NCAA 08 impressions

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 3:26 pm

You guys are talking about defensive control but not the actual mechanism of playing defense.

NCAA has better control. APF plays better defense. If you don't juke your way out of making a tackle you can pull off some thigns you can't do in NCAA. First off you have a better chance of tackling someone in a block. It's much harder to come out of blocks in NCAA without getting pancaked.

I like the dynamics of defense. Where a DB can take down Barry Sanders but struggles against Okoye. (Becuase some want this to be OS, I'm going to this qualifier - I'm just showing this to illustrate how position and tackling should be handled).

NCAA has gotten better but its still too much one-on-one a DB tackles a power back regularly. I know why NCAA has to do this, its because pursuit AI is not as good in NCAA. You just don't see the swarm of defense in NCAA.

I agree that the finicky controls of APF leads to blowing the play.

kevinpars · Post by **kevinpars** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 5:13 pm

That is very true about the 2K game. I have only played a few games and the most noticeable thing is that the tackling does look real. It has a very realistic approach - when you hit a big back with a safety, there is a feeling like you are hanging on for dear life waiting for some help.

It is very satisfying to see someone try to go horizontal on your defense and knock them back for a loss with 3 defenders in on the tackle. It looks like the real thing.

I like both games a lot. If Madden turns out to be good as well, it will have been a very good year for football.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 5:18 pm

Well as I stated, APF has a much greater organic feel to everything including tackling etc. But if i can't control a defensive player and enjoy the game it doesn't matter to me how good it looks.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 11:27 pm

The interceptions are ruining the game for me against the CPU. Help! I can almost pick off 3 a game in my sleep on All American and I rarely play a game without at least one defensive touchdown. I've tried interceptions at zero, but it doesn't help. I can't go to Heisman because everything else in the game is pretty good. It really doesn't matter what team I play with either as I've played a lot with Penn State, Army, and many random teams. Right now I've got 2 picks in a game half way through the 2nd at Miami with VA Tech. I'm so desperate I'm going to try the slider at 100.

Turnovers in this game are so random it takes a lot of fun out of it. I've tried not using any special moves and I never use "strip ball" and I see too many fumbles. I like to earn my turnovers on defense, deserve my turnovers on offense, and feel like I'm in control of the game. That's not happening right now.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 2:35 am

You could turn down awareness but that is only going to do so much before it backfires and causes your defense to play really dumb.

I'm assuming you have INT on 0. If you have INT on 0 and DEF awareness low maybe 5, and you still see a lot of INTs. Its a game problem and that can't be fixed.

jcalvert · Post by **jcalvert** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 8:20 am

Leebo33 wrote:The interceptions are ruining the game for me against the CPU. Help! I can almost pick off 3 a game in my sleep on All American and I rarely play a game without at least one defensive touchdown.

INTs are on the high side, but I can live with those. In real life last year, UGA had 19 INTs in 13 games (their QBs threw 16), so 1-2 INT per game is OK with me. I think the bigger issue is that I have too many of these returned for TDs.

I have not played around with sliders, so I am not sure what can be done (if anything) to tone things down. The DB AI is smarter this year. I am getting most of my INTs when I know it is a passing situation and I call for double coverage or maybe by calling my LBs to drop into zone. I almost always have my CBs press. When on offense, I do not feel like I am getting cheap INTs (tip passes bounce too much, but most of these do not result in INTs). Most of my INTs come in obvious passing situations or when I try to lob, but I get a bullet type pass instead.

K_Mosley · Post by **K_Mosley** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 8:50 am

Just want to make sure I'm not missing anything...

Is there any way to do formation subs? I like to pick who's on my kickoff team, punt team, who plays LB in the dime defense, etc., and I can't seem to find it.

Also, where are the drills? Were they on the 360 version last year? I thought they were helpful for learning the controls, but I can't find them in this "next gen" version of the game...

