NCAA Basetball 09 Demo Available, Impressions Here

[kfloamy]

This is completely insignificant but I REALLY like the way the when you press start in order to leave the practice court and go to a real game the campus background fades and then the arena fades in and suddenly you're on the arena floor shooting and the crowd is going crazy when you hit shots but you're still in your street clothes.

I guess I'm so excited about it that it makes me write extremely long sentences.

Anyway, cool feature.

[ehh]

Blah, 37% in an hour and a half. Guess I'll have to try it out tomorrow.

[sportdan30]

The comments on the tempo could get a little old if they repeatedly make comments about it the entire game. But, it is true how you really need to play with specific teams.

I played one game with Kentucky and played a little too fast. TN played very up tempo which suits their style. I found out pretty quickly that I need to really work the ball around. I was also getting full court pressed like crazy. Just how TN plays defense.

The second game I played with TN. Kentucky methodically worked the ball around looking for the open shot. I hit a few shots early, but very soon Kentucky started to control the tempo and I started to struggle from the field.

The passing seems quicker. It's resembles the college game where you can really pass the ball around the perimeter, throw it down low and then back outside.

The jump button is without a doubt much more responsive in the demo than NBA Live '09. I know there's a reason for Live to have the jump button like that (momentum), but I much prefer how it is in this game.

I like how the coach throws his two cents in to what's happening on the court. I'd keep this feature on as it adds to the college atmosphere.

The TN band playing repeatedly was rather annoying. Hope that can be tuned.

The commentary is better than expected. There are lulls here and there in the broadcast, but I rather prefer that. Vitale sounds better than I would of thought. A little robotic, but it's not overkill.

The shot animations could use some improvement, but they're definitely passable.

I can't understand why I can't push the ball up the court after a made basket by the computer. Am I missing something, but isn't this also in Live? Any suggestions? I'm pressing the right trigger button to speed burst but it doesn't allow me to sprint.

I like the charge fouls and b.s. flop calls. There's some really nice foul animations.

You can tell this game has a ton more animations than Live but is very similar in game engine.

The arenas are bright and spacious as opposed to a more darker feel with Live.

Graphically, I think it looks great. The sweat on the players heads and face are done very nicely. The courts look great. I can't tell you if they're 100 percent accurate but this game looks a heck of a lot better than NBA 2K9 on the PS3.

Finally, the court spacing is very nice. The players don't stand around waiting for the ball. There's a lot of movement.

[J-Unit40]

The only thing missing from this demo is...

1. Corey Beck
2. Corliss Williamson
3. Scotty Thurman
4. Al Dillard
5. Dwight Stewart

1994 anyone? Those shorts are huge!

[The 24th Letter]

Quote: Originally Posted by Behindshadows

Why do you guys come in here and always try to turn everything into a 2k vs EA war! Enough is enough! If you love CH so much play it with updated rosters over and over again until it wears out. Fact of the matter is, this game plays great, and for people who can respect the difference in gameplay and see that its a solid game. They are here posting constructive criticism without mentioning the other game. This game is far from garbage, people are just mad because they did a great job! Now you have less to complain about, so you come in here with ignorant comments like what you just posted and want to flame everything especially while trying to throw CH into every damn thing. #1 this game is not CH. #2 its not trying to be CH. #3 CH does not look better than this. #4 NCAA does not need CH's outdated engine. #5 The bias 2kfan crap is making me hate 2ksports right now! I can go on forever, this is why the 2k devs don't go into their threads anymore, because of how childish 2kfans have gotten about everything.

This post doesnt really help your case though, you essentially just did the exact same thing lol

anyway, I like this demo so far.....ive been meaning to give a college game the uh......college try....might check this out...

[Shinyhubcaps]

I want to like this game... I know that there is only one officially licensed college basketball game this year, and I know that EA has worked hard on it... but I cannot bring myself to enjoy it for the on-court experience.

1.) Passes are slow and unresponsive to ball-swings.
2.) Pro-hops and hop steps are out from what I can tell. That's a real shame.
3.) You cannot control off-ball (offense) on inbounds plays from what I can tell.
4.) You cannot direct-switch (defense) on inbounds plays.
5.) The direct-switch icons stay up longer than they should. They should only be there when I hold the button, not a bit after. It gets messy if they stay up too long and I want to shoot and end up passing, or if they go away too soon and I want to pass and end up shooting.
6.) The animations are very jerky, and the player models seem to not have been improved.

It just seems that there are some basic basketball skills that are lacking or watered down. Many of the game mechanics seem fundamentally bad. In general, the players seem to lack a sense of control and maneuverability.

I like the classic teams, some of the presentation aspects, and definitely the main menu and load menu. I'm sure that there are many other things that I would like. However, when the core of the game is uncomfortable, then pretty much everything else is affected.

Those are my honest impressions. I am relatively new to college basketball and am excited for the upcoming season, but I cannot see myself buying this game. (For the record, none of my review is contingent on that "other game," the one that was All-Conference last year and benched for this season. The control would feel jerky regardless of what the competition has done. I expected better.)

[spit_bubble]

Eeewww...

That demo was uglier than Cherokee Parks. I had to delete that off my hard drive as fast as possible...

*shivers and goes back to playing FIFA 09*

[bad_philanthropy]

I thoroughly enjoyed 2k's game over the years but put me in the group that is surprisingly impressed with the game. The gameplay isn't perfect, but it's fun. Day one purchase for me.