5stars
133ratings4stars
39ratings3stars
2ratings2stars
2ratings1star
4ratings
Good graphics96% agree
Compelling gameplay100% agree
Good value100% agree
173 reviews
Madden 09 Review...
Can you believe we are in the 20th year of Madden? I can't considering the game has been coming out longer than I've been alive. Well anyway here is the review of Madden NFL 2009.
I'll start with the most important part of the game first. The gameplay. The gameplay is really fun. It could keep any football fan entertained for hours.
EA has added some new features. The newest and most innovative is the Madden IQ. The Madden IQ feature will set a skill level adjusted for you based on your personal skill. You start the game greeted by John Madden and take the "Madden Test" to determine your "Madden IQ". This is very similar to the tests in Superstar Mode, but on all fronts of a team. The QB, the running back, pass defense, and rush defense. You go through a series of drills on varying skill levels at each of the mentioned facets of the game to determine you Madden IQ. Unfortunately this didn't work out so well as the offensive drills are very easy and defensive ones can be tough. This can make for difficult and frustrating gameplay at your IQ level, and many will end up turning the feature off. If Madden IQ doesn't work out for your likes there is also a custom skill level where you can make the game as easy or as tough as you want in the above categories and not to forget the classic Madden skill levels. Madden IQ certainly doesn't ruin gameplay and the game can still be the most fun football game to date.
Another new feature is the Rewind feature. This allows you to have a "redo" on a play. If you messed up on the winning drive of the Superbowl simply hit the X button and you can try again. You don't have to use this feature if you don't want to. You can turn it off completely or limit how many times you can use it in the game. (It isn't available in online play)
Something else that comes along with the Rewind feature is the Backtrack feature. When you mess up on a play, football commentator Chris Collinsworth will do a breakdown of what went wrong and what should have been done just like you would see on MNF. This is a terrific addition to the game and can really help you improve and turn into a Madden pro.
Franchise mode is fun just as it always has been. EA didn't fix what wasn't broken. You pick a team and play through the season. You can use the default rosters or do a fantasy draft and build you own powerhouse. There really isn't much to complain about here. It's your generic franchise mode that really focuses on playing games.
Online mode now introduces leagues of up to 32 teams. Although it is pretty simple setup it can certainly be a blast with your friends. You can still play quick play or ranked games as well. Unfortunately there are still those people who take advantage of glitches or people who are sore losers and quit before the game is over. I personally like to stay away from online mode.
Although the game isn't perfect and has some glitches here and there none of it ruins the game. Madden 09 is certainly worth buying. If you haven't bought this game in a few years this is definitely the next one you want to add to your collection. Even if you bought Madden 08 I'd still suggest buying this since it is such a step forward. This may not be the perfect Madden game but it is a great game of football!Read full review...
NCAA Football 09 for XBox 360
The game is very well put together. The graphics and gameplay are not as good as Madden 09, but they are better than both 08 EA Sports football games. You are most likely buying this game to purchase a college football game because Madden 09 is a better play overall. However, the college football features they include in this title are first rate. The recruiting is very in depth and complete. The different playbooks include almost all of the different offenses in play in today's college football, including the spread. I have not played on line as of yet, but the features included in online are expansive, including multi-player online dynasties. Overall, this is a good title, but I believe it is a step below Madden every year in terms of gameplay. Read full review...
Good Enough
NCAA 09 for XBox 360 has improved in overall game play but it is missing some crucial features. The tackles and animation are pretty strong. I enjoy watching receivers make catches near the sideline and reach out of bounds to catch the ball. I was playing online once and a receiver made a side line catch 5 yards away from the sideline. So far that was the only major glitch I've seen.
The feature I miss most is the Create A Team. Past NCAA games were great cause you could over take some team design the uniforms create players and join a conference.
Overall I would give it a 7 out of 10.Read full review...
Could use some change
I always love NCAA Football each year, especially campus legend so I really can't complain since this year everything is still present. My only dig with this franchise and the game this year is that they have come to a standstill on making advancements. This is the same game as last year and the year before. They didn't even update Caruso's picture in the game. It is just that I think they can move it along a little and make some major updates and not just a few mini-games. But like I said the core game is still there and it is still amazing!!!Read full review...
