ollege football is a weird duck. There are millions of people who live and die by their alma maters’ performance on a Saturday afternoon, and yet there are also just as many folks who merely see college ball as a diversion until the pro game on Sunday. The former group of fans revels in the atmosphere and unique rivalry of these unpaid athletes (yeah, right), while the latter finds the level of skill at the college level unbearable when compared to the NFL. EA Sports’ NCAA Football 2004 finds itself somewhere between these two viewpoints.
It cannot be denied that developer EA Tiburon has pumped this game with college spirit harder than a partygoer trying to get the keg going, and it shows in almost every aspect of the title. Team-specific introductions (for powerhouses like Notre Dame, among others) get things started, and the atmosphere builds as touchdowns bring out the cheerleaders and the crowd gets into things. Also, the commentary is great, which doesn’t sound like much, but it’s valuable. The Sports Illustrated covers are a nice touch, but the mood is killed in the College Classic games due to a lack of a quick restart button.
While the excitement of football at this level is also replicated on the field, I’m not sure this isn’t a drawback at times. College ball is all about razzle-dazzle and big plays. How does a developer convey this? Well, I wouldn’t do it by making QB throws way off target or by having holes for RBs the size of three-lane highways, like NCAA does. Too many times I would set my QB’s feet, make the right read, and throw to a wide open WR only to have the ball sail off into the clouds. While this does happen in real life (as not all QBs are created equal), I wonder whether the game should replicate reality to the point where you’re just waiting for the next big play to happen for or against you. I definitely wouldn’t say that this "realism" breaks the gameplay, but it is annoying.
Interestingly, it may be NCAA’s online features which really ignites fans behind this title, and I wouldn’t be surprised if due to college rivalries, this component does more for this game than it does for Madden. I personally like that I can be matched up with players who don’t onside kick every time and use other "irregular" tactics. Dynasty mode is even better with the new recruiting tactics, but I am disappointed that there isn’t more in this department. In the end, it comes down to the fact that NCAA will always trail behind Madden in terms of features and gameplay, simply because this college series comes out before the pro game, and EA (understandably) can’t blow its NFL wad early. While it has done a really good job of making NCAA its own brand of football, I feel like this franchise continues to be like college football is in real life – very entertaining, but ultimately a prologue for the pros.