NCAA March Madness 09 News Post

NCAA Basetball 09 Demo Available, Impressions Here

08:40 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

# 41 kfloamy @ 11/06/08 02:07 PM

I just downloaded it and played a quick game. I enjoyed it......something about it being college over NBA really helps me get in to it. I never could make myself buy an NBA game a couple of weeks ago because I just don't give a rip about the NBA.

Looking foward to playing some more.

# 42 countryboy @ 11/06/08 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ExtremeGamer


	Awesome impressions.

EG, have you had a chance to play it yet?

# 43 ExtremeGamer @ 11/06/08 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by countryboy


	EG, have you had a chance to play it yet?

Not yet, not till I get home from work. Around 4:30 I'll get to play it.

# 44 tmac55 @ 11/06/08 02:32 PM

I for one think this game is nicely done! Fast breakfels real where guys run up court and actually attack the hoop on the break.

Controls are nice and passing is pretty good. Rebounding seems to be realistic but could be adjusted in game I am assuming. The only complaint I have is animation off of steal or Block. Players do not react as fast but I guess it depends on scenario on court.

Overall, graphics and sound are stellar, good commentary, and if you have HD TV you will enjoy this one!

# 45 Steve_OS @ 11/06/08 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bases1616


	You may want to change your title to have demo in it. Some people will think the game is available in stores before they go into the thread.

That was my fault.

# 46 SageInfinite @ 11/06/08 02:46 PM

Out of all the basketball games so far this year this 1 feels the best to me. Can't wait for the retail. This game will probably get a majority of my bball time.

# 47 Behindshadows @ 11/06/08 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SageInfinite


	Out of all the basketball games so far this year this 1 feels the best to me. Can't wait for the retail. This game will probably get a majority of my bball time.

Yeah I know how you feel, after playing Live 09 and 2k9 both felt like they were missing something.

With the editing and level of excitement this game has I think I'll be playing a lot of NCAA BB 09. Demo is just too sweet!

# 48 Brandwin @ 11/06/08 02:51 PM

Can't wait to try it out tonight.

# 49 kwas676 @ 11/06/08 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SageInfinite


	Out of all the basketball games so far this year this 1 feels the best to me. Can't wait for the retail. This game will probably get a majority of my bball time.

damm sage you like it that much i gotta get home and try it.

# 50 SageInfinite @ 11/06/08 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Behindshadows


	Yeah I know how you feel, after playing Live 09 and 2k9 both felt like they were missing something. With the editing and level of excitement this game has I think I'll be playing a lot of NCAA BB 09. Demo is just too sweet!

I totally agree. Live is really good but needs more sig stuff, 2k9, I wont touch that 1.

# 51 TreyFury97 @ 11/06/08 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prince of Milwaukee 28


	Are the shorts still baggy in the demo? Cuz I was watching the UNC-Duke video and I thought the shorts were a little big on the players... Or is this just me?

Guys, the shorts are right. It's Nike's System of Dress uni, where they admit to making the shorts baggier than they used to be.

# 52 poster @ 11/06/08 02:56 PM

Glad to hear that it is an 8 minute half. Something to get into a bit without knowing it is ending quickly.

# 53 ehh @ 11/06/08 02:57 PM

More good impressions, very promising. Glad we got a confirmation that it is the Live 09 engine, that is wonderful news.

I probably won't get a chance to DL this baby until 9 or 10 tonight, boooo.

# 54 DirtyJerz32 @ 11/06/08 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrich730


	the demo doesn't have an academy it starts with a miny kevin love on a blacktop with a university background i dont think the acadamey is in this game

That stinks. I hope this is not true. I hope there is some type of practice area or some kind of area to do drills with in coming freshmen and to better the team you already have.

Can someone from EA confirm that this feature is in or not

# 55 ehh @ 11/06/08 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TreyFury97


	Guys, the shorts are right. It's Nike's System of Dress uni, where they admit to making the shorts baggier than they used to be.

You do know that a majority of Nike sponsored schools still don't wear SOD, correct? Not to mention the Adidas schools in the game.

Minor detail anyway.

# 56 green94 @ 11/06/08 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jab_Step


	Just to confirm the engine question...NCAA Basketball 09 is on the NBA Live 09 engine.

Thanks for the confirmation - can't wait to play the demo tonight.

# 57 TreyFury97 @ 11/06/08 03:35 PM

True ehh!, but if you look @ Eastbay and those sites, many more are supposed to this year...which sickens me. Addidas may not in the past, but one thing I'm sure you notice is that they seem to follow Nike's lead. The guy was mentioning Duke-UNC, and they are both are Nike schools.

# 58 JohnDoe8865 @ 11/06/08 03:36 PM

I'm enjoying the demo so far. The controls feel slightly "laggy" if that makes sense, but I really like the overall feel so far. First time I've actually enjoyed an EA college basketball games since PS1 days.

# 59 racerx @ 11/06/08 04:13 PM

I am really enjoying the demo as well. I have played about 6 games so far and it really is a nice change of pace.

The tempo meter is a great touch, I was using UK a lot and kept playing Tenn which likes to press and push the ball up court. It really makes you try and play your game. At one point Tenn had the meter at full throttle so on my next possession I was working clock and taking the shot clock way down before getting my shot off, which slowed the game down in my favor.

The stat overlays are a nice touch and I do like the free throw meter. Fast breaks are done well and I do like the player spacing, crowd reaction are nice and the atmosphere is huge!!!!!

I will need to adjust to the separate shoot and dunk buttons. Some of the animation are a little clunky but I can live with this. Shot motions sometimes don't feel natural and my pump fake are bad resulting in shooting bad shots.

Overall I believe I will be buying this on the 18th.

# 60 TJdaSportsGuy @ 11/06/08 04:38 PM

Just played through 2 demo games, one with the Heels vs. the Spartans and one UT vs. UK. I love how the classic teams had the short shorts, lol. Nice touch.

One thing that I hope is just a result of this being a demo and not the full version is that they have a barely used fight song for UNC rather than the familiar "Tar Heel Born, Tar Heel Bred" one (Hark the Sound for those who know it). They didn't have Rocky Top Tennessee for the Vols either. They had some other song that I don't remember hearing before.

The player models don't look as polished as they do for Live 09, likely because you have 10 generic players out on the court without actual human face models.

Now for what I like:

It is a WAY more polished version of the Live 09 engine. If you like Live 09, you'll love this, assuming you're a college basketball fan. The shooting percentages on the All-American setting were just fine. For one half with the 82 Heels, I shot 44% and allowed 49%. In the UT/UK game (I was UT), I shot a little higher mostly because I was forcing a lot of turnovers and getting easy buckets.

The AI will dish out to an open man on a double team like nobody's business...and when they get the ball, they don't just stand their with their thumbs up their ***, they actually shoot the ball. What a concept, huh?

Overall, this is a first day buy for me and I can see me spending more time with it than Live 09, simply because I'm more of a college basketball fan.

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