NCAA Football 09
The NCAA Football series has always been in the shadow of its big brother, Madden. But like Eli Manning or Ronde Barber, both of whom have a more-famous sibling, NCAA Football has established its own identity and proven itself to be more than Madden with marching bands. This year's effort benefits from the inclusion of an Online Dynasty mode and the ability to share custom roster files, but other than these two additions, little has changed. Series fans have long clamored for the ability to play Dynasty mode online, and EA has finally made that dream a reality. Up to 12 players can compete head-to-head online for up to 60 in-game years. Setting up an online dynasty is a breeze. One person acts as the commissioner and sets the rules and difficulty and sends out player invites. Because you're free to play as any Division 1A school and might not otherwise encounter another human opponent, it's good that the commish can alter each team's schedule to ensure that people get to play against one another. You'll want to make sure you play against one another because although you're all recruiting against everyone else, doing so doesn't provide any sense of competition--it's just navigating menus for weeks on end. NCAA 09 seems to do a good job anticipating the problems that typically arise when coordinating a large group online for any length of time. If one player is holding the group back, the commissioner can advance the week or even boot the offending player from the dynasty. You can even throw out results from a game if you suspect something's fishy. If you lose a few people, or just want to add a few new coaches to the mix, you can do so at any time. It would have been nice if you had the option to play a few weeks ahead if you wanted to, but there's very little not to like. It was a long time coming, but it was worth the wait.
It's a good thing Dynasty mode is online this year, because few changes have been made with regard to how it's played. You pick a school, recruit players, and try to lead them to a championship. While you now have the option for the AI to handle a few minor aspects of recruiting and you can quick-call prospects to save a few minutes, the process once again gets tedious after you're about halfway through the season. There simply aren't enough variables to make it interesting. One notable addition is the ability to download custom rosters and use them in Dynasty mode. Some ambitious individual has already made a file available with real player names, so no longer will you have to play with fake player names, nor will you have to spend hours altering individual players.
Another mode that hasn't received a whole lot of attention is Campus Legend, where you create a player, guide him through the final games of his high school career, and help him pick a college where he can pursue his dreams of becoming a legend. You'll still need to attend practice to work your way up the depth chart and boost your attributes by studying for class, going to the gym, reviewing your playbook, or going to the trainer. That may sound interesting on paper, but it involves nothing more than picking an option from a menu and hitting a button. If you've never played Campus Legend before, you'll find that it's a lot of fun for a season or two, but if you've previously spent time with it, you'll be let down that there's nothing new here. Home-field advantage is a huge part of college football, and it's a huge part of NCAA 09.Read full review...
definitely worth the dollar
Really so much better to have all the rosters, especially without looking them all up and typing them up to match the numbers. Great buy, unfortunately, at no fault of any seller, the announcer crew skips out on some of the less famous and generic names, like BC's "Mulrooney" so far they haven't said #24 but just said "he" more often. so thats pretty cool. On the topic I also wish they had CCSU and Sacred Heart in there too. put 'em in guys! and teach them to say Hafford! haha, but really buy the rosters.Read full review...
football!!!
NCAA Football 09 brings all-new football action to the xbox 360. The game unveils the Break Away Animation Engine, which allows gamers to break in and out of moves giving the user more direct control as well as instant influence and responsiveness on the field. NCAA Football 09 also focuses on wide-open collegiate style gameplay featuring unique animations that you will only find on college football Saturdays.Read full review...
Football at it's finest
I bought NCAA Football '09, because after playing Madden for many years the series seems to be getting worse. After trying the demo mode, I thought I'd give it a try.
