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NCAA Football 09 Hands-On Preview: Part one: Pasta Padre

07:53 AM - April 25, 2008 by Steve_OS

Pasta Padre has posted part one of his hands-on impressions of NCAA Football 09.

Quote:


	"At first it took a little while to get acclimated to the player weight, momentum, and foot planting. Movement looks and feels much more natural but at first felt a little heavy. After a few minutes playing though it really began to feel like it was just right. User control is big especially in the running game or in the run after the catch. Elusiveness and acceleration attributes are huge. You can really see the burst and taking bad angles as a defender is punished severely."

Game: NCAA Football 09Reader Score: 7/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS2 / PS3 / PSP / Wii / Xbox 360Votes for game: 95 - View All

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Member Comments

# 81 ODogg @ 04/26/08 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by umd


	The series has just stagnated on next gen hardware. They haven't made any improvements to the engine - 8 years is a long time to have the same basic gameplay. Last gen the game had its own identity and was the better series vs Madden. But, lately the improvements they have made have skewed the game to playing like a college version of Madden with college features - of which many are missing that should already be in. NCAA was a revolutionary football franchise on PS2 for me. Next gen they're fighting to get the gameplay back (or MAddenize it - can't figure out which) and have lost many of the staple features that made PS2 NCAA (minus 05 of course) such a great (gameplay, pageantry, presentation and online) EA franchise.

yeah i agree on all fronts, not to mention that online is so basic now compared to ncaa 2004. heck back then you could choose weather, alternate uniforms (remember those?) and time of day for each game. now you can't do any of that. it's terrible.

# 82 bad_philanthropy @ 04/26/08 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by umd


	The series has just stagnated on next gen hardware. They haven't made any improvements to the engine - 8 years is a long time to have the same basic gameplay. Last gen the game had its own identity and was the better series vs Madden. But, lately the improvements they have made have skewed the game to playing like a college version of Madden with college features - of which many are missing that should already be in. NCAA was a revolutionary football franchise on PS2 for me. Next gen they're fighting to get the gameplay back (or MAddenize it - can't figure out which) and have lost many of the staple features that made PS2 NCAA (minus 05 of course) such a great (gameplay, pageantry, presentation and online) EA franchise.

Agree completely.

And I think when you mention "Maddenize" I think that speaks to something too. Madden really is a much different animal. I think part of the appeal and what worked with the NCAA series was that it was always a more sophisticated and less accessible game for the casual fan I think this is what was successful about it was that it was a game for people who were really into college football. EA has essentially tried to turn a niche product into something for the mainstream and it hasn't worked, in fact I think they have instead turned both groups of customers away from the game.

# 83 AuburnAlumni @ 04/26/08 07:11 PM

I blame it all on EA having a freaking BRIT in charge of AMERICAN Sports games.

# 84 fistofrage @ 04/26/08 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AuburnAlumni


	I blame it all on EA having a freaking BRIT in charge of AMERICAN Sports games.

Honestly, the real reason has to be their QC department. I could honestly ferret out 99.9% of oon-field problems within 2 hours of playing, and give me 1 whole day and I'd find all the issues including dynasty, recruiting, etc.

The other issue is gameplay and the sliders not working. There is nothing wrong with the game being a scorefest out of the box, but if you lower the QB accuracy sliders, for example, the long balls should be overthrown, and underthrown to the point that most should land harmessly incomplete. Lower the INT sliders and the DB's should be Ronnie Garvin hands of stone.

Once they said the pursuit angles were fouled up for 2009, this game was finished in my book. Thats something sliders can't fix. I spent hours and hours trying to fix them for 2008 on the PS2, and there is no fix. The game would have been brilliant if these were programmed the same way they were in the past. But in one instance, I took Bobby Reid from OK ST. against Georgia and broke free on an option play from my own 20 yard line, the defense fell in line behind me, I ran 79 yards down to the goalline, turned left, ran along the goalline and ran back 99 yards to my own goalline with the defense still behind me like a swarm of bees, rinsed and repeated, until I calmly turned my PS2 off and went to bed. A few years ago, I would have snapped the disk in half and screamed profanity at the top of my lungs, but I am numb to EA's antics now. And yes this was on Heisman with AI def Awr at 99, its just as bad on every other level with every other slider combo, I tested it.

