Yeah, we're two days late. We FanHousers don't get advance copies of games, tickets, or anything for that matter. We're scrubs, just like you. But that's what makes it all so fun! We spent these two days "past deadline" playing NCAA '09.

The Game

In case you live under a rock, EA Sports' NCAA Football is a wildly successful software franchise updated mid-July of each year. With each new release comes new team and player ratings and, ostensibly, new features.

What's New and What's Not

Good news: if you played last year's next-gen (Xbox 360 vs. Xbox) version of NCAA Football you will be able to jump right in and play without any problem. The controls are virtually identical (thank you, EA), the playbooks are very similar and overall gameplay is in the same ballpark. The menu interface is also very much like '08, but snappier.
Among the most significant of the new features is Online Dynasty mode, which allows you to play in an online league with your buddies. Cool idea if you like multiplayer gaming, but I haven't tried it yet.

But what's really important if you're a die-hard college football freak like me is the gameplay. It looks and feels very similar, but is different in important ways, namely the defense's AI.

Unlike '08, it is now possible to complete deep passes to the middle if your receiver is open. This is a big deal, because last year, on Heisman mode -- or All American for that matter -- it was virtually impossible to do so if your receiver was running any kind of deep crossing route with a DB running within 10 yards of him. The defensive backs had unnatural abilities to turn around and pick the ball off without ever turning their heads, to leap several yards (seemingly) into the air to pick off a ball, and could increase their running speed to superhuman velocities to jump a route no matter how improbable it looked.

For those of you who play teams which field big, physical receivers, you'll be pleased to know that size finally matters! Your 6'5" WR can outleap that miniscule 5'9" corner and come down with the ball. In the past, mismatches in the secondary were few and far between.

EA Sports is calling this change "wide open" gameplay. It's a much more offense-friendly game now, and you'll have no problem throwing the ball if you were competent on last year's game at the All-American or Heisman level. There's a flip side to this coin, however; more later.

There are new "celebrate with the mascot" and team celebration animations, available after you score a touchdown. Fairly fun.

Also new is a pretty cool "ice the kicker" mode. Going for the game-winning kick with seconds left on regulation? Your opponent can call a time-out to ice your kicker. When you line up for that big-time kick you'll see your kicking meter covered in ice, hear the heartbeats of your kicker, and have a distorted view of the uprights from an on-the-ground vantage point. I like it.

The Good

All Offense, All the Time: I'm all for the "wide-open" style because, I'll admit it, I like playing on offense and I find defense to be somewhat of a frustrating guesswork affair. If you choose to control a linebacker or defensive back, it's difficult to get your main in a position to make a play. This is because the screen frame jumps around as the play progresses; it zooms out when the QB launches a long pass or tosses the ball the tailback. This is nothing new. Only elite players will be able to make big plays at the safety or corner position without the CPU's assistance.

Yes, Tebow Intends to Get That First Down On the Ground: The defense is also smarter with its response to a scrambling QB. Defensive backs will now decide earlier whether to pursue a QB scrambling out of the pocket and streaking toward the line of scrimmage. In earlier editions, DBs assigned to zone coverage would stand and watch the quarterback buzz right through for a first down.

That Man Looks Like a Helicopter: There are also a handful of new tackling and break-tackle animations which look very nice and have a natural flow to them. I can only imagine how difficult it has been over the years for EA to master such complexities as gang-tackling and all the various ways a player can be brought to the ground. It looks really good.

No More Cheese: Online gameplay is much better. So much better, in fact, that I'd rank it as among some of the most enjoyable college football video gameplay I've yet had the pleasure to enjoy. Online play feels much more like a real game. The cheese isn't totally gone; it's still possible to drop back 30 yards and complete some passes but more often than not, this doesn't work out. Be warned, it's hard to stop the offense when you're on D!

Rosters: There are some bugs with the EA Locker Rosters concept, but I understand a new update will fix the problem this week. We're going to see the end of those sham-tastic pay-to-play rosters that have been floating around in years past. Now with the EA Locker feature you can simply download another user's roster and that's that. Thank goodness

Look at All the Pretty Colors: This game simply looks phenomenal. Someday we'll be playing games that are literally impossible to distinguish from the real thing, but for now, this more than wets the whistle. Stadiums are grand, the camera angles are dramatic, and the player models look much better this year. (Last year's linemen looked preggo to me.)

No More Boredom Attacks: By no means is NCAA '09 a fast-loading video game, but compared to '08 it positively screams. On the Xbox 360, the '08 version took a solid 4 minutes to boot up, load a dynasty and then play a game. Way too long for a video game console! I haven't timed it yet, but I believe that's been cut roughly in half this year. Also, the menus load much faster and everything in the user interface feels a lot less sluggish. Booyah!

The Bad

Same-old, same-old: If you're looking for a massive visual overhaul or improvement of this title, '09 isn't it. It is very similar in look and feel to its predecessor. But considering what was changed under the hood, I'm okay with that.

Unholy Stats: I mentioned earlier that the "wide open" style of gameplay favored the offense. But at stock slider settings, maybe a tad too much. I know the Florida Gators have a potent offense, but this is ridiculous: against Tennessee, Tebow completed 40 of 43 passes for 490 yards and five touchdowns. Sorry, that's just not realistic. If you like playing defense, you'll find this frustrating. A quarterback with a good pass-efficiency rating is going to connect with his receivers 9 out of 10 times.

Heisman Mode is Too Easy: Pursuant to our second complaint, Heisman mode is very un-Heismanlike. My first-year dynasty is torching all comers by an average score of 41-7. Then again, maybe I'm just really good! (Hrrm, probably not, but I am 4-0 in online play... look me up and teach me a lesson. My gamertag is "GatorDaddy".)

That Ain't Grass: This is really nothing more than a nit-pick, but I do not feel that '09's modelling of the grass surfaces looks at all realistic. It has an odd texture and a yellowish tint which seems unnatural. Think ceiling popcorn painted green.

I'm sick of Corso and Herbstreit: These uberpopular ESPN analysts have been appearing in NCAA titles since 2004. Yeah, I know you can turn them off, but I've been hearing "That deserves a big-time YO" for three years now, and frankly, I think EA retreaded the commentary function one too many times. I'd just as soon see a brand new crew in the booth for next year's game.

There's Something About That Guy... Maybe it's just me, but I've always thought the crowd animations were jarringly incorrect ever since EA added them in the next-gen game. The crowd moves as a uniform sea of automaton college football fans, never altering their rhythmic motions. It just doesn't look right and I have to wonder how many CPU cycles get eaten up by 90,000 fans being animated the wrong way.

Offensive AI seems a tad predictable: It would appear that most AI offenses prefer the short passing game because rarely will they stretch the field with a deep ball unless they've got a guy truly running wide open. Feels very West-Coastish.

The Verdict

I'm pleased with this year's edition of NCAA Football, which feels more like a real college football game than ever before. The improved gameplay, animations and graphics all make this a worthwhile successor to the throne.

FanHouse Grade: A-