NCAA College Basketball 2K3

"A "Must Have" College B-Ball Game"

NCAA Basketball 2K3 brings college basketball to the fullest. The stadiums for each school, the crowds cheer when you are the home team and on a run, or silent when you are playing bad. The chants and fight songs are played for the schools, too. With the ability to choose from over 300 teams, you can either play as your favorite school, or take a challenge and play with a team that really isn't all that good.

Gameplay (8 / 10)

Can get a little easy if you use a team like Kansas, but on the other side if you use Dartmouth it can be extremely difficult. The pace of the game is great for a college basketball.

Sound (8 / 10)

The announcers in the game are good, but like in every sports game, the phrases get repeated alot. The ESPN music ties in real well with the college game.

Graphics (9/ 10)

The graphics in the game are great. But it seems the graphic designers spent more time on the stadiums then the actual players.

Replay Value (9 / 10)

The legacy mode really allows you to play this game over and over. The ability to build up a really bad team by having to recruit every season is an added addition to the great gameplay.

Total: 9 / 10

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Some other modes in the game are:

Tournaments - Either play in a classic college tournament, the field of 64 or conference tournament, or start from scratch and create your own.

Legacy - Either choose ''Open'' mode and play as your favorite school like UNC and making sure to keep them on top, or choose ''Career'' mode and build up a bad team by recruiting into a top team.

Season - Just play one regular season instead of playing a career.

Overall, this game is great for any basketball fan, NCAA or NBA. It has it's flaws, lay-ups are not that easy to make, as some times the players take a 2 foot jumper instead. What I like is the run bar, if you score 10 in a row let's say, you will have the momentum and keep it until the other school dunks or goes on their own run. And if they are ahead at the end of the game, they will run out the clock, but if they are down they will intentionally foul you. This makes the game better so it looks more realistic. It is as close to a ''Must Have'' as you can get if you like basketball games.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/22/02, Updated 12/22/02