NCAA '09 impressions

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 10:32 am

The demo is out.. downloading now.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 12:28 pm

I have wood

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 3:25 pm

I played a couple of games at lunch, and the QB's making off target throws was really cool. Both my QB and the CPU's passer made some pretty off-base tosses. One swing pass on 4th and 3 for the CPU was about a yard behind him, and several of my "hard" throws were too high. There was even one attempt by the CPU QB for a deep post and he overshot it by a mile...no defender or WR was even close.

The "new responsive controls" that they tout end up looking a little hitchy. Your animations may skip from one to the next very jerkily.

I saw quite a few new animations for broken tackles...guys trying to arm tackle around the ball carrier's waist and getting spun to the ground, etc.

Overall I thought it was pretty cool, but obviously set to a very easy mode.

Murph · Post by **Murph** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 4:24 pm

Very enjoyable, but as TCrouch said, it's on an easier difficulty. Still somewhat excited though.

Noticed there is still no ESPN integration.

macsomjrr · Post by **macsomjrr** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 4:52 pm

Its a pretty bare bones basic demo but bits and pieces seem to be improved from last year. The gameplay on the field is snappier and players feel more responsive but its way to early to get a grasp on whether or not problems exist with it. Overall though it all feels a bit too similar to last years game from a presentation standpoint which isn't necessarily a bad thing. What's up with the weak game intro's though? I feel about as hyped to play as a glass of water.

I love the pre-snap messed up play routes stuff. Also the post-play player animations look a lot better as the players really seem to be interacting with each other a lot more and not walking around aimlessly like robotic zombies.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 8:34 pm

Two hours in and I'm only at 62 percent on the PS3. Thank the heavens I don't have to pay for PSN, because this is brutal!

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 8:39 pm

After playing, I want Head Coach even more.

I see small changes. The lighting looks great but maybe over down. The sunsets are from a 1940s technicolor movies.

Gameplay thoughts...it's smoother. I don't see any big changes and I saw two short passes where the ball doesn't even clear the lineman. I hated this in previous versions. Hope it's fixed in the final version.

Overall nothing to hate, but doesn't wow me. I think I'll continue to get pissed off at Euro until July 17th.

You know what's the single biggest detractor for me with EA games. They are 360 killers. Every NCAA/Madden, I lose at least one 360 within two weeks of the games release. Last year, NCAA 08 crapped out my machine.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 8:44 pm

sportdan30 wrote:Two hours in and I'm only at 62 percent on the PS3. Thank the heavens I don't have to pay for PSN, because this is brutal!

It took over half an hour on the 360....which is VERY slow for me on Live. So Im thinking alot of that is much heavier than usual traffic.

As for the game ...Love it!...I know its a demo but like last years demo its my favorite game. Besides I enjoy watching OSU get pounded no matter where or when.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 10:07 pm

XXXIV wrote:
sportdan30 wrote:Two hours in and I'm only at 62 percent on the PS3. Thank the heavens I don't have to pay for PSN, because this is brutal!
It took over half an hour on the 360....which is VERY slow for me on Live. So Im thinking alot of that is much heavier than usual traffic.

As for the game ...Love it!...I know its a demo but like last years demo its my favorite game. Besides I enjoy watching OSU get pounded no matter where or when.

It'll take me a week to download it. Now that i'm back to a silver account.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 10:17 pm

Well, color me super impressed. Now granted, last year's game on the PS3 was tolerable, but I wasn't going to invest a lot of time in an inferior looking and playing version.

Well this year, hats off to EA Sports. This game looks stunning on the PS3. Ok, so the fans still look pretty pitiful, but the player models, the grass, the animations, etc. are smooth as silk. This game is such leaps and bounds better looking than last year's game on the PS3.

Most importantly, responsiveness feels tight. The running game is fun, and the passing game is equally enjoyable. The way in which the icons appears is just so smoooth looking.

It's a shame there are no refs on the field.

Presentation wise, the commentary seems a little better. I noticed a few new lines, but not many. There's definitely more stat overlays which gives the game a more authentic feel.

There's new cheerleader and celebration animations that look and are timed rather well during the course of the game.

I saw one weird animation. I was on D with the OSU, and LSU had the ball at my five yard line. The QB stepped back and whizzed a perfect pass to the receiver for a touchdown. It happened so fast, I was happy to see a replay. Well, the QB never went through the throwing animation. It It just zoomed out of his hands. Strange. Hopefully just a bug they have fixed.

I lost in OT when LSU intercepted a pass and took it for a TD. After the play, I got a choice between three plays that I had to guess which play LSU ran. I was wrong, and they highlighted the play that was successful. Very cool!

On an extra point to send the game to OT, the vibration shook on the controller, and I got a lower view to kick the field goal. In addition, the meter was covered in ice. Kinda different, kinda cool.

Overall, it appears a lot of work was put in to refining the game. I've read that Madden looks even better, and if that's the case then I can't wait to see it.

