Abso-fucking-unbelieveable! That’s the best word I can find to describe NCAA College Football 2004. It is now the Mecca of video game football; the standard to which every other football game shall be compared to. Very rarely do I preorder a game and this is one of those rare titles to hold that distinction. I’m pleased to say that not only did EA Sports not let me down; they blew my fucking socks off. In fact, this game is so huge that I brought Pretzel in to give you guys a second opinion.

With the 2004 sports season finally here, I was excited for this title release. I wanted to know what EA had in store for us this year in NCAA football. WOW was the wait worth all the hoopla! EA really thought the improvements through for this year’s title. The additions are freaking insane. Tons of teams, more college spirit and way better graphics. Back to you Soda.

Look Pretzel, just because I’m letting you do this review with me doesn’t mean I like you; so don’t be getting all “cheeky” with me. I do have to agree with you on the insane wow factor on all the new features they added. My personal favorite game mode is Dynasty Mode. There is no better feeling than taking a cupcake one star program and build them into a recruiting powerhouse. The Sports Illustrated covers are by far my favorite addition to the franchise mode. The first time I saw my star quarterback on the cover hyping up my team’s championship run I about pissed myself. It is so the greatest thing of all time. The increased in-depth recruiting process is incredible; the ability to try and talk underclassmen into coming back, everything is so great. There are enough additions to make one’s head explode.

Ok you know what Soda…never mind our readers want to know what I have to say about the game, not you. I really was into checking out all the teams and the different stadiums they added to the mix this year. It totally blew my mind that some of these schools I had never heard of made it into 04; for example, Furman Paladins or how about The Wofford Terriers. The list goes on in this game, plus the stadiums look totally awesome. With different camera angles and all kinds of new school spirit stuff going on…this game will just blow you away with NCAA action. Another thing that I really enjoyed about this years edition is the new intros. Way more intros from all different schools that are just hilarious. Soda wouldn’t know anything about that though. He has no school spirit out at his school; unlike him I supported my school by going to all the football games.

I have to agree with you that the stadiums look fantastic. As a matter of fact, everything looks fantastic. The new tackles added this year are far superior to last year’s version. One of the things that bothered me about last year’s graphics was that most of the tackles looked like the ball carrier was tripping instead of being hit. This year defenders will lunge to shove runners out of bounds, grab players by the shirt and spin them to the ground, and blindside quarterbacks with crushing blows that send their helmets flying. The running animations are fantastic as well, running the option never looked so good. It’s not really related to the graphics, but I must make mention of the play action. In past football games play action was pretty much useless, especially when playing against another person. Welcome to the new world of play action, your quarterback and running back will sell the play action perfectly most of the time leaving the defense vulnerable to the long bomb.

Yes the improvements on the tackling improved so much. I want to add that the rollouts were so much smoother this time around. Not to mention that the running and passing this year are so much more controlled with no delay at all. Last years edition would take forever for my guy to dive, or spin or whatever. This year everything is much more controlled and way smoother. Let me just add that the new plays are also just freaking killer this year. QB screens, WR double reverses, and way more trick plays. The colors are much more appealing and brighter this time around. The atmosphere in the stadiums and during game play is just wild. It totally just draws you into the college experience. EA really emphasized the play-by-play with an elaborate amount of new dialogue for every single play. I was really impressed with that factor in 04. Last year, they would just repeat themselves all the time. So most definitely this years announcing is much more advanced.

The crowds are i ntense, especially when you’re putting a hurting on a high ranked school at home and they start chanting “Over Rated.” This game is excellent is all aspects. Faithful Snackbar readers know that I am a sports game junky, and this would rank very high in my top five sports games of all time. So in conclusion; this game is a must purchase and Pretzel still sucks. Soda out.

I’m currently in the process of building my very own University. It won’t be long until it will be the most ruling, dominate school in the nation. I’m still working on my players and theirs ratings. Overall the 04’s game play is very entertaining and it very much sucks you into the whole college experience. I’m going out on a limb here to say that Soda is right about this game. It’s most excellent! This game is most definitely a must buy for your game collection; whether on PS2 or Xbox, NCAA 04 is where it’s at!