News Post

NCAA Football 09 (360) Review

01:40 AM - July 15, 2008 by RaychelSnr

We have just posted our review of NCAA Football 09 for the Xbox 360.

Quote:


	"With every summer comes the anticipation of sports games as gamers prepare for the new season of interactive entertainment. Soon we will be bombarded with great titles and have to make decisions on which games to pick up and which games to pass on. Now the sports gamers new year has finally arrived with the release of NCAA Football 09. The new year does not start off with a bang, but it definitely has started off with a quality title."

NCAA Football 09 screenshot gallery - Click to view

Game: NCAA Football 09Reader Score: 7/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS2 / PS3 / PSP / Wii / Xbox 360Votes for game: 95 - View All

NCAA Football 09 Videos

Member Comments

# 61 bomberooski @ 07/16/08 05:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThaPeeplz


	Ok, I started my dynasty. Played about 15 mins first game. Went back to 08 and played about 15 mins. I'm going to post what I'm noticing as I play. Here you go. The very first thing I noticed, because I love to play defense, is that they took the strafe button out. Holding the left trigger to strafe does not work anymore. Its more of an analog sensitive feature now, I'm not saying that in a good way either.

Weird. Left trigger to strafe has been working for me.

# 62 ThaPeeplz @ 07/16/08 05:05 AM

Had to check the book for a second, and lo and behold it still has strafe as left trigger in the manual. Its not in the game. Lets see, crowd didnt look bad in 08. Its worse here, I'm assuming they took away from it, to make the cheerleaders. I'd rather have the crowd and the players on the sidelines more detailed, they could have kept the cheerleaders actually. Suggestion, If they can only do one or the other, sideline players should get first priority, then crowd, then cheerleaders. Crowd and cheerleaders could go either way depending on the person I guess.

# 63 ThaPeeplz @ 07/16/08 05:08 AM

bomberooski, left trigger doesnt strafe man. Dont use the trigger and watch, I gaurantee the players are gonna be doing the same thing that you thought they were doing because you were using the trigger.

# 64 ThaPeeplz @ 07/16/08 05:12 AM

The overall gameplay doesnt feel as crisp as last years either. I commend them for trying something new with the open gameplay, but it seems to have taken away from the on field physics. Its very hard to explain. Players dont seem to have weight to them. I like the overall feel of last years game better. Standby, let me get some more game time here.

# 65 ThaPeeplz @ 07/16/08 05:21 AM

Not really hearing any new commentary lines, does anyone notice If they've added any? I dont hear anything new. Hmm, grass looks different. That wasnt really that big of a deal for me anyway. My judgement now is kind of hasty, but so far, I can actually stick with last years version and it aint to big of a deal.

# 66 ChiCubs @ 07/16/08 09:20 AM

simply amazing. year after year after year we go through this. i actually popped in NCAA 2004 on the ole Xbox and had a blast. the D was tight. the offense was challenging. the atmosphere was terrific. i am gonna continue my Gator dynasty baby!!!

# 67 prscorpio2681 @ 07/16/08 02:57 PM

I just got my copy and i cant complain...witha few issues(kick return...pick 6) the game is fun to play and great to look at....i havent had any issues d/l pastas rosters either.....i even had some non college gamers have fun with the game so 8.5 sounds good.....im not on EA balls either....i loved the 2k series......but i cant complain either...ppl are just bashing the game

# 68 blazer003 @ 07/16/08 03:50 PM

I was very much alright with 07 and 08. That said, 09 game play is immensely disappointing. The defensive AI is the biggest culprit. Now that I figured out the system I can run one play and it works every time. There are three options:

1. Crossing route, receiver always beats his defender in zone or man.
2. Hitch, if the crossing route isn't there, there is almost always the hitch man with his defender sitting right behind him, but don't worry, the defender will never try to jump the pass, he'll just tackle him as soon as he gets the ball.
3. Scramble. I'm playing as Oregon State, so my QB is slow as hell, but depending on the coverage, I can still sometimes scramble for 10-20 yards.

When I'm playing D (I play on All-American) it's the same thing. Computer's always hitting the crossing route or the hitch. No throws down field. Also, I tried for fun doing engage 8 from the 4-4 and 5-2. Now if I do that in real life, yeah it's probably going to be a completion, but the QB better get rid of the ball fast. Nope, he still has 5 or more seconds to sit and analyze which of his wide open receivers he will pass to.

I'm not enjoying the game play of this new game at all.

# 69 ThaPeeplz @ 07/16/08 04:46 PM

I'm stll waiting on the real espn presentation. Thats all that we really need I think. T.V. style presentation. They keep trying to revamp the play on field when it actually never was that bad (except for 07 in my opinion). The wide open gameplay thing seems to have jacked up the field play rather than enhance it. Leave the field play alone and focus on the presentation now......please. Crowds, sidelines, halftime, pre game, post game wrap ups, ya know, thats what really needs the work.

# 70 texbuk84 @ 07/17/08 12:40 AM

this is a great game to me. it's great.

# 71 irishranger73 @ 07/17/08 06:47 PM

I actually miss one of the coolest features of 08'.....how stadium lighting changes as you get deeper into the game. 08 had (has ) a great feel to it.

Why did Ea take it out this year??????????

