NCAA March Madness 07

"Good, Solid Basketball"

Capturing College sports into a game is never easy. The developers must not only create a fun and exciting gameplay experience, but capture the essence of the game, the fans, the rivalries, and the excitement. It is exceptionally hard to get all of that down, but when a game executes it perfectly, it's great to be played.

NCAA March Madness 07 delivers fun gameplay, good graphics, and like nearly every sports game out right now, an annoying pair of repetitive announcers.

Graphics - 8

The graphics of March Madness '07 are on par with nearly any other game. They aren't very impressive, but they don't disappoint anywhere either. Granted, occasionally the textures will be shaky, and the player models won't look perfect, but some of the more realistic movements and the lighting more than make up for it. The graphics will barely be noticed in a negative way.

Sound - 3/10

The biggest downfall of any sports game. Brad Nessler and Dick Vitale seem to repeat the same stuff over and over again. Most of the time, the voice is late also. Sometimes they'll say something completely out of context, like saying my character shouldn't of taken that shot after I slammed down a dunk, or made a wide open three. I tried to ignore it, but eventually I just resorted to turning off the sound.

Controls - 8/10

This game plain and simply has fun, easy to pick up and play controls. It neither gets too complicated nor too simple, I can still discover new intricacies after a while playing the game. It's very easy. X is lay up, B is jump shot, RT is to sprint. The right stick causes you to spin, juke, or move in any other manner.

The Lockdown stick is a great help on defense, and adds even more realism and immersion to an already fun game.

Gameplay - 7/10

It's fun!

No really, this game does include outstandingly addictive gameplay. Like I said before, the easy pick up and play controls are easy to learn, but hard to master. It doesn't however, bring anything new to the table than any other sports game.

I lied, by far my favorite feature of March Madness '07 is the intensity control. When your team goes on a good run, your player's composure will become better. They can be nervous, angry, psyched up, or in control, all of which affect how well they play.

Eventually, you can have an impact moment. When this happens, walk up to anything to interact with it. Walk up to the crowd and demoralize it, talk trash to the other team, psych up your teammates. Even the mascot, cheerleaders and band can be interacted with.

Multiplayer - 8/10

No surprises here, just standard multiplayer, like any other sports game.

Overall - 7/10

This game is a solid, fun experience to anybody, from the hardcore basketball fans to the casual sports title player.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/26/07