NCAA Football has been at the forefront of college football for some years now, and this year’s entry has the right stuff to ensure that its place will be kept. NCAA Football 2007 makes some great improvements over last year’s model, from a momentum meter that’s driven by the roar of the crowd and wild plays that turn the tides of a game to a brand new player creation system that one-up’s last year’s already great Race for the Heisman mode. All in all, NCAA Football 2007 brings a lot of new elements to an already great franchise, keeping things fresh in the long-running series.

NCAA Football 2007 offers up an impressive number of teams (119 Division 1A colleges) and features a nice array of authentic stadiums. As in previous entries to the franchise, you’ll be able to select your favorite team as a theme for your starting menu and as the default teams for the “Play Now” option. The “Play Now” option will even incorporate rivalries into the mix, like Boise State and University of Idaho. The dynasty mode will also be returning, giving players the chance to lead their team to glory.

One of the biggest additions to the game is the momentum meter. The momentum meter is a bar at the top part of the screen that gauges the crowd’s response to the action on field. At the beginning of each game, each team will start out with the same amount of momentum, and completing big plays, fourth-down conversions, field-goal blocks and other game-shifting plays, and you’ll gain the cheer of the crowd. However, gaining favor with the fans will have an effect on how well your players perform. More than an added boost, momentum is necessary to keep the upper hand in a game. Therefore, you’ll need to keep your play methods fresh as you progress and make impressive plays to gain the momentum needed.

Fortunately, NCAA Football 2007 boasts the largest selection of playbooks of any NCAA Football title yet. The playbooks are completely unique for each team, even so far as new formations that are wholly original for certain teams, which is a great touch to keep the experience different for each team that you play as. The AI has also received a good boost, meaning that players will act more intelligently on the field and perform accordingly.

A cool addition is the new third-person perspective that you can use while attempting to block field goals. This added level of control actually makes blocking a field goal a viable option, and as you practice, you can actually get pretty good at it.

Another one of the big new additions to the game is the revamped career mode. Whereas last year’s Race for the Heisman mode had you take a single player from any position on the field and build them up to the Heisman trophy, this year’s take is a bit more in-depth in a few key ways. You begin by completing a series of mini-games to showcase your skills. The better you do the more stat points you’ll have to improve your character’s attributes. Also, you’ll receive a star rating depending on your performance, ranging from one to five. This will determine your potential schools, as five will allow you to get into the best schools with the best teams, and so on down to one.

The Campus Legend mode (as its now called) still allows you to create a player, choose your college and bring them up through the ranks of a successful college football career. However, this time around, you must be a little more hands-on in your approach to non-sports related affairs. This means choosing a major once you enroll in school, keeping your grades up, studying up for exams, and attending events on-campus. The whole point of the new mode is to keep your character in high social standings during his college career, and building him up as (pardon the oft-used cliché) the big man on campus.

Graphically, the NCAA Football series has always been very impressive, and NCAA Football 2007 is no different. The player models look refined and facially expressive, and the game features some great new animations to add to the realism level. The stadiums are also filled with copious amounts of real details, reflecting their college locations well.

The game features a ton of fight songs from many different schools, and the commentary is well done. Something that I found to be really cool was the fact that the announcers will actually recognize the name that you type in for your character in the campus legend mode. While I’m sure this feature has its limits, it was five for five in the names that I put its way, so I found it to be pretty awesome.

NCAA Football 2007 is more than a simple upgrade of last year’s entry. Much the game, from the AI to the playbooks, has been revamped completely, and the new features and campus legend mode are a lot of fun. College football fans owe it to themselves to check this one out.

Gameplay: 9.5
From the playbooks to the new career mode (campus legend) NCAA Football 2007 is a complete revamp of the series. The game feels fresh, and features a copious amount of realistic detail from each school. The momentum system adds a new dynamic to the gameplay, adding intensity to the games.

Graphics: 9.0
NCAA Football 2007 offers realistic player models that will get “battle damage” (i.e. dirty uniforms) as the game progresses, and great animations that move fluidly.

Sound: 9.0
The fight songs are accurate and the commentary is very well done.

Difficulty: Medium

Multiplayer: 9.5
NCAA Football 07 plays great over Xbox Live, with ranked and unranked matches, a leaderboard with stats, and a new club mode that allows you to recruit others on Xbox Live and play against other clubs for points.

Concept: 9.0
NCAA Football 2007 has been completely revamped, offering tons of accurate details, from play books to college stadiums.

Overall: 9.5
More than just an upgrade, NCAA Football 2007 is a complete revamp of the franchise bursting at the seams with accurate details and realistic gameplay.