News Post

NCAA Football 09 (360) Review

01:40 AM - July 15, 2008 by RaychelSnr

We have just posted our review of NCAA Football 09 for the Xbox 360.

Quote:


	"With every summer comes the anticipation of sports games as gamers prepare for the new season of interactive entertainment. Soon we will be bombarded with great titles and have to make decisions on which games to pick up and which games to pass on. Now the sports gamers new year has finally arrived with the release of NCAA Football 09. The new year does not start off with a bang, but it definitely has started off with a quality title."

NCAA Football 09 screenshot gallery - Click to view

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

NCAA Football 09 Videos

Member Comments

# 41 distauma @ 07/15/08 12:46 PM

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.

# 42 swaldo @ 07/15/08 12:58 PM

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.

# 43 capp34 @ 07/15/08 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adfletch71


	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.

# 44 BlyGilmore @ 07/15/08 01:36 PM

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.

# 45 bkrich83 @ 07/15/08 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gjsii13


	\ 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?

# 46 jsg @ 07/15/08 03:12 PM

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

# 47 nickaepi @ 07/15/08 03:35 PM

JUST LOOK AT THE CONS: SAME AS LAST YEAR.= According to this review, EA didn't fix ANY of the gameplay issues that caused us to basically stop playing this game LAST year.
Interceptions, unrealistic CPU QB accuracy and the cpu not attempting passes over 12 yards. They did exactly what EA is infamous for. Avoid the real gameplay bugs and just continue to add more 'fluff"(cheerleaders, mascots, new modes, etc. Oh well...I guess we just keep playing NCAA 2004 on ps2, like we have had to do for the last 4 years running?

# 48 computerlover @ 07/15/08 03:38 PM

confucius says.. if you dont like game... dont buy game..

heres another... useless fact.. folks who hate EA will not convince other folks to hate them as well...

words of wisdom... use the 7 day return policy to buy the game.. play the game.. return the game if it is truly garbage as some think..

MANLAW... whining about a game is not manly...

hope these help.. lol!

# 49 distauma @ 07/15/08 03:58 PM

1up review just came in with an A-

# 50 SoxFan01605 @ 07/15/08 04:23 PM

I think people spend too much time harping on a score. I've NEVER bought a game based on a review score. If you read the review, it points out flaws fairly accurately (from what I've seen so far...I only got the game today

). The thing to remember is how the reviewer weighs the pros and cons is what determines the individual score. APF was a shell of a game (for those who like to thro that review into the debate). it played great, animated great, looked mediocre, and had no real replay value to the average gamer. The score of 7 was generous considering those facts. NCAA has been largely well received, even by many on sites like these. It's a fun game and will appeal to a broad group (and while this may offend some, that is most company's goal). Again, people will disagree about the game and what it should be rated...who cares. READ THE REVIEW, NOT THE SCORE....and then mostly ignore it and see for yourself

. I have rented the game, and probably won't buy (I have no real college team and am more of a pro fan), but I think it's worth checking out.

All this complaining about a number is funny. If you disagree, you must have a basis for disagreement. To have that, you must have played the game yourself...which means someone elses opinion shouldn't concern you anyway.

# 51 erivera7 @ 07/15/08 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by callmetaternuts


	Dont mind some of these posters, they justlike to throw out random accussations and hope they stick. I think low to mid 8's is fair and IF we get a patch, it could be in the high 8's low 9's range, but right now its a fun game, with some issues (but arent most games?)

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheFuture15


	Thought I'd clarify...I never "confirmed" that these are bugs. The thread just says we have people looking into them right now. The last thing we wanted was utter silence when people get the game...we wanted to investigate any complaints and see if we need to fix any of them. What that means is we need to do a lot of testing first - we don't want to make quick drastic fixes based on a very small sample set...we could easily go in the wrong direction and throw off the whole fun of the game.

Never in my post did I say you confirmed them as bugs, I said you confirmed them as problems.

I didn't make a mindless accusation, I'm going off of what Ian himself said.

# 52 erivera7 @ 07/15/08 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Klocker


	acknowledging that he sees what you are talking about from a film or two is one thing (which he did IMO) CONFIRMING that it's a major bug is another thing (which he did not do IMO)

Where in my post did I say he confirmed it as a bug? I DIDN'T. I said he confirmed them as problems, goodness. Stop putting words in my post that don't exist.

# 53 bkrich83 @ 07/15/08 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickaepi


	JUST LOOK AT THE CONS: SAME AS LAST YEAR.= According to this review, EA didn't fix ANY of the gameplay issues that caused us to basically stop playing this game LAST year. Interceptions, unrealistic CPU QB accuracy and the cpu not attempting passes over 12 yards. They did exactly what EA is infamous for. Avoid the real gameplay bugs and just continue to add more 'fluff"(cheerleaders, mascots, new modes, etc. Oh well...I guess we just keep playing NCAA 2004 on ps2, like we have had to do for the last 4 years running?

