Digital Sportspage Blog

One of the good things about having had minor surgery is that you get to take a few days off work to rest. And it’s even better when the day off coincides with the release of NCAA 2009. Some quick impressions (with videos) after my first game:

The controls and animations are much better. Player control seems tighter and more impressive. More importantly, the animations work much, much better than in NCAA 2008. This is especially evident in tackling, as group tackling seems to work much better. Furthermore, some of the annoying animations from 2008 (e.g. the fall forward five yards on a run up the middle) weren’t apparent in one game of gameplay.

Miami’s QB went 34-45, with 305 yards passing, 0 TDs and 3 INTs. He basically tore the defense to shreds on crossing routes and curls, and I’m afraid that crossing routes (at least on AA) will be too easy both for human and CPU offenses. However, the Miami QB was much poorer on any passes over twenty yards or so. I returned two INTs for TDs, one a 106 yard return, the other a 73 yard return. In both instances, the QB threw deep curls late where the corner had ample time to make a break on the ball and make the interception.

There has been no evidence of “psychic” defensive AI. In fact, what I’ve seen is the opposite. In one instance, a linebacker had a pass fly right past his earhole and didn’t even attempt to make a play on the ball. I fear that they’ve neutered the defensive AI a bit too much in 09…but it will take more playtime to tell.

Punt returns are broken. I had two returns for 91 yards. Here is one example. Can someone tell me where the defense is?

4th down logic is odd. On the first drive of the game, Miami had a 4th and 1 on about the 20 and decided to go for it instead of kick the field goal. I can see this happening every now and then on the road, but I will be looking to see if this happens consistently.

A much worse example occurred later in the half. Down 10-6 late in the 2nd half, Miami lined up for a 55 yard field goal. Fearing a fake, I called a standard Cover 2 Man in a 4-3. Even in the face of a 4-3, the AI went for a fake where the holder pulled the ball away from the kicker, Charlie Brown style, and attempted to run for the first. Not only did he not make it, but he slid about a yard short of the first down. Simply absurd.

Also, the complaints about sideline logic are completely justified. Twice, Miami had a chance to either get a first down or score, and (for some reason) decided to run out of bounds. Here is one example where Miami had a clear touchdown and failed to score. Inexcusable.

Option defense seems much improved, as defensive players seem to have better positioning and decision making. However, I haven’t tested this with a wishbone offense yet.

I’d put up more videos, but I got the red ring of death while uploading a third video! Fortunately, I let the 360 rest a bit, restarted it, and everything is working fine. Will play more (and post again) later this afternoon.