Featuring a tagline that beckons "Turn the Tide," EA's newest collegiate football title tries to hone in on the big plays that are key to turning around a game, a season, or even a national championship run. The blocked kick, the well-executed trick play, and the timely punt-return all qualify as elements that might "Turn the Tide." It just so happens that those three areas, among others, received some serious gameplay tuning from EA this past off-season. The result? EA may have turned the tide from next-gen to current-gen, at least for one more year.

While the 360 version saw its commensurate graphical upgrade, the Xbox version of NCAA Football 07 received just about all the other goodies. Mirroring Madden's Superstar mode and building on last year's Race for the Heisman, this year's career mode is dubbed Create a Legend. The gist? Create the player that defines an era of greatness at whichever university you choose. Go to Pitt as a QB and make people forget about Dan Marino. Head to Oklahoma State and break records set by Barry Sanders. Play big enough, and win a national championship or two, and your school might just retire your number in the annals of football greatness.


The mode starts off with the requisite attribute-choosing activities. Dial the figures up or down to suit your particular taste and prep for a mini track-and-field exercise where your on-field skill ratings are determined. Different positions get to go through different drills, and the 40-yard dash is global to all roster spots. Once that's out of the way, you choose a major and head to your dorm, which serves as the hub for managing the day-to-day activities of being BMOC (Big Man on Campus). You'll have to carefully ration your time between the books, the babes (social events), and the practice field. Over the course of a 12- or 13-game season, you're probably not going to want to participate in every practice, but at least EA made practice mean something. If you perform well in a specific "set," let's say the 4-3 over, you'll receive a formation-specific ratings boost that will carry over to game day. Nice.