Review
What a difference a year makes! Electronic Arts and Tiburon Entertainment have completely overhauled their 1997 release of NCAA Football 98 to vastly improve just about every facet of gameplay. While it's too early to say if this is the definitive college football game released in 1998 (NCAA GameBreaker 99 is not yet available at the time of this review), the game that supplants this title will have to be awfully special--which is great news for pigskin fans.
First of all, the graphics are completely in 3-D, which means polygonal players instead of sprites. The athletes look smooth and realistic without the harsh jagged edges found in some of the earlier 3-D games on the system. All recreated stadiums look as polished as those in the original title, with team logos at the fifty yard-line, painted endzones and crowd-created banners. Players are considerably larger this time around and you're placed much closer on the field, so you feel more in touch with the action. Moreover, the developers somehow managed to improve the eye-pleasing menu screens from the first game.
The AI has improved as well, which was a major stumbling block in the first game. The problem was that it was extremely difficult to play defense as your cornerbacks would get burned on a consistent basis. You could also march down the field with little resistance, making it seem like games were decided by the team that had the ball last. Thankfully, you can play defense in NCAA Football 99 with jumps that are high (no quick hops), an ability to swat the ball, and computer controlled players that do a much better job following their coverages. In addition, the computer now takes time-outs in the first half (something that was missing in the first version) and will chew up the clock by running in the fourth quarter if it's ahead.
The game is not without its share of faults, however. Like the Madden titles before it, control is still a little slippery and trying to tackle a player can sometimes be an exercise in frustration. Animation could also use more frames, since you'll notice on instant replay that the ball is sometimes magically "absorbed" by a player instead of him grabbing it with his hands. Another problem is that running the ball up the middle can get very confusing since the camera doesn't zoom in on the runner. As a result, players bunch together and moving through the crowd relies more on blind luck than quickly hitting the holes. A dynamic camera would help considerably, so you wouldn't be looking at the action from a fixed (and often too far) perspective.
NCAA Football 99 is a game where the positives far outweigh the negatives. The atmosphere, considerable depth of features and just plain FUN make this game an experience that should not be missed by any fan of the sport. There's a lot of gaming on this little black disc and it should provide countless hours of football enjoyment.
Graphics 
Beautiful looking players that could use more frames of animation to make the catches and tackles more visibly apparent.
Sound 
The crowd will chant (in surround sound) the team name if you're home (at least most of the teams). For example, the crowd will chant "O-S-U, O-S-U" or "Here we go Tar Heels, here we go!" While there is no commentary, Chuck White does an admirable job of PA Announcing. He will even announce edited player names if they are in the database!
Enjoyment
What I like most about the game is that it doesn't seem to cheat. When I choose to run a fake punt, most games would have the computer instantly audible and prepare for the pass. It didn't happen in this game and I was able to catch it off-guard. Don't worry, I wasn't able to do it again as the computer made adjustments. The computer will also bite on pump fakes and fake hand- offs to your running back--this is great and how it should be. Also, if you pit talented teams against weaker ones, you're going to win (as you'd expect) meaning that the teams are accurately rated in their strengths and weaknesses both offensively and defensively. The bottom line is that the more you know about football, the better you'll perform at this game. Experienced football gamers will find that the computer can be exploited with certain plays, so it may not prove to be as challenging for solo play.
Replay Value 
The Dynasty Mode alone is worth the price of admission, as you can play multiple seasons with your favorite team and recruit freshmen to fill roster holes left by graduating seniors. The recruiting is much more interactive this time around, and you can choose Coach Mode to see how well you perform during a five year tenure with a school. Of course, you can get fired if the school feels you are underperforming! Then you'll be forced to start anew at a smaller, less prestigious school. This mode really adds to the replay value and considering there's 112 teams (not including the historical or hidden reams), support for up to eight players and several game modes, this title won't be gathering dust anytime soon.
Documentation
Everything is explained thoroughly, but the manual lacks flash or color. Player ratings are absent, although that would probably make the manual the size of a dictionary.
