Thanks to EA Sports’ Will Kinsler for hooking us up with a copy of the game.

EA Sports made no secrets about the emphasis of NCAA Football 2009. With “Big Play Saturday,” gamers were quickly told of how this game was going to play. It was going to be full of big plays and a wide-open attacking offense that we see so often in college football. But have they overdone it? Through a handful of games, these impressions are still relatively incomplete, but troubling at the same time.

Before I jump into some quick gameplay impressions, I’d like to talk about the game’s new feature, the “breakaway engine.” NCAA ‘09 has improved on the controls of its predecessor, making you feel like you’re actually in control of the ball carrier, not the other way around. This year, running the football is about more than mashing the turbo button until you get to the corner, or jerking the juke stick in traffic.

Actual running lanes get opened up inside, allowing backs to squirm their way to some nice gains. The cutback lanes are also open and if you’re good enough, you can really rip off some big gains. I’ve only played with one elite back (Tennessee’s Arian Foster) and was able to see the difference in his ability to a lesser back from another team. The running game aspect of this game is greatly improved. However, computer teams still don’t run the ball effectively. Some slider tweaks here and there should help fix this problem, but we won’t start seeing those sliders for another couple of days.

For all the strides made on the ground game, the passing game of NCAA Football 2009 is looking like a disaster early on. I wasn’t aware that there were 119 reincarnates of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning in the college ranks, but that appears to be the case. Every team I have faced has completed more than 70% of their passes, including a ridiculous 22-24 effort by Stanford’s Tavita Pritchard. Quarterbacks can get rid of the ball so quickly, it’s nearly impossible to a) apply consistent pressure and b) make plays with defensive backs. Between braindead defensive backs and ineffective zone defenses, it’s turned the passing game into a shitshow early on.

I’m just playing on All American difficulty with default sliders and have found zero answer for the “Robo QBs” of NCAA ‘09. Luckily, my quarterbacks have the same ability as the computer’s. Utah’s Brian Johnson is a solid quarterback, but I’m still not convinced he can make this throw.

Another gripe: Special teams. I understand tweaks to the offensive side of the ball, but the idiocy that is NCAA Football 2009 special teams is proof that EA Sports needs to invest more time in beta stages and game-testing. The very first time I touched the ball in NCAA ‘09, I ripped off this 92 yard punt return where I was barely even contested. The next punt return, I went 65 yards. The failure carries over to kick coverage as well, where the average starting position for most of my games has been around my own 40 yard line. It’s hard enough to stop offenses on this game, let alone when they only have half the field to work against.

One thing that usually irks me about EA Games are these new features, which don’t really seem new at all. The game doesn’t seem to play much more “wide open” than past years. They’ve just jacked up quarterback accuracy, lowered defensive back AI and nullified the threat of a pass rush. The same thing happened in NCAA 2005, when EA Sports “improved the defense” from a near-perfect 2004 by giving every wide receiver hands of stone.

Moving onto the game modes. Dynasty and Campus Legend remain the two prominent offline modes in NCAA Football and look relatively similar to past versions of the game. Recruiting is deeper than ever and is a big reason why I prefer NCAA Dynasties to Madden Franchises. For those who might find the recruiting too tedious, Campus Legend allows you to begin a career as a high school player. After combines and workouts, you may get the chance to play for the school of your dreams.

EA Sports has listened to the uproar and finally included online dynasties into the game. Early indications are that online play is smoother than its ever been, which should help this mode tremendously. Do 10 of your friends have the game? Then run a conference dynasty and every game on your schedule will be against one of your friends. While I haven’t jumped into this mode very much, I’m very optimistic that it will be a blast.

The next couple weeks will be crucial for NCAA Football 2009. If some solid sliders can be developed to tone down the nonsense of godlike quarterbacks and awful kick coverage, then this game should thrive. The college football atmosphere is more present in ‘09 than past years, and the running game is a blast so far. This game has lots of positives, lets just hope that the negatives don’t bring it down.