Metacritic Games

NCAA Football 2005 (GameCube)

Do you have what it takes to survive in college football's most hostile environments? For the first time in video game football history, the game-day atmosphere directly affects players' on-field performances. See if players have enough composure to withstand the pressure, and take advantage of key personnel mismatches with the new Match-Up Stick. Add in fan celebrations like the Gator Chomp or Texas Hook 'Em Horns and you'll see that NCAA Football 2005 delivers the real emotion, collegiate atmosphere, and traditional gameplay of college football. Electrifying Stadium Atmosphere: Watch the visiting team fight crowd noise when calling audibles and hot routes. Pump up the crowd and build up your home field advantage to take opponents out of the game. Build your team's stadium atmosphere to rank among the elite stadiums in the country. See, hear and feel the immediate impact from hostile environments like LSUs "Death Valley," "The Swamp" at Florida, Michigans "Big House," and Nebraska's "Sea of Red." Deeper Dynasty Mode: Monitor discipline levels and grades to ensure your program's integrity, while recruiting promising high school athletes and converting them into skilled position players. Keep players happy with playing time or risk them transferring to one of your rivals in the off-season. New Gameplay Enhancements: Choose from new custom playbooks, offensive schemes, and defensive formations that include the 4-2-5 and 3-3-5 Stack. [Electronic Arts]

EA Sports
Sports, Football
Players: 4
E (Everyone)
Developer: Electronic Arts - Tiburon
Released July 14, 2004

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

88 / 100

Critic Reviews

100	Maxim Online In addition to wedging the usual hundreds of teams, stadiums, and plays into the game, NCAA Football 2005 focuses on what makes college football special: the psychotic fans.
94	Gaming Nexus This is the deepest football game to ever be released on the planet. From players transferring because of a lack of playing time, from your star quarterback cheating on his exams, if you want the most true to life, exciting football game available, NCAA Football 2005 is definitely your choice.
93	Game Informer In all, it felt like the players had a slightly lower center of gravity. This allows not only for a good running back to become extra shifty through better lateral movement (without even having to use the juke button), but it also gives defenders an extra punch to their hits. [July 2004, p.112]
92	Nintendojo One major flaw that the game has is the recycled bits of commentary from Lee Corso. The man’s a football genius, so throwing in sound bits that were recorded last year is just disgraceful. That being said, he still gives a great performance, even though he doesn’t offer any helpful tactics in this title.
92	Electronic Gaming Monthly The option to equalize the stats of both teams in an online contest stands out as particularly brilliant. Not that most of it isn't already brilliant. Because it is. [Aug 2004, p.100]
91	Play Magazine By far the best college football game to date. [Aug 2004, p.74]
90	eToychest An excellent college football game. The controls are spot on. The graphics are solid, and the dynasty mode will keep you playing for a long time.
90	GamePro When playing in a loud stadium, visiting teams face a rowdily vibrating controller, shaking screen, and players whose lack of composure causes bad plays. If you think you can handle it, you're in for a surpise - the overall effect is huge, really adding to the challenge in key moments like kicking a field goal. [Aug 2004, p.90]
90	Yahoo! Games EA Sports has nailed everything fans love about the college football experience, making it equal to their flagship "Madden." So quit waiting -- it's time to hit the field.
90	Thunderbolt Definitely a notable improvement over last year's offering and the new Home Field Advantage feature is marvelous, but the recycled visuals and mere handful of other additions may deter those who already own 2004 from purchasing the game.
90	Nintendo Power The game's graphics have never looked better - especially the stadiums and close-ups of the fans who sport pained faces, funny hats and celebration animations in the name of team spirit. [Sept 2004, p.115]
90	Stuff An ultra in-depth Dynasty Mode and online capabilities will keep you playing until NCAA 2006, or at least until the new Madden comes out.
85	IGN Home Field Advantage is an inspired idea, the Matchup Stick rocks, and overall the game remains a solid sports title. Don't hesitate buying this if you're a fan of the series, just don't expect a revolution or even much of an evolution from last year's title.
85	GameSpy While NCAA Football 2005 could still use a bit of a graphical overhaul, and the running game still needs some help, the additions of Homefield Advantage and the Matchup Stick really add a lot to the game.
84	Game Over Online The inclusion of Home Field Advantage is a great feature, and really strengthens the strategy of the game when coupled with the Match-Up Stick. Unfortunately, these two things aside, too much of the game plays, looks and sounds like "NCAA Football 2004."
83	Gaming Age The ball physics look strikingly accurate, whether it’s a bullet pass or lofty shot to the end zone, the ball just looks alive. EA didn’t skimp on the animations either.
80	G4 TV Places its emphasis on subtle refinements over sweeping changes, which is what tends to happen when the gameplay is seasoned enough to already be considered a class act.
80	GameSpot Still a great college football game, but longtime fans will have trouble shaking the feeling that the series isn't quite living up to its awesome potential.