I can confirm interceptions and the CPU not atempting passes over 12 yards are not problems with this years game.

# 54 bkrich83 @ 07/15/08 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoxFan01605


	I think people spend too much time harping on a score. I've NEVER bought a game based on a review score. If you read the review, it points out flaws fairly accurately (from what I've seen so far...I only got the game today). The thing to remember is how the reviewer weighs the pros and cons is what determines the individual score. APF was a shell of a game (for those who like to thro that review into the debate). it played great, animated great, looked mediocre, and had no real replay value to the average gamer. The score of 7 was generous considering those facts. NCAA has been largely well received, even by many on sites like these. It's a fun game and will appeal to a broad group (and while this may offend some, that is most company's goal). Again, people will disagree about the game and what it should be rated...who cares. READ THE REVIEW, NOT THE SCORE....and then mostly ignore it and see for yourself. I have rented the game, and probably won't buy (I have no real college team and am more of a pro fan), but I think it's worth checking out. All this complaining about a number is funny. If you disagree, you must have a basis for disagreement. To have that, you must have played the game yourself...which means someone elses opinion shouldn't concern you anyway.

Post of the Month

# 55 Rocky @ 07/15/08 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bkrich83


	I can confirm interceptions and the CPU not atempting passes over 12 yards are not problems with this years game.

I disagree with this. I can play Man Cover 0 pretty much the whole game because I'm unafraid of getting beat deep.

In dynasty however, I change the team tendencies and play on Varsity. I thought NCAA '08 played the best at Varsity and I think NCAA '09 does as well. No weird pursuit angles, not alot of suction, and an "authentic" challenge from the CPU if you adjust the sliders(Varsity D is quite good). Just had a great game in NCAA '09 playing with WVU against Cincy. Cincy beat me, but it felt very natural. I could kill Cincy on Heisman and it would feel less authentic.

Game is still a 7 doing all this though.

# 56 swaldo @ 07/15/08 05:55 PM

OS started this thread to allow comments based on their review so don't let your underwear get all tightened up because some people didn't like it.

The best radio show in the nation doesn't censor their phone calls. Sometimes, some dude will call in and say "Your show sucks you geek!" The host takes it like a man and asks how he can make his show better.

I respect that OS allows our feedback on this and I think it benefits everyone. If you like the review cool, but if all you want to hear is "Atta boy, great review OS" then what's the point?

# 57 bkrich83 @ 07/15/08 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rocky


	I disagree with this. I can play Man Cover 0 pretty much the whole game because I'm unafraid of getting beat deep. Game is still a 7 doing all this though.

Guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

# 58 Foddzy @ 07/15/08 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlyGilmore


	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.

OK then lets start with some of the negatives:

-1 : No CPU deep game
-1 : Broken return game
-1 : Roster Glitch
-.5: talk of "The Patch" even before game release
-.1: No chain gang
-.1: No refs on field
-.1: Bumpfuzzle with mascot (negative only due to previous 2 items)
-.1: Gratuitous cheerleader crotch shots (same as above)
-1 : No adjustable camera
-1 : Placebo sliders
-.5: Lack of penalties
-1 : Defensive player glitches
-.5: Rocket Catch
-.5: Drop back 20 yards passers effective online
-1 : Other tried and true online cheezefest exploits
-1 : "Wide Open Gameplay" euphemisim for lousy defense
-1 : Robo CPU QB over the middle/short
-? : a lot of other stuff I'm forgetting, most of it present from years past

So yeah, the above is of course just my opinion, whatever... even if you start with a PERFECT 10, you've got a big mountain to climb.

8.5??? Yeah whatever...

Glad you guys are having "fun".

# 59 reddawg2008 @ 07/16/08 01:43 AM

man this game is good as hell this is better than 08 and 07 put together i already got the game just waiting on my xbox360 to come back from repair i am hoping they send me a pro version sense they don't make the core version this game makes you feel like you are right there in the stadium

# 60 ThaPeeplz @ 07/16/08 04:58 AM

Ok, I started my dynasty. Played about 15 mins first game. Went back to 08 and played about 15 mins. I'm going to post what I'm noticing as I play. Here you go. The very first thing I noticed, because I love to play defense, is that they took the strafe button out. Holding the left trigger to strafe does not work anymore. Its more of an analog sensitive feature now, I'm not saying that in a good way either.

« Previous 1 234 5 Next »

More Links

NCAA Football 09 (360) Review