College basketball fans, what to do for your video game fix this winter... - ehh's Blog

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ehh's Blog

College basketball fans, what to do for your video game fix this winter... Stuck

Posted on December 3, 2008 at 04:16 PM.

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Now that NCAA Basketball 09 has been out for two weeks, rosters are named, sliders are out and a patch has been released from EA we have a pretty good idea of where things stand on the college basketball front how this game stacks up in comparison to the famed College Hoops 2K8.

I have played about 20 games of NCAA 09 (with sliders, on 20 min halves) and have a very good idea of what the game offers, what it's bright spots are and what it needs to work on.

It has been interesting to read the forums over the last couple weeks about people trashing the game who's complaints are clearly related to the fact that they...

1) Don't know the controls (I can't tell you how many posts there have been about too many offensive fouls in the post, this is because people don't understand how to execute moves in the post. Once you've mastered that, and it's not difficult to do, you will see a majority of those charges go away).

2) Haven't learned the engine.

3) Played one or two games before giving up on NCAA 09.

4) Think and/or expect NCAA 09 to be College Hoops 2K9.

I'm not saying this game is perfect, but it does do a lot of things well if you give it a chance, pay attention and learn the in's and out's of the controls as well as the engine.

As for what gamers should do this winter, as always it's up to each individual gamer and what their preferences are, but in short I would recommend keeping 2K8 in your catalog and adding NCAA 09.

The games are both very different and combined they managed to cover up each others' short comings. As the strengths of 2K8 have been well documented I'll focus on the strengths of NCAA 09.

The game play in NCAA 09 focuses more on tempo and the uniqueness of each team but at times will not focus enough on star players. 2K8 focuses more on the individual (after playbook and tendency edits) players but the tempo will be the same in almost every game you play and the individual results aren't always the best. I played a game of 2K8 last night with updated rosters, UNC vs UConn and Hansbrough scored 2 points on 1-1 FG's in 24 minutes even though he has 99 for close shot tendency.

Fastbreaking and the transition game is done very well in NCAA 09 (if you're having trouble scoring on the break, press the dunk/layup button before you are even in the paint to attack the rim. Don't wait til you are too close) while it is virtually non-existent in 2K8 unless you get a steal.

Perhaps the highlight of NCAA 09 is the floor spacing, ball movement and defensive recovery/rotations. If you are a true basketball fan and understand and enjoy the fundamentals of the game, you will certainly enjoy NCAA 09 in this regard. You can score in every way imagine, penetrate and pitch, inside-out, pick and roll, isolation, running plays, etc and it is very enjoyable to watch your teammates make the extra pass for a wide open three.

The graphics are sharp although the shorts still look kinda foolish and definitely need to be redone for '10. The animations can be spotty but are improving and you still will see players step out of bounds far too often, even with the force field boundary slider turned up.

Turnovers are also very well done, you will see errant passes, offensive fouls in the post, more charges than 2K8, 10-second and 5-second calls and of course steals.

Once you step off the court and into the features, dynasty and roster section of NCAA 09 you will really see how far it trails 2K8 in these categories. 2K8 was a dream game in terms of all of these areas and as polished and great of a complete package as we've ever seen from a sports game.

The rosters aren't as accurate as they should be, the player editing is nothing to write home about and you can't move players to different teams, redshirt/transfer players (in the default roster like 2K8) or change the year/class of a player. You can't sort by attributes and the name database pales in comparison to 2K8.

Dynasty mode is okay by average sports game standards, but when comparing it to the king in 2K8 it just doesn't come close yet. Recruiting has way too many 5-star recruits and in general seems too easy, there are very few preseason tournaments, you cannot play any game you want (non-user games) and there is no weekly highlight show. 2K8 vets will notice the lack of ability to click the R-stick at almost any menu and get a player or team summary/scouting report.

There is also no player lock, no export dynasty team, no create or edit a school feature.

If you are a die-hard college basketball fan who wants the most immersive experience from head-to-toe, then 2K8 remains the game of choice. When you factor in every area the game is still ahead of NCAA 09 in many regards. If you are into player lock or coach mode dynasties, 2K8 is still the way to go.

If you are a die-hard college basketball fan who has tired of 2K8's gameplay, looking for something new or looking for more realistic gameplay as a whole then NCAA 09 is the best route to take.

If you are a casual gamer who is looking to have fun and not spend a ton of time with a college basketball title, NCAA 09 is your game of choice unless you want to save $50 and get 2K8 used.

My plans for the winter are to run a UConn dynasty in NCAA 09, play exhibition games in 2K8 from time to time and continue to work on classic rosters. At this point I would imagine a 70/30 split between the titles, with NCAA 09 getting more time. But this is coming from someone who played close to 300 games of 2K8 and has tired of it.

Either way, I don't think you can go wrong this winter. Stick with the classic or try the new game on the block. The NCAA series still has a ways to go but it is a very good start for an EA game - especially in comparision to March Madness of the past and the current state of their two football games. Things could be a lot worse, but for college basketball gamers we may be it best out of any sport.