I'm posting this here from MM since its a great read for someone who has played both versions a lot. I hope you don't mind Rhombic but its a really great post from MM and I also assume NCAA Strategies (your home base).
http://www.maddenmania.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=163218
Ever since I went down to Orlando to get a look at NCAA 08 on current gen and next gen, people have been asking me "which is better?" Well, I played 360 all weekend, and tonight I played about a game and a half (one full game, and two games that ended in the first quarter) on current gen, plus I played it extensively down in Orlando. Let me proceed with my breakdown.
There is an inner debate going on in my head and heart about which version of NCAA Football to play. I played NCAA 2007 almost exclusively on PS2, even though I also owned the XBox 360 version. That game was similar to NCAA 2006, which was similar to NCAA 2005, which was similar to NCAA 2004 and so on. To one degree or another, I have been playing this game for roughly 7 years now. Each year they make tweaks and changes here and there, but under the hood, it's the same game. Having played NCAA '08 down in Orlando, and briefly here on release night, I feel very comfortable in saying that it is basically NCAA 2007.5.
Having played it, a number of the things that annoyed me about the previous version are still an issue. Still, there's a certain draw that I feel towards this game. This is what I know and love. Like a married couple, I've come to adapt to it's flaws, and embrace it's quirky blemishes, because deep down, I love what it is underneath it all. I've always felt like the fun factor of NCAA Football games set the bar for sports video games. They have always been games that were very accessible to pick up and play, and there's just a certain comfort there. It just feels natural.
So in some ways, saying that this game is NCAA 2007.5 is not an entirely bad thing. Even though I recognize that the underlying engine has it's limits in terms of producing realistic gameplay, I'm almost willing to put up with it because it's so freaking fun to play. As long as the game doesn't get so unrealistic that it breaks the suspension of disbelief, then I'm happy.
NCAA 08 on the 360, on the other hand, is new territory for me. I didn't play NCAA 2007 on 360 very much, and even if I had, NCAA 08 represents a number of pretty massive changes to the gameplay engine even over NCAA 07. There is no doubt that NCAA 08 is a MASSIVE improvement over NCAA 07 on the next-gen systems. NCAA 08 represents a quantum jump forward in terms of realism. From blocking AI, to DB AI, to the trajectory of passes and frequency of innacurate throws (especially on deep balls), NCAA 08 on 360 is leaps and bounds ahead of anything that has ever been done on an EA football game.
But here's the thing about the 360 version. Something is just off for me. A big part of it is comfort. The game just doesn't feel "right." A lot of that is probably related to how different it plays from current gen. The players move slower, the reaction to buttons is a little different, and there are new and different animations that execute commands. In short, the game just doesn't have that "pick up and play fun factor" type of vibe that I have with current gen.
The question that has to be settled then, in my mind, is whether NCAA 2007.5 on current gen is better than NCAA 2008 on Next-Gen, given how much better Current Gen was compared to Next Gen, from a pure gameplay standpoint, last year.
So here are the things that I have noticed:
Running Game
You'll notice that I include more than blocking here. The running game includes not only the blocking, but also how well I can control the running back and get him to execute the runs that I want him to, and how well the defensive AI reacts to the run.
In terms of run blocking, the next-gen version is way ahead of current gen. It really is a thing of beauty to watch the OL on next gen open up holes between the tackles. In fact, next gen's running game is set up almost entirely around running between the tackles, pounding the defense for 6 and 7 yards at a time.
On current gen, blocking is more or less the same as it's always been. In terms of running between the tackles, blocking AI is virtually non-existant. You still see that often times the most successful strategy is to bounce the play outside, regardless of where it is designed to go initially. But there have been some improvements. Zone blocking has been re-worked, and while not as accurate/effective as it is on Next-Gen, it shouldn't be the automatic loss of yardage that it was a year ago. In addition to this, it appears that pulling linemen are now only mostly useless, instead of completely useless. Last year toss plays were virtually pointless, because the lead blockers almost never blocked. This year, pulling linemen do seem to be a lot more intelligent in terms of at least attempting to block somebody relevant to the play. EA also added a new series of plays this year, termed "Power" plays. Basically, these plays have a guard from the weakside pull around as an extra lead blocker. From what I have seen, the blocking logic actually works pretty well with these plays, and the plays are fairly effective.
In terms of run defense, the main problem with next-gen is that the option plays are virtually unstoppable, because of incredibly accurate late pitches and poor pursuit AI against the option. Against traditional runs, the run defense seems very accurate. The other major thing about current gen is that they've added new dynamic gang tackling, and the hit stick 2.0, which allows you to take out a bigger back's feet. So the effect that this tends to have is that broken tackles are pretty accurate on next gen. You see power backs pulling through arm tackles, but you don't see a lot of situations where a guy breaks one tackle and then races past the rest of the defense to the endzone. It has a very realistic feeling of fighting your way through traffic to try and milk out an extra yard or two in traffic, and trying to pound away at the defense 5 and 6 yards at a time.
