Electronic Arts’ NCAA Football franchise enters its third year on the next-generation consoles with a bang — online dynasty mode.
When I first heard about this much-welcomed addition a few months back I was bouncing off the walls. The idea of being able to play a dynasty with up to 11 friends online had me as happy as a child on Christmas morning. The NCAA Football franchise has always been my personal favorite and now I get to share that experience with friends all over the country.
The online dynasty allows up to 12 teams, and all of the features that you would have in your own offline dynasty — recruiting, rankings, Heisman watch and bowl games — are all available in online dynasty mode.
Every league will have a commissioner that will be in charge of advancing the week once everyone has taken care of their activities — activities that consist of playing your game and doing you weekly recruiting.
As soon as you do one of your tasks, it is immediately saved to your dynasty file on the EA server where the other user can access it.
The best part about NCAA Football 09’s online dynasty mode is that you don’t have to play another user every single week. You’ll have weeks where you will play the AI just as you would in your own offline dynasty.
This avoids a lot of scheduling problems that plague other online leagues. I’ve tried several times to organize leagues for other sports titles and they fail 95 percent of the time. Having to get users together for every game, and in an expeditious fashion, is a lot harder than it sounds. Thus, the leagues end up failing.
But with NCAA Football 09’s online dynasty, you might go through an entire season where you just play against the computer. Or if you choose to create a dynasty where all the users are assigned teams in the same conference, you can have more user vs. user matchups. For the most part, people will be able to play their schedule on their own time and that gives the dynasty a much greater chance for survival.
Another reason I feel there will be much greater commitment to these dynasties is because it’s a dynasty mode — not just a one-and-done online league.
The game within the game for NCAA Football 09 is the recruiting. Sure you’ll battle your friends on the field but it doesn’t end there, it continues as you and your buddies battle it out for that 5-star quarterback that could take your program to the next level.
“Along with that too, once you’re logged into the dynasty you’re in an open voice chat session,”
NCAA Football 09 designer Ben Haumiller says, “if you have a headset connected you can be talking to your buddy while they’re recruiting also.”
Now the online dynasty isn’t the only new addition. NCAA Football 09 features an all new gameplay engine.
“We have our new breakaway animation system. This allows you to pretty much move out of one move, to another move without waiting for the animation to complete,”
Haumiller says, “In years past, if I pressed the spin button I would have to wait for the spin to complete before I could move on to do a juke. Now I can go from a juke, and break out of that juke into a spin, then go into a hurdle and back into a juke, and do all of these sort of different moves that makes me feel like I’m in control the entire time.”
The running game has improved over the last couple years. In previous editions of the game, you would get the fastest running back and try beat the defense to the sidelines and make your way upfield. Now with the improvements made to the blocking on the offensive line, running up the middle is now a viable option. That has never been the case in video game football.
When you get the ball with your running back you see the holes develop and you make your move. Now those holes can close quickly, especially if you’re playing Ohio State and all-world linebacker James Laurinaitis.
Speaking of Laurinaitis, NCAA Football 09 has a new feature that allows you to download rosters from fellow users. You will need to be connected to Xbox Live or the Playstation 3 Network to take advantage of this option.
If you have the game, and are connected to one of the online services, you will be able to download full rosters of all 119 teams. So when you decide to scramble for a Florida first down, you’ll be doing it with Tim Tebow and not QB #15.
A feature making its return to the NCAA Football franchise is homefield advantage. If you’re playing at one of the selected “top 25 toughest places to play” you’ll have your work cut out for you.
The biggest problem a user would face is AI teammates not being able to hear audibles when over 100,000 strong are going crazy at The Big House. When the momentum is on the side of the opponent and you attempt an audible, instead of seeing the wide receiver’s corresponding button over his head, you’ll get a question mark. And even if you remembered who your A button receiver was, there’s a chance he might not hear your audible anyway. This can leave the door open for mistakes that can quickly change the complexion of a game.
“If he’s an unsure freshman quarterback just kinda getting thrown to the wolves he might get a little rattled, he’ll lose his composure,”
Haumiller says, “so that’s one of those things that really ties into what it’s like to be in a college stadium. So we were definitely happy to get that (homefield advantage) back and involved again.”
Other popular game modes from last year such as Campus Legend, Mascot Mash Up and the addictive mini-games make their return. And with the addition of online dynasty mode, as well as offline, NCAA Football 09 gives you more depth and gameplay options then ever before.
