gschwendt
06-08-2007, 11:40 PM
http://www.ncaastrategies.com/images/ncaafootball08/teamxbox.jpgNCAA Football 08 Preview (Xbox 360)
By: Will Tuttle - "KingTut" (will@teamxbox.com) http://media.teamxbox.com/xbox-skins/xbox-360/mybasepage.gif (http://base.teamxbox.com/tag/KingTut33/)
June 8th, 2007
Like many EA Sports titles that make the leap, the first next-gen NCAA Football title felt like it was missing something. Sure, it was a great game on its own, but when compared to the current-gen version, it just didn’t feel like a fully-featured title. Like any good game developers, the fine folks at EA Tiburon worked hard to not only improve the features in this year’s game, but to add several news ones. There have been a number of changes made to the NCAA Football 08’s Dynasty mode (courtesy of a designer who used to coach high school football), and the Campus Legend mode that made last year’s current-gen game so much fun has finally made its way into the next generation. We recently had a chance to go hands-on with this year’s game, coming away impressed by what EA’s got in store for us.
Dynasty mode will naturally be returning this year, and you’ll be able to play athletic director (and coach and player) for a whopping 60 years. The Dynasty mode appears to be much deeper than it has been in previous years, and the game’s producer pointed out that it’ll pay to run through some tutorials before diving in. This is due in part to the fact that everything from the menus to the processes have changed, especially when it comes to recruiting. You’ll now have a limited amount of “time” to recruit your players, so you’ll have to decide whether to sign the local stud or risk wasting your time to go after a better prospect across the country.
http://media.teamxbox.com/games/ss/1702/1178760165.jpg (http://screenshots.teamxbox.com/screen/59821/NCAA-Football-08/)
Eat some glove! (http://screenshots.teamxbox.com/screen/59821/NCAA-Football-08/)
There is also a new mechanic in place that revolves around the phone calls and visits you make to your prospects. While you’re speaking to them, you can make promises, including immediate playing time or a conference championship. If you’ve got a high integrity rating, they’ll be more likely to believe you, but failing to deliver on your promise will lower it. This creates an interesting cycle, as one directly impacts the other. Finally, you’ll have to look at what’s important to them and cater to them by play up your school’s strengths. It’s sounds like it should present players with some intriguing possibilities, but we’ll have to wait and see for ourselves.
We were most excited to see that the Campus Legend mode will be in this year’s game, as it was something that we missed quite a bit last time out. The action will actually kick off in high school this time around, with your created character tasked with leading his team through the state playoffs. Perform well there and you’ll be recruited by some big name schools, although you can always choose to be a walk-on at your favorite university. Once you’re there, you’ll likely need to work your way up the depth charts, although your life won’t only be about football.
In addition to going to practice and playing games, you’ll have to manage your time just like any other college student. You can hit the library to study for your classes (this will actually help your on-field awareness rating), or play some games of pickup basketball. If you make yourself more visible, it’ll help your popularity and turn you into one of those players that people are talking about even after you’re in the NFL (your created Legend can be imported into Madden NFL 08 after you graduate. You can be sure that we’ll be bringing you a lot more on this feature in the coming weeks.
After getting a walkthrough of the modes mentioned above, we finally got a chance to play the game for ourselves. As you’ve probably heard, NCAA Football 08 runs at a buttery-smooth 60 frames per second, and the controls are quite responsive. It’ll feature the new Hit Stick 2.0 system, which allows you to determine where you hit the opposing ball carrier’s body. The visuals look really nice too, particularly the stadiums, which were a major focus of NCAA Football 07. The colors look bright and vibrant, even while we were playing it in the rain.
Unfortunately, just as we were really starting to get into the game, our time was up. We definitely liked what we saw from NCAA Football 08, although we have to reserve judgment on the Dynasty and Campus Legend modes until we actually have a chance to delve deeper into them. Hopefully we’ll have a build of our very own in a few weeks, and we’ll be sure to give you all of the information you want and need.
