NCAA March Madness 2004

"It's Madness, Baby! </DickVitale>"

Basketball, created in 1891 by James Naismith in a Massachusetts YMCA, has evolved into one of the most popular sports in the United States and the World. One can argue that the greatest players are found in the National Basketball Association, commonly referred to as the NBA, however watching superstars running back and forth scoring gobs of baskets isn't exactly fun. Basketball is meant to be a team sport, with powerful defenses rebounding and blocking shots and putting great pressure on the offensive team. Fortunately, all that and more can be found in basketball at the Collegiate Level.

College basketball has been, at least from a videogame standpoint, pretty much put on the backburner compared to all the NBA iterations. B-Ballers like NBA Live and NBA 2K had been pretty much it for a long time. Recently, however, games like ESPN College Hoops and this one I'm reviewing now, NCAA March Madness 2004 have been created and they definitely show the flavor and emotion of the NCAA. I must be mad, because I definitely love this game (and its madness).

When you first turn on the game you're prompted to pick your favorite team. Normally, you'd think this wouldn't take a while, however with this game being perfectly authentic to the NCAA and its college spirit, you can choose from over 300 Division 1 (and I believe 2) schools. Me being a native of Connecticut, naturally pick the *cough* #1 ranked UCONN team and I see their mascot, Jonathan the Husky, doing flips and dancing on the title screen. It's a neat addition, and I personally enjoyed it. Another thing I might add about the team selection is that you're never bound to be disappointed. My father was watching me play, and he asked me to choose the school he's an alumni of, Central Connecticut State, and sure enough it was there. Of course they were inferior to the likes of Duke, but they were there and it was pretty neat.

Now, on the title screen (now animated with the mascot of your choice), you are bombarded with menus akin to just about every other EA Sports game from Madden to FIFA to NBA Live. The modes in this game are pretty standard except for a few exceptions. You have your basic quick game feature where you pit yourself against the computer or a second player. You could think of it as an exhibition game. This is where the bulk of the game is played (as long as you have people to play with). There are also a few other variations on this. You can play a rivalry match (set with teams), or on another interesting twist, a Mascot Match (where you literally play as mascots). They're both fun diversions to take a break from the normal game.

If you plan on playing the game solo, well... there's really not that much besides the season. The season mode is pretty straightforward. You have the obligatory conference games and you can choose the nonconference games of your choice. However, not all teams will want to play against you (Duke would never play against the likes of Central Connecticut, save that for the quick games) unless you have a superb record. I personally enjoy that because it adds a sense of realism.

After you finish picking your schedule, you then go through your season until the playoffs hit (in March). From here on the game gets superb. Taking from its name, you control a team in the famous NCAA tournament in March, The Final Four. Survive all the rounds and your team wins.

Now there is also a Dynasty mode, which is pretty similar to Season except when the first season ends you keep going on. You edit your school and hire new people from high schools and junior colleges. It adds a nice twist to the straightforward Season mode. After the first few years, though, the high school players are generated randomly. So, as you can see, the NCAA experience was handled pretty darn awesome throughout the game. There is one thing that bugs me though. The names of all the people are omitted and replaced with their numbers. I believe it is out of disk space, but I really think for the next incarnation they should have the player's names added. Now let's see how the game itself turns out.

Graphically, the game is quite good, but certainly not great. The graphics aren't exactly super, but they definitely get the job done. The worst graphics in the bunch, unfortunately are the Mascot, Player, and Cheerleader models. They are somewhat blocky and are comprised of, from what I can tell, little polygons. The details on their shirts are good, and their animation is excellent. However, the models themselves are just mediocre. The crowd is comprised of animated people. Nothing special there, except some are blurry. One thing I think is the saving grace of the graphics is the floor. It has awesome texturing and it's oh-so-shiny. The backboard is good too, with some great animation. So overall, they definitely get the job done.

There is not much sound in the game, but the squeaking of shoes, dribbling, stomping of feet, and the crowd are all added with great effect. The bands play and sound extremely sweet. Fight songs are added and make it seem authentic. One thing I HAVE to mention is the announcing of Dick Vitale. It's Awesome, Baby! You'd think with such little sound, it wouldn't be great, but I'd have to disagree and say the sound rocks.

When it comes to gameplay and control, the game is great. One of the main things of college basketball, as I have explained earlier, is Defense. This game has some awesome plays. Whether you want to go Man to Man, Double Team, or even Full Court Press, it's at your finger tips. However, you might not want to use Press all the time, as the players may get tired (There is a Fatigue Bar). Dunk, Shot, and Pass are all added on different buttons, so that really helps. There's also a Pro-Step function on Y where you hop and get ready to shoot. It really helps around the basket. Those are all good and fine, but my favorite function is the alley-oop. By pressing the white button you pass it the closest guy to the hoop, who attempts to slam or tap it in. It all looks so awesome with the great animation. Overall the gameplay and control ends up being superb.

In conclusion, college basketball is a fun sport and March Madness definitely captures it. If you have a friend who would like to play with you, then this game is a must if you're a basketball fan. If you are going to play it solo, then I'd suggest you wait till it gets a little cheaper, but if you are a diehard fan buy it now. This totally deserves the 8 that I give it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/07/03