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NCAA07: Xbox 360 vs. PS2/Xbox Comparison

First, one quick hit: Tech has sold out of season tix. Although it seems a lot of these were purchased by assorted folks after just ND or Miami tickets, hopefully someone will be using the rest of their tickets, and hopefully they'll root for the Jackets. (HT: Wreck Ramblin')

I've been spending some time trying to find out the differences between the PS2 and 360 versions of NCAA07. I got a 360 the other day mainly for '07, and then started seeing reports that it was crappy compared to the previous-gen systems. So, I did some research, and it seems the bottom-line is NCAA on 360 is just football and a bare-bones Dynasty mode (which does include recruiting), but is very pretty and has some improvements to the gameplay. PS2/Xbox has more modes and more bells & whistles. Thankfully for me, I don't really care about all the extra crap, so I can get the prettier game and be happy. All I ever do is play games w/ my buddies and run a Dynasty.

Here's a synopsis of the specific differences I've learned. The Xbox 360 has:
  • Better man-to-man pass defense.
  • WRs with good hands.
  • Better blocking on screens and draws.
  • Minimal ESPN "integration."
  • No pre- and post-game on-field stuff, i.e. players warming up or celebrating. Also no in-game shots of the cheerleaders, mascot, band.
  • No spring game or spring drills.
  • No "Campus Legend" (formerly Race for the Heisman) Mode.
  • One camera angle (!?)
  • Amazing-looking stadiums.
  • Realistic (and apparently, immersive) crowd.
  • Lots of new animations.
  • Expanded playbooks, but NOT the team-specific ones in the current-gen games. (seems very odd, how hard is it to port the dang playbooks?)
  • New play-calling interface (used it on the demo from Xbox Live; very nice).
  • No discipline system in the dynasties.
Two blogs where I got most of this info: The Blog for the Sports Gamer and Dubious Quality.