NCAA Football 09 - Review

By Reed - July 23, 2008

Platforms: ,

Visuals: 8.0 Audio: 8.0 Gameplay: 8.0 Entertainment Value: 8.0 Overall: 8.0

All the college pageantry without the walk of shame.

EA's annual one two punch of football has begun with NCAA 09. Building upon last years superb gameplay, NCAA 09 looks to bring you a more authentic college feel, and wide-open gameplay akin to real life games.

Visuals
Best visuals in a sports game yet, and each year they get better and better. Player models look sharp, tackling, catching, juke and spin animations are smoother than ever, and with the ability to combo them, it's particularly stylish. New celebration animations help rub it in after scoring touch downs. If there is one thing NCAA 09 does better than any game, its atmosphere, and the animations add to that.

Audio
Beside your mandatory fight songs during loading screens, there isn't much to the music in NCAA 09. Although the sound effects for tackles, big hits, and the roar of the crowd once again add to the atmosphere. Big hits sound punishing and crowds will chant "na na na na, hey hey hey, good bye," when you blow out opponents. It's authentic, and plays to NCAA 09's attempt to bring the college atmosphere to your television.




Gameplay
It's your typical football game, but with a few new features to warrant a purchase. Perhaps the biggest improvement this season is the new wide-open gameplay. This has geared the games to be fast paced, offensive battles, where a true master knows how to play both sides of the ball. Players can combo jukes and spin moves creating ESPN worthy highlights. The new offensive style is containable, but those who do not know how to cover the option are likely to rely on their offense to win. Also, new playbooks have been made to closely reflect the teams who use them. So, if you want to play as Florida, you might want to get used to running plays from the Shotgun all day.

Online Dynasty finally makes an appearance in the game as well. The dynasty mode that lets you take the helm of a team, recruit and lead the team to multiple championships is for the first time online. You and up to 31 other players can go head to head, recruiting from the same talent pool, and vying for a spot in the national championship. It's fun, and if you can find committed players, is better than playing the offline dynasty mode.

Other minor new features include the return of Mascot Games. So if you really want, you can pit Herbie Husker against the Florida Gator, complete with over-the-top juke moves. It's silly, and it's more than likely going to get ignored. New to the game is icing the kicker. Just like in real college football, when the kicker must make a game tying kick in the last minute of the fourth quarter, calling a time out greatly increases the difficulty.




Another key feature that is worthy of mention is downloading rosters. For the first time in an EA game, you can share your unique rosters. What that means is that someone can (and has) changed all the player names to who they are in real life. So instead of playing with HB #22 you will have Marlon Lucky. It's easy to get the rosters; you simply just choose a gamer tag or PSN name to download them from.

Entertainment Value
Online dynasty, improved game play, and an authentic college atmosphere, NCAA 09 is the best way to spend July before Madden comes out. If you're anxious for football, or simply just love the college game, NCAA 09 is a top-notch game with a few positive improvements from last year.

Visuals: 8.0 - One of the best looking sports games on the market. Audio: 8.0 - Punishing hits, chanting crowds and fight songs galore, the college atmosphere is completed through audio. Gameplay: 8.0 - Easy to learn, and fast paced, NCAA 09 is what you would expect from a college football game. Entertainment Value: 8.0 - Online dynasty greatly improves the games longevity, and importing drafts to Madden 09 is always a plus. Overall: 8.0 - Exceptional

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