EA Sports Refines the College Game

Published July 31, 2007

With each passing year, fans of sports games ask a common question, "What will they think of next year?" In the case of NCAA® Football 08, the answer is "plenty." Beyond the classic but expected tweaks to presentation, graphics, and animation, there are whole new feature sets including My Shrine, Motivation, Campus Legend, and much, much more.

Just your typical Saturday afternoon.

The Shrine
A gamer's greatest triumphs live long in his or her memory, but there are few tangible milestones. In NCAA Football 08, the My Shrine feature immortalizes your favorite moments with descriptive trophies, saved highlights, and photos.

NCAA Football 08 catalogs every significant play during a game, so that ten-yard scramble on fourth and five, and the one-handed pick-six, are always saved for your viewing pleasure. Pick among your greatest moments, keep them saved in My Shrine, and then upload them to Xbox LIVE® so the world can be awed by your gridiron glory.

Legend Time
Where Madden NFL 07 provided Superstar mode, NCAA Football 08 on Xbox 360™ provides Campus Legend. Campus Legend narrows the focus to the individual player and away from the coaches' responsibilities.

Live, breathe, play, and experience the glory of a campus star, even starting as a legendary high school player displaying his skills during the state playoffs. Take classes, manage your schedule, put in your time at practice and, of course, take the field on Saturdays. Gameplay is handled via a zoomed-in camera specific to your playing position, and plays can be skipped if your player isn't involved so the action continues to flow.

Looking grim.

Gameplay Evolution
The on-the-field action has seen considerable improvement as well, including:

• Time to motivate: The new Motivation system allows spectacular on-field exploits to build the confidence of the player, and raise the level of play of their teammates. The increased motivation and sphere-of-influence can only be achieved through player-controlled actions. In order to pump up your player and his teammates, you must manually control the game-changing moments, such as runaway touchdowns, fearsome sacks, and fourth-down conversions.
• Weather games: EA has scored a victory by teaming up with the Weather Channel. It may seem a small thing, but knowing the real game's weather will be replicated in the game you're playing is pretty sweet. If South Bend is covered with snow, your own home game at Notre Dame will be played in a sea of white.
• Hit-stick: The hit-stick has become a staple of EA Sports football games, but even it isn't beyond evolution. Now, instead of performing hits based on the angle and situation, the style of hit is controlled manually. Press up and the defender flies high to flatten the ball carrier. Press down and the player goes for the legs for a sure takedown.
• Hot route defense: The routes of your wide receiver could always be modified at the line of scrimmage, in order to take advantage of the defense. But now, the defense has the same luxury. Convert man coverage to zone, double up a safety on a wide receiver, call for a blitz, or send a defensive end out to contain that nasty quarterback. All the pre-snap options you could possibly expect are accounted for at the press of a button and the flick of a stick.
• Lead block: The lead blocking mechanic introduced in Madden NFL 07 has made the transition to the college game. Tap B to select the player you want to block with, then use LB to activate the feature. Now find your man, and pancake or cut block them.

Going down.

Sign Those Boys Up
Recruiting in college sports games has always been a touch laborious as you sift through endless lists and statistics. NCAA Football 08 introduces a more streamlined and interactive approach to the business of stockpiling talent.

Lists can be filtered to precisely display players of interest. Say, you want to search for receiving tight ends from the state of Washington, with a 4.3 forty time, over six feet tall. You may not find exactly what you want but you can refine your search from there.

Once players have been targeted through searching or the Prospect Database, chalk them up on the Recruiting Board for easy evaluation. Rank your interest in each prospect to determine how heavily each player will be recruited. Then, sign them up!

NCAA Football 08 continues a tradition of consistent improvement, and a willingness to reshape game features and game mechanics. Whether you're a fanatical alumni, a football aficionado or just a gamer, a chance at glory awaits you with every snap.

Article by Ryan Treit