Almost the head of its class.

It's odd how sports seasons come and go. For the longest time there was no college football, and then all of a sudden the Cal bears are playing the Kansas State Wildcats on August 27th. Another 11 or so games, the same Cal Bears, but an entirely different team. Somehow the same thing never gets old.

Unless, of course, we're talking about sports video game franchises, which have a penchant for getting repetitive. Why change things when they work? There's a reason the Madden games have changed so little over the past few years, yet still dominate the competition.

So the new NCAA Football 2004 isn't bad by any means; it's only the best college football game ever (with last year's NCAA Football 2003 coming in a close second). With tons of teams and more dynasty options, there's definitely a lot under the hood here, though the Gamecube and Xbox versions fail to offer the awesome online play of the PS2 version, leading to slightly less thrilling experiences.

There aren't that many new features, just big updates of existing ones. For example, tons of teams have been added (you can play as Sac State!), leading to a grand total of about 350 teams available for play. If you went/are going/plan on going to college, it's probably in here.

However, some of the new features are basically just "stuff" thrown into the game for the sake of...well, stuff. For example, take College Classics Mode. Trying to recapture past glory by recreating some of the greatest moments in college football is an interesting idea on paper, but it's not that great when you get down to it. While it gives you an appreciation for how difficult most of these game-winners must have been to pull off, it doesn't capture the intensity of those moments at all.

The Dynasty Mode is another great example of the game's emphasis on peripheral stuff over real tweaking. You can examine TV ratings for your team, make different promises and boasts to potential recruits, select how your plays are called if you don't want to play a game - there are so many little side projects, you could probably never get around to finishing a season. The stat tracking is incredible.

Names, though, would be nice. The fact that your starting 6'2" 195 pound quarterback is called Quarterback #10 and not Aaron Rogers if you're Cal is a bit annoying, but I suppose that's the way it goes when you're dealing with amateur athletes.

Unfortunately, both the Xbox and Gamecube versions lack any online multiplayer component, which is only available in the PS2 version. It's a bummer not seeing any Xbox Live! support, though in the case of the Gamecube, going online isn't exactly easy or expected.

The gameplay is marginally different from last year. Defenses definitely play better zone as they'll regularly intercept ill-advised passes and clog passing lanes. The play-action system is also a little bit better as it looks more like you're executing a running play than last year.

However, the penalty calling by the referees has become extremely obnoxious. Pass interference is almost never called (even though it happens on practically every passing play), and random things like holding and facemask violations are thrown in for no good reason. You can get penalized for over-celebrating if you high-step into the end zone, but this only makes me wish there were more ways to celebrate.

Otherwise, the gameplay is the same as it has been since this series first debuted on the PS2, which means it still kicks ass. Very little has changed; I suppose EA is probably taking an "If it ain't broke.." attitude, but that also leaves the door open a bit for rivals like Sega Sports.

Aside from the online issue, graphics marks the only noticeable difference between the three versions. While the Xbox graphics are noticeably better than the PS2 or GC, they're not the best in town. Shots of the coaches look awful and the cheerleaders look like inflatable sex dolls. Wait...is that a bad thing? On the other hand, the animations are wonderful and there are a couple new ones, but as a whole the game doesn't fare better than last year.

The sounds are excellent, with good collisions and crowds yelling "Block that kick" and "Defense," although the next step is clearly to throw in the various teams' rally cries such as "Go Bears!" Kirk Herbstreit, Brad Nessler, and Lee Corso have more lines, and have become more sophisticated. For example, if you throw two interceptions in a row and then get the ball back, they'll mention your previous two interceptions and then speculate as to how your QB will perform on the current drive. Impressive.

Despite the unfortunate lack of online compatibility in both the Xbox and GC versions of NCAA Football 2004, this is still the premiere college football game and is clearly the best of its breed. If you also own a PS2, though, I'd go with that version instead.