To my delight, the controls are very similar to the Madden controls, so I didn't have to "relearn" how to play football. One of my favorite things about this game is the homefield advantage feature. When you're in your home stadium, the place gets roaring so loud, you can't hear anything but the fans (just like the real thing). This is something the Madden games were missing. Go to the Horseshoe (OSU stadium), and the crowd can be down right deafening. This is true to life, and while the same thing happens in the Dawg Pound at Cleveland Browns stadium in real life, the game never gives you that feel of the fans being fired up. NCAA '09 not only give you that feeling, but it effects how you, and the opposing teams play. With the crowd into the game, the visiting team, will false start, miss hand-offs, drop passes, and all sort of other things that come from being distracted. Just keep in mind that at some point YOU are the visiting team and you've got to keep the home crowd from getting into the game and rattling your players.
The other feature I like about this game is that you can effect the endzone celebrations, and showboat into the endzone, instead of simply watching whatever random annimation the computer feeds you. You can even tell your player to go celebrate with the mascot. I don't have enough game time to have completely explored this feature, but from what little experience I do have with it, I am very pleased.
Another feature that is impressive is the Campus Legend mode. You can create a player, and run him through is college carrier. You'll start out in High School play-offs, and work your way up. The kick is thought, that you're not at just any random school.... you can place your player at the school you actually went to. You select the state, and the game lists tons of real cities/shcools to chose from. I live in a VERY small town, and my City/school was on the list. I played the play-offs against schools that I know from my area, and even played the 1st round of the play-offs against a team that my school has actually played in the play-offs before. It's details like this that make NCAA Football '09 great.
This game is exactly what Madden used to be. Current, fresh, and FUN. This is a must have for any Football fan. I give it a 10 out of 10.Read full review...
More than just an upgrade from the previous release
Every year, EA and other video game franchises hype up their annual release of their sports games so much that once consumers get their hands on the game, they are disappointed that the game does not provide all that was promised. Almost every year that has happened, that is, until NCAA Football 09 came around.
One major gripe by those who play college sports video games is that the rosters do not have the players real names. No college games are allowed to have player names because that would require them to get licensing from players, which is against NCAA rules. But this year's release allows users to upload custom rosters to their EA Locker. Anyone that has Xbox Live can enter any Gamertag and download these rosters! There are many gamers that have edited the players real names and saved their rosters to their EA Locker. Now, in every game mode (even online play!), the players real names are used and the commentators can say them all!
Along with the ability to upload and download roster files, there are 19 other features that were not in the 2008 release of this game! Such features include a new tackling engine, online dynasty, 50+ alternate uniforms, and many new tools in recruiting!
The gameplay in NCAA Football 09 is excellent as always and has improved from previous releases. All aspects of the game, offense, defense, special teams, running, passing, tackling, etc. are more realistic than ever. Also, the graphics are astounding and this game is always fun to play!
If you are looking for a college football game, or any kind of football game, to keep your itch for football between weekends to a minimum and to hold you over through the offseason, this game does that and more. You will be hooked for hours at a time and just as you think you've done it all, you discover something new and something exciting every time you power up your Xbox 360.
So go out there and have some fun!Read full review...
Great Game with very few problems
NCAA football 09 is a great example of what a good sports game should be: fun!!
The game is a blast without being overly difficult like madden can be at times. The college atmosphere is in full effect, cheerleaders, fight songs, mascots all combine to make an immersive football experience. The option attack is a refreshing addition for those like me who only play madden, giving you an entirely different way to approach offense and defense. The player models aren't as pretty as madden, but the gameplay is much more fluid, whereas madden can feel like the players are moving between one preset animation to another, causing a lack of control. The passing game on offense is a breeze, while on defense you may have a hard time against opposing QBs early, even bad teams seem to move the ball easily against you through the air sometimes. The one and only real detractor from this game is the standard running plays. Traditional running plays (aka up the gut, toss sweep, and the other pro style runs from madden) are all but useless, even on easier settings. Occasionally you will get some yards up the middle but usually you're lucky to get one or two. Running outside is a bit easier if you have a fast back, but still very hit or miss, usually miss. Because of the option and screen plays this does not hamper the game much though. The game is fully featured with tons of gameplay options online and off, from traditional franchise/dynasty to mascot mini games, you will always find something to quench your football thirst. As a diehard PRO football fan, i would definitely recommend this game, not just as a change of pace, but a brand new experience you will enjoy.Read full review...