will thank you.