PlayStation 1
Released in 1997 by EA Sports
Grade: B-
The simplistic yet realistic gameplay calls to mind EA’s Sega Genesis football series, but with choppy 32-bit graphics.
Where it falls in the series
This kicks off a string of four EA college football games on PS1.
Praises and gripes
This is the last year that EA stuck with 2D sprites before a rocky transition to 3D, and it gives the game a familiar, user-friendly feel.
For the most part, the controls feel right. The overall speed is a bit sluggish and the “hit boxes” seem big, which actually works well in a modest kind of way.
You won’t see any slick tackling animations or genuine collision detection, but you WILL get a good feel for how to play the game. If your running back is stopped behind the line of scrimmage or a pass is swatted down, it’s easy to tell why.
EA’s classic playcall interface does its job, with the limited depth you’d expect from this era. No hot routes or other adjustments; just pick a play and go.
Unfortunately, there are basic AI issues, like receivers breaking off their routes and defenders getting lost. There are plays that work like magic and ones that are useless.
Quarterbacks misfire on a lot of throws, and the ball usually hangs in the air long enough for you to take hold of a player and move yourself toward the ball. Pitching the ball usually works fine on option plays (just press R1), but sometimes it fails for no good reason.
There’s a lot of options — three difficulty levels, which I always appreciate — but these are the slowest menus I’ve ever seen. There are too many penalties on the default settings, and you can’t switch to a classic overhead camera.
There is a lot of variety in teams, which makes different matchups interesting. I was surprised when I played with the high-powered Notre Dame squad and found an arsenal of different runs but almost no long bombs in their playbook.
I could see this game being a hit back in its day and even a user-friendly favorite for a few years after its release, as football games transitioned to 3D.
Going back to it today, though, it’s just not going to excite most gamers. It’s not bad, but it’s certainly not great.