Product Description

Wide Open and Authentic College Style Gameplay It's Wide Open - Bigger holes, cutback lanes, and open receivers, making the game feel more wide open than ever before. Directional pump fake on the R stick. New college specific tackling engine Home Field Advantage with new mini-game components - Pre-play confusion and difficulty making adjustments when on the road against tough teams. All new toughest places to play with dynamic rankings. All-new Mascot Mode with User Controlled Celebrations College Atmosphere & Pageantry - All-new Dynamic Crowd System. College sidelines are packed with additional players, mascots, cheerleaders, and more. All-new authentic fields with new textures, lighting, and field degradation. New college player models, including more than 50 alternate uniforms. User Customizable Stadium Sounds & Music. Breakaway crowd reactions Depth & Innovation - Online Dynasty. Roster file sharing online. Improved recruiting system in Dynasty mode highlighting ease and accessibility. New post game presentation and play by play commentary. 1-4 player offline co-op. Return missed field goals. Bluff your play art to confuse opponents. Formation audibles. Smart routes. Bobble catches. Better passing control. Post play continuation. All-New Mini Games. Random play selection in practice mode. Quick replay. CPU vs. CPU (watch mode). Smooth 60 FPS on PS3. Even teams option in play now.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1075 in Video Games
• Brand: Electronic Arts
• Model: 15461
• Published on: 2008-07
• Released on: 2008-07-15
• ESRB Rating: Teen
• Platform: PLAYSTATION 3
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .55" h x 5.45" w x 6.78" l, .30 pounds

Features

• Wide Open and Authentic College Style Gameplay
• College Atmosphere & Pageantry
• Home Field Advantage with new mini-game components
• All-new Mascot Mode
• Improved recruiting system in Dynasty mode

Customer Reviews

A clear improvement over NCAA 08 in features/PS3 quirks
I picked this game up to replace last year's version, and as a huge fan of college football I was pleased to see some neat additions (such as icing the kicker) that became a big part of the lexicon during last year's crazy season.

If you've played any of the games in the NCAA series, you know what to expect. Some new features for this year's version include "celebrating with the mascot" where you can run over to the mascot after running a touchdown and perform an animated celebration (mascot worshiping you/dancing around/etc.). The sideline players/cheerleaders/coaches actually exist this year, unlike in NCAA 08 when they mysteriously weren't on the sidelines during a game. You'll see cheerleaders dancing, players on the sidelines getting out of your way, etc. so the stadium atmosphere is much more alive than it was in last year's version.

Some new gameplay options are tweaks to the way running plays work. No longer can you just click 'go' and push forward, you can now find and exploit holes in the defense, you can get your offensive line to shift to one side to cover your option play, you can basically fine-tune your plays a bit more (as well as bluff your play art when playing side-by-side with a friend, something you couldn't do before).

On passing plays, you no longer have to worry about the AI intercepting the ball constantly. If they aren't facing it, they won't catch it. If you throw it directly into coverage though, do expect to be picked off.

Tackling has been upgraded, as has evasion. You can evade tackles if you know what you are doing, and you can also one-arm tackle, hit the player so hard they bust a flip and fall flat on their back, and basically do much more than just dive and pray like in NCAA 08.

Other neat features such as online dynasty mode, the ability to set up songs from playlists to play when certain things happen, downloading rosters, etc. give you much more in terms of having customization over your game.

Basically, each particular area in the game has been tweaked in just the right areas, and this is much more of a transition than 07 was to 08.

Bottom line: If they take what they have here and improve it for NCAA 10 then you can expect me to be a happy gamer for a while to come.

My only caveat with the PS3 version (I have both 360 and PS3) is that the controls are not quite as fluid. More often than not I was passing to the wrong guy, or lobbing the football like a girl. This is probably just due to the sixaxis way of handling the game, but maybe also because I was leaned back when playing and it probably didn't like that orientation. Otherwise - excellent choice for your system.

EA Sports Does It Again
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!

An improvement over last year
I was hesitant about buying this game after being disappointed in the last several years versions, but I will say this year is an improvement.

I like the improvements made with the recruiting assistance, the player graphics and animations are better, I like the way the pre-snap routes will be squiqqly when playing on the road in a hostile environment, the re-addition of the cheerleaders is a good thing, and just playing the game is funner than last years.

I am disappointed in the way the crowd looks though, and there are a few glitches that bug me as well, such as when you throw passes near the sidelines your player will tip-toe and stretch to make the catch and fall down, even if they're not right next to the sideline, and have plenty of open field ahead of them. There are still some things that they can be improved upon to make it an even more enjoyable game playing experience, but I still like it.