EA Sports has pushed its ship date for to Nov. 17, and to celebrate that big news the game's producers have provided IGN.com with an exclusive video featuring comments by several of the coaches involved in the creation of this totally reinvented title, as well as those of the production staff that brought the game to live.Gameplay Producer Connor Dougan also took the time to answer several of our most pressing questions regarding this highly anticipated game, which promises to totally reinvent the college basketball gaming experience. ​IGN: What does the addition of real NCAA Division I coaches bring to this franchise, and how exactly did you incorporate them into the game?Connor Dougan: The addition of coaches adds several things to the game.

Re: NCAA Basketball 09: March Madness Edition First Look The gameplay itself is OK, but I've noticed some nasty bugs on this game. I've played about 8-9 games so far, and the game has frozen twice on me. NCAA Basketball 09 Gameplay Movie 2. Gameplay from the free-throw line in NCAA Basketball 09 for the Xbox 360. Nov 18, 2008 2:33pm.

First, it adds authenticity to our presentation. The sidelines feel bare without the coaches roaming back and forth, so getting them in the game visually is a huge addition. We didn't just want them to be there for visual purposes though; we wanted them to play a part in the game, just like they do in real life, so we added the Coach Feedback System in the game.

Your coach will let know if you are not executing on your pre-game strategies or playing at your ideal tempo, and you'll see this feedback on the fly, as a picture in picture pop-up in the corner of the screen (as mentioned above). Aside from the actual inclusion of over 300 coaches in the game, we worked directly with several National Association of Basketball Coaches such as Kansas Coach Bill Self, UCLA Coach Ben Howland, Oklahoma Coach Jeff Capel, Tennessee Coach Bruce Pearl and Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon, just to name a few.

These coaches helped us really nail the way we designed our specific styles of play. They gave us insight into what types of executions go into each style of play and what to expect when combating a contrasting style of play. This, combined with our partners at Blue Ribbon Publications, helped us create the most authentic college basketball game to date from EA Sports.IGN: What does the Real-Time Coaching Feedback System add to the game? And, how will that mechanic work in the game?Connor Dougan: The coach feedback system is designed to give you advice in real time as the play unfolds based on various factors such as: time and score, fatigue, how you're playing based on our team style and your coaching points of emphasis. We have coaching points of emphasis that you can select pre-game. You can select from numerous points of emphasis based on your Team's Tempo.

So If I'm a Halfcourt team I may choose 'stop dribble penetration' as one of my points of emphasis. The coach will let me know how I'm doing in this area throughout the game. A picture in picture overlay of the coach is displayed on screen with text that provides instructions to the user. For example, we monitor player fatigue and if it drops below a certain point your coach will encourage you to go to the bench to give your starters some rest. Also, If your team is an Up Tempo team and it isn't playing at the right pace then your coach will let you know about it. Basically your coach is there for strategic support. The coach feedback system helps the user to play the game to win.

It gives you feedback on how to take advantage of game situations and how to control the tempo.IGN: We know that each school's preferred tempo will be directly tied to its head coach; will coaches be able to deviate from their assigned tempos to try and create mismatches?Connor Dougan: In dynasty mode the user has full control on how they want to play. The coach can change his style from game to game if they want to. But the way to be successful over the long haul is to recruit players that fit into your style of play.IGN: EA and Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook have teamed up in an attempt to provide the most up-to-date, relevant scouting reports possible for NCAA Basketball 09. What kind of scouting reports will be available in game as players prepare for upcoming opponents, and what kind of flexibility will coaches have to adapt their strategies to create individual game plans for individual opponents?Connor Dougan: Blue Ribbon has provided a team overview for each team that breaks down strengths and weaknesses and grades Backcourt, Bench/Depth, Frontcourt and Intangibles.

