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How Metascores Are Calculated
68
1942: Joint Strike
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games. |
College football has never before felt more wide open than in NCAA Football 09. Gamers can experience the excitement of making big plays on the field, as they have the ability to directly control and influence the game through the all-new break away animation engine. With huge cut-back lanes, new tackling animations and wider blocking holes, NCAA Football 09 offers a host of offensive opportunities. NCAA Football 09 also brings the atmosphere, pageantry and tradition of college football to life. Through the redesigned stadiums, which reflect even more detail of each school’s individual playing field, to the dynamic sidelines filled with school colors, cheerleaders and mascots, players feel the excitement of college gameday. Players can gain Home Field Advantage as the intensity of the home crowd rises and rattles the composure of opposing teams. All 120 Football Bowl Subdivision schools are represented in the game and players can even customize the in-game atmosphere with their own personal music collection. Off the field, NCAA Football 09 features its most robust Dynasty Mode yet, inviting fans to create and manage a perennial powerhouse program from landing blue-chip recruits to winning championships on the field. For the first time ever, Dynasty goes online with up to 12 competitors to recruit head-to-head, customize schedules and play for up to 60 seasons. [Electronic Arts]
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more... 93
Worth Playing
The series' best effort in years.
 91
1UP
After years of online fumbles by developer EA Tiburon, our annual war cry for an online dynasty mode has been answered. Not only is NCAA Football 09's most impressive innovation brilliantly seamless, but it's full-featured as well (from recruiting and scheduling to talking sure-fire pros into staying on an extra season).
90
Games Radar
Even if NCAA Football 09 doesn’t exactly reinvent college football video games as we know them, it’s the best version yet to grace us this generation.
88
GameFocus
Great presentation.
86
Da Gameboyz
NCAA Football 09 certainly lived up to my expectations and is a significant leap from last year's version.
86
MEGamers
Madden might have all the big time names and the star studded teams, but NCAA offers the simpler side of life where your school’s pride and colours is what you eat, sleep and dream about.
86
Gamer 2.0
When all's said and done, NCAA 09 may have some rough spots and bugs, there are ways around it that keep them from hampering the immense amount of enjoyment that the game offers.
85
XboxAddict
I didn't mean to harp on the gimmicks, but while there were some minor flaws in the game, it's a very solid effort for the long running series.
85
Official Xbox Magazine
Quarterbacks lead out receivers with passes much more effectively and realistically, and there’s much less of a "pro" feel - mistakes are made that open up holes in coverage for you to exploit.
85
Team Xbox
What EA has shown in NCAA Football 09 is steady progress and a sincere desire to put out a better product than it did a year earlier. NCAA Football 09 definitely passes that test with flying colors.
84
IGN
The Online Dynasty is an excellent addition to this series, but the mistakes made with the Campus Legend mode keeps this year's title from being truly extraordinary.
84
Cheat Code Central
Just the next game in a long line of great games. If you are content with the version you already have, then there isn't enough staggering new content to warrant an upgrade. However, this is the best game in the franchise to date, and I'm glad I made the switch.
84
Game Over Online
Difficulties on defense and an overpowering “icing” technique aside, NCAA Football 09 has put itself in contention for a championship season. With the addition of the online dynasty and the always-outstanding college football atmosphere, all the talent is here to make this a memorable year.
83
Game Chronicles
After spending several weeks playing NCAA Football 09, I continue to be amazed by the graphical improvements.
83
Game Informer
This game is going places its predecessors never went, but it's also unwilling to ditch a past that is just slowing it down. [Aug 2008, p.80]
81
Planet Xbox 360
NCAA Football 09’s addition of the Online Dynasty mode unquestionably saved this game from mediocrity.
80
Kombo
This year, more than any other, it feels like NCAA won't be a stop gap until Madden hits the store shelves and can stand on its own by offering a different experience that the NFL can't match.
80
GamerNode
NCAA Football fans will love this, and if casual football fans can get past a few of the graphic issues then we may just have another wave of NCAA Football fans charging the field.
77
GameTrailers
It’s disappointing that some of the sticking points from last year’s game haven’t been addressed. Yet, if only for the option to download updated rosters and take their dynasty online, we recommend upgrading to this year’s game for the hardcore college pigskin fan.
75
Gaming Age
In the end you can't go wrong if you are a fan of the game. Just don't expect to be wowed by any aspect except the online and offline dynasty modes as they have shown the most attention to features in the game. The rest is just window dressing.
75
GameSpot
Just as the addition of the Online Dynasty mode will satisfy many, the lack of significant improvements to other key modes of NCAA Football 09 will disappoint many others.
70
GameDaily
It just about looks, sounds and plays as it did before, solidly but without anything "wow"-worthy to justify your $60 purchase.
70
Gamervision
EA touted that you would be able to download the names and positions of the actual players in the NCAA, but this hasn’t worked since day one.
70
Video Game Talk
Final Thoughts: "NCAA Football '09" could use some graphical polish and the AI isn't dazzling, but the game remains an entertaining time overall and the online dynasty mode should keep fans busy for the Winter months.
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