NCAA College Football 2006 is the epitome of gaming for the over-the-top football fan. EA Sports continues its trend of offering this season’s best in the world of electronic sports games. New additions to the game include the “Race for the Heisman” and the impact player.

Both of these additions add to the playability of the game and make it far improved from last year’s version. “Race for the Heisman” allows the player to create a prospect from high school and track their record and performance all the way to the pros; this includes college practices, fan mail and Heisman hype.

The practice drills are nearly a carbon copy of the training camp feature in the popular Madden series, which is a strong addition to the game. The only drawback to this feature is its limits.

The Madden version offers a variety of skill levels and rewards for completing the tasks. NCAA ’06 does not offer such rewards, making it less important to the theme of the game.

The impact player has its ups and downs as well. Throughout game play, the impact player will occasionally get “in the zone,” which makes him more accessible to big plays. This adds a new dimension to the game but also can give opponents an unfair advantage. Impossible plays become regularity.

The offensive game play is slightly improved from the 2k5 version. The running game is far more simplified than the games of the past, making it easy to run over your opponents with the ground game. Some players are nearly impossible to stop. Examples of these are Tennessee running back Gerald Riggs Jr. and USF running back Andre Hall.

As far as franchise, or season play, the in-season recruiting capability adds a new dimension to building a college-football dynasty. The recruiting process is one of the few extras of NCAA ’06 that separates it from the competition. This year it has been greatly improved.

If graphics are your forte, then purchasing the X-BOX version for more clear and smooth game play is a good idea.

The most successful electronic college football franchise does not disappoint with its game play. With new systems like the PSX and X-BOX 360 on the horizon, it is likely that the franchise will continue to grow and improve.

This game is worth every penny, and any college football fanatic should either own or salivate at the prospect of getting their hands on this game.