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When beginning to play the game, I noticed something oddly familiar with it. No, it wasn't the same college teams, with the same type of setups that I have grown accustomed to. It was the fact that NCAA had a familiar look and feel similar to Madden '06 I played just a year ago. I am not comparing the two games, but the look of the players as well as the on-field graphics and actions gave an appearance similar to that particular game.

Graphics continue to become sharper than its predecessors, but to achieve this the players seem a bit smaller on the field. Besides many of the extra features I will touch on later, the graphics and sounds continue to be the same as the other previous games. While continuing with the "if it's not broke, don't fix it" mentality, the controls have remained much the as they were in previous NCAA games. The only differences are a few buttons that have moved positions on the default controllers, though they do give you an option to set your own controllers. Overall, the game looks and sounds as good, if not better than before, and the game play is extremely similar to others games of the past.

What has changed are a few of the features that the game allows you to play. This is where the main course of this review will give you the most information on what truly has been offered. Though last year's game allowed you to make a run for the Heismann, the game offers the gamer a chance to become a campus legend. This is where you follow a player's progress through the many intricacies of being a college player. As it tracks your popularity, you play games, go to practice and attend classes. Your dorm room is a virtual world where you control many of the things you do - from taking small quizzes on different topics, to checking your work and attending practices. All with the goal of eventually becoming to be a Hall-of-Famer on your campus. This feature is laid out and is similar to the pro player section of Madden '06. Though you can get lost in many hours of a variety of categories, unless you have the time, this may seem meaningless to you.

Other options that I enjoyed that are similar to its counterpart are the spring drills section and the scrimmage options. The spring drills area of the game allow the gamer to play out a variety of offensive, defensive and special teams drills. For example, the ability to practice your option attack, catching skills or learn pocket presence all help in honing the skills of the game. Pass skeleton and running the ball are all some of the other options this extra package of the game offers to the gamer to name a few. Not to be outdone, the defense also gets its opportunity. By practicing DB coverage, running the Oklahoma drill or defending the option, the defense gets their due as well. With these and other defensive drills, the gamer can get comfortable with the controls and controller, as well as sharpen skills after a long layoff of playing the game. Special teams are also covered, which is important since returning all types of kicks allows for a new camera angle that adds a whole new dimension to the game. My only question is, if you are going to change the way you kick field goals or onside kicks, why wouldn't you be able to drill those skills as well?

Finally the scrimmage option takes the old practice session one step further. By having the ability to scrimmage other teams by focusing on your offense or defense for multiple series, this option is fun since it keeps track of points gained by completing a certain number of tasks as an offensive or defensive unit. This can also be a different way for two players to compete against one another besides playing a normal game.

I have to admit I have mixed emotions on NCAA '07. Being one of my favorite games from the past that I continue to play to this day, the adjustment to the new game was not as pleasing as the hype indicated. With the many new options, this game is definitely worth its price and a must buy for those who love competing against other players or the computer in another version of a computer football game. Spring drills will keep your skills sharp, or bring them back quickly if there has been an absence from the game. Different camera angles on special teams that make the game extremely life-like give a new dimension to the game and a glimpse into the future that soon we really will be "in the game." A new kicking feature that gives the gamer the same possible error scenario as a real kicker would face continues to challenge the game. All these wonderful options that continue to enhance old features such as dynasty mode and create-a-player. Graphics continue to improve and sharpen with stadium views as if almost being actually at the game. It is amazing how real the action is and all the available features that let you virtually get involved with the many, many intricacies of playing real college football.

Yet, with all these improvements, I still seem to have my disappointments. Controlling the players seemed a bit loose and the change from Heismann Hero to Campus Legend wasn't much of a change. The game didn't seem as unique as it once was. Too many similarities to its popular cousin of the football world made the game feel a bit sterile. As much as it is in real life, the game didn't seem to have the mystique of college football, running itself more like its pro counter part than playing to the life of a college atmosphere. I know that college football is becoming more of a business, but it doesn't have to follow that precedent in my video games.