It gives you some great insight into what you can expect to see from a team as far as their focus of attack, and what areas you might be able to exploit. Seeing this, you'll be able to adjust your pre-game strategies to tailor your gameplan towards your opponent if you need to. For example, if you are about to match up with Maryland, and you notice they only have a C rating for depth and a D- rating for their frontcourt, you might want to play at a faster tempo to tire them down, and look for baskets inside to exploit their lack of post presence. Watch out for that defense.​IGN: We've been over the impact that tempo will have on the game as it relates to contrasting styles – How is that mechanic going to effect the game when we have two teams going at it that play the same style of ball?Connor Dougan: If you have two teams that have similar offensive philosophies then controlling the tempo will come down to how you use your personnel.

If I have an advantage in the post then I'll need to try and exploit that mismatch. If my advantage lies in guard play then I'll have to tailor my game plan accordingly. If you have two teams that play a half court style it's all about discipline and execution.

I can go down the court and shoot a quick open 3 but that's ultimately not my game. I need to focus on working the ball around and getting the best shot possible.

It could be any type of shot depending on how the defense plays you. The key is getting the best look possible for that possession.IGN: This year's game features a new, deeper dynasty mode and a new recruiting database: Describe what's been added to the dynasty mode to improve upon previous editions of the game and what the new recruiting database will do to enhance dynasty mode.Connor Dougan: We put a greater emphasis on Dynasty Mode this year because it is a feature that really resonates with our consumer. The new recruiting database offers Parade All-Americans and ESPN 100 in recruiting (the top 100 prospects in the country), as well as national overall rank and position rank for every recruit. We also display Pro Stock for every player in the NCAA in Dynasty Mode which shows their prospects for making it in the NBA.

This year Dynasty Mode will also feature support for 15-man rosters, open roster sharing (free public file sharing without restrictions) where you can begin a dynasty with a custom roster downloaded from EA Locker. We will have box scores for every game for your team, and also season and daily schedules for every team in the NCAA.

In addition, there is support for seasonal stat summaries (baseball card) for players in dynasty, and for all stats, instead of just their career average as in the past. In the New Coach module we have coach annual statistics (won loss record, etc.) for your coach in dynasty mode. The Dynasty Yearbook now features team and player highlight data for every past year in the dynasty. There are new training options, player progressions and a new calendar interface, featuring university seal and 'game ticket' for game days. For customizing your game we have added Coach Creator, the ability to change your team's style of play and updated our player editor which provides quick access to all art assets in the game (head and body models, accessories, etc.) and removes cap on player ratings editing. Finally, we have added three new ESPN Pre-Season Tournaments – Anaheim Classic, Old Spice Classic and Puerto Rico Tip-Off – with complete support in dynasty (along with tournament invite offer logic).

I'm just about to blow past you.​ IGN: You guys have built a new game engine for this title and added 1,000 new animation sequences to this year's game. What prompted such a major overhaul in the game?Connor Dougan: At the end of the 08 product year for March Madness we felt that the NBA basketball engine (shipped in Live 08) was in a state where we felt that there was a strong, core foundation and ultimately, in a position for us to take it. The March Madness Gameplay engine was suffering from old tech resulting in poor animations blends, questionable physics and a code base that was very difficult to manage/maintain/enhance.We knew that if we we're going to get people excited about our product we needed to build a great playing college basketball game. We needed to not only capture everything that is unique about college basketball – from the mascots and cheerleaders to the amazingly unique venues to the student sections and fight songs.

But we also and probably more importantly, had to recreate the differences in Gameplay that you see between NCAA and NBA. The two games are very different. College basketball is about 5 on 5 team oriented basketball whereas the NBA, is about 2-man games and isolation. Additionally, we wanted to ensure that the effort and intensity you get from collegiate athletes, each and every game throughout the season, came through. The strongest way to communicate the college atmosphere, intensity and excitement is through animations.IGN: What changes or additions did you guys consider that didn't make it in to this year's game?

