It’s midsummer. We should be concentrating on baseball and the pennant race. We just had the All-star game, but what is everyone thinking about? Football. America’s new pastime has become a 12 month ordeal. We follow our favorite teams right up to the BCS, then signing day, then spring ball, then it’s on. NCAA Football 10 has accomplished many goals this time around. We get our video game football on a full month before Madden and get to play the college game better than ever before.

NCAA Football has been seen by many as just a warm-up for its bigger brother Madden, but over the last few years, NCAA has really grown into its own. The offense allows for much more variation with the likes of the option, the wildcat, every shotgun set you can imagine as well as pistol. The running has been toned down a little, but the passing it seems has been tweaked up to give a nice balance. The sheer amount of game modes available is absurd. The brand new Season Showdown mode is going to rock once the season begins. The Road to Glory is the create-a-player and allows for a great single player experience. You have your standard create-a-school, but must be on XBL or PSN to do so.

The graphics here are good, but not as good as I had expected.  The core gameplay has improved, but the graphics have not made the leap from year to year. The player models are fine, but the crowds look very bland are only resemble people. You will encounter some bugs on the field from time to time with collision issues with tackling, but these are not too frequent, usually once or twice a game.

Overall, the game is much more than a roster update from last year. There is a ton to do as a single player and the ability to play as over a 100 schools will leave you with plenty of reason to keep coming back. The game plays better, sounds better, and has a vast array of game modes, including cool new ones. The graphics could have had a little more pop, but that is by no means a deal breaker. This game is fun. If you bought college football last year and liked it, buy this one as soon as you can. If not, give this a look. NCAA has made some great strides and this is the best one yet. I wrote this whole review without mentioning Erin Andrews. Oh yeah, she’s here too. Join the pep rally.