America loves football. We just can't get enough of the stuff. Whether it's a stumbling Pop Warner tyke, a fleet-footed college hopeful or a hulking pro star, fans long to see someone snatch a pigskin ball out of the air ... then get crushed by a defensive back in full lather. And when we can't play or watch football, we've got video games to stoke our fiery passions. Each year game producers create a new batch of insta-favorites with ever-better graphics and shinier bells and whistles.
Case in point: NCAA Football 08. This already popular title has been packed to the digital brim with gameplay designed to keep college ball fans happy during those dreaded moments when a real game isn't in progress. (Like during commercial breaks.)
Whatever your desired level of armchair quarterback involvement, this game attempts to offer you something. And its football mechanics are intuitive enough to allow first-timers to look like pros as they make cuts, spins, sideline grabs and defensive jukes. The casual gamer can dive right into a battle against the college team of his choice, hop online for some multiplayer action with friends, or play a couple quick skill-improving minigames without breaking a sweat. (There's even a sweet online connection with the Weather Channel that duplicates the actual weather conditions on the field where you're virtually playing.)
BMOC
If you're interested in more serious skirmishes, strap on your pads and give the Campus Legend mode a shot. There you create a player and choose everything from his position and how many pads he wears to his strength level and how much belly he's got hanging over his belt. After you've designed your budding titan, you take him through his high school football playoffs and then pick from among the colleges that come a-knockin'.
You can choose a lower-rated school as your alma mater and immediately start for the upcoming season, or pick a powerhouse and try to claw your way up the depth chart. In either case, if you want to stay active on the field you'll have to practice and manage your grades and extracurricular activities off the gridiron as well. As your college career progresses, your accomplishments fill a legend meter and hopefully earn you the BMOC (big-man-on-campus) title. Then, if you can't bear to part with your now-seasoned collegian, you can import him into the newest Madden NFL game and start all over in the big leagues. Double sweet!
A Career in Coaching
Of course, if that sounds almost as time-consuming as actually going to college, you're getting the idea. And it's only the beginning. The challenge of being a college legend is nothing compared to punching the clock as the university's coach in Dynasty mode. Coaches build up their teams for the future by scouting and recruiting athletes from high schools all across the nation. Up to 35 prospects can be targeted and called to find out how interested they are in your team and whether or not they've gotten offers from other schools. You test your phone skills by approaching the young athletes with 14 different topics and offering potential scholarships in an attempt to sell your school and sway them to join your squad.
All this while you're managing your game schedule, practicing your current players, working up exciting new plays like the Statue of Liberty and the Hook and Ladder (a nod to Boise State), keeping track of your depth chart and playing a full season of games. Gasp. Pause. Without a dime's worth of salary.
Foam Fingers Not Included
Fortunately, a "super sim" lets more time-conscious gamers skip over hours of complicated activities. And other than the temptation to spend years tied to a football game, there's not a lot in this title that might be described as problematic. There are an annoyingly large amount of fumbles and interceptions in the game, but it is college ball, after all. Hip-shaking, skimpily-clad cheerleaders and rap/rock soundtracks of other football titles are thankfully missing—the music features college marching bands and the only sideline sights are bench-warming teammates, cartwheeling mascots and bleachers full of cheering fans.
One serious drawback: NCAA Football 08 does not include foam fingers and school color face paints.