# 72 Bennyb14 @ 07/18/08 05:12 PM

People who have an issue with the CPU not throwing deep know nothing about modern college offenses. As a former college QB I can tell you that the reason for this "glitch" is that most college QBs don't throw deep unless a guy is ridiculously open. College QBs are not pros and don't have the same arm strength you'll see in Madden, even if the ratings in the game may give them the ability. College offenses are geared towards moving the chains, not going deep 10 times a game. If you watch, pass happy college offenses like Texas Tech and Hawaii may wrack up the yards, but they do it on slants and short crossing routes that use picks by the other recievers to create a big play. Out of the 50 or 60 passes a game Colt Brennan threw last year maybe 3 or 4 were deep balls and most of those were not completed. A short passing game that completes at 70% is far more successful and the CPU is merely taking advantage of this. I you pay attention to the NFL, Tom Brady's most successful years were years where he has thrown alot of short passes mixed with one or two big throws a game. Just because a video gamer who has never played QB in a real game in his life may throw the ball deep 20 times and score 7 touchdowns doesn't mean it's worth dropping your completion percentage to 35% for the 7 TDs, because if your offense fails that much you won't get that chance for 7 tds in one game.

# 73 xblistoeasy @ 07/19/08 05:18 PM

playing this game the first time was amazing and i thought it was gunna be the best game ever but i realiized that if you know how to become the reciever and you are fsu online you can just throw it up to greg carr 6"5 reciever and you will pound all the bad kids who dont know how to control a d'back. its a good game but they need to fix that

# 74 Exonerated @ 07/19/08 10:09 PM

I see a few cpu deep passes in my game. But thats probably because i play cover 1 and usually cover 0.

# 75 bears5122 @ 07/19/08 10:52 PM

I think the score is real high for the game, but admit it's tough to make a sports review on a game that really hasn't been played a lot. Sports games, especially deep ones, take weeks, even months before bugs and issues are found. It takes times to figure out what plays eventually can exploit the CPU and how. The game has a lot of flaws, but I'm imagining the reviewers probably hadn't seen them yet or heard about them at the time.

# 76 OMT @ 07/20/08 12:15 AM

I don't know why Ian took a dip in this thread, and I don't know why I am as well.

That said.. 8.5 is pretty much where this game is falling. If you look at the composite reviews it has gotten... hey, 85 out of 100 on the nose so far. http://www.metacritic.com/search/pro...9&ty=3&x=0&y=0

# 77 OMT @ 07/20/08 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by erivera7


	Never in my post did I say you confirmed them as bugs, I said you confirmed them as problems. I didn't make a mindless accusation, I'm going off of what Ian himself said.

For the record, we refer to "problems" as bugs. Anytime there is a problem with a game, it is entered into the bug database. I don't want to speak for Ian of course, but we use the term "bug" pretty liberally.

# 78 dewdirty @ 07/20/08 12:43 AM

I withheld judgment and rented this game. Now mind you, I have only been playing 2K5 and 2K8 for the past year, no Madden and very little NCAA 08. This game is actually comical versus the cpu. It is in no way a simulation, other than ther are 22 guy on the field. Explain to me how any of you can play 2K5, 2K8, Last gen Madden or last gen NCAA, and say this game is good? It is a joke. I was bored with it after the first 4 games, when i found that I could just cal l crossing patterns and complete every pass. WTF??? I am glad I rented first, because now I will definitely not buy Madden until after I rent it; and don't tell me about how EA is trying... I am a programmer buy profession and some of the bugs that made it into the release version of this game are pathetic. If I did this with software I develop for the company I work for, I would have been fired a long time ago. While you want testers to use "use cases" and testing plans to test software, it also very important to have someone try and "break" the software you develop so you can find and fix bugs. I seriously doubt EA has done this for the next gen systems. NCAA is no longer a football sim, it is a fun game to play against friends, but horrible to play alone. The fact that I can score touchdowns without ever reading a defense or caring about coverages makes this game closer to blitz than to a sim. I only pray that Madden will be better, but I am not holding my breath. And for the record, I don't blame Ian or his team directly. I think they are victims of unreasonable timelines and the need to out perform on quarterly profits. When we as gamers either stop buying the product or something better forces a change, EA will continue this pay to play the release candidate charade. If you enjoy this game I envy you, because I wish I knew just a little less about football so I could too.

# 79 Exonerated @ 07/20/08 12:48 AM

wow. some pretty harsh reviews here.

I guess theres a distinct difference of opinion by the Sim and the Fun crowd.

The vocal minority are sure killing ncaa.

# 80 WallaceNails @ 07/20/08 01:46 AM

I really enjoy playing this game.

I like the fact that EA has some developers here that we can interact with on ideas and issues.

THEY are here to try and make their product better. If you want a "perfect" game-- the way you like it--then here is your chance to influence EA.

Instead, some here are taking this chance to bash the points that need improvement (In their view)

You are like the people that refuse to vote in elections, but then bitch all the while about the guy that got elected.

Valid and constructive critics are needed to make anything improve. If you just want to just bitch, then you are going to accomplish NOTHING.

If you ever want to play a College Football game that is the way you always wanted, then help. You have the EA guys here listening.

« Previous 1 2 345 Next »

More Links

NCAA Football 09 (360) Review