I think it plays much better than last years from what I've seen so far.. I'm just not big into the recruiting portion of the game, so I'll still probably pass on it.. but for those of you who liked last years.. I think you'll like this years even more.

Even though it was just a bit over the top...I agree with Hell Atlantic. Last years NCAA was well beyond any game I have ever played. They could have even just rebranded 08 as 09 and given it the online dynasty feature and I would still be stoked. If this years is an improvement, I'll be in FOFC MP heaven.

Dude, when I see you in my Xbox Live friends list, you're always winning NCAA or Madden by scores of 84-7 or something like that. How can you complain about winning 21-0 in the demo, especially when you're going to drop the full version down to the baby level and crush the AI every game? :)

All they have to do is two things:

1) Fix the INT problem (and no super human linebackers).

2) Fix the option.

There are perfect games out there. The difference between those games and the current state of most sports franchises? Sports games are forced to release a new game every year by the executives of the company.

I have no problem if they release a brand new game every other year and then release roster/logo/uniform updates in the off years. The problem with that theory? They don't get you to fork over $60 every year. As a result, we get half-assed upgrades every year instead of an innovative new game every other year. Hopefully the Madden and NCAA games continue their double digit losses in sales for a 3rd straight year and EA finally figures out 'Oh, we need to put out a good game?'. But I won't hold my breath.

Um.... No.

not likely. it wouldn't be a good strategy for a company suffering such huge losses on a product to invest *more* resources into improving it. i think we'd be more likely to see a discontinuance of new features and selling the game in stores and EA essentially selling downloadable rosters and uni's in the Xbox Live marketplace and similar for PS3. this would eliminate the need for such high overhead (namely salaries of developers) and still be able to generate revenue cuz they'd only need to keep a handful of people to update rosters and uni's. this is a more likely route than "i guess we're forced to dump even more money, time and resources into this product that generates losses for us".

Yes, please point us to perfect *sports* games. It's easy to create perfect games in other genres when realism/stats/ability to have the AI perform exactly as you see them on Saturdays and Sundays isn't an issue.

MBBF is like that best guy friend your girlfriend has. She tells him all the problems you have, and he tells her all the reasons you're wrong for her, all the while angling himself in for the kill. Then when the chips are down, he fails to deliever and stands outside her door blasting Phil Collins, only to be denied.

there is no such guy/scenario.

Which song, "Against All Odds"?

Translation: DeToxRox is headed back for another round of rehab.

If you're able to show me that EA is constantly pushing the envelope to improve the sports game genre, I'll be happy to retract my statement. I believe that EA Sports is the main reason that sports gaming is as lousy as it is right now as you correctly cited. When an industry leader makes it the norm to provide slight upgrades each year rather than full innovation and will buy up licenses or companies to make sure that status quo holds, there's a big problem. It's inexcusable.

I think NHL 08 is an awesome game (one that I still play). The deke stick and the use of analog controls for shooting definitely pushed the envelope.

I disagree. That's a great short-term solution but long-term it will kill the franchise. People won't come back unless they get new features.

The bottom line is, though sales are down, it's still profitable. I'm sure they're trying to figure out the most cost-effective solution to drive more sales. That's what companies that want to stay in business do.

You only further my argument. The sports where EA faces stiff competition are the ones where they tend to do a better job of adding features to keep up with the competition (though I still think it's not nearly as good as they could do given the large amount of assets at their disposal). That doesn't happen where competition has been removed.

Thus far, their solution has been to dump millions into PR campaigns. That hasn't worked over the past two years. A third year of 10%+ declines in the Madden/NCAA franchises may force them to rethink that strategy.

Can't you download the demo on the PS3. I did.

What does any of this have to do with the "perfect games out there" that you claim? Seriously, waiting on a list of these sports games.

And for the record, as I've stated many times in threads like this, I have no problem with enjoying these games for what they are. I'll spend $60 on what amounts to basically a roster update. I spent about $100 on beer the other night and don't even remember most of it. I'll get months of enjoyment out of Madden/NCAA because I take them for what they are and I'm not driving myself crazy when something unrealistic happens. Now if other people don't feel that way, of course that's fine.

GTA IV is pretty damn close to a perfect game in my eyes and I'm sure there are others out there (Besides GTA, I've barely played any non-sports game in years). But you have to admit that sports games in general are at a significant disadvantage when it comes to realism.

Well, duh!

Hey, you asked me for an EA game that pushed the envelope and I gave you one. If you wanted a different answer that fit within the comfy confines of your argument, you'll need to be more specific next time.

As I stated before, I totally agree with you. Sports gaming is at an all-time low and most of that can be directly or indirectly attributed to EA. It's a shame, but it's very true.

I'd give nods to Mass Effect, Gears of War, and Metal Gear Solid 4. All three of those games are just about as good as it gets IMO.

I'll end the suspense. No amount of resources will ever make a sports game perfect. Ever.

The best video game is the one where I go outside to play. IT'S SO REAL!

But when you die, you don't get another life.

This word "Perfect." I do not think it means what you think it means.

A guy over at OS noticed that if you reset your 360's clock to a date in Nov-Dec prior to starting the demo, you get a night game rather than dusk. I'm not entirely sure why this is the case, but I tried it and it definitely works.

Notes for playing three demo games so far.

Game play wise, looks like NCAA2008 again, it may be playing via varsity mode, but my thoughts so far.

TE Crossing routes over the middle are overpowered yet again.. had three 50 yard+ plays in three demo games so far.

