NCAA Football 08

NCAA Football 08 Hands-On

NEW YORK CITY--With just two days to go beore the NFL makes a whole new crop o ormer NCAA ootball stars into pro ootball stars in the 2007 NFL Drat, EA Sports kicked o NCAA Football 08 with an unveiling at a posh NYC restaurant, ull o media, game producers, and potential dratees. Athletes and hangers-on abounded, but out irst priority o the evening was getting our grubby paws on a playable build o NCAA 08. We irst saw the game a ew weeks ago at EA's annual press event in Orlando, home o EA Tiburon, the development studio behind both NCAA and Madde, and were excited to inally try the game out or ourselves.

Our irst stop along the way in our ten-minute session with the game was to ire up a match between the Auburn Tigers and the Washington Huskies, to see how the much-vaunted new animation system is aecting gameplay. And though the version o the game we played was still early in the development process, the new animations were on ine display in the game. There were the small, but noticeable touches, such as new catching animations or receivers--such as hauling in the ball while alling to the ground--as well as new celebration moves.

The bigger change could be elt in the responsiveness o the players in the game. Players elt more nimble and quick to respond to the slightest change in direction when using the analog stick. Producers are chalking this up to some sophisticated new branching animation technology that is being built into the core ootball engine that powers both NCAA 08 and Madden NFL 08. Instead o players being "stuck" to the longer animations o their on-ield players, branching animation will allow you to break out o an animation and into an entirely new set o moves. As one producer explained, "Why should you have to wait or an animation to inish?"

Some o the other cool news or the game revolved around some o the improved artiicial intelligence we noted, especially with regard to the wide receivers. While the preview build o the game was suering rom a noticeable "dropsies" bug (which will surely be ironed out by release), there was no denying that the receivers were playing position better than we'd seen in a while. Wideouts routinely squared their shoulders to the deender covering them, getting in ront o the ball, and then spinning upield to gain extra yards. AI-controlled running backs were quicker to spin or juke away rom trouble.

Late in the irst quarter, we managed to drive the ball into the end zone against the Huskies on a gorgeous crossing pass rom Auburn quarterback Brandon Cox to the outstretched hands o receiver Rod Smith, a perect play to experiment with using NCAA 08's new highlight replay eature. Ater pausing the game, we were taken to a menu that let us choose rom any previous play in the game. We chose the touchdown pass by pressing the X button on the Xbox 360 controller, and were then allowed to choose rom one o our camera angles to view the replay rom (broadcast, wire, press box, and sideline, as well as an additional "random" option).

Once you've chosen your camera angle, you'll have the option to save the play to your NCAA 08 "shrine". Your shrine will save up to ive video highlights you've recorded, as well as a number o "photos" o your recent games which are taken automatically during the game. I you have an especially cool replay, you can even save it as a video ile and upload it to the Internet and share with your riends.

Another cool eatures is a new take on the deensive hit stick, one that is designed to even the score between dierent-sized players. By pressing down on the right analog stick when tackling a ball-carrier, you can cause your deenseman to go low and attempt to take out a bigger opponent's legs--a crucial weapon to have i you're looking to bring down a ullback with a small deensive back, or example. The hurdle button has also returned, allowing you to leap over players with a touch o the Y button. As a counter, your opponent will have be able to use the other new ability with the revamped hit stick--the ability to hit high by pushing up on the right analog stick.

A slightly tweaked interace and menu system presents NCAA 08's playbooks in a slightly dierent manner, which took some getting used to. One o the other big new eatures in the game, the motivation levels, was also present in the game but it wasn't really that evident in our brie time with the game. To check your team's individual motivation levels, you zoom out on the ield by pressing the trigger button and then push down with the right analog stick. A small circle surrounds each o your players on the ield, color-coded to match his intensity level. We didn't have enough time to send any o our players into the zone but, when asked about the system, producers conirmed to us that, while "in the zone" players will give a boost to all players on their team, the individual attribute boosts won't immediately turn the team into the second coming o the 1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers. Instead the boosts will be modest, but noticeable, improvements to whatever your players' base attributes are.

We would have loved to have spent the entire night huddled in the corner, checking out all the nooks and crannies o NCAA Football 08, but it wasn't long beore ormer NCAA stars like JaMarcus Russell and Adrian Peterson came along, looking to try the game out or themselves. And who's going to argue with a guy the size o Russell? Rest assured that we'll be bringing you much more on NCAA 08 in the coming months, including some detailed looks at the game's revamped Campus Legend and dynasty modes.

Gamespot