NCAA Football 08 Original Xbox

[PSU_DW2]

NCAA Football 08 on the Original Xbox.

The greatest football game of all time!



What a game.

[PSU_DW2]

On Heisman, with slightly modified sliders. Terrific!

Clock stops when you run out of bounds at all times!

And stays stopped until the next snap!

Just a well rounded deep football game with wide open playbooks with pre-snap motion, trick plays, and the like.

Best collision detection in a football game.

Best frame rate in a football game.

Best physics engine in a football game.

Best referee interaction in a football game.

Best control responsiveness in a football game.

Best lateral system and implementation in a football game.

Best quick audibles system at playcall screen in a football game.

The list goes on and on.

This game, NCAA Football 08, on the Original Xbox, blows the 360 and PS3 versions of NCAA Football 09 out of the water.

NCAA Football 08 and 09 on PS2 are great too I am sure.

But they tinkered with the clock rules in the 09 version on the PS2, and the graphics never looked as good on the PS2 as it did on the Original Xbox.

So in the end NCAA Football 08 remains the most complete, accurate, well rounded game of football on the market today.

And I am still updating depth charts from the 07 season to the 08 season. Some traditional matchups are on!

[mercalnd]

The horrible pursuit angles and discipline problem in dynasty killed this one for me. Outside of those issues it had great potential though.

[PSU_DW2]

Quote: Originally Posted by mercalnd

The horrible pursuit angles and discipline problem in dynasty killed this one for me. Outside of those issues it had great potential though.

People always mention the horrible pursuit angles.

What difficulty are you playing it on?

Have you used custom sliders on heisman.

With momentum, as the game wears on and players and teams get added attributes with momentum, the game becomes entirely different.

What about the pursuit angles are so bad?

Does that mean CPU defenders are too good at making tackles, or it is too hard for users to tackle.

You have to realize sometimes you miss tackles in this game on heisman with custom sliders.

You have to remember to make sure you don't get sucked into blocks on Heisman.

You sometimes have to pass commit or push your safeties and CBs back pre-snap towards the secondary so that they have a chance at making a tackle against the CPU RB or receiver.

The CPU blocking on heisman is very good.

This game is hard.

I just was Penn St and played Wisconsin in Madison with 08 rosters on NCAA Football 08 for Original Xbox. On Heisman with custom sliders, I played a 60 minute game. It was 37-26 Wisconsin at the half.

With two late scores in the 4th quarter from Penn St, I tied the game at 53 a piece with 30 seconds left.

Well Wisconsin couldn't get into field goal range and the game ended a 60:00 regulation draw 53-53.

It was fun, but it was a true draw. I mean I couldn't do that much offensively when they had the momentum. I had a lot of punts as Penn St.

But I kept fighting playing field position and getting some turnovers throughout the game.

It was a hard fought game agains the CPU, but once i tied it 53-53, there was a sense of accomplishment.

I gave up some pretty big gains for TDs, even a kickoff return for a TD. But I always kept myself within like 10-20 points, and when down 14 with under 5 minutes left in the 4th, I knew I had to air it out and see what my team can do.

Well, that's what Jordan Norwood, Deon Butler, and Derrick Williams are there for when you need em.

They got under Clark's scrambling-to-the-sidelines bombs in the final possessions of the game.

I earned the draw and was pround of it. I did not my play my best game against Wisconsin, but I did not lose the game. A worthy result for a Big Ten matchup. Allows me to fight another day next week when the Wolverines come a callin'...

[PSU_DW2]

^^ Heisman, 15 minute quarters, custom sliders, 08 rosters / depth charts. Penn St (Me), Wisconsin (CPU)

There she is. The box score of a 60:00 regulation draw.

[fistofrage]

The pursuit angles were absolutely horrible case closed. If the game had fixed the pursuit angles and the automatic FG for the user, it may have been the best sports title of all time.

That said though on Heisman with AI Defensive awareness all the way cranked up. Oklahoma State @ Georgia, I took Bobby Reid on an Option play from my 20 yard line ran down to the Georgia 1 yard line, turned left and ran accross the field and then back to my goalline and then ran it 100 yards again for the TD. All the while, the Georgia Defense chasing me like a slow swarm of bees. I turned the game off and never played it again.

