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NCAA Football 09 Review (continued)
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Manufacturer: Electronic Arts
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ESRB Rating: Everyone
Platform(s): Xbox 360
Release Date: July 15, 2008
Average Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
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Retail Price: $49.99
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More User Submitted NCAA Football 09 Reviews
Date: 2008-08-02
Got defense? This game sure doesn't.
For a third straight year the idiots at EA have once again failed to produce a worthwile college football game. This year the biggest issue is that defense has been left entirely out of the game. The defensive secondary and the defensive line are basically a nonfactor in the game. Want to sack the quarterback? You're wasting your time. Defensive lines never get within five yards of any quarterback, no matter how awful the offensive line might be. There are two reasons for this: receivers run their routes impossibly fast, covering twenty yards in the blink of an eye, and also because it is impossible for your defensive lineman to get off their blocks. It literally is like running into a brick wall. No matter how much you try to get off the block the offensive lineman just grabs and holds on and won't let you move. Want to pick off a pass? Don't bother. The entire strategy for the secondary is to stand and watch a receiver catch the ball and then try to play catch up. But if once in a blue moon there is actually a defender near a receiver when the ball is thrown he inexplicably does some kind of asinine move that takes him as far away from the receiver as possible. Before you start saying that my defense must have just been bad, think again; my entire secondary was above an 85 overall ranking and my entire defensive line was above a 90 overall ranking. Even playing against teams like New Mexico State and San Jose State I never got any kind of pressure on the quarterback and never once had a knockdown or interception. But if you're the kind of person who has to win a game 49-45 every week then I guess this is the perfect game for you. And if you're the type of person who hates penalties then this REALLY is the game for you. I made it through an entire SEASON single digit penalties. If that were to ever happen in real life it would set some kind of record.
When I bought this game I really had high hopes for it, even though the games of the past two years have been just as bad. I guess it's just too much to ask for EA to actually make a quality football game. And why should they bother, since they own every license to every kind of pro and college football game. They know they have the market cornered so every year they produce a half-made game with no realism whatsoever and know that people are desperate enough for sports games that they'll still be bought. Well after three straight years of failure I'm done buying these games.
Date: 2008-08-02
Save Your Money
I waited in line at midnight for this game (surprisingly, yes, I do have a life). I have never been disappointed with NCAA Football... until now. Right away I felt like I was playing NCAA Football 2008 (which is why I gave this a fun rating of 3/5). NCAA Football 2009 is filled with glitches and has hardly any improvements over '08. I read a review about someone being excited EA finally added the ability to bluff. Are you kidding? That's basically the only improvement made to the game. Unless, of course, you want to quickcall your high school prospects in dynasty or you can let the computer manage your prospects. Lets face it, NCAA Football 2009 is a HUGE disappointment. There's only one reason to buy this game- if you're a collector of the NCAA Football franchise. Other than that, save your $60 for Madden 2009... or for the homeless man holding a cardboard sign at the offramp.
Date: 2008-07-30
still needs a little...
I give this game 4 stars simply because I am an avid football fan and with EA having exclusive rights to be the only College football game maker I really have no other choice.
Overall, there are some things that need to be tweaking in my opinion. I think that the graphics have greatly improved. From the addition of the sidelines and cheerleaders to the fluidity of the game play. I still think that the graphics can be a little better tho. As far as recruiting goes...This is the biggest thing that needs to be improved. Yeah, it has come leaps and bounds since the beginning of the in game recruiting but still falls well short of what it could be. For example, you can create a player and enter them into the recruiting database. Make them hail from your home state, give them all 99 ratings, and just call them every week and they will land on your team. I think that I have figured out how to recruit effectively though in the game. However, after playing my first season as the Iowa Hawkeyes and easily winning the National Championship on All-American difficulty I fell to #23 in the next season rankings because my recruiting class was terrible. In that respect I think that the game is very unrealistic. You can be OSU, USC, UF, ND, or Oklahoma and still score the best classes year in and year out not even doing much recruiting and ending each season with a losing record and not even making a bowl game. I tested it and proved it with USC. I played a season with them, purposly lost over half of my games, didn't recruit at all, missed a bowl game, and ended the season unranked. I landed like 12 top 100 recruits, 6 5-stars, and 4 4-stars from all over the country. And to begin the next season I was ranked #5...real life...I think not.
