FanHouse Ea

The notion of a fancy party for a video game seems odd -- why dress up and go out for something best enjoyed while wearing ratty gym shorts in your own home? But EA Sports apparently knows what they're doing, and they hosted a party at Marquee -- a trendy Manhattan night club -- last night for the release of NCAA Football '09.

Several college football stars in town for the draft attended the party, including cover boy Matt Ryan (pictured), Arkansas running back Darren McFadden (interview here), West Virginia fullback Owen Schmitt, California WR/KR DeSean Jackson, and #1 overall draft pick Jake Long.

The release also included a full demonstration of the game on large flatscreen TVs, an upstairs lounge dedicated to press interviews, and -- most importantly -- free drinks! Huzzah!

Trailer!



Maybe this is the year EA stops implementing irritating features that detract from the game's realism and make Kinnick Stadium a house of horrors for anyone who dares cross its threshold? (don't ask; I don't want to talk about it. I hate the fictional representation of that place with the white hot fury of a thousand suns.) Well, probably not. But those graphics are pretty freakin' sweet. Also, this year they've finally (finally!) implemented a feature that anyone who rocks Dynasty mode will much appreciate:

Campus Legend makes great use of the new Super Sim feature that allows you to skip single plays or to the next change of possession. You can still watch every play from the sideline through the eyes of your legend, but you can also skip ahead to the next time he takes the field. Super Sim is available in every game, which will come in handy during Dynasty mode when you want to get your second stringers on the field to mop up.

Finally! The last time I played NCAA seriously, and by "seriously" I mean "what day is it? What is this sleep? Why do I have an IV in my arm?", I got sick of finishing out 40-80 point blowouts against Eastern Michigan (and, yes, hideous Heisman-level blowouts at the hands of Iowa) and eventually drifted back into real life, in which I am not the coach of the six-time national champ Indiana Hoosiers. And nobody likes that.