[mercalnd]

Quote: Originally Posted by PSU_DW2

People always mention the horrible pursuit angles. What difficulty are you playing it on? Have you used custom sliders on heisman.

I have tried Varsity, AA an Heisman and tried custom sliders on each. Nothing solves the pursuit angle issues.

Quote: Originally Posted by PSU_DW2

What about the pursuit angles are so bad? Does that mean CPU defenders are too good at making tackles, or it is too hard for users to tackle.

The problem is that any computer controlled player in the secondary takes improper angle when trying to run down a ball carrier lateraly. The end result is that the defensive player that took that bad angle ends up behind the guy he's trying to tackle and follows him right up to the end zone.

This affect both the human and CPU team, leading to too many big plays on both sides. Its effect on the CPU is worse. As a human, you can take control of a defender and make sure he takes the proper angle. But the CPU is helpless in these situations.

Quote: Originally Posted by PSU_DW2

You have to realize sometimes you miss tackles in this game on heisman with custom sliders. You have to remember to make sure you don't get sucked into blocks on Heisman. You sometimes have to pass commit or push your safeties and CBs back pre-snap towards the secondary so that they have a chance at making a tackle against the CPU RB or receiver. The CPU blocking on heisman is very good. This game is hard.

It's not about the game being hard. Since the issue punishes the CPU worse than it punishes the user it actually makes the game easier overall. But still, your CPU teammates taking horrible angles has nothing to do with your play either.

[PSU_DW2]

Quote: Originally Posted by mercalnd

I have tried Varsity, AA an Heisman and tried custom sliders on each. Nothing solves the pursuit angle issues.

Well I think it has a lot to do what the CPU is calling on defense.

One thing you may wanna do is turn tackling up for both user and CPU, and increment RB ability up the same number of notches (from 50%).

Like put them both at 55% or 60%.

If they sit back in a deep zone, the CPU tackles my guy no problem.

If they blitz from far out then they may over run my ball carrier, depending on how good my running back is, etc.

Quote: Originally Posted by mercalnd

The problem is that any computer controlled player in the secondary takes improper angle when trying to run down a ball carrier laterally. The end result is that the defensive player that took that bad angle ends up behind the guy he's trying to tackle and follows him right up to the end zone. This affect both the human and CPU team, leading to too many big plays on both sides. Its effect on the CPU is worse. As a human, you can take control of a defender and make sure he takes the proper angle. But the CPU is helpless in these situations.

I agree with you here. I've seen this. If you just let the CPU tackle sometimes they over run and take the wrong angle.

That is why it is very important to shift your linebackers and your D-Line to the left or the right.

Or know that you will probably have to manually control a guy in the secondary as a safety net in case the running back over runs.

Usually it's when they go to the outside.

So sometimes it's smart to blitz an outside linebacker around the end and make sure a powerful running back doesn't get much yardage.

When playing on Heisman in NCAA Football 08 on Original Xbox, I sometimes lower the pass and run blocking to 40%, and lower the CPU break block to like 45%. Because with momentum, as the game goes on, those numbers will increase exponentially.

So it's important to make sure they are not too high at opening kickoff of a long game. (10-15 minute quarters)

Quote: Originally Posted by mercalnd

It's not about the game being hard. Since the issue punishes the CPU worse than it punishes the user it actually makes the game easier overall. But still, your CPU teammates taking horrible angles has nothing to do with your play either.

I agree that it would be nice if the CPU took better angles at times on Heisman.

But the game is hard. And sometimes you have to be quick, switch players on heisman, strafe (yes turn auto-strafe OFF in options) and manually strafe at times to be able to sustain a juke or spin, and take that perfect angle that you need to take.

Defense can be frustrating at times on Heisman, but with the right balance of user control and conservative playcalling on defense (including deep covers at times) you can find ways to win and keep games semi-low scoring.

But you have to punt well and bend but don't break on defense.

Check your user stats to see how you are doing in tackles. I average around 50% user tackles. I'll post my user stats of my last game. They weren't my best but it still was a draw.