Now on to my second season with Iowa. I changed the difficulty to Heisman. After winning the National Championship the previous year, I only scored 2 5-stars and 4 4-stars. 1 of the 5-stars happened to be a RB that I created and the other was from in-state. To begin the season I started out ranked #23. How does this happen after winning the National Championship? Returning 10 offensive starters and 9 defensive starters. So I changed my schedule during the pre-season to play Missouri (ranked #1 pre-season) in my first week and to play Oklahoma (ranked #2 pre-season) in week 6. After blowing out Missouri and their terrible run defense I moved to #21. Enroute to playing OK at their field at this time I was 5-0 and only ranked #15. OK was ranked #1 when I played them and I beat them 42-24 and only moved to #12. I will say however, that I have noticed that recruits are gaining more interest in my school, but I am still losing them to other HIGH TRADITION schools and finishing 2nd on their lists. I guess to really become a power house in Dynasty mode that you have to get at least 3 seasons or so under your belt. Stand by for my season 2 and 3 update after I win 2 straight Nat. Championships.
As far as in game play goes...the running game is way too easy in my opinion. I do like the adjustments made to the highlight stick for this year. It seems to make the right decision MOST of the time when used in traffic or the open field as far as what your player should do. If you need anything within 4-15 yards (sometimes more) run any type of toss play and you are almost guaranteed at least 5 yards. If your running back has an overall of 90 or higher it is VERY easy to get 200+ yards per game in Heisman mode against any opponent. As far as passing goes, it is a little more realistic. It is impossible to over throw your receiver. The INT's are greatly reduced if you make wise throws. I will say, however, that it is a little more difficult to pad stats in the passing catagory this year. Sometimes my QB, with a rating or 88 now, will just throw a lame pass into no mans land when a WR is wide open for no reason.
As for defensive play...when playing against the CPU, any player with a star around their feet is a BAMF and is much much better than anyone else on the defense, almost to the point that it is just way too unfair. Like running towards a CB that only has a tackle rating of 55 with my RB that has 92 ELU and 94 TRK will tackle you 75% of the time in the open field of you don't juke or spin out of their way.
Best way to play in ONLINE! The only way to really compete is against a real player. Get your friends together and start an online Dynasty. This is the only true way to play for real because everyone has different playing styles and different play calling styles.
Lastly, if you love football like I do...THIS GAME IS A MUST HAVE! (not just because there is no other choice for College Football) Because it is fun, entertaining, and its FOOTBALL!!
Date: 2008-07-27
Not For The Football Purists
I love football, been a fan for 20 years. I've played Madden and College football for over a decade so I know how its supposed to look and play. First off NCAA '09 looks great and moves great. The animation is top-notch, I'm always noticing little touches, beautiful for most part. The college team at EA surpasses even Madden when it comes to animation. But none of that matters unfortunately . This game is wholly unbalanced. Glitches abound, graphical annoyances. Nothing comes together as it should. EA doesn't seem to think there are any defensive battles in college football! There is no defense in this game. If the CPU doesn't advance the ball and is forced to punt it seems as if it is only that way because the CPU chooses it to be. The plays that the CPU chooses are just stupid. Run on first down with a loss of yardage, second down run for a loss, only to have their QB throw to a wide open receiver for a first down. Last years version was far from perfect, but I thought it was a very good foundation to built upon. If you are a football purist like me you will eventually come to hate this game. If only because there are so many good ideas like the pump fake being mapped the right analog stick or the great animation. EA continues to be a great disappointment me. Madden 09 had better be the second coming, or I will forever turn my back on EA. I might as well have took a lit match to three twenty dollar bills.
Date: 2008-07-24
Ok at Best
The games is only Ok, there is absolutely no defense in the game whatsoever as it is not surprising to consistently put up 60 points a game no matter who you play, even on the hardest difficulty.
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