Source. (http://previews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1637/NCAA-Football-08/p1/)
By: Will Tuttle - "KingTut" (will@teamxbox.com) http://media.teamxbox.com/xbox-skins/xbox-360/mybasepage.gif (http://base.teamxbox.com/tag/KingTut33/)
June 8th, 2007
Like many EA Sports titles that make the leap, the first next-gen NCAA Football title felt like it was missing something. Sure, it was a great game on its own, but when compared to the current-gen version, it just didn’t feel like a fully-featured title. Like any good game developers, the fine folks at EA Tiburon worked hard to not only improve the features in this year’s game, but to add several news ones. There have been a number of changes made to the NCAA Football 08’s Dynasty mode (courtesy of a designer who used to coach high school football), and the Campus Legend mode that made last year’s current-gen game so much fun has finally made its way into the next generation. We recently had a chance to go hands-on with this year’s game, coming away impressed by what EA’s got in store for us.
Dynasty mode will naturally be returning this year, and you’ll be able to play athletic director (and coach and player) for a whopping 60 years. The Dynasty mode appears to be much deeper than it has been in previous years, and the game’s producer pointed out that it’ll pay to run through some tutorials before diving in. This is due in part to the fact that everything from the menus to the processes have changed, especially when it comes to recruiting. You’ll now have a limited amount of “time” to recruit your players, so you’ll have to decide whether to sign the local stud or risk wasting your time to go after a better prospect across the country.
http://media.teamxbox.com/games/ss/1702/1178760165.jpg (http://screenshots.teamxbox.com/screen/59821/NCAA-Football-08/)
Eat some glove! (http://screenshots.teamxbox.com/screen/59821/NCAA-Football-08/)
There is also a new mechanic in place that revolves around the phone calls and visits you make to your prospects. While you’re speaking to them, you can make promises, including immediate playing time or a conference championship. If you’ve got a high integrity rating, they’ll be more likely to believe you, but failing to deliver on your promise will lower it. This creates an interesting cycle, as one directly impacts the other. Finally, you’ll have to look at what’s important to them and cater to them by play up your school’s strengths. It’s sounds like it should present players with some intriguing possibilities, but we’ll have to wait and see for ourselves.
We were most excited to see that the Campus Legend mode will be in this year’s game, as it was something that we missed quite a bit last time out. The action will actually kick off in high school this time around, with your created character tasked with leading his team through the state playoffs. Perform well there and you’ll be recruited by some big name schools, although you can always choose to be a walk-on at your favorite university. Once you’re there, you’ll likely need to work your way up the depth charts, although your life won’t only be about football.
In addition to going to practice and playing games, you’ll have to manage your time just like any other college student. You can hit the library to study for your classes (this will actually help your on-field awareness rating), or play some games of pickup basketball. If you make yourself more visible, it’ll help your popularity and turn you into one of those players that people are talking about even after you’re in the NFL (your created Legend can be imported into Madden NFL 08 after you graduate. You can be sure that we’ll be bringing you a lot more on this feature in the coming weeks.
After getting a walkthrough of the modes mentioned above, we finally got a chance to play the game for ourselves. As you’ve probably heard, NCAA Football 08 runs at a buttery-smooth 60 frames per second, and the controls are quite responsive. It’ll feature the new Hit Stick 2.0 system, which allows you to determine where you hit the opposing ball carrier’s body. The visuals look really nice too, particularly the stadiums, which were a major focus of NCAA Football 07. The colors look bright and vibrant, even while we were playing it in the rain.
Unfortunately, just as we were really starting to get into the game, our time was up. We definitely liked what we saw from NCAA Football 08, although we have to reserve judgment on the Dynasty and Campus Legend modes until we actually have a chance to delve deeper into them. Hopefully we’ll have a build of our very own in a few weeks, and we’ll be sure to give you all of the information you want and need.
Source. (http://previews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1637/NCAA-Football-08/p1/)