Seven Years of Next-Gen NCAA Football - NCAA Football 08

cdj

Published on 02-21-2012 07:00 AM

29 Comments

This is the second part series looking at the NCAA Football franchise as we enter the seventh year of NCAA Football on the next-gen consoles.

NCAA Football 08 stepped on the stage in July of 2007 and was the first real look at next-gen college football for many as it was the first version of NCAA available on both the PlayStation 3 and X-Box 360. As a result, it had high expectations among the NCAA Football community faithful.

The game featured a Skill Performance (motivation) feature which seemed to be a logical tie-in after cover athlete QB Jared Zabransky helped lead Boise State to a 43-42 overtime win over Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. That classic battle also saw two of its signature plays added to the game: The Statue of Liberty and the Hook and Ladder.

However, despite many improvements the gameplay still felt very slow and sluggish and was met by a lukewarm reaction from the community. Though, some in the community felt the game provided a respectable balance between the offense and defense. The game was released at a point where the 360 version ran at 60 frames per second (FPS) and the PS3 version 30 FPS, an issue that existed in many early cross-platform titles.

Next-gen capabilities were on display in NCAA Football 08 with the new video and photo highlights features that could be shared online, as well as the new The Weather Channel real-time feed.

“Back of the Box” Features:

- All-New Skill Performance: Increase your player ratings with user-controlled sacks, interceptions, touchdowns, and more as you elevate your team’s motivation levels on the field.

- A Revolutionized Dynasty Mode: Use the all-new prospect search engine to hone in on recruits with specific skills, but be sure to keep your promises or players could transfer, damaging your coaching integrity.

- All-New Campus Legend Mode: Dominate the high school playoffs to determine your abilities. Lure recruiters from your dream colleges for a chance to play at a big-time program.

- Share Your Greatest Moments: Save your best video and photo highlights and share them with friends online, or showcase them in the all-new My Shrine.

- Real College Authenticity: Capitalize on offense with new trick plays, including the Statue of Liberty and Hook and Ladder, and experience real-time weather conditions and updates provided by The Weather Channel.

The game would go on to sell approximately 730,000 copies for the X-Box 360, 350,000 on the PlayStation 3 and have metacritic scores of 81 (360) and 77 (PS3). (Sales numbers courtesy vgchartz.com.)

The top rated players in the game included:
99 OVR: USC LT #79, Penn State MLB #40, Michigan LE #55, Arkansas HB #5
98 OVR: LSU DT #72, Louisville QB #12

Some of the top teams in the game were:
A+: Michigan, USC
A: Florida State, Louisville, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, West Virginia

Recap:
A Look Back at NCAA Football 07
A Look Back at NCAA Football 08
A Look Back at NCAA Football 09
A Look Back at NCAA Football 10
A Look Back at NCAA Football 11

Tags: ncaa football 08

29 Comments

morsdraconis - 06-18-2010, 08:56 PM
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Awesome. My last PS2 game and the one that I played the most before switching to next gen. It was INCREDIBLY balanced on the PS2 and appears to have been the same on the next gen consoles as well.

Only real issue I remember was the option was basically impossible to stop (thus '09 making it where the option was basically pointless to run).

CLW - 06-19-2010, 06:49 AM
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I don't recall people complaining about the gaming playing very slow (I do recall the 30 FPS issue on the PS3). However, I suppose that explains the ridiculous game speed in 09-10. To me this was the best next-gen game up to this point. It had its flaws for sure but I actually was able to enjoy/post a multiple season dynasty with Indiana that year.

Rudy - 06-19-2010, 07:19 AM
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NCAA 08 was a disappointment. It was only 30 fps on the PS3 but the biggest problem was the massive amount of turnovers in this game. There were a TON of fumbles so you were constantly protecting the ball to avoid them. Then we had the issue of the cpu QBs throwing oodles and oodles of INTs. Nothing you could do to fix it and the excessive turnovers pretty much ruined the game vs. the cpu.

I will say the default All American level was the toughest they have programmed in any NCAA game I've ever played. Because of that I actually took Alabama for a dynasty and struggled. I was around 0.500 in my first year and then I started 1-5 in my second season with 0% coaching support. I actually quit a game (my 6th or 7th) game out of sheer frustration. I was losing 35-0 at halftime but every odd quirk, fumble, bad play and breakdown seemed to culminate in that one game. I just shut off my PS3. I hadn't done that in over 10 years and none since. I eventually replayed the game and won. I think I won almost every game after that to go 7-5 and save my job. That felt a little dirty.

The deep passing game was tough. The cpu never went deep and I found it tough to hit a deep ball making the game pretty defensive. This game was my first on next gen after moving over from the PS2. I quit playing it by Christmas when I normally play football until the baseball games come out.

ebin - 06-19-2010, 12:10 PM
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I agree, turnovers were a huge issue in NCAA 08. It seemed like I ended up with at least five or six of them every other game or so. Nevertheless, I played 08 more than any other version on next-gen, largely because of the relative balance between offense and defense. The ability to easily save video and photo highlights was also a really cool addition.

JeffHCross - 06-19-2010, 12:45 PM
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The Michigan team that lost to Appalachian State was rated A+?

