Sega Sports: NCAA College Basketball 2K3

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NCAA Basketball 2K3 is one of the most interesting games I've played on my X-Box, and it is the one I've played the most. The reason I am not able to give it a 5 star rating deals more with a few bugs than with the enjoyment of playing.I will rate it across a few categories that many Players of games use. Graphics, Sound, Gameplay, Value, Tilt.Graphics - 3.5 starsThe Graphics are good, but not great. Some players look too much like other players, possibly due to the generation process. On a normal television it is often difficult to make out the numbers on each player. It may be better on an HD-TV, but I can not speak to that. Some of the animations are ugly, such as the finish of a jump shot, and the collision detection may be over pronounced at times. Overall the courts look good, the crowds are part of the atmosphere, and there is enough variety to be interesting. It is fun to watch players falling down going after the ball.Sound - 4 stars.The crowds are a definite part of the game, as well as the bands. The thing that pulls down the sound is the repetitive phrases of the commentators, though this is somewhat expected as it would take a lot of additional work to cover an entire season with a more variety. The sounds of the game (ie the dribbling of the ball, the squeak of shoes) are not pronounced and do not get in the way. There is no talking by the players, it would be nice if they occaisionally celebrated or groaned.Gameplay - 4.0 starsThe gameplay is very strong with a certain amount strategy. The coaches AI is poor when it comes to timeouts, and questionable as to substitutions, but you can mannually handle this. Overall the control scheme is easy to learn, but it is different from the NBA 2K3 scheme, which is a bit of a challenge if you come from the NBA 2K series. Passing leaves you very vulnerable to turnovers, but you can return this favor by making an unseemly amount of steals. Errors in the game such as an injury bug, a Roster Export failure, and a few others hurt the game a bit.Value - 4.5 stars.There are a number of modes that make this game replayable, even with the same teams. One could play for weeks and never really reach it's depth.Tilt - 4.0 StarsI liked NCAA Basketball 2K3 quite a bit. It allows you to do a lot of things. With a few less bugs and a slightly improved Graphics and Commentary this would be a 5 Star game all the way. It is worth its cost, and to top it off, it is fun, admittedly more fun if you are a college hoops fan, or if you ever wanted to lead your school to the NCAA Championship. There are over 200 colleges to choose from, from Elon in North Carolina, to Florida A & M, to the Big names. It is well worth the investment.

This game could have been the ultimate college basketball game, the game of all games. Instead, we are left waiting for next year's game for perfection. I suppose there's a reason for that, since there would be no real reason to upgrade since they are not allowed to use real college athlete's names.This game succeeds in its legacy mode. You pick a small college and work your way threw the ranks. I'm still working on that.The gameplay is solid; however, the passing mode is weak. There is no direct pass mode, only a directional pass mode where you use the right thumbstick to pass in a direction. This works, generally, except for the 5-6 times per game you have two guys on the right side and end up throwing the ball away.The gameplay isn't nearly as fast as the NBA version, which is great. The zone defenses make you work for your shot. Also, a momentum meter shows which team's got ole Uncle Mo on their side (although this is usually fairly obvious), and sometimes you gotta take a timeout to try to slow things down.I would recommend this game to anyone who is interested in all the aspects of the college game, including recruiting. If you are only searching for a dunkfest, try EA Sport's Live franchise.

im saying that in a hypothetical sense, since it is the only college hoops game on the Box. let me go through the pros.Pros: LEGACY MODE: Magnifico! Sheer Brilliance! A triumph for sega!GYM RAT MODE: a little arcade in this game, unlike NFL 2k3WIDE SELECTION of TEAMS: from Sell-out crowd Duke to small time Coastal Carolina, all division-I schools are hereMAN VS. MAN: A Good 2 player game on or offlineLEGACY MODE: i know i already mentioned this, but it is all the rage. Beautiful!Cons: FANS: Ugh, Sega can do better than CARDBOARD Designs!SOME FEATURES IN IN-GAME PLAY: too easy to get backcourt violation, fouls called too seldom, way too easy to steal, goaltending rule is whack, and the free throw system takes some time to get used to, but ull get the hang of it.A QUESTION: how do some fans in a block hold up a big sign that says, "ESPN" on it? and then the same group of people put up Brick signs when they come up to the free throw line?