Score
Gameplay:	8
Graphics:	9
Sound:	8
FunFactor:	8
PlasmaFactor:	8
Overall:	8.2

NCAA Football 09
August 5, 2008 by Jereme Puik

College football, its back and Saturday’s just got exciting again. Campuses across the nation will be covered in college pride depending on every schools team colors and mascot. You have stadiums being filled and teams getting ready for the regular season. Players are getting trained and ready to put the beat down on their rival schools. College sports are always the pinnacle years of any student and if you’re currently in college reading this, then you know what I’m talking about. There have been many problems over the past couple of years with the NCAA series going from kick off being glitchy to frame-rate issues and so on. This year, however, EA Sports seems to have delivered a rare gem in its ongoing seasons. Every year it seems that EA Sports is striving to improve each of its franchises and this year is no different and it works for the most part, at least.

Oh, those silly mascots

Remember last semester when you had all of those parties in your dorm with your friends all thanks to the upcoming season? Well, its time to come back for another semester in NCAA Football 2009. EA may have a grapple hold on its Madden franchise, but for the college types, NCAA still reigns supreme in their minds. In the minds of critics, however, NCAA Football is just one step closer to fulfilling that dream of the one pure college football experience.

NCAA Football 2009 offers some new dynamic gameplay modes and a few tweaks here and there to keep players hooked. Although, there are also a few misses in there as well. There is, unfortunately, the sticky catches, some hiccups in animations, and scratch your head tactics on the AI part. It could just baffle anyone how an inexperienced running back would possibly drag in enough yards on a run for a first down in just two plays. One still wonders why EA Sports decided to leave in the Campus Legend mode as it seems pretty useless in terms of variety and expense. Unfortunately with the 10GS points attached to it, it doesn’t seem like an option to really ignore it.

If you were to look at the bright side of things for NCAA Football 09, the game runs on a nice smooth frame rate of 60fps which gives the experience a more realistic feel. In part, your offensive line is also on the smooth side with clean running tactics and breakaways. No longer are you stuck with messing around with the lame right stick of the previous year. Now, you are able to perform jukes and “nudges” to gain an edge on the field should you find yourself suddenly barreled in full of the opposing team. All of the gameplay dynamics are mapped nicely into the button interface, as well as, the passing plays despite the sticky catching.

With Home Field Advantage being a big part of past NCAA football games , EA has decided to tweak it a bit and offer a more unique experience. For instance, if you throw an interception you’ll be treated to a quarterback quiz in which you will have to guess at which play the defense ran to poke through and make that interception. This is all well and good, as there is of course an achievement for getting it right. The only downside is that it might get old unless you’re really into the game and know the playbook from front to back. Finally, to add into the entire experience of the home and away games, there are cheerleader squads on the sidelines, mascots running around in the endzones and team specific flags that are flying around every time you score a touchdown.

Online modes offer the most creativity here as you can bring your dynasty online for the first time and compete against players from around the world with their customized teams. Now, you’ll really be able to test the might of your schools pride, power and toughness on the field. Dynasty mode seems like the needle in the haystack we’ve been searching for in online football games. You’ll be able to control your team for 60 years and bring your personalized rosters into account. It’s probably the most in-depth aspect of the game. What’s even more enjoyable is the 4-player LAN co-op to make it a true college football experience with your dorm room friends.

Graphics

NCAA Football 09 offers the most dynamic graphic environment for the college enthusiast. Player models are realistic and animations flow at a consistent rate and don’t look too out of place. Although on certain plays you might notice a hiccup here and there, but it’s not completely out of the ordinary. Stadiums are nicely rendered and detailed with the crowd being realistic and reacting to plays in the game at the right times. Mascots are fluid and sometimes a bit hilarious to watch, but that’s how they’re supposed to be, right?

Sound

It’s pretty much everything you can expect from a college football game. Fans are cheering louder then ever and are trying to get the other team rattled on their home field. You have the option as the home team to calm the crowd down to take the pressure off those big plays if you’re on 4^th down and only inches to go for the touchdown. Music from the school’s band sounds pretty generic, unfortunately, and doesn’t really vary much from school to school. Although, its not a deal breaker for the game, so it’s not something huge to worry about.

Plasma Factor

NCAA Football 09 offers a wide variety of characteristics that would make or break this game. Depending on the user's taste, you could find these updates either appealing or appalling. Dynasty mode offers the most in terms of variety online and off. The ability to take your personalized rosters online is something I would give major points for. Now, I could do without Campus Legend mode, as it just seems like something that would give an extra achievement for nothing. This is obviously what they did here, but let’s just hopes that it is left out next year.

Conclusion

Although I wouldn’t say it’s the one true definitive college football experience, EA Sports seems to be getting closer and closer to reaching that plateau. With online and offline dynasties being a huge grab here, this shouldn’t discourage even the casual college football fan from at least renting it. Hardcore college fanatics will eat this up by the dozen and if you’re having a party with your dorm room friends, don’t forget to pop in NCAA Football 09. The new season is about to begin and with this new entry, its certainly not one to miss despite its downfalls.