Should we keep an eye out for any of these changes or additions in future installments of the franchise?Connor Dougan: Now that we are using a common EA Sports basketball engine for both NBA Live and NCAA Basketball 09 there are a lot of possibilities where we can make further improvements to the game in the future.IGN: You guys have added new pre and postseason tournaments to the game, including EA's own Maui Invitational. North Carolina has to go into the tournament as the heavy favorite to win it all – do you see any of the other seven teams participating (Alabama, Oregon, Texas, Notre Dame, Indiana, St. Josephs or Chaminade) giving the Tar Heels a serious run for their money? Go craft and build 3d house. And, what are you most looking forward to about the 25th annual EA Sports Maui Invitational?Connor Dougan: Maui is loaded this year, maybe the most talented field ever. UNC is the favorite to not only win Maui, but the overwhelming favorite to win the National Title this year.

You can't overlook teams like Texas and Notre Dame though. Both the Longhorns and the Irish will be top 10 powers, and can give UNC a run for their money. I'm personally looking forward to a possible matchup between a certain number 50 for UNC and number 44 for Notre Dame. That would be a battle! And don't overlook Oregon. Coach Kent always has his guys playing that uptempo style that could pose problems for anybody if their shots are falling.

And everyone wants to see what type of team Coach Tom Cream has ready in Indiana. Totally new look for the Hoosiers this year, going to be a lot of eyes on them.IGN: Thanks for your time, Connor.

It seems that EA Sports got the message after OS gave last year's edition of March Madness a four out of 10 rating. The embarrassment was too much to handle and thus, EA had to change the name of the franchise from March Madness to NCAA Basketball.In reality, with no other competition on the market, there is no reason to fear calling your game something generic like NCAA Basketball 09.

But, does the name change equate to real change when it comes to the direction of the series? It seems as if the game has taken two steps forward, but it is still being weighed down by the same issues that have been plaguing EA basketball for half a decade.NCAA Basketball is a big improvement over last year's March Madness in almost every way. This improvement makes NCAA Basketball one of the best college basketball experiences on a next-gen console. Is it the best yet?

Probably not, but the game is certainly a big step in the right direction. The EA College Basketball series is back under a new banner.NCAA Basketball.NCAA Basketball 09 ships with a very similar feature set to last year's March Madness game. For those of you who may still be in the dark, this is March Madness under a new brand name.

Therefore, if you have played any of the past few editions of March Madness, you should know what to expect in the features department.New to this year's game is the Tempo Meter, which basically tracks the tempo of your game and allows you to try to play within your tempo. Honestly, it didn't seem like playing outside your tempo resulted in something too negative happening, as I would oftentimes run an up-tempo offense very successfully when I was supposed to be a half-court team. Ditto for running a half-court offense with an up-tempo team. I'm sure there is some kind of a benefit somewhere, but I have yet to discover why it is important to play your tempo in NCAA Basketball 09.Another cool new addition to the game is a set of pregame 'focuses' that basically allow you try to meet certain challenges during the course of a game. You can try to limit turnovers, hit the boards, shoot well or any other number of options the game offers.

Of course, the specific pregame focuses you choose change based on what style of ball you play.Meeting these challenges during Dynasty mode results in you getting 'dynasty points' that can be used to upgrade your school's facilities, which in turn give your team certain bonuses. I know several people are scoffing at the mere idea of bonuses in a sports video game, but it is my opinion that the facility upgrades in NCAA Basketball offer realistic bonuses. If you have a better weight training facility, your players are going to be in better condition; the better your practice gym, the better your team is going to shoot; and so on and so forth.College basketball is very much a sport about atmosphere and emotion. Unfortunately, NCAA Basketball 09 does a so-so job of capturing this aspect of the sport. The crowd chants are oftentimes misplaced, and a lot of times the crowd is just silent.

I'm kind of sick of atmosphere in a college video game being an afterthought. The same development studio did such a great job with the atmosphere in NBA Live; so, it's too bad that magic couldn't carry over to NCAA basketball.