On current gen, you don't have some of the massive problems with the option, but you do have serious, serious problems with safeties backing away from the LOS even after it's clearly a run. The run pursuit AI overall is not nearly as good on current gen. The other thing that I'm seeing so far is a ridiculous number of broken tackles, especially once running backs get "in the zone." I'm not sure that the actual number of broken tackles is higher on current gen than it is on next-gen, but their affect on the game is a lot more pronounced. Due to the lack of dynamic gang tackling, and the poor pursuit AI, you often see broken tackles leading to HUGE gains, wheras on next-gen there's usually a second, third, and fourth defender arriving to clean things up before you can pick up too much more yardage.
One positive about current gen is the player control. In my personal opinion, the control over the players in general, both offensive and defensive, is a lot smoother on current gen than it is on next-gen. This primarily works to affect the running game, in terms of hitting your holes and making moves or making user tackles, and the passing game on defense (which will be discussed later).
Passing Game
The passing game includes the ability to pass the ball on offense, to defend the pass on defense in coverage, the ability to contain mobile QBs, the ability to get pressure on the passer, and the ability to protect the passer on offense.
On next-gen, the passing game is a mixed bag. The deep routes seem to be very low percentage, which is what we've all been asking for (begging might be a better term). However, sometimes it feels like this is overdone a little bit, as I see people bringing their safeties all the way into the box with little regard for the deep pass, knowing that their CBs will be able to knock it down or intercept it. Generally speaking, however, the passing game on next-gen is very realistic feeling. Deep ball prayer's are rarely answered, defenders more or less cover their zones the way you'd expect them to in real life, and the game rewards players for throwing underneath and finding the holes in the zone.
On current gen, the passing game is clearly too easy. Sadly, third and 15 is still not the "almost never will be converted" down and distance that it is in real life. Zones seem to leave open some areas that they shouldn't, and deeper passes are still fairly easy to user catch for big gains. That being said, there are some major improvements on the current gen passing game. Probably the biggest upgrade is the aggressiveness of the DBs. Last year a huge part of the problem was that even when DBs were in position to make a play in the ball, they almost never did. So people could throw into traffic and get away with it, because the DBs would almost never make a play. This seems to have changed dramatically on '08. I saw a number of interceptions on passes thrown downfield into coverage, although to be fair, it does still seem to be a "completed for big yardage or intercepted" type scenario. You almost never see passes that are just uncatchable, like you do on next gen.
Probably the biggest advantage that current gen has going for it is the ability to user defend against the pass. If you have moderately good stick skills, you should be able to intercept passes adequately. On next-gen, there's almost no point in trying to play in the secondary against the pass, because it's virtually impossible to make any user plays. You just don't have time to react before the ball hits it's target, and the player control feels sloppy.
Conversely, the biggest advantage that next-gen has is the ability to contain scrambling quarterbacks. Due to the impressive DB AI against the pass, it is very possible on next-gen to contain mobile QBs and keep them from just running around all game and making plays. In addition to the DB AI, the dynamic fatigue makes it so that QBs can only sprint for a very limited distance before they begin to get tired, which works to severely reduce scrambling. On current gen, scrambling looks like it will be somewhat less of an issue with the new DE contain feature (also on next-gen), but there really doesn't appear to be anything in the game to prevent QBs from scrambling directly backwards and then throwing deep (aside from the improved chances of the defense to intercept deep passes).
One of the glaring shortcomings on next-gen is the lack of slide protection. This severely restricts your ability to protect the passer on offense. I have already seen people come with overload blitzes up the middle and get nano-like speed pressure on the QB. In some instances, I was not even able to complete my drop or throw a quick dump pass before I was sacked.
Playbooks
Playbooks really impact every aspect of the game, when you think about it. You can only do what the playbooks allow you to do. If plays aren't in the playbook, then it really doesn't matter what the AI is capable of, because you can't get your players to execute what you want. The playbooks on current gen are a million times better than next gen. The passing plays in particular are vastly improved. There are a much wider variety of routes, and the routes are much better designed in ways that actually work in a game. On next-gen, the bland passing plays are probably the most frustrating part of trying to move the ball on offense. Even when you have a team with a high powered passing attack, such as Hawaii, the offense tends to feel bogged down and stagnant.
If you're a big strategy guy like me, this is a fairly big deal. As I said earlier, you can't call plays that aren't in the game. Part of what I enjoy about the game is that I like to watch what teams do on Saturdays, and then try to find ways to replicate that in the game. Due to the severely restricted playbooks on Next-Gen, my ability to do that is severely limited.
