14 DAY TRIAL // NCAA Football was an eagerly awaited game and some of the biggest hopes were tied to the newest features it brought to American football simulations. EA Locker was hyped up as an easy way to create custom rosters and then share them with everyone over the Internet, while the Dynasty system was to be a career mode on steroids. Since July 15, when the games launched, there were some bugs reported with both of these new additions.
On the EA Locker side it seems that the most annoying issue is that players, apparently at random, or even whole teams seem to disappear from the game once they are downloaded. There are also reports of 0 overall ratings for downloaded rosters. Both the issues make the game unplayable and EA Sports, through its community site, has recognized the problem. It even moved very quickly to create a patch, as confirmed by Tyrone Miller, a spokesperson for Electronic Arts. Now the patch is in the hands of Microsoft and of Sony and the companies need to approve it so the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 gamers who play NCAA can get the fixes to EA Locker.
On the Dynasty side it seems that system freezes, problems with loading online dynasties and some mix-ups involving wins and losses are pretty common among gamers. Again, Electronic Arts is well aware of the issues and it is working to fix the reported bugs. As Miller says "We have identified the problem and should have a permanent solution in place soon." A patch will be subjected to testing by Sony and Microsoft, so it could be a while 'till you can use the Dynasty patch for NCAA Football 2009.
Despite the bugs, the game has been praised for the way it portrays college football and for the sheer variety of plays and teams that it offers. We'll be sure to inform you when EA Sports delivers the promised patches.