NCAA Football 08’ came out on Tuesday, giving football fans everywhere something to do in their spare time until Madden comes out in a month. I got the game for XBOX 360, and am happy to say that there are a lot of sweet new improvements over last year’s version- the first for the new systems.

The first thing you’ll notice is the game play, where the players all move a lot smoother then in years before. You can now juke without using the highlight stick; all you have to do is make sharp cuts while running. If you’re good at this, and have a fast guy, he can be almost impossible to stop. And that’s the only problem, good running backs, like Darren McFadden (a 99 overall) or Mike Hart can run away from anyway. Even when there met in the backfield, those guys can still break tackles very easily. I was playing against a kid who was Michigan earlier today and Hart would break two or three tackles at least every time he touched the ball.

Another adjustment they made is in the hit-stick. It was kind of ridiculous last year when a small cornerback could just lay wood on someone like Adrian Peterson. Now, when you use the hit-stick, your DB’s will go for the offensive players legs and flip him over. You can still cause fumbles doing this and it’s way more realistic.

Dynasty mode is new and improved too, only I would prefer it wasn’t. Recruiting is all new this year, and it’s pretty cool, but its extremely time consuming. You target 35 (!) players in season and call them every week, trying to figure out what they are looking for in a school. Some guys are impressed by “pro factories” while others are looking for early playing time. Again, it’s pretty cool, but because you have to go after so many guys, it just takes forever. The offseason recruiting works the same way.

I never played the game online last year, but the online play this year is awesome. Unlike other sports games (NHL 07) it never lags and you can battle someone across the country like he’s playing in the same room as you.

Overall, this is the best football game to ever come out on the new systems, and maybe the sports game.

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