NCAA 2009 Reviewed!

I have taken the first screenshot of McGuffie hurdling somebody. YAAAAAY!

I'm back! I'm still trying to find a workable copy of Photoshop, but I got my computer back from the Geek Squad and posting shall resume on a regular schedule once again.

I rented a copy of NCAA 2009 because every video game store in my neighborhood had sold out of them yesterday. While I haven't tried the online dynasty mode yet because I didn't sign up for XBox Live, the single player mode is enjoyable, though largely the same from previous years. I think the fluid motion animations and wide open game play were a bit over hyped because while the players do move a little better than in year's past, it does not feel substantially different.

As Brian noted earlier, it is nearly impossible to tackle somebody. Sometimes, it seems like every player on the field has a Mike Hart-like tackle-breaking persistence and won't go down without a second tackler. The college atmosphere is emphasized more with gratuitous cut scenes of cheerleaders doing flips and waving the school flag after big plays.

There are a few errors with the Michigan team that I was kind of surprised to see. There are a few players whose numbers are wrong (Steven Threet wears #15, Sam McGuffie wears #34), and most shocking, Sam McGuffie is purple. He looks like a version of Grimace on steroids. He is fast and nimble, though, and I have made him hurdle people multiple times to great delight.

A notably great thing EA Sports did was nail Michigan's away uniforms before they were released to the public. They look just like the ones that were revealed to the world a few days ago, right down to the maize stripes on the side and back.

I'd say this is a solid game, and let's face it...we're all going to buy it anyway.

Who wants to be in the Autumn Thunder online dynasty league? Any takers?

NCAA 2009 Preview: Recruiting Shenanigans!

The best players come with a price - your morality.

Autumn Thunder is totally stoked to leak the first bit of news regarding the recruiting features in NCAA 2009: the premier of the Recruiting Shenanigans feature. An anonymous source at EA sports has passed me this unofficial (and admittedly low-quality) screen shot, and to say the least, the recruiting season in NCAA 2009 will be much more entertaining than in years past. While in previous editions, players had to go through five mind-numbing weeks of convincing players to sign their letters of intent based on the virtues of academics, campus lifestyle, playing time and the like, gamers now have more options. Do you think you could have convinced a young man like Ryan Perriloux to sign with you because of campus tradition? Noooooooo. Could guys like Chris Henry and Pacman Jones be persuaded to join your team based on your student section? Ha! Good one.

These days, you need to promise some players a little something extra, and EA is finally incorporating this pink elephant into the recruiting area of their games. Easy professers? Drugs? Guns? It's in the game!