NCAA Football 09 (360) Review

[Rocky]

Re: NCAA Football 09 (360) Review

We're still missing a few of the "regulars" but I am sure it's only a matter of time.

I don't know why people get so tied up in to a score, instead of just reading the review. I have no problem with an 8.5, the game is fun, and I am easily getting 8.5 points worth of enjoyment out of it.

It's all about consistency. When I see this game get (much) higher reviews than games who almost won "The Best Sports Game Ever" Tournament, then it raises some eyebrows.

[BlyGilmore]

Re: NCAA Football 09 (360) Review

Not saying anything about this review, But I would think (hope?) to get a completely unbiased critical review of any product, The reviewer should start at 0 (a true blank slate) and go from there.

we could get into a semantics debate, but I don't think starting at 0 is a clean slate. You are starting at "this game sucks until proven otherwise" not "lets see how this game is." That was the point i was trying to convey with the 2.

By the same token you don't start at a 10 either. That's saying "this game rocks until proven otherwise."

Personally I think you start a review at a 5 or 6. That's a typical middle of the road score for a game that isn't good, but isn't bad either. You then go up or down from that spot.

[scamden311]

Re: NCAA Football 09 (360) Review

Ahh yes, anyone who disagrees with a review or voices their displeasure with glaring issues in gameplay must hate EA.

If thats what you are implying about my post, it's simply not true.
I have loved many EA games, including NHL 08, and NCAA was my favorite football franchise by far until it landed on the next gen systems.

I think voicing concerns about legitimate issues with the game, and in turn the review given to the game is exactly what this forum is for.

I want everyone to hear all the perspectives on this game because i have a feeling there are many people on the fence who will use this review as their basis for buying or not buying.

I just want people like myself, who value gameplay above all else to know that there are some very real, very serious issues with certain aspects of this game.

Thats why i posted last years NCAA 2008 review thread earlier in this thread so that people could see how much history repeats itself.

[bkrich83]

Re: NCAA Football 09 (360) Review

It's all about consistency. When I see this game get (much) higher reviews than games who almost won "The Best Sports Game Ever" Tournament, then it raises some eyebrows.

Different reviews by different people. It's a subjective score.

NFL2k5 won the Best Sports Game ever Tournament, I know a lot of people around here that don't think it's anywhere near the best ever. And would score it lower than a lot of people would like.

It's a subjective score, I don't see how you can criticize someone opinion of a game.

[swaldo]

Re: NCAA Football 09 (360) Review

Let's examine what an 8.5 score really means...

IGN = Impressive
Gamer 2.0 = Great
Gamespy = Great
Gamespot = Great

Peter Moore responds "Excellent job dev team, no need to push the boundaries next year." NCAA and Madden is like a baseball team winning 55% of their games - it keeps the fans buying and hoping.

I don't think this game is great and the majority of the posters seem to feel as I do - good but could be great if a patch fixes the problems. Games are not reviewed after the patch so I'm sorry but a 7 rating appears to be in order here.

By the way, the Gamespot review is up and the scores are as follows:

Gamepsot score - 7.5
Critic Score - 8.5
User Score - 9.6

What's wrong with that picture? You think maybe the EA employees are working some OT?

[bkrich83]

Re: NCAA Football 09 (360) Review

By the way, the Gamespot review is up and the scores are as follows:

Gamepsot score - 7.5
Critic Score - 8.5
User Score - 9.6

What's wrong with that picture? You think maybe the EA employees are working some OT?

Seems to me user scores are usually higher. It also could just mean average game likes the game. Not everything in the world can be blamed on EA.

[distauma]

Gamer 2.0 86
When all's said and done, NCAA 09 may have some rough spots and bugs, there are ways around it that keep them from hampering the immense amount of enjoyment that the game offers.

XboxAddict 85
I didn't mean to harp on the gimmicks, but while there were some minor flaws in the game, it's a very solid effort for the long running series.

IGN 84
The Online Dynasty is an excellent addition to this series, but the mistakes made with the Campus Legend mode keeps this year's title from being truly extraordinary.

GameSpot 75
Just as the addition of the Online Dynasty mode will satisfy many, the lack of significant improvements to other key modes of NCAA Football 09 will disappoint many others.