Thanks,

Kevin

Blublub · Post by **Blublub** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 2:39 pm

Was on vacation and therefore a few days late to the party. I picked it up today, played a couple of halves, and must say I'm not just disappointed, I'm flat out @#$%^& at succumbing to fanboyitis once again. Granted, a couple of halves is not a full impression, but so far IMHO, it's only a marginal improvement over the dreadful '07 on the 360. To wit:

1. I'm sorry, but there is no way in hell this thing is running at 60fps on my system. At its best moments, compare it to a real 60fps game like The Show on PS3 and the difference is striking. The jerkiness before each playcalling menu (when the camera pans the stadium - and apparently coinciding with disc access) nearly renders it unplayable in my book. Maybe I'm more sensitive than some to this sort of thing, but it's most definitely a problem. I bitched about this in the demo and someone here said it was fixed in the final release. I'm here to tell you you're full of #$%^ - it's just as bad. I'm at 720p via component cables. I've ensured that "Game Mode" is on in the TV settings. Nothing seems to help. If it's this bad on the supposedly smoother 360 version, I can only imagine what hell it must be on the PS3. Even worse, it's apparent that they toned down the texture detail to try to improve the frame rate, with the result that it looks way more "cartoony" than ever, and way more so than last year's 360 version.

2. One camera. Inexcusible in a second-year next-gen title.

3. No I-AA. Again, inexcusible for a second-year title.

4. Touch passing. Gone, unless I'm missing some new obscure button combo. Every pass is a bullet, no matter how gently/slowly I press the pass button. I hope I'm missing something obvious here, otherwise this alone is a game-killer for me.

5. Turnovers, particularly INTs. Way the hell out of control, at least on default sliders. Here's hoping tweaks can partly resolve.

6. What happened to the audible snap call by the QB? Being completely silent is just weird. I know it's there when you fake the snap but not on a regular snap. So much for immersion.

7. Control lag - feels a lot less responsive even than last year's version. Granted that can be a good thing, but not in situations like play-action where I'm sacked before the button pushes even register.

8. CPU FGs. In my first couple of halves the CPU was STILL superhuman from over 50 yards. Maybe sliders can fix this somehow.

I could keep ranting, but will stop here for now. Last time I was this mad at myself for believing that things in an EA game had been fixed was, well, every year in the FIFA series. I have zero desire to play more than the two halves I have. I will keep it around for the DSP league, but can't imagine taking it very far in single-player mode.

I'd be delighted if someone could correct me on the points above.

I will say that the defense and tackling model seems vastly improved this year, but that alone is not going to come close to making it an overall better game than the 06 last-gen version, which I still love.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 2:49 pm

It runs quite well on the PS3. Though there are those on here who dispute that.

But, you're right. It's not as buttery smooth as The Show. That game just runs so darn well.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 3:03 pm

I zero'd out the int slider for both the CPU and human players and there are still a lot of ints.

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 3:34 pm

Blub, you must have gotten a totally different version of the game than I did. The only stutters I see have nothing to do with gameplay. Let's be clear, by gameplay I mean at the line of scrimmage and once the ball is snapped, or shall we say, when the ball is in play. There is certainly a lot of disc-access stuttering coming in and out of the playcalling screen, but this thing is remarkable smooth in actual play. Also, if you are saying last year's EA football games were more responsive in player control than this year's NCAA, then I have to disagree with you completely on that one. I see a massive improvement this year in terms of immediacy of control changes (the so-called branching animations really, really help, especially on catches near the sidelines), the getting-rid-of-the-ball is much quicker this time, especially on play action where, again, the so-called branching animations allow me to get rid of the ball without having to wait all the way through an over-long play action animation. Player control on defense is perfectly fine to me, I feel like I am in complete control, except of course when I am being blocked or pushed around by an opposing player.

Lobbing passes is too sensitive, but I find if I tap the button with a super short tap, I can get those lofty balls. Holding the button for any amount of time, no matter how hard the impact of the touch of the button is, results in a zippy throw.

If there are big problems for me this year that I see so far, it is in things like superhuman responsiveness with pitching the ball on option plays, and the resulting impossible through-the-back catches of said pitches by the running backs. For some reason, when you make a forward pass into the back or the back of the head of an offensive or defensive player, it bounces off him pretty reasonably, but if it's a pitched lateral ball, it can clip right through the body of the receiver and magically snap right into his hands in one frame flat.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 3:38 pm

sportdan30 wrote:It runs quite well on the PS3. Though there are those on here who dispute that.

