MY VIEW
Games: 'NCAA Football 2005'

By Julius Pecson
Special to The Advertiser

The Verdict: THE RATINGS 5 — Outstanding: Add it to your collection now. A must-have. 4 — Great: Buy it or rent it — definitely play it. 3 — Good: Worth playing despite some flaws. 2 — Fair: Unless you're a fan of the license or series, don't bother. 1 — Poor: You'd have more fun playing Pong.

Console: GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox.

Developer/publisher: EA Sports.

Genre: Sports.

Number of players: One to four (offline). Online for Xbox and PS2.

Rating: Everyone.

The premise: College football fans, kick off the upcoming season and gear up with your favorite school for the annual bowl run.

Gameplay: Whether you're trying to build your school into a college powerhouse in the robust Dynasty mode or settling a rivalry against your buddy, 2005 shares a lot of the modes and features from the previous title.

The best addition to this year's game is the home-field advantage. This system simulates what it's like to play in college football's most hostile environments, and by inciting your supporters you can cause your opponent's controller to rumble and the screen to shake. With all of this madness, audibles can hardly be heard, and ultimately the pressure can affect the players' composure.

Using the Matchup Stick, you can check the head-to-head match-ups such as wideouts vs. defensive backs and then exploit weaknesses.

The PS2 and Xbox can take the game online and participate in tournaments or go head-to-head with people from across the country.

The good/bad: With the incorporation of home-field advantage, the game does a commendable job of capturing the excitement and atmosphere of college football. Nothing beats the feeling of pumping up the home crowd with the tap of a button, then sacking or intercepting the rattled young QB as the fans go wild.

On the down side, it can be fairly difficult to complete a pass, especially with the composure ratings that affect the game. If the defensive backs aren't batting down every single ball, the receivers seem to drop the easy passes. To be efficient, you have to be very accurate with your timing and coverage reads.

Also, the game doesn't offer much in the way of playing tutorials, so people new to the series will have to learn fast. The play-by-play and color commentary can get redundant after so many games, but fortunately you'll never grow tired of the cheers from the home crowd.

Tips: At home, be sure to use the fans to your advantage by revving up the crowd (tap the Pump Up button repeatedly). The louder you can make it, the less composure the opposition will have. Tons of ruckus will also result in botched audibles and assignments.

My take: Atmosphere is what college ball is all about, and "NCAA Football 2005" captures the experience wonderfully. It's a no-brainer for football fans, and if you aren't, the game is enough to make you one. With all this school spirit in the air, I'm almost ready for the fall semester to begin. Almost.

Julius Pecson, a student at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa and a longtime gamer, reviews games on various consoles, including Xbox, GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance, for The Advertiser.

Have a game or CD you want to review? Reach Island Life deputy editor Dave Dondoneau at ddondoneau@honoluluadvertiser.com.

UPCOMING RELEASES

PLAYSTATION 2

• Aug. 9 — "Madden NFL 2005," "Madden NFL 2005 Collector's Edition"
• Aug. 10 — "Growlanser Generations," "Growlanser: Generations Deluxe Pack"
• Aug. 16 — "Street Fighter Anniversary Collection"
• Aug. 17 — "Armored Core: Nexus," "Astro Boy," "Ghosthunter," "Hot Shots Golf Fore!"
• Aug. 18 — "Vietcong: Purple Haze"

GAME CUBE

• Aug. 9 — "Madden NFL 2005"
• Aug. 21 — "Army Men: Sarge's War"

XBOX

• Aug. 9 — "Madden NFL 2005"
• Aug. 10 — "Worms 3D"
• Aug. 15 — "Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders," "Pure Pinball," "Wings of War"
• Aug. 17 — "Pro Fishing Challenge," "The Guy Game," "Vietcong: Purple Haze"

GAMEBOY ADVANCE

• Aug. 9 — "Madden NFL 2005"
• Aug. 17 — "Astro Boy: Omega Factor," "Metal Slug Advance"

This list was provided by Toys n' Joys, with shops in Kaimuki (735-4546) and in the Westridge Shopping Center (487-8697) in Waipahu. See www.toysnjoys.com for more information.