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Showing reviews 1-5 of 171
 You Might Need to Have a Tailgate Party... July 24, 2008
Dave (Oklahoma)
13 out of 15 found this review helpful
NCAA FB09 is one amazing game. Gamers who have settled for the PSP took a hit last year, when EA decided to leave us out the loop with NCAA FB08, punishing us for the number of bad glitch disks they had to take back with their faulty version of NCAA FB07.
It was worth the 2 year wait.
'09 is packed with a graphic punch that you didn't know your PSP had. Graphics are even improved over Madden '08 by quite a bit. This game comes with 5 different camera angles, NCAA, Overhead, College, Classic, and Zoom and each one of these angles looks brilliant. I prefer the NCAA angle which zooms right into the action and out of as necessary, but the default is college, which gives you a wide angle. Much effort has been made to provide great motion capture moves for the players animations, and much detail has gone into player uniforms. About all that is missing is the earholes on the helmets. Colors are much improved over '07 as well, with more vibrant and realistic tones, which more complements the improved uniform detail quite a bit. This game is worth buying just to show off the visuals to your friends.
Game physics are improved as well, and I feel seem to capture the most accurate football play I have seen. Players don't "pass through" other players hardly at all, and if so, in a very minimalistic way. When your player celebrates and throws the football (an automatic animation), if there is another player close by, the football will bounce off of him, not pass through him (although the player does not care if you throw the football right in his face). Footballs can bounce right off the helmet, or any other part of the uniform with a realistic spin. The caught football does not float a few inches away from the players hand as it did often with '07
'09 packs an improved number of defensive sets, and offensive sets over the offerings of '07. The main changes? On offense more varities of each formation (like 3 I formations instead of 2) and on defense more specialized sets such as the 3-3-5, 4-4, 4-6, 3-2-6, etc. The number of plays is up, but they are still tough to access. You vertically scroll through each formation, and since there are an increase number of formations, it gets tedious trying to find your play, especially if you are unfamiliar with the playbook. Other games solve this with vertical scrolling base sets, and side scrolling formations. Overall, the improvement in play calling variety is appreciated, but they should find a way to make it easier to select a play. As is, there is too much time pressure for those who want to 'browse' the playbook, which might make you hate to change formations.
The overall difficulty level can be set to four levels, and this year they have added "Freshman Mode" to make this game accessible to any player. By using this mode, a variety of special moves are automated by pressing the "x" button, instead of having to learn a complex set of controls for each move. This allows the computer to make the decisions on what move you should make like flying tackles, spins, or stiff arms. Customization does not end there, with throw, catch, and run assist modes which can be turned on or off, as well as team balancing, injuries, etc. If no assistance is needed, you can still adjust the "success" of running, passing, etc as well as penalty levels, etc. Suffice it to say, this game is fully customizable.
For those who want more control, it is in there. Offensive control feels great, with great moves implemented in a somewhat realistic way, say for example, your running back might take a while to build up that burst of speed, or your QB might duck under that flying tackle attempt. Defensive line moves (like the swim) are too automated for my taste, but they are an option. Other defensive positions have the moves you would expect. Special teams even allows missed field goal returns! While control is not perfect, what they must have aimed for and achieved is realism, which works well to increase the fun factor.
Like previous versions, you can enter your teams roster names and the commentary will call them out when they make a big play. I did notice however, there were some inaccuracies with the rosters, and some other details that didn't match up. Austin English DE #33 for OU looks like he must have been going to the tanning salon a lot. Stuff like that just makes it that much more fun, and it reminds you how much really went into the game. I mean, with all the stats, and all the information, it would be easy to slip up. And, I guess, they proved it can happen...
The actual game control is great, but it is difficult to switch to if you are used to playing Madden. Both offensive and defensive controls are intuitive, and allow for some fun action. Fumbles are something that you might see a lot (hey, it is college football) as well as punt returns for touchdowns. I felt that the gameplay was really well balanced for a college football simulation.
Game modes are the same as with previous NCAA's, with play now, dynasty, and mascot games with each mode having its advantages. Dynasty once again allows you to take control of a team over the years with recruiting now beginning during the fall of the previous year.
Overall NCAA FB '09 is the best looking game I've seen for the PSP. The football physics, and the game play is amazing. Peopel want EVERYTHING in their football game. This is far from perfect, but as close as I've seen it. Highly recommended.
EA Sports Does It Again August 11, 2008
M. E. Phillips
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
NCAA Football 2009 is by far the BEST yet. Sure, there are still some areas that can be improved upon or fixed. But, the game play, crowd interaction, icing kicker option, and many many other things make this an impressive and incredible game. I have been playing this nightly and can't seem to get enough. This WILL have you screaming from your couch just like watching real NCAA football.
COOL ITEMS:
- Icing the kicker: Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't but it's a cool and welcomed addition to the reality of football.
- Turnovers aren't quite that easy: In 2007-08, picks and fumbles were all over the field. Now, having to be more aligned with the ball and needing a bit more skill, it's not a turnover free for all.
NOT SO COOL ITEMS:
- Celebrate with the Mascot: It's cool for the first few times but gets a bit repetitive or boring. Would be great if you could use select buttons to execute a celebration (or unlock celebrations with 'user' points
- The graphics can be a bit "choppy". Someimes the ball magically moves out of the QBs hands or receptions go through a players head/arms. These glitches should have been fixed by now considering the technological & graphical improvements already made.