Its just so sad, that nobody picked this up in QC, but maybe they did and this is what people think of as realistic "open field' game play. After all, once you saw Boise State on the cover, you knew that every game was supposed to have ridiculous shenanigans in it. I digress. But in the grand schem, it burns me, you only have so much time on this earth, and for whatever reason, I want to play a great college football game before I head to greener pastures, because I would imagine in heaven, every play is a touchdown, and you win every time.

# 85 Cardot @ 04/26/08 11:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ODogg


	how far ea has fallen since i gave you an early copy of ncaa 04 or 05 back in the day. i remember both of us being so pumped up and genuinely excited that day. and now look at us. like disgruntled old men with the only real excitment coming more from a curiosity as to the game and what we're going to hate about it.

The fact that ODogg is not fired up about NCAA coming out speaks volumes to me. But yeah, I am right there with you guys. I thought '03 and '04 were great, and had so much potential to get better and better. But since then there have been so many disappointements that optimism has really waned. The game still has enough to have me hopeful and participating in this forum...but I just don't want to be let down again.

# 86 bad_philanthropy @ 04/27/08 12:08 AM

Is there anything constructive we can all do to bring our concerns to EA and establish an actual dialog with the producers? Instead of posting our concerns and thinking maybe they'll read it. I'm just wondering if it would ever be possible for this community here to have a real and civilized discussion with the producers of the game in which we could get some information as to why certain things haven't been able to be implemented but also at the same time to discuss positive points of their work. A good deal of this sort of thing was done for The Show and I feel it really helped the game out. It was nice to have the producers of the game in a candid environment where they weren't filtered through the PR derpatment. I think that the posters really behaved themselves and it never got out of hand.

# 87 ODogg @ 04/27/08 12:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cardot


	The fact that ODogg is not fired up about NCAA coming out speaks volumes to me. But yeah, I am right there with you guys. I thought '03 and '04 were great, and had so much potential to get better and better. But since then there have been so many disappointements that optimism has really waned. The game still has enough to have me hopeful and participating in this forum...but I just don't want to be let down again.

Yeah, I can't believe it myself. I mean it's surreal. I still do want the game right when it comes out because..well I guess because I just find it hard to believe i'm really going to be as disappointed as everything my LOGICAL brain tells me from reading all of the previews and info I've read. But then I know in the back of my head that this year may finally be the year my love for the series dies completely.

I think the reason myself and others get all excited at this point, for those who still do, is not because of the game itself. We get excited now because it's football and tradition. Last year I did play the game quite a bit initially but the longevity of it suffered a huge falloff from previous years. Not because of any one single bug like many have stated, such as the turnovers, I did have some issue with those but that wasn't the reason.

The reason for me was multiple issues that just add up. Issues such as no weather online, the depth chart bug, the lack of transitional animations, the lies about alternate uniforms being available by the holidays and then never dellivering, the sterile atmosphere, the lack of any intro whatsoever yet again, etc etc etc. Death by a thousand paper cuts as they say.

When it's all said and done I'll be getting the game on day one this year but if this year is like last year, or God forbid if it's worse, than maybe this title is going to go into the realm of maybe buy-maybe not, like other sports series for me have (such as basketball games). This year could be the year that actually finally kills my spirit. God I hope not because NCAA has always been my favorite modern videogame. But from all i've read so far all signs point to it.

# 88 TheGamingChef @ 04/27/08 12:29 AM

If someone had made that exact post last year ODogg would've been the first person to come in and tell them to get positive...

...so we know we're in trouble this year

# 89 Spectre @ 04/27/08 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cardot


	The fact that ODogg is not fired up about NCAA coming out speaks volumes to me. But yeah, I am right there with you guys. I thought '03 and '04 were great, and had so much potential to get better and better. But since then there have been so many disappointements that optimism has really waned. The game still has enough to have me hopeful and participating in this forum...but I just don't want to be let down again.

Yeah man- if ODogg can't get fired up about the game, there's no way I can be. One thing I appreciate about ODogg is his honesty about the game. I know he loves NCAA football (thank you tOSU for Vernon Gholston by the way) but this series (and Madden) have become so stagnant that its tough to get passionate about this series. Sales fell considerably last year on all platforms so I don't think we hardcore fans are the only ones getting tired of this series.

