General

FirstCuts: Impressions From NCAA 09 Demo

Jun 23, 2008, 2:45 PM UTC

Clearly, college football deprivation isn’t treating Spencer Hall so well. For those who find themselves suffering in a similar manner, you’re getting a few small drips of water in this wasteland of the offseason: The demo for EA Sports’ NCAA Football 09 is available on Xbox Live.â†µ

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â†µâ†µThe 1.44 GB demo gives you a brief look at some of this year’s new features, along with some of the gameplay you’re very used to at this point. â†µ

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â†µYou're able to play a game between Ohio State and LSU. At least with the 2 minute quarters, the Buckeyes don't have time to thoroughly embarrass themselves.â†µ

â†µâ†µIn addition to the regular game, you’re able to play a Coke Zero Mascot Mash Up (game with mascots, for those not speaking corporate nicknames) between Florida and Texas. Not my thing personally, although it was funny to watch the Albert the Gator and Bevo do flips. Probably more fun for younger kids.â†µ

â†µâ†µThe game boasts “ultra-responsive player movement” with the ability to back out of spin moves, among other things. The demo doesn’t really explain how you do those things, so I wasn’t able to try it. Nothing about the gameplay felt all that revolutionary, but I’ll wait until I see a full build of the game.â†µ

â†µâ†µAlso mentioned: the more wide-open gameplay, allowing for trick plays and broken tackles, and the celebration hot spots that allow unique celebrations whenever you score. (Dancing with the mascot, FTW!)â†µ

â†µâ†µYou’re also able to ice the kicker with a timeout. (Yawn.) Maybe that’ll be great in reality, but it’s one part of real football I’d just assume leave out of the game. The custom stadium sounds feature, allowing you to select music files locally and decide when they play during the game, does sound like a nice little addition.â†µ

â†µâ†µOne thing EA didn’t tout that caught my attention was the on-screen menus. Very intuitive for those of us who can’t remember what every button does in pre-snap.â†µ

â†µâ†µNCAA Football 09 hits stores on July 15.â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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