''College Football USA 97'' is a

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

of the

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

genre released in 1997 by

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network ...

. Its cover athlete is former

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Tommie Frazier.

Gameplay

The game added a new "create player" feature (up to 28 players) and custom schedules, new animations and all 111 Division I-A teams. Players can also compete in a customized Tournament with support for up to 16 players in a single-elimination or round robin format. Players can also adjust penalties, set weather type, enter user records, perform substitutions, set audibles, toggle injuries, and change game length, as well as difficulty level. Authentic playbooks (with plays like the Wishbone), a USA Today/CNN Coaches Poll, and the Sears National Championship Trophy were also available.

Release

''College Football USA 97'' was the fourth installment of the ''

NCAA Football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most o ...

'' series. While the game was published for the Mega Drive by EA Sports as usual, the Super NES version was instead published by

THQ THQ Inc. was an American video game company based in Agoura Hills, California. It was founded in April 1990 by Jack Friedman, originally in Calabasas, and became a public company the following year through a reverse merger takeover. Initi ...

. The game featured

quarterback

Tommie Frazier Tommie James Frazier Jr. (born July 16, 1974) is an American former football player and coach who played quarterback for the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Frazier led his team to consecutive national championships in 1994 and 1995, and is ...

on the cover.

Contest

In the third quarter of 1996 EA Sports conducted a ''College Football '97'' tour, in which they visited top colleges, holding a competition using the Genesis version of the game. The top four teams were flown to New Orleans in January 1997 to attend both the finals and the Sugar Bowl. The winning team in the finals was awarded a trophy, a video game system of their choice, and a collection of EA Sports games.

Reception

Reviews for this installment were still positive, but reviewers generally commented that the additions and improvements from ''College Football USA '96'' are too subtle, and advised gamers who already owned the previous installment to carefully consider how important the new features are to them before purchasing. However, '' GamePro'' called the Super NES port "a complete gridiron debacle. Players fly around the field - except for the man with the ball, whose movements slow down and become jerky. The frame rate and animation are poor (the players look armless), and the sound features the most obnoxious whistle in sports gaming history." They rated it a 1.5 out of 5 in graphics and a 0.5 in every other category (sound, control, and funfactor), making it only the second game to receive a 0.5 or lower from ''GamePro'' in any category.

References

External links

* 1997 video games College football video games Electronic Arts games High Score Productions games Multiplayer and single-player video games Super Nintendo Entertainment System games Video games developed in the United States {{Amfoot-videogame-stub