There are tons of authentic arenas in this year's game, a step up from last year.Returning to the on-court action, you will notice right away that the game plays tighter than last year's game - even a bit tighter than NBA Live. The canned animations still cause some funky side-effects, such as players getting backcourt violations or players running out of bounds when they get stuck in an animation that leads them in a certain direction.As was the case with NBA Live, loose balls aren't handled very well, as players will just watch a ball bounce along the floor until one player runs by and picks it up.Rebounding is hit or miss with NCAA Basketball. There are utterly frustrating possessions where the whole system seems off, and then there are possessions where you see players box out properly and gather rebounds. I can recall one time when my center just sat around with position under the basket, but then he watched the opposing point guard leap for the rebound and score the bucket - the center did not even move.

It was one of the dumbest plays I have ever seen on the digital hardwood. There was another time where I watched six guys jockey for position underneath the basket. So in other words, the rebounding is inconsistent at best.Another gripe I have revolves around the computer A.I., as it simply doesn't go to its big-name players in the right situations. College basketball is more of a team sport than the NBA, but the game still revolves around its star players for the most part. There are instances late in a game when the A.I. Will run its offense and won't go to its best player. It's a minor gripe since there are times when the best player does take the key shots, but it doesn't happen nearly enough.

No, he's not that #23.While NCAA Basketball does do a few things wrong, the things the game does right make it a solid title.For starters, your players are very active off the ball - more than last year for sure. The action isn't as good as Live, but it is definitely better than it has been in previous years, and the game certainly more closely resembles college basketball as a result.Another thing I'm a fan of are the coaches and their feedback during a game. Granted, most of the stuff they say is common sense, such as pressing when down late, slow or speed up the tempo, etc.

However, the feature will help the beginners get into the game, and it is also a cool way to feature coaches in the game. The feature could also easily be expanded upon in later editions.Thanks to a partnership with Blue Ribbon, EA has tried to re-create each team as accurately as possible in order to provide what EA calls 'next-level authenticity.' While I applaud the efforts that were made, each team still feels like it plays similar to one another. Perhaps including some pregame scouting reports and such - as well as differentiating the teams even more in coming editions - will do the trick, but each game felt largely similar from a stylistic standpoint.Teams like South Dakota State, Wofford and St. Mary's will all play like lesser Division I teams. They won't shoot as high a percentage as North Carolina or Kansas, and they will also have trouble matching up against those teams athletically.

It felt like I was running circles around South Dakota State with my Sooners in a game I won 103-55, which is what should have realistically happened on most nights.Across the board, the shooting ability of most players will need some adjustment in the downward direction. It could have just been my defense sucking, but it seemed like most of my opponents shot at least 50 percent from the field during most games. With some tweaks to the game, you should be able to bring shooting to a more realistic level. I'm just waiting on the optimum slider sets to be released by the OS forum gurus, which will fix the overpowered A.I. Count me in for being thankful the era of the short shorts in basketball is over.The control scheme for NCAA Basketball is overall a step up from its big brother, NBA Live. The controls are simpler and easier to understand, especially on defense.

My favorite difference is the fact that the right-analog stick controls your defensive player's stance: You can go from a more on-the-ball stance to a stance where you hold your hands up, which is what you should be doing in a zone.In case you didn't catch my Live review, I called the Signature Play Calling system the best ever play-calling system in a basketball video game. The fact that it is included in NCAA Basketball makes me very happy.

Another great feature that has migrated from NBA Live is the Pick and Roll Control, which allows you to call a pick at any time.The Quickstrike Ankle Breakers also make an appearance in NCAA Basketball, and they work just like they do in Live. The moves feel toned down a bit, which was my main complaint with the feature in Live. I do think the animations could be toned down a bit as well, since some of the players look like members of the Harlem Globetrotters as they make near impossible moves to the basket. I also do not like the fact that when an animation starts, it will not be stopped. It's time for interruptible animations in this series.The Dynasty mode in NCAA Basketball is very similar to the one found in March Madness last year. I thought last year's mode was the best thing about the game - there were upgradeable facilities and you were also able to track fan support easily, among other things.

