NCAA Football 2008 Impressions

[becomingwater]

PS3 version

I got the game last night.

I started the game and noticed right away the changes from 07.

The gameplay is smooth at 30 fps or whatever they have it set at. I started Legend Mode and I am a RB from North Shore in Houston. I played the first game and around the 3rd Quarter I had a glitch where the LT was on a different axis than the other players, and the ball would never get snapped. I had to restart the game. Then I finally played up to 2 games and it was a great time. Hopefully I will not see the glitch again. I did save one Highlight that was rated a 723. The animations are really nice and overall I think the game is better than last year. I know a lot of people will like this version. I will play more and add on to this after I play it awhile.

[JTK]

Ported from 2k8 thread:

Originally Posted by Steelmaker

Someone be sure and post impressions All Pro and NCAA College Football.

Also, please correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I hear the refresh rates on most newer hdtv's render the 30fps vs 60fps debate a mute point. Saying that the human eye will not detect much, if any difference between the 2. As long as it's smooth and the animation is good, who cares about the difference?

I do and I'm noticing it now on NCAA 2008. You will too and so will just about everyone else. It's not refresh rate it's actual frames per second. 60 vs. 30 makes a big difference, even on less than cutting edge hardware.

I was in the store this morning and there were two Ps3 owners who had bought the game at midnight last night and played theirs and then went over to a friend's house who had the 360 versions of the game. To their angst and chagrin, they reported a "night and day" difference in terms of controls, responsiveness, and "fluidity."

Obviously I didn't want to believe this, despite the earlier 1up article in the back of my mind, so I picked up my two football games this morning for the PS3.

I'm about an hour into NCAA 2008 right now and believe me: I'm the LAST person who wants to notice anything wrong here, but I've noticed a certain sluggishness and lack of responsiveness to the controls that I don't care for at all. It's noticeable. It's cost me on several plays where normally anyone would get it done.Keep in mind: I'm used to playing these games on PS controllers anyways, so it's not like I have any serious learning curve here.

There's a certain "crispness" I'm used to with these games that I'm not feeling right now.

FWIW, on the PS3, you only get 720p as well whereas the 360 versions go all the way to 1080i and p. And 60 fps instead of 30.

I'm going to keep cracking at this, but yes, frames per second do make a difference and yes, you will notice it and feel it.

I hope some people who try both versions hit this thread before long.

[greekjgg]

I was just at Best BUy to pick up my copy. They had it playing on ps3 to a 50 inch samsung dlp which was exactly my tv at home.

I wasn't playing it, but my first impression was that it looked like the madden 07 version of ps3, just using college players, etc.

It it looks like that, and they add some new features in it, then I will be ok with that.

The field did look a little funny though, almost like it was more realistic looking in madden 07.

I picked up APF 2k8 too, and the back of the box does say 1080p.

[JTK]

Originally Posted by greekjgg

I picked up APF 2k8 too, and the back of the box does say 1080p.

This game does 1080p. NCAA does not on PS3.

So far, only Madden has now been confirmed for 60fps on PS3, refuting the earlier 1up article. NCAA is only 30fps and I haven't seen any news on 2k8, so I'm still assuming it is only 30fps as well, unlike its 360 counterpart.

[blueyeboy]

I've been playing the demo on my Xbox 360 and it's A LOT better than my copies of NCCA 07 and Madden 07.

Dang it's sooo smooth in motion at 60 compaired to the the others at 30. I'm really surpised that EA released it that way.

[becomingwater]

Originally Posted by JTK

Ported from 2k8 thread:




I do and I'm noticing it now on NCAA 2008. You will too and so will just about everyone else. It's not refresh rate it's actual frames per second. 60 vs. 30 makes a big difference, even on less than cutting edge hardware.

I was in the store this morning and there were two Ps3 owners who had bought the game at midnight last night and played theirs and then went over to a friend's house who had the 360 versions of the game. To their angst and chagrin, they reported a "night and day" difference in terms of controls, responsiveness, and "fluidity."

Obviously I didn't want to believe this, despite the earlier 1up article in the back of my mind, so I picked up my two football games this morning for the PS3.

