NCAA March Madness 09 News Post

NCAA Basetball 09 Demo Available, Impressions Here

09:40 AM - November 6, 2008 by Murph

Some stuff you already knew:

Playable teams are Tennesse, Kentucky, 1979 North Carolina and 1982 Michigan State.

You play one half, which is locked at 8 minutes.

Pratice gym from Live is a half court blacktop on campus grounds.

Lots of half court traps and full court presses.

One dude I passed to was completely out of bounds. Only happened once though.

If you liked Live, you should like this as well.

NCAA Basketball 09 screenshot gallery - Click to view

Game: NCAA Basketball 09Reader Score: 7/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / Xbox 360Votes for game: 29 - View All

NCAA Basketball 09 Videos

Member Comments

# 1 FORMULA316 @ 11/06/08 09:57 AM

Yes, 8 minutes, as I mentioned in the demo release date thread.
Already the demo for me plays a better game than NBA Live. It's
more satisfying on D, mind you this is me comparing the demo's
solely and not the full retail games.

Being a fan of 2K Hoops, I am not sure if I will pick either EA game
this year however from a fun perspective, the NCAA is off to a
good start.

# 2 Fiddy @ 11/06/08 10:12 AM

360 demo is out?

# 3 rockchisler @ 11/06/08 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Murph


	Some stuff you already knew: Playable teams are Tennesse, Kentucky, 1979 North Carolina and 1982 Michigan State. You play one half, which is locked at 8 minutes. Pratice gym from Live is a half court blacktop on campus grounds. Lots of half court traps and full court presses. One dude I passed to was completely out of bounds. Only happened once though. If you liked Live, you should like this as well.

I havent downloaded the demo and I know that its 1979 Michigan State, and 1982 North Carolina, not the other way around...Just being nitpicky

# 4 sgtspit @ 11/06/08 10:26 AM

this is an impression topic,dont start getting picky,anyways,games does play better than live but at the same time its over polished for a college feel.I like it.might hang on to choops08.gonna play some more,maybe my feeling will change.

# 5 DakkoN @ 11/06/08 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FORMULA316


	Already the demo for me plays a better game than NBA Live.

I can't agree with this at all. The animations feel jerky and unresponsive. The control feels sluggish. The passing is awful, especially when being full court pressed. Not once, not twice, but 3 times in a row, my player I was passing it to either A) catch the ball and pivot out of bounds, or B) run towards out of bounds before they tried to catch it.

# 6 intellisect @ 11/06/08 10:48 AM

The bad news: The NBA Live 08 engine is still unusable garbage. Controls are squishy and sluggish. Animations are wild, lengthy, and weird. Player models are just not right.

The good news: NCAA Basketball 10 will probably be good because the NBA Live 09 engine is actually a passable basketball platform.

Oh well...

# 7 sportdan30 @ 11/06/08 11:04 AM

Squishy? LOL. That's a new way to describe the controls.

Hope we get some better detailed impressions later on this morning and afternoon.

# 8 bases1616 @ 11/06/08 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiddy


	360 demo is out?

Yes it is. The PS3 version should be out later this afternoon or early evening.

# 9 ehh @ 11/06/08 11:07 AM

Wait, I thought this game was suppose to Live 09's engine. It's using Live 08? That is very bad news.

# 10 bowld @ 11/06/08 11:12 AM

i like it..i played 3 games and by the end of the 3rd game i was really enjoying it. to me it plays alot more like live 09 than live 08

live 08 was trash..i will be buying this game come release day

# 11 intellisect @ 11/06/08 11:21 AM

This is definately the 08 engine, the TeamXbox interview stated this. This is nowhere near as good as the Live 09 engine.

# 12 sportdan30 @ 11/06/08 11:25 AM

Where is it confirmed that it's the '08 engine? Or are people going off of the video they saw, because I thought I read they were using the same engine this year as Live. They were going to improve upon it with the added length of time they had.

# 13 The Kid 24 @ 11/06/08 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by intellisect


	This is definately the 08 engine, the TeamXbox interview stated this. This is nowhere near as good as the Live 09 engine.

What prompted the move to use the Live engine for NCAA Basketball 09?