- Guessing the defense when you turn the ball over? What does this really get you other than an intermission? And added feature would be gaining coaching experience points when getting it right in order to unlock hidden playbooks or even plays of the other team (game film for future games).
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE FUTURE (IF EA EVER LOOKS AT AMAZON): User tackles and such don't do much for you: Would recommend making 'user points' like you get with Madden. Maybe then you can earn points toward player improvements, coaching improvements, or even buy things for your campus (a new library, new uniforms). Just would make it even more fun to knock around people and have interaction! Include this and a celebration addition and it'll be even greater!
Overall - I give this 5 STARS and recommend it to anyone that LOVES football. It's as real as it gets!
Been playing it ever since this came out and I am VERY impressed so far! July 16, 2008
D. Crawford (Hoover, AL United States)
19 out of 25 found this review helpful
First of all, I have been an EA sports gamer for a while now... ever since Madden and NCAA football has been developed. If you look over my past reviews I have written, you will see that I don't hold my opinion back any in regards to hammering a game title. Personally, I feel EA in regards to XBOX360 has gotten cheap and lacked quality over the years. So read this review taking that into account.
As for this game, I have to say, "ABOUT TIME!" EA's NCAA football is finely getting back to the level of its glory days in regards to quality and new inventive game options. For example, there is a new bluff option in the game. Usually when you pick a play and your team is on the field, you want to check what that play looks like before you snap the ball. The problem with doing that is the other team knows what you are calling right before you snap. The new bluff feature allows you to show multiple bluff plays on the field - both runs and passes. You can show multiple bluff plays and throw in your real one to see what it looks like and still not totally give away what you are doing... GREAT ADDITION TO THE GAME!!! The recruiting in the game is a lot better also. This game allows you to now pick and choose what you want to do in regards to recruiting and let the computer take care of the rest. It provides options for people who want a little assistance to allowing the computer to do it all.
The game play finely is smooth again. Running the ball seems more realistic and passing is more fun. I think the game programers of today have finely started to catch up to the XBOX360's technology... finely. The past games just didnt feel right to play. Newer gamers (People who started playing this game in 2006 to now) probably wouldnt notice this however if you have played this game and Madden forever, you'll notice.
About the graphics... the xbox360 has always done pretty well with graphics, however, this year it looks even better. I have to stress one thing though. Having a quality TV makes all of the difference. For example, I have an older model HDTV 27inch that I played this game on and it looked nice, however, when I played this on my 52inch 1080p LCD HDTV... this game is AWESOME!!! Regardless the game is fun no matter what TV you have.
Well I will probably be adding to this review as I play more. So far I have not experienced any freezing moments or glitches in the game, however since the game only came out yesterday, I may change my attitude about that topic. I havent played it enough to give a totally valid opinion. With that said nothing so far.
UPDATE: I'm still enjoying the game very much. Still no Freezing up like the poster stated before the game came out. I've noticed a lot more things about the game also. There is A LOT more detail to it in regards to the stadium, crowd and sideline action. Your cheerleaders are sad when you mess up for example. I remember in older games the crowd and cheerleaders would celebrate no matter what. The Crowd and Sideline players interact more with the game. About the game being too easy??? I do not agree with that. Play the game on a higher level and try playing with the teams that don't have every player rated high. I usually stay away from the USCs of the game. What is the point? The team is already perfect - in regards to player ratings. Basically, if you want it to be harder there are ways of making the game harder. One Con about the game I do not like is that blitzing is a lot harder. In the past speed rushing on the sides was a lot easier. That changed last year so I went to LBs to blitz manually. This year I can't get through with the LBs or LE/RE. Being able to hit the QB is something I really enjoyed in the past. This does take away from the fun factor of the game - a little. With that said, still a great game!
Daniel
Fun, fun, fun January 18, 2009
B. Ruth (Texas)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I purchased this game for two boys who have really enjoyed this game. The only drawback is that it is so much fun...they don't want to stop playing it. As part of the game, they had to choose a major and then take exams. Which I thought they would hate, but they actually love it. The game requires that they maintain a certain GPA. And they compete in the football part as well as the GPA part. It's funny to listen to them answering the questions and trying to remember what they had learned previously in a class. Not sure how much fun this would be for someone who just wants to sit there and play video football non-stop all day and not have to think about anything the entire time. While the tests are easy enough, if you don't know the answers and you don't maintain your GPA you will have to start your football game over again. It's No Pass, No Play in a video game.
Huge upgrade August 29, 2008
M. Jenkinson
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a significant upgrade for the PS3 from NCAA 08, so if you are debating whether to buy the new version my answer is "Most definitely, buy this version". The player control is smoother, greater attention to detail with the stadiums, crowds, etc, and the mascot challenge is an enjoyable break from the action. From the moment I broke it out of the plastic I haven't been able to put it down. Once you have configured the game for your team, there are even unique pictures for that particular team that you will recognize if you went to that particular school.
One minor glitch I have noticed is that occasionally when reviewing your play call on the field, the receiver routes will get all wavy (best way I know how to describe it) and the receiver designation will appear as a question mark, rather than circle or square. I'm thinking this is a memory writing issue with the game as it goes away with the next play called.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 171
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