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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: 2008-07-23
Steps forward, but still some improvements to be made for next year
The gameplay is smoother than last year, i definately commend EA for their job in that regard. And they are definately getting to something with online dynasty and custom stadium sounds.
The problem with the online dynasty is you need 1 xbox for every team in the dynasty...you can't spread out a 12 man dynasty over 4 xboxes. This disappoints me because this is what my friends at college were planning on doing this fall.
Stadium sounds is a great idea as well. It lets you upload songs and put them into the game. You have to set up a playlist and input that playlist with an event that happens in the game (1st down, start of 4th quarter). The problem is, you can put a playlist of 4 songs down with an event, but it will only play the first song every time. I've tried randomizing the playlist on my console and still to no avail. So on every firstdown i hear the same song over and over again. Soon i'm starting to hate my favorite songs.
Besides these complaints, this game is still a blast to play and I recommend it to any casual gamer or hardcore ncaa franchise buyer, both will be satisfied.
Date: 2008-07-23
Best edition to the next gen yet
This year's game seems freash and is a lot of fun. It desearves 5 stars but dont get my wrong. The game still has a little flaws. Sure the game has a little bugs like players will walk through people on the sidelines but i havent noticed anything that damages the game play. I think this years game play is a lot smoother than the 08 version. The players look much better in this year's game. The graphics look a lot better in 09 which will be noticed when looking at the stadiums, players, and field.
I think the addition of the downloadable rosters has made the game more interesting. By just having the players names in stead of the generic RB 22 next to them has made the game seem freash and new. Rosters can easier downloaded by logging on to xbox live and downloading them from a user's uploaded rosters.
Online Dynasties are also a nice addition because it expands the ways you can play the game with other people. You no longer just have to play a single game online. You can play in dept seasons with other people. There are also some new recruiting methods that make dynasties easier. A few new mini games has been added as well to help pass the time.
Campus legend mode is basically the same as in the previous year. It would be interesting if they could make that online as well and maybe compete with other players for a starting spot.
I do like how they brought back the home field advantage. Its nice to get the crowd going on third and long to give you defense the boost to sack the QB. I was hoping they would have the screen shake like in the 2005 version but they left that out. There is a feature where you can rattle a young QB and he will forget plays and such but i have not been able to figure out how to do that yet. There is also a little adition added where if you call a timeout when a game winning field goal is about to happen the kicker will be iced and it will be harder for him to make the field goal.
Overall NCAA 09 is a nice upgrade from the 08 version. Smoother Gameplay and Better Graphics. The small added features are a nice addition as well. I been buying the NCAA football games every year for the last 13 years dating back to Sega Genesis. This year seems to be the most complete version of the game yet.
Date: 2008-07-22
So-So
This game just isn't what it could be. It's not a bad game, but its not great either.
FYI - lots of people have issues playing online, and EA apparently hasn't fixed everything yet.
Date: 2008-07-20
Numerous bugs and rubberband AI lead to frustration
This game is just too buggy to recommend. It has egregious functional and balance issues that make this game too frustrating to play.
* Custom AI Sliders do not function correctly. The CPU sliders do nothing. Human sliders affect both CPU and human.
* Online dynasty mode sometimes simulates games that have been played by humans. A number of people have reported trouble connecting to EA's servers.
* Super-sim simulates an unrealistic number of plays when fast-forwarding through a game, and produces lopsided final scores.
* Players able to return most kick offs and punts for large gains. Average kick off return is to the 35-45 yard line.
* Suction blocking - player cannot release off their blocks nor get by the offensive line without being knocked down or pushed in the back.
* Defenders moving full speed in one direction will turn around and intercept balls thrown well behind them.
* The new player speed model is causing huge problems with pursuit angles by CPU-controlled players. This skews the balance unfairly towards fast wide receivers.
* AI rubberbanding is used to make the games close. As soon as you get a 14 point lead, the CPU will either return a kick off or make an amazing run/pass just to catch up. This is essentially cheating by the CPU to catch up.
Lastly, there have been two particular incidents of CPU cheating that have really turned me off to this game:
* While defending the goal line a RB ran forward clearly not breaking the plane by at least a yard. The player was then pushed back three yards; after which the team was awarded a touchdown.
* While throwing the ball to a receiver coming across the middle the ball changed directions in mid-air and right into a trailing defender's hands.
Either way I'm calling EA and asking for a refund; I suggest getting an advance refund and not buying this until they patch the gameplay issues. Stick with NCAA 07/NCAA 08 with roster updates.
Date: 2008-07-19
good job
we forget how revolutionary last year's game was with upgraded gameplay at 60 gfs. new recruiting system and such. this year's addition has better gameplay. the recruting is a bit old, but the features such as custom stadium sounds, and home field advantage are solid and not gimmicky. it is hard for me to swallow paying 64 bucks, but so far i have been addicted. ea did a solid job and the gameplay is exciting without being too fast pasced as with madden '08. my advice is that if you owned last year's game, rent before you buy.
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