EA Sports NCAA Football 2010 review

It's easy to see how NCAA Football 2010 will have a love-hate relationship with fans of the game. In some respects, the game meets and even exceeds expectations, with realistic gameplay and nice new features like strategic playcalling, but other issues like a re-packaged Heisman mode with no true enhancements and microtransactions that allow players to pay for an online competitive advantage will no doubt strike a bad chord with longtime fans.

NCAA Football 2010 Review - If it's in the game, it's in the game

No doubt, NCAA Football 2010 is the most realistic-looking version of the game. The development team added over 1,000 animations to the game and it really shows. From over-the-shoulder catches to quarterbacks trying to get the ball off before a sack to a halfback grunting out a few extra yards to a wide receiver coming oh-so-close to a great catch, NCAA Football 2010 is looking more and more like a true football game.

And it is not all about looks. This year's version was all about details, such as a the forming of a realistic pocket around the quarterback, linebackers unable to turn on a dime and the physical battle between wide receiver and cornerback.

This year's version also delivers on the promise of the 2009 version by giving us wide-open gameplay on offense without handcuffing the defense. No more easy crossing routes taking it to the house. On one play, the corner might get lost in the crowd, the next he will stick with the wide receiver in position to jump the route, and on the next play he might just chuck the receiver before dropping back into a zone, resulting in the wide receiver getting knocked off his route.

New strategic elements have also been added to the game in the form of strategic playcalling and game planning. The playcalling feature works well. Too well, as you will probably be overloaded when playing your first game. You'll really need to learn your playbooks to get a feel of how to properly set up a host of plays to unleash on the defense.

Game planning, on the other hand, seems hit or miss. The ability to tell your corners to go for picks and play tight zones is great, but telling your lineman to hold blocks longer will definitely end up in a number of holding calls, and the trade off probably isn't going to be worth it. Still, if you are behind in the score, it might be a good gamble. I simply found there to be way too many holding/clipping/facemask penalties to be worth the potential payoff when playing aggressive.

But in most respects, the game plays like a realization of 2009's promise. The running game seems smoother with more intelligent blocking, the passing game doesn't seem to have glaring holes where certain routes become money plays while maintaining the ability to hit the long play, and even special teams seems improved with returns not quite so out-of-hand.

NCAA Football 2010 Review - It's all about the dynasty.

The biggest addition to dynasty mode are the modifications to recruiting that will make it a bit more competitive in online play and more in-depth in single player mode. While the same concept of calling your recruits and pitching your school remains, it takes only one glance to see the difference between 2009 and 2010.

For one, no more wondering if "Excellent" is better than "Great". School attributes are given grades rather than description, so you'll know the B you get for being a great coach is better than the B- your school has for campus lifestyle. Another great addition is the quick feedback of how a pitch is working, with a number showing if you are gaining or losing ground, and a bar filling as you max out the potential for your call. They've even fixed the speed of recruits -- no more slew of 4.16 and 4.22 speed players. You'll start thinking 4.40 is fast -- which it is!

You can also go head-to-head with the top schools on the recruit's list by convincing the coveted player that Austin, TX's great campus lifestyle isn't nearly as important as starting as a freshman at the SMU Mustangs. This will add a new dimension to late-schedule recruiting when we were ordinarily just maintaining a cordial relationship with recruits we'd already pitched.

You will also see new recruits pop up during the offseason, so if you didn't get any great players while playing through your games, you'll still have a chance to nab a top player. This is another great way to keep things interesting.

Add in the great game play and the addition of tactical decisions such as strategic game planning and features like custom conferences that will really boost online dynasty play, and NCAA Football 2010 should have provided the best dynasty experience since making the jump to the current generation of consoles.

Unfortunately, Electronic Arts wanted to get as much of your money as possible, so they added "dynasty accelerators" to the mix. These microtransactions include the ability to purchase additional pipeline states, recruiting advisors and school pitches improvement. You can even purchase an accelerator that helps you max out training for a player.

This might not be a big deal for single-player dynasties -- after all, many games have cheat modes -- but it is outrageous to include for online dynasties.

More about NCAA Football 2010
Read up on all the new features in NCAA Football 10
Check out what's been added to Madden 2010