NCAA Football 09

"Someone needs to step up and say it, the XBOX version has sucked the last 4+ years."

Since EA can't figure out how to develop realistic AI for their games, they should probably go back to around the NCAA '03 to '04 years, when it was still fun, before they turned it into mini-madden. It's full of flaws, especially in Online Play and the recruiting mode got to a point where it is a pain in the ass in dynasty mode.

As XBox Live improves, so should its online system. Granted it punishes people who quit on games better now, including those who try to quit, but it's still not perfect. What about the option for when you connect and get matched up with a jerk who doesn't stop talking trash? Or what about someone with a horribly bad connection? Why suffer through that when I'm paying for XBox Live and the game? There should be options for people to get matched up not only based off of skill level/ratings, but also whether people want to talk smack or even how they play it, i.e. those who treat the game like it's Tecmo Bowl on steroids, or people who want/expect it to play more like a real game would.

The game still has several problems with its AI features, such as switching to players who aren't in on a play when trying to switch on defense, and some of the other usual BS, like defensive backs with their back to the quarterback making a miracle interception when they don't have a way of knowing the ball is coming to them. And of course, the passing game & pass defense still needs work. In college and in pro's, most safeties are the slowest defensive backs on the field. For example, if a wide receiver gets behind them to their inside or outside and the ball is thrown ahead of the wr, with the safety to the opposite side of where the ball is projected to land, the safety shouldn't be able to recover from 4+ yards back and run ahead of the receiver to make the catch, no? Even the best safeties in the NFL can't do that one, so why should college safeties or linebackers be able to? Also, part of the point of calling screen plays is for defenders to rush upfield and miss out on the play, not literally running with the running back.

In online mode it takes two people living a block from each other with perfect cable/fiber internet to be able to have time to pick out defensive plays in between calls, regardless of whether you know what the offensive personnel is. Again, even with faster game clocks this season, it is still unrealistic. Add in that people can somehow come out in completely bad offensive/defensive formations against a play call and the game itself doesn't make sense. Hint, in the game cover 3 doesn't always stop passes to deep corners but somehow coming out in quarters can shut down running plays. In short it's still too easy to do cheap stuff that wouldn't otherwise work in a real game, and that in and of itself ruins the game, it's like it's trying to be two games at once instead of one or the other. EA should make up its mind, does it want something professional quality and legitimate, or does EA want to be Tecmo Super Bowl for nextgen consoles?

It was fun having historical teams for ps2 versions, wish they had those here. Oh, and the create a playbook feature is sorely missing. Or the ability to update teams/player quality as the season progresses (it should be obvious by now that some schools are overrated). If you've never gotten to play the PS2 version, you may think it's great. But otherwise, it's crap compared to that.

Oh, and graphics/stadiums look good.

Reviewer's Score: 2/10, Originally Posted: 10/06/08

Game Release: NCAA Football 09 (US, 07/15/08)