Review By: Jared Black
Developer:	Tiburon
Publisher:	EA Sports
# of Players:	1-12 (alternating)
Genre:	Football
ESRB:	Everyone
Date Posted:	8-20-01

The next step is the training phase, in which the game will show you how much returning players have improved over the off-season. Then you’ll decide whom to cut from your roster (which will include a few walk-ons not recruited) and whom you want to redshirt. Finally, you’ll set your depth charts and begin the next season.

Of course, NCAA Football 2002 also continues the EA heritage of tracking virtually every statistic in existence. This is done throughout your dynasty, so if a player plays with your team for four years it will track all four years. In addition, the Madden cards also make a return in the form of "Campus Challenge" cards. Cards are earned in the same way (by performing various feats during a game), but are now tied to a specific team instead of a specific player (since actual college athletes can’t be used). There are also bonus cards that unlock new teams and stadiums.

The graphics are very similar to Madden, only with improved textures and player models (they look a bit more realistic). Each stadium is also rendered with lots of detail, which is very impressive considering how many teams (and thus stadiums) there are in the game. Once nice touch are the spirit stickers, which are earned over the course of the season and show up dynamically on each player’s helmet. If my QB has earned 25 "heels", all 25 of them show up on his helmet. Other upgrades include more objects on the sidelines, improved animation, and annoying mascots. Finally, something I love (and have been wanting for years now) is that the crowd is dynamic. If you’re playing at a small school or against a poor team, the crowd will be sparse. If you’re playing a big game, the seats will be packed to the rafters. If the home team is getting blown out, the crowd will start to thin out towards the end of the game. My complaint is that this could’ve been implemented better. As it is now, the crowd only leaves after the end of a quarter. I would rather have it so that the crowd gradually thinned out as a blowout gets worse, but I still commend EA for finally adding this feature. A few subtle touches that really help to add to the realism.

As far as the sound is concerned, it’s mostly good. One touch I really like is that most fight songs are now in the game, and they all sound exactly like they do in real life. Hearing "Carolina Glory" after scoring a TD is a beautiful thing. However, I do have a couple minor complaints with it. First off, there are a number of bugs in the PA announcing and in the announcers themselves. They will often call the incorrect number of a player, or say the wrong team when making a comment. Secondly, the commentary isn’t really dynamic enough. The commentary team will say virtually the exact same things, whether it be the National Championship or a normal game. The only difference is that they’ll say a few extra things at the beginning and end of a big bowl game, but it’s mostly clichés such as "this is for the whole enchilada".

HIGHS:

• Incredibly deep Dynasty mode. After three seasons with the same team, I still haven’t tired of it.
• Graphics are improved over Madden, and there are a lot of subtle touches that really give the game a college feel.
• Plays a lot like Madden, which is a good thing if you love Madden.

LOWS:

• Commentary is better than Madden, but still pretty stale and not nearly dynamic enough.
• Players still have "zombie eyes".
• The passing game still has significant issues, but is competent overall.

While it might seem that the gameplay has significant issues, this is a case where deficiencies in gameplay are more than overcome by sheer depth and fun. The bottom-line is that, as long as you didn’t hate the gameplay in Madden, you need to run out and buy NCAA Football 2002 right now. It’s an incredible football game that will provide you months (literally) of gameplay enjoyment.

Overall Score: 9.3

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