I still haven't sold my PS3 copy and played it quite a bit last night since I didn't feel like moving my 360 which was on another TV. The framerate issue on the PS3 is pretty much a non-issue IMO. The 360 has a better framerate but I think the PS3 gives me more control on my passes and less bullets. On the 360 it is *really* hard not to throw a bullet pass where on the PS3 the buttons seem to work a bit better for lobbing.

It's the graphics that are substantially worse on the PS3 compared to 360. They aren't nearly as sharp, there are jaggies galore on the PS3 (try playing a day game at Beaver Stadium and check out all the jaggies on the stadium intro), and the lighting/shadow effects are almost removed entirely.

Blub, I really don't have much hesitation on the 360 except for a hiccup right after the huddle breaks.

I'm in to serious slider tweak mode now because the game is virtually unplayable for me on any default setting. I'm looking at the Penn State stats now over the past couple seasons and they usually average a little over 2 takeways per game and a few TDs on defense a year. I've already had 3 games where I had 2 returns for TDs in a *quarter* in less than a week with the game. I'm not a stickler for total accuracy in a video football game, but this just doesn't resemble college football or any football for that matter.

I'm waiting for the invariable "you must have a different copy than me" comments and I'm to the point that I will gladly pay the shipping costs to switch with anyone.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 4:03 pm

Thank goodness I didn't fall for the yearly "I gotta have a Football game". I played the demo and I didn't feel it at all. It played better than last years game but I saw some problems with INT's and Fumbles and a couple of other gameplay issues. And at $59.99 I decided to wait until the game is worthy of a $60 game however long that takes.

I usually buy every Sports game each year but that started to change when I got burned last year with both Madden and NCAA Football for the (360). Now I patiently wait for the demo, impressions and reviews. I'll do the same with NHL08, Madden 08, Nascar 08 and FIFA 08. If it's a half assed effort i'll sit it out again.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 5:14 pm

To throw a lob, tap which ever button you want to pass with, working just fine for me.

Just lost 17-13 against #11 Louisville, but it was a great game.

Things I like:

Subbing in and out tired players seems to be much better than any previous version.
OL Blocking is the best of any version.
The CPU can actually run on AA defaults
You can tell who's fast and who's not.
The variety of tackle animations is unreal.
I only saw one INT last game and that was by me on an errant throw by the CPU QB as he was being hit.
Passing seems much better and easier, imo.
injuries are more varied and happen more frequently.

Things I don't like:

Too many fumbles, haven't touched sliders yet.
Too many reviewed plays imo.. and I've yet to see a play stand.
Some questionable CPU playcalling, but that remains to be seen.

Overall I like what I'm seeing and the game has reminded me of 2004? I think that's the verison I played 4 or 5 years with. Haven't really started a dynasty yet, but CL has become boring now.. I like playing the games much better than just being one player.

The game is much, much.. much better control wise and the gameplay seems to be varied, which is great for replayability.

Blublub · Post by **Blublub** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 8:00 am

Wow, it does seem like we're each playing a different game. You couldn't pry 2004 out of my hands for weeks after it came out, but this one feels like a full-time job just to complete a game.

Zepp, I agree that the gameplay is pretty smooth, but those stutters at the play menu are killing me. I guess I'm spoiled also by the animation quality of The Show but it seems like they're dropping a lot of frames in animations perhaps to reach 60fps.

I've heard people say it's "polished" this year. For me that is what's lacking.

I STILL cannot lob a pass to save my life, and I've practiced...

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 8:08 am

Blub,
I've meant to post this for a long time.

I have the same "issues" you do. The 360 is reading the disc like crazy and it makes the rev'ing up sound. I have stuttering on the 360 with the menus. Sometimes its so bad the menus takes more than a few seconds to load.

I don't know if its the 360 or NCAA. I tend to think its NCAA because not too many games make my 360 work as much as this one.

Wilk5280 · Post by **Wilk5280** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 8:29 am

I don't have that problem with NCAA, but I do know what you're talking about.