Scrambling QB's are over powered. just hike the ball, and bootleg to one side, and either run for a first down or throw.

Pass defense looked better, but not quite there yet

I disagree. Especially since EA has a huge deal with the NFL for exclusivity. I can't imagine a company like EA saying "well it keeps losing money, so lets make it worse". When your sales are down, you're losing customers. A smart business would work to get them back.

And honestly, I think they try to make the game better, but have executives so out of touch with reality they can't. It reminds me a bit of what ESPN did to sports television. EA has put this image in their head of their customer that is so far off from reality. They think their fans care about soundtracks and Madden cards. That a create-a-ring feature is going to gloss over the fact that the AI can be abused to death. Think about some of the features this company has added over the years, it's laughable. If you had told me there was a create-a-fan function being added to a game, I'd have thought you had read it off The Onion.

As for the demo, it reminded me a lot of last year's version. I did play two full games and had 3 pick-6's between the two games. Hope this is just a factor of the level the demo is set on.

Ditto. Seems to be the exact same game to me as well with a ton of interceptions and long run backs. We'll see how the release build plays, but right now I am still skeptical it will be that much improved.

One very cool new feature that I have been wanting to see added to Madden/NCAA forever is that when I hit the jump button at the goalline my running back *gasp* actually jumped over the pile instead of sliding along his belly for a loss.

FIFA 08 was great also.

Agree, and the following soccer game, UEFA Cup is even better. They have improved a lot the soccer franchise in the last year. I think it's not a random thing but that in soccer games, Konami and their PES was way better on sales and gameplay, so they had to step up, unlike with football games where they have the exclusivity.

I wouldn't give EA too much credit in this regard. Rumors are flying that EA is about to land an exclusive deal with two of the big Euro leagues and is looking to get more to leave PES without many licenses. They're doing the same thing now in soccer.

Well, another thing to add to this is that PES gameplay hasn't stepped up the past few years. It's as if they rested on their "we'll always be better than EA" laurels. Yes, EA's getting the licenses, but they're also hitting PES in the one area it had an advantage: gameplay.

PES definitely didn't help themselves last year. That build didn't add much at all.

QFT.

I've always been a PES guy as the rosters/mod available for download to the Xbox made the lack of license a non-factor. However, I heard that gameplay was better in FIFA 08, so I gave it a try, and it's true.

I thought PES innovated heavily on the Wii this year?

It did, but the 360/PS3 versions are stagnant and perhaps taking steps back.

Btw, Bill Abner received his copy of the game from EA and will be talking about it tonight:

http://nutweasel.blogspot.com/

I like how reviews are embargoed until July 15th. :)

I messed around with the demo, finally. Based on it, I will definitely not be buying NCAA this year.

Well, according to Bill, the interception problem that ruined the game last year is still in the game. Way to go, EA.

Guess I'll cancel my pre-order and put it on NHL 09.

Sounds like Heisman is the way to go on it according to Apter.

Wow...that's no good. He's optimistic after one half on Heisman about the INT's. But if the INT's are ridiculous then that does not bode well for my playing future of NCAA... Last year's game was garbage to me due to the ridiculous INT's. Yikes.

The INT issue is all I care about and the deciding factor in whether I buy this game or not. The demo was bad, but I was hoping that was due to the level. I really can't believe they wouldn't have fixed this, it was the only major gameplay flaw. It was the most talked about on every forum.

Abner on his Heisman game:


Now, onto the Heisman game.

Now, this might have been a fluke, too. Just like the 6 picks I had on AA lvl in 3 quarters.

But the USC game was one of the very best NCAA experiences I have *ever* had. And I lost 27-13.

Now, the sliders I used were WAY favored toward USC (100 QB ACC...) but the flow, and the playcalling, and the feel of the game was spot on awesome. The INT I mentioned earlier was the only one for the game. Well, for USC at least. Boeckman wasn't so lucky. Was that due to Heisman or the 100 ACC? Again, I have no idea; again -- sample is too small.

But we now know one thing -- it IS possible to play a game without the CPU handing it over to the human player via turnovers. And that's important. I think Sanchez ended up like 22/30 for the game, and only one pass should have been picked but wasn't.

Now, there remain a few concerns:

--Punt and kick coverage need major help. I still have WAY too much open field on punt returns, as does the CPU. The coverage is just crap. Not sure what to do about that.

--I saw more than one weird open field AI glitch. The score in reality SHOULD have been 34-13 but the AI juked in the open field when I was running 5 yards behind the WR and it allowed me to catch him. Kinda odd.

I have never lost a game and felt so happy afterward.

Of course a lot more games need to be played, but just knowing that the AI CAN play a competent game is a big step in the right direction.

Need to take a break and put my daughter to bed, but I'll get one more game in tonight if possible.

The demo is also an earlier copy of the game than the one that the hands on folks had. Apparently there are significant advances in some aspects of the retail version than in the demo. Though if the int problem remains, it won't make a lick of difference to me.

Re; Abner's review, that's semi positive, but the problem is going to be when you pick a team with a semi-decent defense and then go and play a cupcake, just like in the old versions of NCAA, and just like in Madden. These crappy QBs are still no doubt going to throw a shit load of horrible picks due to their crappy accuracy rating.

So the problem is sort of fixed if I'm playing against one of the best teams/QBs in the game with the sliders maxed out in the computer's favor? Seems to me the problem with the AI is still there.

At least we have the mascot game though.

and cheerleaders, you forgot them! If only we had black shoes for tHe University of Podunk - that would complete the immersive experience for me!