I hit a wall after NCAA 07. I had a dynasty running in 07 that I was really enjoying with Ole Miss until near the end of my first season. I just lost all interest and dropped the game cold. Too much stuff added up. I'd been buying the series since 98 and 08 was the first time I didn't buy a NCAA game. I don't really see myself getting another one since I'm not as dedicated a gamer as I was anymore. NCAA 04 will always hold a special place in my heart though- I played that game more than I played any other game... yes, even more than NFL 2K5. Good memories of days gone by- I don't think sports gaming will ever be as good as it was back in those days.

# 90 umd @ 04/27/08 03:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NBA2k8 CHAMP


	Can you use different camera angles i miss that

Nope. 1 camera angle still this year I believe.

# 91 babyfat9 @ 04/27/08 04:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by umd


	Nope. 1 camera angle still this year I believe.

Next Gen with all this power and we get one freekin camera angle.....Damn NCAA.....give us some options and loose your EA contract so 2k can develop some game we as consumers like !!!!!

# 92 rudyjuly2 @ 04/27/08 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ODogg


	What good will sliders do for us online people? Nothing. I must say I'm so disappointed I'm considering not even buying the game right on day one. Maybe I'll just play GTA IV all summer.

You are just fooling yourself ODogg. Didn't you take a 4 hour drive last year to get it a few days early? You'll be doing the same thing this year. Mark my words.

# 93 countryboy @ 04/27/08 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by babyfat9


	Next Gen with all this power and we get one freekin camera angle.....Damn NCAA.....give us some options and loose your EA contract so 2k can develop some game we as consumers like !!!!!

2K doesn't exist anymore, or won't once fall hits.

# 94 ODogg @ 04/27/08 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rudyjuly2


	You are just fooling yourself ODogg. Didn't you take a 4 hour drive last year to get it a few days early? You'll be doing the same thing this year. Mark my words.

haha, well like i said in my last post I still do want the game asap but not for the same reasons as I used to. I used to want it asap becuase i was looking forward to playing it and having a boatload of fun. now i want it asap because i can't believe i'm going to be as disappointed as i think i am and i think to myself surely this will actually be fixed or that will actually be added and the previews have been wrong. so i'm going into the entire thing with a completely different mindset this year.

# 95 TheGamingChef @ 04/27/08 12:04 PM

This always happens; just like I take great previews with a grain of salt, I take all the Debbie Downers with a grain of salt too. I've loved games that others have hated, and I've hated ones that others have loved. I think Online Dynasty by itself will have me loving this game.

Let's all wait and see.

# 96 ODogg @ 04/27/08 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGamingChef


	This always happens; just like I take great previews with a grain of salt, I take all the Debbie Downers with a grain of salt too. I've loved games that others have hated, and I've hated ones that others have loved. I think Online Dynasty by itself will have me loving this game. Let's all wait and see.

do you think the game looks like it plays too fast now though

# 97 rudyjuly2 @ 04/27/08 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ODogg


	do you think the game looks like it plays too fast now though

Are you crazy?! Last year's game was played in quicksand. I'll take crazy fast any day over that and I don't think its too fast anyways. It looks fun.

I really can't believe some of the super negativity these initial reports have caused. The guys that wrote them said they had a good time playing the game but there are a couple issues that need work AND they still have time to fix them. That's why they were invited early in the first place. Granted, hearing that there are too many picks and that the cpu still might not go deep enough are big concerns but we really don't know much yet.

Don't get so down ODogg. Just have patience until May 2nd and then these guys like Pasta and Chris will be back to answer all our questions. Right now they can't say anything to verify/deny the good or bad. Their lips are sealed by the NDA.

# 98 countryboy @ 04/27/08 01:43 PM

I don't feel as though the game moved to quick. It may be faster than what we are used to but with all things that are new, you will eventually get the feel for it. In my opinion, the game moved no faster than the LG games.

# 99 thelasthurtknee @ 04/27/08 05:23 PM

maddens getting all the camera angles so we can only hope that they might make into ncaa. at least classic view. it's the only one worth a damn. why? would you use a view that you cant see your outside recievers as the default view tiburon?

# 100 KG @ 04/27/08 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by countryboy


	I don't feel as though the game moved to quick. It may be faster than what we are used to but with all things that are new, you will eventually get the feel for it. In my opinion, the game moved no faster than the LG games.

Ditto. I don't really care too much as long as there is a noticeable dif between WRs and DT's. Last years was pretty good at stuff like that not happening.

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