When my son plays The Bigs, my 360 sounds like a Harrier taking off from the USS WASP. The drive makes so much noise I'm almost scared to let him play it.

As for throwing lob passes, it's very much possible. However, you need to press the button with tappiest of taps if you know what I mean. I should be easier, I agree, but it is definitely possible. I've got a couple of videos of me throwing lobs passes and dropping it in over the secondary up on EA Sports World.

http://www.easportsworld.com/#video-796/HOME/440

I can understand why the PS3 handles this better. I believe the 360's buttons are digital and are not pressure sensitive. It won't matter how lightly or hard you press the button, it's all about for how long. With the PS3 the buttons are analog and if you don't use a lot of pressure when throwing the ball I'm sure it will result in a lob, whether your tap it or hold it a bit longer.

I'm not 100 percent sure on the above, but it is what I believe to be true att.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 9:50 am

I continue to enjoy this game. It's just so smooth. I have yet to play an online match with it though so I'm looking forward to that. I was never a huge proponent of gang tackling or at least I never shouted from the rooftops for it but after seeing it in action it really does draw you in. I uploaded a video that totally shows off the new gang tackling:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csqFT9PJAFg

As for the INT problems, I played a game as North Texas last night and didn't get one INT. That was the first game I played where I didn't get at least 2 INT's. If you're getting too many picks try playing as a C+ rated team or lower and see if you still get too many in the game. I'm curious to see if the teams rating has that much to do with it.

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 10:18 am

wow blublub, can you really be playing the same game we are? I mean I think a few of the things you addressed are legit, but you basically said everything opposite of what most of us have experienced or think about this game. And thats fine, but what really had me bothered is that you said you have no desire to play more than the two halves you have played. TWO HALVES and you basically write the game off? So now comes my next question, do you plan to stick around for the DSP league? Its obvious from your thoughts you do not like the game so why play it in a league?

Phototropic · Post by **Phototropic** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 11:11 am

ScoopBrady wrote:I continue to enjoy this game. It's just so smooth. I have yet to play an online match with it though so I'm looking forward to that. I was never a huge proponent of gang tackling or at least I never shouted from the rooftops for it but after seeing it in action it really does draw you in. I uploaded a video that totally shows off the new gang tackling:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csqFT9PJAFg

As for the INT problems, I played a game as North Texas last night and didn't get one INT. That was the first game I played where I didn't get at least 2 INT's. If you're getting too many picks try playing as a C+ rated team or lower and see if you still get too many in the game. I'm curious to see if the teams rating has that much to do with it.

I think there might be something to this. I finally had my first 2 INT game on defense last night after about 10 games at 8-10 min quarters. The only two things I can think of that could be causing this are: a) I'm playing on Heisman and/or b) I use Marshall whose secondary is all sub-80 rated.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 11:12 am

I don't know, I'm really liking the game so far.

Post by **Jared** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 11:27 am

SEMINOLE wrote:So now comes my next question, why did you sign up for the DSP league? Its obvious from your thoughts you won't be around long for it since you do not like the game.

He can not like the game, but still play in the league. Blub has been in LOTS of NCAA leagues, going back to the SR days...if he says he'll play in a league, he'll play.

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 11:56 am

Ok, right now my primary impression is that I CAN'T PLAY THE DAMN GAME ONLINE!

Sorry for the shouting, but I'm perplexed. I can't access the EA servers for some reason. Everytime I try any online activity it says "Connection Failed: You must be logged on to XBL and the EA Servers." I'm obviously logged on to XBL. I've reset my router etc, to no avail. Any ideas?

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 12:06 pm

Rob, my qucik guess would be that you need to click on lobby's then it will ask you to put in your email address and a password. Atleast I think thats where it did it for me.

Jared: I never said that, I was basically questioning why he would want to play in a league with a game he does not like. Just seems weird to me LOL.

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 12:10 pm

SEMINOLE wrote:Rob, my qucik guess would be that you need to click on lobby's then it will ask you to put in your email address and a password. Atleast I think thats where it did it for me.

Jared: I never said that, I was basically questioning why he would want to play in a league with a game he does not like. Just seems weird to me LOL.

Thanks, but no good. I click on Lobby and get ths same message.