tonyvolsfan05
Lovely Jennifer Tilly
- Joined
- May 25, 2005
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The big NCAA only community day has come and gone and there is a plethora of information popping up just about everywhere about the game. I for one, am getting pretty excited that we might finally have a rather solid NCAA game to play this year on the 360 and PS3. Unfortunately for Current-Gen users, I think one user said it best when he said that you would be getting NCAA 2007.5. There are a few notable news offerings coming out of the day that I think should be shared with just about everyone.
First off, from what can be gathered the game feels a lot more responsive and it really is a cross between what you played on the PS2 and what you played on the 360 last year. There are more plays and formations such as the Wildcat which will add more of a college feel to the thing. There was no word on the glowing field in lead by example, so we're guessing this might be a dead issue now. Speaking of that motivation system, it is said to be a lot like the dynamic ratings system that was prevalent on the PS2/XBox versions of the game, which is excellent news. Graphically players look much different from position to position so LBs and DTs are easily distinguishable. The animations are sometimes jaw-dropping and pretty fresh from all in attendance's perspective.
Even though we hit on this in a news article earlier player editing did make the cut and will be in NCAA 08 for the 360 and PS3. Unfortunately a few things did not make the cut such as online dynasty, assists on sacks or tackles (stat wise), clear visors and player names online. Also, there will be just 2 player co-op this year which is a big bummer for those of you who might have wanted to get four of your friends together to take on the world.
As far as actual gameplay, there is a lot to be said about it. Quarterbacks in general are a touch slower and are contained much better due to the better defensive AI that is present. Pocket passers will actually be pocket passers and running with them is probably something that would be advised against. Even mobile quarterbacks are going to be toned down quite a bit as well. Another huge improvement is quarterback accuracy. Right now it is much, much worse whilst on the run. Your quarterback won't be able to run around and then chuck a ball 40 yards down-field and hit his receiver in stride. One thing that a lot of guys were impressed with was how dead the deep ball really seemed now. Defensive backs react to the ball and are bigger ball-hawks this year. In fact, when balls are short (as is the case with Mr. Drop back 20 yards and then chuck it deep) they stand a good chance of being picked off. All in all, the quarterback accuracy attributes are going to play a huge role in this years game if you have been a scrambler in the past. Another feature that is receiving quite a bit of buzz on the gameplay front is the auto-motion, which really works well on plays that require you to send someone in motion.
Another thing that has impressed the community is the blocking. This is one thing that we have reported on in the past but it is very much improved this year due to EA hiring a former lineman to come in and rework the whole system. Linemen now block with a purpose because they have specific assignments based on the defensive front. Those assignments are dynamic and (I'm assuming due to awareness here) the linemen can read blitzes and such and reassign on the fly to varying degrees of success. Double teams and cut blocks are in and they look nice. The fullback blocking is also much improved as they no longer make a mad dash to the nearest defensive back to block and they now act like lead blockers and try to clear out the hole. Just imagine that for a bit and realize how big of a difference that will make in the running game. Simply put you can call a halfback dive against the same defense and run it 10 times and get 10 different holes and results because of how dynamic the blocking is now. Quite a feat and quite possibly this is the biggest improvement to the gameplay this year.
The final big addition that has people buzzing is the highlight reel feature which lets you go back after the game and look at almost every play from start to finish (as long as your quarters are 5-6 minutes long or so). Each play is given a greatness score so that when you play longer quarter lengths the best plays are kept to be viewed while the worst ones are dumped. You will be able to save images and videos of almost any length from the game. Also you will be able to upload your files to a site on EA's server which will allow you to share your videos and images, which is a pretty slick thing. All in all, dynasty reporters and league members are going to love the new feature and will definitely be thankful for what EA has included here.
And finally, for those of you who don't think they can wait much longer, EA will have a downloadable demo by early July.
First off, from what can be gathered the game feels a lot more responsive and it really is a cross between what you played on the PS2 and what you played on the 360 last year. There are more plays and formations such as the Wildcat which will add more of a college feel to the thing. There was no word on the glowing field in lead by example, so we're guessing this might be a dead issue now. Speaking of that motivation system, it is said to be a lot like the dynamic ratings system that was prevalent on the PS2/XBox versions of the game, which is excellent news. Graphically players look much different from position to position so LBs and DTs are easily distinguishable. The animations are sometimes jaw-dropping and pretty fresh from all in attendance's perspective.
Even though we hit on this in a news article earlier player editing did make the cut and will be in NCAA 08 for the 360 and PS3. Unfortunately a few things did not make the cut such as online dynasty, assists on sacks or tackles (stat wise), clear visors and player names online. Also, there will be just 2 player co-op this year which is a big bummer for those of you who might have wanted to get four of your friends together to take on the world.
As far as actual gameplay, there is a lot to be said about it. Quarterbacks in general are a touch slower and are contained much better due to the better defensive AI that is present. Pocket passers will actually be pocket passers and running with them is probably something that would be advised against. Even mobile quarterbacks are going to be toned down quite a bit as well. Another huge improvement is quarterback accuracy. Right now it is much, much worse whilst on the run. Your quarterback won't be able to run around and then chuck a ball 40 yards down-field and hit his receiver in stride. One thing that a lot of guys were impressed with was how dead the deep ball really seemed now. Defensive backs react to the ball and are bigger ball-hawks this year. In fact, when balls are short (as is the case with Mr. Drop back 20 yards and then chuck it deep) they stand a good chance of being picked off. All in all, the quarterback accuracy attributes are going to play a huge role in this years game if you have been a scrambler in the past. Another feature that is receiving quite a bit of buzz on the gameplay front is the auto-motion, which really works well on plays that require you to send someone in motion.
Another thing that has impressed the community is the blocking. This is one thing that we have reported on in the past but it is very much improved this year due to EA hiring a former lineman to come in and rework the whole system. Linemen now block with a purpose because they have specific assignments based on the defensive front. Those assignments are dynamic and (I'm assuming due to awareness here) the linemen can read blitzes and such and reassign on the fly to varying degrees of success. Double teams and cut blocks are in and they look nice. The fullback blocking is also much improved as they no longer make a mad dash to the nearest defensive back to block and they now act like lead blockers and try to clear out the hole. Just imagine that for a bit and realize how big of a difference that will make in the running game. Simply put you can call a halfback dive against the same defense and run it 10 times and get 10 different holes and results because of how dynamic the blocking is now. Quite a feat and quite possibly this is the biggest improvement to the gameplay this year.
The final big addition that has people buzzing is the highlight reel feature which lets you go back after the game and look at almost every play from start to finish (as long as your quarters are 5-6 minutes long or so). Each play is given a greatness score so that when you play longer quarter lengths the best plays are kept to be viewed while the worst ones are dumped. You will be able to save images and videos of almost any length from the game. Also you will be able to upload your files to a site on EA's server which will allow you to share your videos and images, which is a pretty slick thing. All in all, dynasty reporters and league members are going to love the new feature and will definitely be thankful for what EA has included here.
And finally, for those of you who don't think they can wait much longer, EA will have a downloadable demo by early July.
opcorn: :yahoo: 
