NCAA Football 08 is a
college footballCollege football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies. It was the venue through which American football first gained popularity in the United States...
video game created by
EA SportsEA Sports is a brand name used by Electronic Arts since 1993 to distribute games based on sports. Formerly a gimmick inside Electronic Arts sports games, that tried to mimic real-life sports networks, calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as...
, the sports video gaming subsidiary of
Electronic ArtsElectronic Arts is an international developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers responsible...
. It was officially announced with the launch of the NCAA 08 page on the EA Sports website on February 20th, 2007. EA Sports has opened up a ballot on their
NCAA Football 07NCAA Football 07 is a collegiate football video game published by Electronic Arts. The product features former USC player and Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush on the cover...
site in which fans can vote on a feature to be implemented into the
PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony. The PS2 console is the sequel to the original PlayStation console. The successor to the PlayStation, and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation 2 forms part of the PlayStation series of video game...
version, making it the first console announced for the game and announcing at least one of its features.
NCAA Football 08 is a
college footballCollege football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies. It was the venue through which American football first gained popularity in the United States...
video game created by
EA SportsEA Sports is a brand name used by Electronic Arts since 1993 to distribute games based on sports. Formerly a gimmick inside Electronic Arts sports games, that tried to mimic real-life sports networks, calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as...
, the sports video gaming subsidiary of
Electronic ArtsElectronic Arts is an international developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers responsible...
. It was officially announced with the launch of the NCAA 08 page on the EA Sports website on February 20th, 2007. EA Sports has opened up a ballot on their
NCAA Football 07NCAA Football 07 is a collegiate football video game published by Electronic Arts. The product features former USC player and Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush on the cover...
site in which fans can vote on a feature to be implemented into the
PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony. The PS2 console is the sequel to the original PlayStation console. The successor to the PlayStation, and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation 2 forms part of the PlayStation series of video game...
version, making it the first console announced for the game and announcing at least one of its features. Fans could vote for either in-game saves, medical red shirts, summer workouts or a lead blocker feature. The option of medical red shirts was voted on and won, and this option is on the Dynasty Mode on all versions of NCAA Football 08. This allows for players that are injured in the middle of the year to apply to gain another year of eligibility. The game was released on July 17, 2007, marking the eleventh installment of the
NCAA Football seriesThis article is for the video game series; for the sport, see College Football.NCAA Football is a football video game series in which you play as any current Division I FBS college team. This game is developed by EA Sports in an exclusive license with the NCAA.Because of NCAA rules, current...
bearing the title "NCAA Football". As with NCAA Football 07, 08 features limited ESPN integration.
Next-gen improvements
Animations: NCAA Football 08
runs at 60 frames per second on the Xbox 360 (up from 30 in last year's edition). PS3 remains at 30 frames per second but still includes many of the animations present on the 360 albeit at a slower speed. There are 115 detailed stadiums, up from 40 in NCAA Football 2007. The game also features a new gameplay engine and branching animation system. This allows for gang tackling, mid-air collisions, sideline catches, and several other brand new animations.
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/780/780221p1.html
Control Scheme: In keeping with the brand new animations, NCAA Football 08 features a fairly new control scheme from NCAA Football 07. The hit stick has been improved allowing for players to take out the ball carrier's legs by pressing down on the right analog stick. Lead blocking controls from
MaddenMadden NFL is an American football video game series developed by Electronic Arts Tiburon for EA Sports. The game is named after Pro Football Hall of Famer John Madden, a well-known former Super Bowl-winning coach and color commentator....
have crossed over onto NCAA Football 08. Offensive hot routes, audibles, and defensive playmaker options are also new additions to NCAA Football 08. The difference between All-American and Heisman is comparable to the difference between night and day because one could go undefeated with a team in All-American mode but move up to Heisman and lose every single game.
Motivation:
Next gen versions include a new motivation system. If a player does well, it will boost his motivation making his attributes better. Eventually, if this player is motivated enough he will also motivate other people which will raise their attributes as well.
Recruiting Features:
The dynasty mode includes a more in depth recruiting feature allowing the user to make promises and recruiting visits. As in previous games, NCAA football 08 allows the user to export their rosters to Madden 08.
Player Creation: When users create a Campus Legend on Xbox 360 or PS3, a player and high school are created, and the game begins at the state championship playoffs. Performance during the playoffs will determine your caliber. The higher your caliber, the higher your stats will get, and more schools will offer you a scholarship. As in the previous two games, the player will also have the option to walk-on at another school. There are scouts from different schools at every game, the better you play the bigger the schools that are interested. You even get the option when creating your player to choose your top choice so your coach knows who your primary school focus is on. You will no longer control the whole team, but only your player; This has not been changed for PlayStation 2 or Xbox.