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 1:21 am

ugh...... did not like it at all

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 6:19 am

Inuyasha wrote:ugh...... did not like it at all

Same here.

seanmac31 · Post by **seanmac31** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 7:49 am

I was pretty underwhelmed at first, but I've put in more games and it's growing on me. The player control is very smooth, but in a way that doesn't make you feel like you have complete control of your players. The smoothness is both attractive and slightly off-putting, as it gives you a subtle feeling of there being a barrier between you and the game. That's in strict opposition to a game like UEFA, where the control is smooth and completely spot on and you feel absolutely in command of everything on the pitch.

All that said, there's much to be impressed by. The playbooks are excellent, and I do mean excellent (after so much APF, I feel positively spoiled), many of the new animations are terrific, the CPU offense seems to play a better game, and while the line blocking still has a way to go, it feels much better than last year's. I very much like the way the corners play the ball, the passing physics seem much improved...all in all, I like the game. After two plays of the demo, I was kind of indifferent, but after 9-10, I'm much more enthused. (Of course, I expect that ardor to cool off the moment I play against another human who is able to pull off the 35 yard dropback/HB option pass offense.)

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 9:09 am

Eh, I don't look for super realistic-whatever, just a good game of football with great atmosphere...

...this one has it in spades. I love what little I've gotten to play of the demo, and look forward to playing more when I get back home.

EA's done a great job so far this year...

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 9:28 am

I think sitting out a few years from video game football has my interest renewed.

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 11:19 am

The thing that kept impressing me the most was being able to actually drop a soft toss in over the linebackers' heads and in front of the safeties. If they could reach it, they'd make a play on it...but I didn't see any Superman leaps or psychic interceptions. Throwing a deep post or deep cross was very enjoyable, as I could actually get some touch on it and just watch the LB turn to chase down the landing spot, not jump seven feet in the air for a pick/swat.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 12:03 pm

TCrouch wrote:The thing that kept impressing me the most was being able to actually drop a soft toss in over the linebackers' heads and in front of the safeties. If they could reach it, they'd make a play on it...but I didn't see any Superman leaps or psychic interceptions. Throwing a deep post or deep cross was very enjoyable, as I could actually get some touch on it and just watch the LB turn to chase down the landing spot, not jump seven feet in the air for a pick/swat.

The thing is, this alternates every year in EA football games. Some years, the middle is open, other years, it's the corners or streaks.

You get complaints about such and such route being too easy and next year, EA takes it away, often by making defenders jump or warp to close separation after the release of the pass.

We swing back and forth and if you look at just two releases, it looks like progress of sorts but it's really about doing the minimum it takes to placate the customers instead of fundamentally redesigning to address the flaws.

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 12:11 pm

Played some more and now have a mixed reaction. I am still not overly impressed, but I didn't play much madden and ncaa last year for the first time in 5 years so maybe that time off makes me miss the sport. I will probably see if the game is on sale if I consider buying it. The controls is one thing I do like since they are smoother and almost like ps2 controls without the skating.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 12:18 pm

TCrouch wrote:The thing that kept impressing me the most was being able to actually drop a soft toss in over the linebackers' heads and in front of the safeties. If they could reach it, they'd make a play on it...but I didn't see any Superman leaps or psychic interceptions. Throwing a deep post or deep cross was very enjoyable, as I could actually get some touch on it and just watch the LB turn to chase down the landing spot, not jump seven feet in the air for a pick/swat.

Good to hear. For me, that was maybe the biggest flaw in NCAA 08.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 4:32 pm

No impressions for 10 days....does that mean that last year's turnover problems are improved, nobody is ready for football, there are too many good games, can't tell because the demo is on a low skill level, or all of the above?

In my case it's "release of OOTP9"!

Post by **Jared** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 4:38 pm

It's a mixture of d) can't tell because of the skill level, e) OOTP 9 and not having a ton of time to put in the demo.

However, I haven't seen big turnover problems. And it seems like player control is improved.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 4:48 pm

For those who aren't aware, if you change the date settings on your 360 or PS3 to November or December, the demo is played at night.

Murph · Post by **Murph** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 5:24 pm

sportdan30 wrote:For those who aren't aware, if you change the date settings on your 360 or PS3 to November or December, the demo is played at night.

Cool. I'm gonna try that out. I'll assume you have to disconnect from the net, otherwise the 360 will automatically default to the actual date and time.

kevinpars · Post by **kevinpars** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 6:56 pm

I have had a lot of fun playing this demo. I have probably played 10 games at this point. It looks a lot better than last year (the intro is a bit too orange, but that is minor). It plays a lot better. I just had a lot of fun and really enjoy things so far. From what the community leaders over at OS say, it is an early build, so that is also good news. I am looking forward to this game and Madden this year.

vader29 · Post by **vader29** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 7:05 pm

I was going to skip out on NCAA this year and only pick up Madden, but after playing the demo it's a day one purchase again for me.