I'm about an hour into NCAA 2008 right now and believe me: I'm the LAST person who wants to notice anything wrong here, but I've noticed a certain sluggishness and lack of responsiveness to the controls that I don't care for at all. It's noticeable. It's cost me on several plays where normally anyone would get it done.Keep in mind: I'm used to playing these games on PS controllers anyways, so it's not like I have any serious learning curve here.

There's a certain "crispness" I'm used to with these games that I'm not feeling right now.

FWIW, on the PS3, you only get 720p as well whereas the 360 versions go all the way to 1080i and p. And 60 fps instead of 30.

I'm going to keep cracking at this, but yes, frames per second do make a difference and yes, you will notice it and feel it.

I hope some people who try both versions hit this thread before long.

mine looked great on a 65 inch.

I did not see a difference on my friends copy. It will not make a difference if its at 100 fps your eye will see a difference in speed but not quality. You probably saw it on a better tv, thats why it looked better.

[JTK]

Originally Posted by becomingwater

mine looked great on a 65 inch.

I did not see a difference on my friends copy. It will not make a difference if its at 100 fps your eye will see a difference in speed but not quality. You probably saw it on a better tv, thats why it looked better.

You misunderstand. Appearance isn't the problem. It's how the game controls, responds, and feels.

There's a lack of crispness and responsiveness to the controls for me. The game looks and sounds great. My TV is still considered a reference monitor in many circles to this day.

[becomingwater]

Originally Posted by JTK

You misunderstand. Appearance isn't the problem. It's how the game controls, responds, and feels.

There's a lack of crispness and responsiveness to the controls for me. The game looks and sounds great. My TV is still considered a reference monitor in many circles to this day.

I played 07 on my 360, so maybe thats what im seeing. I love the controls. they are smooth for me. Sorry if I misunderstood ya. I am fine with mine.

[JTK]

Originally Posted by blueyeboy

I've been playing the demo on my Xbox 360 and it's A LOT better than my copies of NCCA 07 and Madden 07.

Dang it's sooo smooth in motion at 60 compaired to the the others at 30. I'm really surpised that EA released it that way.

I'd love to see if you get a chance to compare both versions of NCAA 2008.

Originally Posted by becomingwater

I played 07 on my 360, so maybe thats what im seeing. I love the controls. they are smooth for me. Sorry if I misunderstood ya. I am fine with mine.

We're talking about the new game, 08, not 07.

Anyways your description kind of matches my issue here. I feel like the game is "slow" and lacking in crispness, so I suspect that may very well be the fps issue.

YMMV

[Amon37]

Originally Posted by JTK

FWIW, on the PS3, you only get 720p as well whereas the 360 versions go all the way to 1080i and p. And 60 fps instead of 30.

That's because the 360 scales all games, it's still only rendered at 720p

[JTK]

Originally Posted by bosels11

I just bought the PS3 version and runs fine to me - but I dont think it looks any better than last years PS2 version to be honest.

No way! I had the Xbox 360 07 last year and it looks a touch better than that. Both last year's and this year's next game look a hell of a lot better than the PS2/Xbox 1 versions.

Not next gen IMO. But I do like how the time passes in the game(changing from day to night during the game). Actually had to edit this post - the game is starting to grow on me playing through one game. First off they are using some kind of blur effect, I guess to simulate real life(the farther away something is, the blurrier it is.

I've seen this. I actually don't mind that.

Cloud cover changes as well as the lighting through the course of the game. As I believe that was not the case for all previous versions. I have noticed no frame rate issues as of yet.

I'm still not even sure I'd know what a "frames per second" issue would really even look like without a frame of reference. I'm trying to be very careful with my language in this thread.

Originally Posted by Amon37

That's because the 360 scales all games, it's still only rendered at 720p

Ok.

I guess it doesn't mean anything if the back of the game boxes specify: 480i, 720p for the PS3 version and pretty much everything on the back of the 360 game version? It's just scaling?

Anyways, I have seen a little bit of that blurr done in the background for long crowd shots and such and that doesn't bother me at all. Hell, if that's all there is to it to "cover up" any so-called frame issues then that's nothing to me.

I'm just trying to get my personal bearings in this game and trying to figure out why, to me, things just don't feel as snappy, quick, crisp, and responsiveness as I feel I'm used to.