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/780/780221p1.html Campus Legend on PlayStation 2 and Xbox is relatively unchanged; the user still encounters the five drills as before.
Mini Games:
There is a new mini game of sorts available for play called Points Pursuit on the current gen versions. It is similar to a regular game except that the scoring is based on yards gained, tackles, interceptions, touchdowns, and other things as well as arcade style gameplay and several random opportunities for double, triple, and quadruple points.
Skills:
During regular gameplay, the user can look at his or her My Skills. My Skills keeps track of all the user controlled plays a player has made. For example, if you made an "user pick" with CB #1, then in the My Skills menu it will read CB #1 1 INT. My Skills is only available in the current gen versions.
Highlights:
A new feature for the series are My Highlights, which users can use to save game replays and snap shots from previously played games and subsequently upload to EA Sports World GDC 2008 Coverage: Wrapping it Up. My Highlights are exclusive to next gen versions of the game.
Award Tracking:
My Shrine is another new addition which allows users to keep track of their trophies and accomplishments.
Trick Plays: Inspired by the
2007 Fiesta BowlThe 2007 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl was a college football bowl game sponsored by Tostitos that many fans called the greatest college football game ever played. It was part of the 2006–2007 Bowl Championship Series of the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season...
, NCAA Football also introduces more trick plays than before. The hook and ladder (the name of the play on the cover, but dubbed the "circus" by Boise State) and
statue of liberty playThe Statue of Liberty is a trick play in American football, occasionally seen in high school football, college football and the NFL.-Execution of the play:...
are both playable on this game in addition to a multitude of other trick plays including a
flea flickerA flea-flicker is an unorthodox play in American football designed to fool the defensive team into thinking that a play is a run instead of a pass...
and
halfback passThe halfback option play is an unorthodox play in American football. It resembles a normal running play, but the running back has the option to throw a pass to a wide receiver or tight end before crossing the line of scrimmage....
.
Glitches
Despite the new improvements, NCAA Football was not free from major glitches. One notable, random glitch on the Xbox 360 version can occur when the offense has the ball. When attempting to pass, a user was shown his or her receivers all having the letter "A" above their heads.
Another glitch occurs when a user is attempting to update his or her depth chart.
It has yet to been seen whether or not EA Sports has corrected either problem.
Another glitch is in Campus Legend, where, as a runningback, your speed rating can reach 101.
Another glitch is in Campus Legend, and only in Campus Legend, when on offense sometimes a lineman randomly disappears before the snap, making it unable to hike the ball. Even if the player calls timeout and calls a new play, the missing lineman will not return. The only solution to this is to restart the game.
Another is if you reach a certain level on campus legend. you go all the way back to when you started.
Another glitch is when the WR runs into the D-line and the D is called for offsides
In MP , the maximum score that can be reached by both teams is 255 points. If entered into OT with a tied 255-255 game, no points are added to the score and the overtime will continue indefinitely.
Another glitch is that, in Campus Legend mode, the Agility attribute does not stop at 99 and has been seen as high as 130 as a WR. After this point the attribute will reset to 0.
Cover athlete
On March 2, 2007, it was announced by EA Sports that
Jared ZabranskyJared Zabransky is a professional American and Canadian football quarterback for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. He was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Boise State.Zabransky has also been a member of the...
was chosen as the cover athlete for the upcoming NCAA Football 08. The main reason cited for this decision was Zabransky's outstanding year with the Boise State Broncos and their win in the BCS Fiesta Bowl over Oklahoma as the second at-large team from a non-
Bowl Championship SeriesThe Bowl Championship Series is a selection system designed to give the top two teams in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision an opportunity to compete in a "national championship game"...
conference. He is the second cover athlete in the NCAA Football series that went undrafted the next year, along with Nebraska QB
Tommie FrazierTommie James Frazier, Jr. is a former NCAA football quarterback for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He is considered one of the greatest option quarterbacks in NCAA Division I-A history....
.
Demo
A week before the game's release, EA Sports released an Xbox 360 and a PlayStation 3 demo for NCAA Football 08 on the
Xbox Live MarketplaceThe Xbox Live Marketplace is a virtual market designed for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console that allows Xbox Live members to download purchased or promotional content...
. It features a playable contest of the top two teams in the game - the
USC TrojansThe University of Southern California is a private, nonsectarian, research university located in the University Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, USA...
and the
Michigan WolverinesThe Michigan Wolverines comprise 24 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except men's ice hockey which competes in the NCAA D1 Central Collegiate Hockey Association, and women's water polo,...
- in the Los Angeles Coliseum with two minute quarters.
External links