I also did not mind the e-mail system, which some were not fond of. NCAA Basketball 09 is a worthy game if you are a fan of the sport.This year, EA has added the Dynasty Yearbook, which basically allows you to look back on every season of your dynasty and see your top performers, key recruits, graduating players and more. This is a dynasty user's dream come true, and it has become one of my favorite new features in Dynasty mode.Recruiting has borrowed a bit more from NCAA Football this year, and that is a good thing. You can now search for recruits by a number of attributes and ratings, but for some reason there is no recruiting board like in NCAA Football. Recruits tend to be rated a tad high overall when they arrive as freshmen, and it seems a bit easy to land four-star guys.

I was able to land a pair of four-stars alongside a three-star guy while coaching in my first season at SMU, which is hardly a basketball powerhouse.I'm not a fan of how the Dynasty mode was organized this year. Your calendar and messages are both pretty hidden from view because there is no single shortcut.

So, instead you have to always scroll through menus. The menus technically work, and it is still fun to manage your program over the years, but it just seems like EA was trying to tweak the menus and fix something that wasn't broken in the first place.For the most part, Dynasty mode is largely the same as far as functionality goes. However, because of the changes made to the interface, I feel the developers have actually knocked the experience down a notch due to the much-harder-to-navigate menu system. Actually, it looks kind of real.The Classic Tournament mode is a cool addition to the game, but I would love it more if you could randomize the bracket or even simply have the ability to swap seeds from region to region. Fans will criticize EA for leaving out teams who shouldn't have been left out, but that was inevitable regardless of which 64-team field EA picked.

On a personal note, I am saddened that the '88 Oklahoma team wasn't included.As far as online goes, the features that are defining online gaming in this generation are not in NCAA Basketball. There is no online dynasty, no team play online - just the standard feature set from previous generations. Thus, the online mode is merely average.Final ThoughtsNCAA Basketball 09 is the only new college basketball title on store shelves this season - no more College Hoops 2K. As such, college basketball fans are going to put this title under a microscope and really pick it apart.What fans should find is a good Dynasty mode, good but not great gameplay, and a game that is undoubtedly on the rise. NCAA Basketball 09 is one of the best college basketball games I have personally played over the last 10 years, but that is not saying too much considering how bad most college basketball games have been (sans a 2K title here and there).True college basketball fans should pick this game up, but anyone who is on the fence about the sport should probably pass on this game and save his or her money for other games.On the Court: Just as with Live, it's a mixed bag.

You will have fun with the game, but you will also scratch your head when you see some of the things the game does wrong.Graphics: The graphics are a step down overall from Live. They aren't bad and they aren't great. The animations do look good though, even if they cannot be interrupted.Sound: The commentary is OK, far from my favorite in a sports game. The fans try their best to be loud, but the whole package is just average.Entertainment Value: If you like NCAA basketball, you will undoubtedly like this game. If you are not a fan of the college game, you will probably find yourself bored. NCAA Basketball is good, but not great like that.Learning Curve: It will take new players awhile to get accustomed to the controls, but veterans of the series will be able to jump right in and play.Online: Average, vanilla, not awesome. You get the same feature set that has been in every sports game imaginable over the last five years.Score: 7.0 (Good).

I guess your gripes are valid. Hopefully they can patch the boost in the atmosphere like 2k did with CH2k8 they can always add things.We were having the same discussion in the Live threads about download content adding commentary and things like that.Overall good review and it's sad to hear about the jacking up the menu system in Dynasty mode.

I loved the one in March Madness it was well thought out and designed.I won't get my copy for another few days, but good too see you guys are on top of it. I am a gameplay guy.dont really care for the bells and whistles (dynasty, legacy, dunk contests, importing draft classes etc); and it seems that the one thing that EA got right (which they haven't done in a long time) is nail the gameplay.And thus, I will be picking this game up for sure, but not ASAP unfortunately. And I dont think this site is biased toward 2K. I thionk 2K has been kicking EA's. over the years, and the comments on this site, reviews may have reflected that.

However, this year, EA seems to have amazingly closed the gap and is the better product, not because they are so awesome, but simply because 2K has taken a step back and allowed EA to close the gap. Just my opinion tho.