Gameplay is very similar to NFL 2K2, which isn't such a bad thing at all. Anyone who's played a Sega 2K football game will have no trouble picking up the controls. The running and passing game are both solid, with easy to pull off stiff-arms, jukes, and hurdles.
Already having a solid football engine, NCAA College Football 2K3 only need nail down the college feel to be successful. Though the player models have been slimmed down from last year's version, they still have a bit too much bulk to be college players. The gameplay differences between Sega's college game and NFL 2K2 are subtle, but certainly present. The playbooks are distinctly college. You'll see more tomfoolery on the field, more flea flickers and tons of play action.
Every Division 1-A team is available to play, with every stadium and team-specific crowds. You'd never hear a fight song in an NFL game, but they're all here on the college gridiron. You also won't hear over-done trash talking, as college is more of a sportsman's game. But the big difference between College and NFL is in the franchise mode.
NCAA College Football 2K3 offers an interesting twist to franchise mode. The Legacy mode actually follows the career of a coach as he rises through the college ranks, re-building teams or taking an established team to a National Championship. But you're not stuck in one school. Spend a few years at a college and build up a good record, make a few bowl games, and other teams will offer you jobs. Hop to another college if you wish, just like a real NCAA coach. Trying to be as true to college coaching as possible, bad coaches will be fired. That's right, if you manage to drag Oregon State down to consecutive losing seasons, you will be out of a job.
Unlike college, players don't leave until after their senior year. Some go onto the pros, others simply graduate and get 9 to 5 jobs like regular folks. You won't have to worry about salaries or free agency, but you must recruit if you want to keep your program at a high level. Every high school recruit has a short list of colleges they are most interested in. And recruits are given a base rating from A to F. The better the grade, the harder they will be to recruit.
As a coach you're allotted a specific amount of visits, which can then be used on various possible recruits. For example, if there's a high-talented recruit who isn't that interested in attending your university, you may want to visit him four times in the off season. Meanwhile a C player who lists your college as his only choice will likely only require a single visit to recruit.
You have greater control over how players develop in NCAA College Football 2K3. Each week you choose the various drills for each position. Feel that a strong running game is key? Make it your focus. Young men are impressionable and therefore you have great influence on their performance on the field.
Because college players are amateurs, their names are not allowed in any sports games. This means you're stuck with numbers and positions. Through the player editor, the true names of the athletes can be entered. Don't feel too bad if you grow attached to a player and they leave for the pros. NFL 2K3 allows you to import your graduating class for the NFL draft. Raise them to be good football players and then take them through their career in NFL 2K3.
NCAA College Football 2K3 is the first Sega sports game to utilize the ESPN license. As with NFL 2K3, which ships a few weeks after College, the menus have been reworked and an ESPN-style presentation has been added. Dan Patrick does the game introductions, but there is no ESPN talent doing play-by-play this year. The presentation gives a slight chill at first sight, a small reminder of the horrible Konami sports games that once utilized the license. But matched with a quality game, the ESPN style is a perfect fit and a welcome addition.
All of the college bowls and the less-than-stellar BCS system are included, but there is no online play. Gamers using Xbox Live will be able to upload their stats to an online ranking system, but that hardly makes up for a lack of head-to-head action. Missing also are some of the nice touches added to EA's NCAA Football 2003, like a trophy wall. Still, NCAA College Football 2K3 looks to be a solid contender in the college football world.
NCAA College Football 2K3 is set to ship the first week of August for Xbox, PS2, and GameCube.