[swaldo]

Re: NCAA Football 09 (360) Review

I'm not accusing EA, but it's a proven fact that game companies hire cheap labor from India and abroad to hype games in fan forums. They even had to modify their approach because in some places they were just too obvious.

Seeing users rate this a 9.6 leaves me scratching my head. I could be wrong - perhaps it's just excitement from finally getting the game in hand. However, alot of people are on the fence and will wake up and check the reviews so I certainly hope there is no dirty business going on.

I have always supported all football games but not this year. It's put up or shut up time for EA. I have been playing NCAA 09 at my friends house and am not impressed. If a good patch comes out I will support it again and hope for better next year.

[adfletch71]

So what do u think madden is going to be like? All this hype about the gameplay and the environment is still to bland. Sidelines suck and still no halftime show and refs. People arent stupid EA, there getting tired of this and sales are going to show. Step up the game!!!!! Give the consumer what they are asking for, not what u think is right.

[capp34]

Re: NCAA Football 09 (360) Review

Sidelines suck and still no halftime show and refs.

This things do not take fun out of any game...If adding referees to the field makes the game more fun Im all for it but they dont. You cant drop scores because there are no refs of halftime shows.

[BlyGilmore]

Re: NCAA Football 09 (360) Review

scandem - two sides to that coin. I have often seen somebody claim they don't hate EA and then immediately go and claim that those who think a game is OK or good are EA fanboys.

As for reader scores, they do tend to be higher than critic scores. And I don't think its has too much to do with hocus pocus or other company tricks. But instead the people who play the game and care enough to put in a user score tend to be folks who were fans of the game to begin with.

Generally speaking, I also think folks who have already spent the money on the game are more likely to give a game a much bigger benefit of the doubt - and it usually takes a big piece of garbage to turn the tables and get those people into "i'm gonna trash this game mode."

there are exceptions of course. I believe there's a ton of sadists out there who just buy games hoping they hate them so they can bash it on the Internet.

[gjsii13]

Wow

OS has just lost a lot of my trust.

An 8.5?

Are you serious?

All Pro a 7?

This is a terrible joke.

This game looked beyond awful (to anyone who actually knows and understands football).

EVERY SINGLE TACKLE is a 1 man tackle, which rarely ever happens in a game.


Pathetic defensive AI.

Their "added" features are already in other games and honestly who cares about Mascot Games.

When will people wake up and realize that all of these EA football games are complete trash? They do not play anything like the real thing and until people realize that they have to scrap this entire gameplay engine, the games will continue to suck.

But oh well, I will play my APF for the next 5 years if I have to.

[scamden311]

Re: NCAA Football 09 (360) Review

scandem - two sides to that coin. I have often seen somebody claim they don't hate EA and then immediately go and claim that those who think a game is OK or good are EA fanboys.

As for reader scores, they do tend to be higher. And I don't think its has too much to do with hocus pocus or other company tricks. But instead the people who play the game and care enough to put in a user score tend to be folks who were fans of the game to begin with.

Im not accusing anyone of being a fanboy, or on the EA payroll, or anything like that.

Im just offering my own opinion as it relates to some gameplay issues that I feel other people would like to know about.

The cpu never throwing deep is not a minor issue to me. Like i said before, to me its like having a basketball game where the cpu never takes threes. Its a huge deal to me, and im sure its the same for some other sim guys who care about on the field gameplay above all else.

Im just perplexed at times about reviews on this site, because i hold you guys to a higher standard.

[bkrich83]

Re: NCAA Football 09 (360) Review

\
This game looked beyond awful (to anyone who actually knows and understands football).

EVERY SINGLE TACKLE is a 1 man tackle, which rarely ever happens in a game.


Pathetic defensive AI.

Their "added" features are already in other games and honestly who cares about Mascot Games.

When will people wake up and realize that all of these EA football games are complete trash? They do not play anything like the real thing and until people realize that they have to scrap this entire gameplay engine, the games will continue to suck.

But oh well, I will play my APF for the next 5 years if I have to.

Do you have NCAA 09?

[jsg]

seeing some of these responses confirms that OS is big time now. some of you guys are hilarious