Granted, I haven't played one of these games in several months or so, so maybe I'm just out of practice... *shrugs*

[supersix4]

played both today owning both systems and knowing the 360 would offer more fps than the 3 version I choose that one and the 2nd or 3rd post was right it really is aTON smoother on a big tv via the 360 no lag just smooth, feeling more responsive... glad I picked that hopefully I'll start being able to buy more games for the ps3

[JTK]

Originally Posted by supersix14

played both today owning both systems and knowing the 360 would offer more fps than the 3 version I choose that one and the 2nd or 3rd post was right it really is aTON smoother on a big tv via the 360 no lag just smooth, feeling more responsive... glad I picked that hopefully I'll start being able to buy more games for the ps3

Roughly how much time did you spend with both games and what kind of TVs, please?

Any and all specifics appreciated.

You're not the first person that's said this, fwiw.

BTW: Where are the reviews for these games?

[akadkins]

At the risk of sounding stupid...I'll try and sort this 30 fps vs 60 fps issue out.

This is a display issue - not a control issue. Frames per second refers to how much movement is displayed in a single second. Extreme example would be 2 fps vs 100 fps : An arm bending at 2 fps would see to instantly appear to bend - while 100 fps bending would show total movement of the arm. Graphically it would be the same as for as static look. Control wise would not matter - especially since you can't push a button more than 2-3 times in a second anyway.

So...for people who say it 'controls' better on the 360 - that can't matter that it is at 30 or 60...but it should 'look' more fluid and realistic in the movement of a football player.

Regardless - it sucks that the PS3 is considered better - but isn't.

[JTK]

Originally Posted by akadkins

At the risk of sounding stupid...I'll try and sort this 30 fps vs 60 fps issue out.

This is a display issue - not a control issue. Frames per second refers to how much movement is displayed in a single second. Extreme example would be 2 fps vs 100 fps : An arm bending at 2 fps would see to instantly appear to bend - while 100 fps bending would show total movement of the arm. Graphically it would be the same as for as static look. Control wise would not matter - especially since you can't push a button more than 2-3 times in a second anyway.

So...for people who say it 'controls' better on the 360 - that can't matter that it is at 30 or 60...but it should 'look' more fluid and realistic in the movement of a football player.

Regardless - it sucks that the 360 is considered better - but isn't.

Ok, so let me boil it down to this question:

Would the game seem smoother and/or faster in performance with 60fps vs. 30?

Let me show you something: Finally the reviews for these games are starting to slowly trickle out. Here's a review for the 360 edition of the game. Watch this:

http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3161358

...

From the very first snap, you'll notice this game runs a whole lot faster and smoother than last year's edition, thanks to the necessary bump to 60 frames per second.

<snip>

Before we wrap things up, you may have noticed that I'm only talking about the 360 version here.

Well, that's because EA refused to send us the PS3 edition, which I've confirmed only runs at 30 frames per second (so expect this one to move a bit slower).

It's also never a good sign when you see late reviews or titles being withheld like this.

With that being said, if you own both systems, you'd be a fool not to choose the Microsoft route when picking up a copy of 08.

Hmmm....

[akadkins]

Since I don't own both systems, I guess at least I won't be a fool...

[JTK]

Originally Posted by akadkins

Since I don't own both systems, I guess at least I won't be a fool...

It's amazing how there's really no reviews out yet for a big title like this except for that one.

I'd really love to compare both versions myself somehow, for laughs.

[seanjohn21276]

I was going to play this last night, but I'm hooked on APF. I created LT, Prime Time and Tecmo Bo, that's Lawrence Taylor, Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson for those who don't know and just can't get away from the game long enough to put in time with NCAA yet.

[seanjohn21276]

I finally played a complete game against my cousin and was pretty impressed with the gameplay. I had to get used to the controls considering I was used to Madden and playing games on the 360(I might call it the 180 from now on considering it only worked half the time for me) because I got rid of my PS2. The graphics were pretty as well.

[emk4ou]

Is anybody having trouble with running the ball? I bumped up the Run blocking AI to 90% because it was so ridiculous and my QB just got tackled before he could hand the ball off to the running back...out of I-form...running the ISO...with a lead blocker. Am I missing something? Because it seems like the people at EA didn't even give this a test run. By the way, I'm playing with Oklahoma (one of the best OL's) at home against Utah State so it's not like I'm playing with some trash team trying to upset USC.