Connor Dougan: Some of you may already be aware, NBA LIVE re-wrote their Gameplay engine a few years ago and it has seen significant improvement in 08 and in 09.

At the end of the 08 product year for March Madness we felt that the basketball engine (shipped in NBA LIVE 08) was in a state where we felt that that there was a strong, core foundation and ultimately, in a position for us to take it.

The March Madness Gameplay engine was suffering from old tech resulting in poor animation blends, questionable physics and a code base that was very difficult to manage/maintain/enhance (to name a few issues).

So� the EA SPORTS Basketball engine was a go for NCAA Basketball 09. I�m really excited about this year�s engine, how we were able to build upon it to create an authentic college basketball experience.

Where in there does it say... NCAA 09 is using NBA Live 08 engine?

# 14 ehh @ 11/06/08 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prince of Milwaukee 28


	*What prompted the move to use the Live engine for NCAA Basketball 09?* Connor Dougan: Some of you may already be aware, NBA LIVE re-wrote their Gameplay engine a few years ago and it has seen significant improvement in 08 and in 09. At the end of the 08 product year for March Madness we felt that the basketball engine (shipped in NBA LIVE 08) was in a state where we felt that that there was a strong, core foundation and ultimately, in a position for us to take it. The March Madness Gameplay engine was suffering from old tech resulting in poor animation blends, questionable physics and a code base that was very difficult to manage/maintain/enhance (to name a few issues). So… the EA SPORTS Basketball engine was a go for NCAA Basketball 09. I’m really excited about this year’s engine, how we were able to build upon it to create an authentic college basketball experience. Where in there does it say... NCAA 09 is using NBA Live 08 engine?

Yeah, that's the only media I remember reading about the engine. Re-reading it now it does seem unclear though. The parts in read are kinda of confusing.

# 15 therizing02 @ 11/06/08 11:37 AM

Played 2 quick games this morning before work. The game has a similar to feel to NBA Live 09 with the obvious differences for the college game.

I did notice the player receiving the pass while out of bounds once, but no big deal.

Positives:

The tempo meter.
There is a noticeable difference in how your players react based on the tempo
In game coach feedback
The ability to select 3 areas of focus/strategy before the game.
On the default setting I was actually seeing a fair amount of fouls.
Good spacing
Steal and block animations are much better than NBA Live
Noticeable differences in styles of play per team.

Negatives:

Still has a few jerky animations
I don't particularly care for the ball/rim physics

It's a much better game than 08, but it's still too early for me to be thinking that I'll be playing this more than 2K8. That game is really good. Regardless, I'll be getting NCAA 2009 for a change of pace.

Maybe we can get some impressions throughout the day on whether or not the lack of fast breaks has been addressed in the game. I'd also like to know how old the build is.

# 16 Murph @ 11/06/08 11:45 AM

Classic teams are as you'd expect, wearing the short shorts, Chuck Taylor Converse All-Stars, etc.

# 17 jrich730 @ 11/06/08 11:52 AM

I am loving the tempo feature of the game i was tennesee and we ran up and down while kentucky slowed up and ran there set very lif like...also the fast breaks are ran a lot better than live 09 players actually attack the basket on here...i cant wait to recruit for my run n gun offense

# 18 Behindshadows @ 11/06/08 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ehh


	Wait, I thought this game was suppose to Live 09's engine. It's using Live 08? That is very bad news.

I played about 4 games early this morning and it is the NBA Live 09 engine!

Some people are just being critical. It does play better than Live 09 and much faster and smoother. As far as the out of bounds passing. Out of all 4 games, I didn't do that 1 time. I have a HD Video I'm uploading and will post later today.

Many people went into this looking for a negative, but when you watch this video I created you'll see for yourself.

The game is a lot better than I expected!

# 19 CeltBhoy33 @ 11/06/08 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ehh


	Wait, I thought this game was suppose to Live 09's engine. It's using Live 08? That is very bad news.

I thought it was 09 as well.

# 20 ehh @ 11/06/08 12:10 PM

I never bought Live 09 but I still have the demo on my PS3, I'll make sure to play that right before playing this demo for comparison purposes.

I really want this game to be good.

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