NCAA 08 Impressions

[bangpow]

Here you guys go, these are a couple articles I wrote about the time I spent at EA and with NCAA 08.

http://consolesports.net/index.php?o...=44&Itemid=115

I gotta say, I'm very impressed by the game.

[darkobetterthanmelo]

can you still do the run 15 steps back and throw a bomb to ted ginn for a TD 75% of the time

[Timone]

Yeah I watched a couple videos on youtube and for some reason I'm just not impressed (this was next gen too).

[Moodini31]

Dap to EA for getting College Football back on track. We all (except Muhme) know the 07 was a horrible bust, but EA fixed (just about) everything for 08 and added some super sweet features. My favorite addition is the Campus Legend mode where you can create a recruit or yourself and play through your state's high school playoffs and based on how good you do in those games, you'll receive scholarship offers from schools. Once in school you are in complete control of your player from studying, to practice, to games. Sweet!

Also, the ability to save your best highlights and take pictures of your best plays and they'll be shown in "your shrine" at the game's main menu.

The gameplay has been completely smoothed out (60 fps) and they've added a million new animations including gang tackles and being taken out mid-air. The money plays that were guaranteed to get you 10+ yards last year have been addressed and so far, I think the game is much more challenging.

To dynasty mode now, the heart of the game, and it's just about perfect. Recruiting is so deep now, you'll need to spend a least a half an hour per week scouting, calling recruits, offering scholarships, and scheduling visits. This may get old to some, but I'm a huge recruiting buff so I absolutely love it. ESPN is a partner in the game and you'll be looking at box scores, top 25 polls, and the Heisman favorites through ESPN.com. You can also see if Corso and Herbstreit picked you to win your big rivalry game this week.

Now, to my complaints. I only have a few. First, the menus feel a little clunky and there's a little bit of a delay when navigating, nothing major. Second, there are waaaaay too many fumbles. I'm playing with Michigan (obviously) and Mike Hart, who's fumbled once in his 3 years at Michigan has fumbled 4 times in 2 games. UGH! Probably my biggest beef is with the passing game. Touch passing is just not possible. You have to barely, and I mean barely tap the button to throw a lob pass, and when you do, it's a skyscraping rainbow. Anything other than that is a bullet that will be deflected. Also, somehow CPU DB's will come up with "magical interceptions". As you drop back with Henne (93 OVR) you'll see Manningham wide open on a post across the middle. You fire a bullet, but somehow the DB who was on the complete opposite side of Mario, (and toast) magically covers about 10 yards in a split second and picks off the pass. That needs to be addressed for 09.

Overall, the game is super solid and probably one of the best in the series so far. There are still a few minor issues, but it's in a different galaxy from last year's game and definitely worth a purchase if you are a college football fan at all.

[Timone]

Just bought it for PS2 for my birthday (yes, I bought it for myself ), playing around with it a little bit before I head out...all signs point to Moodini being right thus far.

[Moodini31]

Just bought it for PS2 for my birthday (yes, I bought it for myself ), playing around with it a little bit before I head out...all signs point to Moodini being right thus far.

Thanks for the dap tim, but I may have to call out myself here. THE PASSING GAME ON THIS GAME IS F'ING TERRIBLE! Like I said before, it's impossible to loft the ball just out of the DB's reach and defenders seem to have superhuman abilities to warp and pick off passes that should be caught in stride. Hopefully a slight AI adjustment will take care of it, but I'm really frustrated right now.

[Moodini31]

Apparently Gamespot agrees with me.

The Good-Super sim is a great way to skip the boring stuff so you can do more of the cool stuff The shrine, trophies, and highlights are nice new additions Running the option is always fun Controls offer a lot of depth but aren't overly complicated.

The Bad-Way too many turnovers College atmosphere is somewhat lacking Recruiting and campus legend options are a nice start but lack depth.


One of the best things about playing college football games is running the option, and NCAA 08 does it well. However, quarterbacks almost never make a bad pitch, even when they're being hit by two players and flinging the ball backward over their shoulder. But you'll come to appreciate this because there are so many other ways to turn the ball over. Even with gameplay sliders changed to prevent them, there are an inordinate amount of fumbles and interceptions--sometimes as many as 10 per game with five minute quarters.

http://gamerankings.com/itemrankings...eviewid=794273

Whew. I was really starting to think that I just flat out sucked at the game. Which, of course, can't be the case.

[Timone]

You're right about the passing game as well although I've been able to pass the ball a lot better with some custom sliders I got off Operation Sports.

And something else that's always bothered me...what's the point of playing a full season of any sports game and reaching/winning the championship game when all you get is a couple little bullshit cut scenes? Madden is a great example of what I'm talking about.

[Wilfredo Ledezma]

I have it for X-BOX 360, and I'm not that impressed...

[Wilfredo Ledezma]

maybe I'll donate it to the WTF Sports Book Prize, b/c honestly, I haven't played it since the week I purchased the damn thing.