The new big thing for the playbooks this year is auto-motion. Both versions include this, but current gen makes a much more extensive use of it than next-gen does. However, I have found that the auto-motion can open up an entirely new can of worms, in terms of the effectiveness of some of these WR sweeps. The plays develop so quickly, and get to the peremiter so fast, that they definitely seem like a potential problem online. You really have to be on the lookout for it when it happens, or those sweeps can go for easy touchdowns.
Misc
Current Gen has a number of misc. items that add up in a hurry. First, the depth charts are SO much easier to navigate that it's not even funny. It's very refreshing to play Next-Gen where I can barely make one substitution in the 30 seconds that you have during a pause online, versus current gen, where I can make almost all of the subs that I want (7 or 8) in that same timespan. Plus it's a lot easier to browse through the teams and look at ratings.
Audibles. Next-Gen lacks formation audibles as well as on the fly audibles. So you're more or less relegated to the 5 audibles that you set before the game, which means that for most of the time, you can't audible, at least in terms of staying in the formation that you're in (thus preventing the defense from knowing that you've audibled into something completely different).
HFA. HFA is a bit of a two sided coin. In terms of the atmosphere, it definitely adds an element of chaos and bedlam that you don't get on next-gen. On the other hand, it is also a huge negative, in terms of trying to hot route. Even though next-gen theoretically includes HFA, it doesn't affect hot routing nearly as much as it does on current gen.
Camera Angles. The camera angle on next gen is bad. Very bad. You have almost zero depth perception on anything further than 15 yards downfield, and it is very difficult to see the flat areas.
Game speed. You don't realize how fast current gen plays until you play next-gen for awhile, and then try to switch back. It almost feels like the players are flying to me now. In some ways, I like the current gen version, because I FEEL like I'm flying when I'm in the open field. However, in other ways, the next-gen is better, because it's probably more accurate to real life.
The kicking meter is much easier on current gen than it is on next gen. As a result, I predict that once again, we'll rarely see missed field goals on current gen.
Return camera. This was off when me and cdj played in Orlando, so I assumed that it would be off for online. But it appears to be on, and it's a huge detraction.
Practice mode. Probably one of the biggest advantages that current gen has. Practice mode actually is useful, because you can set the defense to run random defenses. On next gen, you have to pick the specific defense that you want to practice against, which severely limits your ability to practice one particular offensive play against a variety of defenses, and get used to executing the play as you would in a real game (when you don't know what defense has been called).
Basic Breakdown
My basic feeling is that this is a debate between fun versus realism. In almost every way, except for playbooks, next-gen is much more realistic. However, it lacks a certain naturalness and general fun factor that current gen has. Current gen is the old reliable stand-by. They didn't change much, but then you could argue that they didn't have to overhaul the game to make it still be fun. They made a couple minor tweaks to help combat some of the major issues that were problems last year, and then improved on what they already did well with the massive playbooks and wide open style of play. Probably the biggest problem with next-gen isn't so much with gameplay, but it's the lack of features and ease of use. You don't realize how bad you miss things like being able to quickly cyle through defensive formations or depth charts, slide protection, and quick audibles until they're taken from you. And then once you play a few games on next-gen, you realize how truly awesome the current gen playbooks are.
My personal opinion is that if you have current gen, and you were mostly satisfied with gameplay last year, then stick with that. I think that even though they didn't make any groundbreaking changes, they did make enough improvements that the game should be more fun to play. On the other hand, if you absolutely hated the way that NCAA 07 played, or maybe you felt like you just wanted a change, then 08 on next gen is certainly a worthy title to upgrade for.
Both games have their strengths and weaknesses. Current Gen seems to be more tilted towards the offense due to the deep ball, broken tackles, and the wide open playbooks. Next-Gen seems to be tilted more towards the defense with the deep ball defense, the lack of slide protection, and the limited offensive playbooks.
However, there's also something to be said for the fact that just as NCAA 08 is really the same game under the hood as NCAA 2002 was, and thus to some degree all of the hours that I put in with the game over the years contribute to me feeling as comfortable with the game as I do now, NCAA 08 is likely going to be the foundation for the series as it moves forward. So even as much as it might be tempting to crawl back to what feels easier and more comfortable, I also have to recognize that I'm going to have to adapt at some point. And there's really no good reason why it shouldn't be now.
As things stand right now, I'm committed to next-gen for the above reason. I think that once I climb the steep learning curve, and make myself more comfortable with that version of the game, that it has considerably more potential than current gen ever will. Still, in the here and now, I find myself longing for the familiar touch of current gen, just because I know how to manipulate it to get the result that I want. So in the end, I'll probably end up playing both.
07-17-2007, 06:05 AM