Man ... I guess everybody had high expectations for Chad Henne and Mike Hart, but that defense ... I thought a lot of people we're sold on it going into the year. And then the App and Oregon games ...

I didn't even play NCAA 08, at least not very long. They removed the ability to change a player's class in the game from 360/PS3 NCAA 08 (despite it being on 360 on NCAA 07 and on PS2 on NCAA 08), and I had primed myself on creating the 1995 Ohio State Buckeyes that season. I ended up playing APF 2k8 for the vast majority of the year, which is how I got associated with the Online Leagues a few of the guys on Utopia were in.

That's the biggest contribution NCAA 08 made to me, lol, I ended up playing in those same leagues (or relatively the same) for NCAA 09, 10, and (probably) 11.

JBHuskers - 06-19-2010, 04:21 PM
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I played the hell out of NCAA 08 in the offline dynasty....

Solidice - 06-19-2010, 04:27 PM
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I played about 8 seasons in dynasty with MTSU(then another 2 with SMU). the turnovers were the biggest problem for me.

really liked being able to save/upload videos/photos though. really great feature.

steelerfan - 06-19-2010, 11:39 PM
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I rolled with Baylor in 08 and, of course, PSU. The depth chart bug annoyed the hell out of me. I was largely disappointed with 08.

Thanks for the article though! Nice work, Chris.

JeffHCross - 06-19-2010, 11:42 PM
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Watching that YouTube, it occurs to me that this is also the last time I actually remember the CPU faking the snap with any kind of frequency.

JBHuskers - 06-20-2010, 12:45 PM
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Originally Posted by JeffHCross

Watching that YouTube, it occurs to me that this is also the last time I actually remember the CPU faking the snap with any kind of frequency.

For some reason I wouldn't fall for it much against the CPU, but against another player, I would a lot LOL

JeffHCross - 06-20-2010, 01:15 PM
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Well, yeah. I never fell for it much against the CPU either. The reason I noticed it is that now, with Jump the Snap being so prevalent, the CPU isn't even trying to draw us. I wonder if the added frequency would have increased the false starts with DL on Aggressive gameplan.

JHeb - 06-21-2010, 12:30 AM
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Ugh, looking back on '08, the grass looks horrible compared to '09, '10 and now '11. Wow! The visuals overall look really bad compared to now. I guess that's a statement on how each years "little" improvements really do add up.

cdj - 06-24-2011, 07:30 AM
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Leave your thoughts on 08!

NatureBoy - 06-24-2011, 08:22 AM
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Like others who have already said, turnovers were a game killer. I think I had more INT's and fumbles in 08 than any other NCAA game.

psusnoop - 06-24-2011, 08:44 AM
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I agree about the turnovers, it was just crazy. I forget who mentioned it, but once a game got going bad it was really really bad for turnovers. There seemed to be no end.

Everyone kind of looks pudgy too looking back at 08.

I OU a Beatn - 06-24-2011, 09:37 AM
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Extremely overpowered pass rush, super LBs that could jump 10 feet, absolutely HORRID defensive AI when running the option(people didn't throw a hail mary at the end of the half, they ran a triple option and yes, it worked quite often), clunky controls, laggy online, etc...

It was almost as bad as '07 on 360.

coogrfan - 06-24-2011, 10:42 AM
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A vast improvement over NCAA 07 (which ain't sayin' much :rolleyes: ).

Dr Death - 06-24-2011, 12:39 PM
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Originally Posted by cdj

Leave your thoughts on 08!

NCAA 08 was the first Next-Gen NCAA game for me and I took over Hawaii... Brennan, Bess, Grice-Mullen, Rivers, and a defense that had Elimimian, Leonard, Patek and a clutch kicker in Dan Kelly...

I played 10 seasons as , got invited to the Pac-10 and had a heated rivalry against ... beating them in two straight bowl games and then joining their conference. Our first regular season game was at their house and they led 33-6 at halftime. I rallied for a 55-54 win and man... that was some fun.

Recruiting was a blast in 08 and I landed my two best ever recruits in any game. One was an Athlete named Jonathon Brantley who wanted to be a QB... but due to injuries I was forced to use him at WR his freshman year. All he did was catch over 120 passes w/ 17 TD's and so he stayed at WR.

The other was a WR out of Texas named Bo Martin. I recruited the hell out of him and finally snagged him after being behind all year on his list. His 4 years at Hawaii he broke every receiving record in the game. In my pass-happy offense he averaged 140 receptions per year, scored over 100 TD's and was just amazing.

Brantley... #19 and Martin... #17... two massive studs.

After 10 years on the island I took over and eventually moved them to the MAC and then the ACC. Played in the Sugar Bowl one year and beat them 34-26 in the game that cemented the Owls as a powerhouse.

Turnovers aside... 08 was the most fun I've ever had playing a football game.

cdj - 06-24-2011, 12:54 PM
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Wow, you must document your Dynasty very well or have a memory like no other, Dr. Death!

08 was rough around the edges, so I was ready for a change. At the time I didn't dislike it as much as some, but I tried to play a game of it before the release of NCAA 11 and just couldn't do it. I know we always have discussions and debates as a community of the current state of the game, but going back and seeing/playing 08 you really see how far it has come.