The Class of 09 graduates just shy of achieving honors
With all the hoopla of a College pep rally, EA's latest pre-pro football offering is an exciting brand of partying, participating and pigskin. While many gamers look upon NCAA Football as Madden Junior, the fact remains that this is a solid sporting title that deserves respect. There are a number of things that set College ball apart from its big brother and EA Sports has done a fine job fleshing them out with this year's class of 09.
Gameplay: One of the biggest differences between the collegiate brand of pigskin and the pros is the wide open, fast paced offensive style of the game. NCAA does a great job opening up passing lanes, large running holes for speedy receivers and backs. This feels like a very offensive-minded game. The controls are standard for experienced football gamers and feel quite responsive and quick this season. One of EA's biggest improvements is the "Fluid Breakaway Mechanic" in which your running backs and receivers have the ability to shed tackles with various combinations of spins and jukes. This brings a lot more variety to the gameplay experience and is another checkmark in the games already offense-heavy arsenal. Another noticeable gameplay feature is the incredible breakaway speed most wide outs have in the game. Either that or the defensive backs have been skipping out on their fitness training. It almost feels as though the safeties are playing up in tight coverage on most plays because running backs are able to cut to the outside for huge gains a bit too frequently. Home Field Advantage is a big part of NCAA Football. Visiting teams can have a tough time handling big crowds, and QB's can get completely rattled in crucial situations. If things aren't going well, they are unable to read their player's routes (which become scribbled lines) and toss up interceptions. The players do get stuck in tackling animations from time to time, making it impossible for subsequent defenders to gang tackle an already engaged opponent. The game also offers plenty of play modes, including offline AND new online Dynasty (yeah baby!), Campus Legend in which you bring a would-be superstar up from high school though his college career, Mini-games, Training and of course Quickplay single matchups. The online gameplay is very smooth and responsive, just a hair slower than playing offline. Surprisingly there is a lag in navigating the online menus. After a noticeable absence in recent years, the return of co-op play is a most welcome addition. There are team-specific playbooks, position-specific audibles and hometown-specific player/mascot celebrations. While there could be a bit more parity between offense and defense in this game, NCAA Football executes strong gameplay in most of its areas. 8.5/10
Graphics: The graphics in NCAA are very good. Player models are excellent. The players are noticeably leaner and smaller than their NFL counterparts. This goes hand in hand with their blazing speed and dramatic agility during gameplay. The stadiums are impressive too. Most of which are architecturally sound renditions of the real team homes. Games are playable in all types of weather and changing time of day. It is possible to select Live Weather as reported by the Weather Network which adds to the authenticity of the experience. Player animations are plentiful and very impressive. The skill moves are incredibly powerful. Making an opponent miss a tackle with with a huge spinout or sidestep is one of the games most satisfying elements. This happens a lot - maybe a little too often, which does affect the overall impact of a huge breakaway. One glaring eyesore is the crowd. Right from the get go the blocky, repetitively animated fans will make you want to squint your eyes to blur them out. The stadiums are massive and colored nicely - giving them an epic scale that even dwarf the NFL's environments. Acrobatic cheerleaders, flag waving supporters and dancing mascots really add to the atmosphere of the college game. The game's menus are nicely designed and easy to navigate. All in all, there isn't that much of a difference in the way the game looks on the field from last season. Aside from a few small refinements, NCAA looks as crisp, clean and colourful as usual. 8.5/10
Sound: Sound is one of those things that can really add or take away from the overall gaming experience - especially true in sports games. EA Sports has done an admiral job bringing the sounds of college football to consoles. Again, there doesn't seem to be a vast difference between 09 and years past, but the game is still lively and geniunely immersive. Marching bands play their school's songs, the crowds roar upon big plays and grow silent when your team isn't playing well, and on field sound effects and chatter is a great finishing touch. The commentary team is fantastic. There is a fluid cohesiveness between the play by play and color commentators that hit their mark with accurate calls most of the time. There is a bit of repetition and recycled material from last season. One of NCAA 09's cool little add on's is the Custom Stadium Sound feature in which you can upload music files to your console to use for specific in game situations. 9/10
Presentation: Bringing the whole package together and offering a superior football experience means delivering great presentation. NCAA 09 does a nice job to set itself apart from NFL football, but doesn't make great strides to show us something new. The camera angles are standard issue for football games and the instant replays are nice broadcast style recaps. There is no choice on the gameplay camera as there is in NHL or FIFA which could be a nice alternative in future games. This could also help out with a more broadcast-true presentation for CPU vs. CPU games. These angles do exist in the game, but are only available when viewing the game highlights from the postgame menu. This is a very cool feature, in which you are able to save and upload the big plays from your game to the EA servers for your friends to see. There are still some areas of improvement for NCAA's presentation, but ultimately it showcases an enjoyable football experience. 8/10
Overall: From the big rivalries, progressive student careers and rousing college atmosphere, NCAA Football 09 is a truly enjoyable sports game. It's very well put together from the responsive gameplay, bold graphics, great sound and standardized presentation. A bit more innovation and broadcast style would give the game push into the epic experience it could be. This is a must own for lovers of College Football and will be a fun gaming experience for casual sports fans. Final rating 8.6/10.