College Hoops 2K6

"The best in college hoops--with room for improvement"

College Hoops 2K6 is the first--and only--offering of college basketball on the Xbox 360. While 2K Sports' rival, EA Sports, decided to rebuild the graphic engines for its next-generation sports games, 2K Sports elected to port the current-generation games to the new system and make graphical updates when possible. Apparently, that wasn't very often; this isn't a game that will leave your jaw dropping with eye candy, but for an authentic college hoops experience, there's nothing better on the 360--or any other system, for that matter.

Graphics: 7/10 - To be honest, the graphics in CH 2K6 are nothing to write home about, so if you're looking for a game that looks as great as it plays, you'll have to wait until next year. I never played the Xbox or PS2 versions of this game, but by all accounts, they look more or less the same: good, but not next-gen quality when compared to games like GR:AW and PGR3. This is where 2K Sports' decision to port the older engine really comes back to bite them, but if you can get around the graphics (which isn't that difficult to do, since you don't get a great deal of closeups), you'll really appreciate the next item on the list:

Gameplay: 9/10 - Gameplay is where CH 2K6 really shines, blowing away its only competitor (EA Sports March Madness 06) by leaps and bounds. The play feels smooth and unhurried, but can crank it up a notch to really give a frenzied, hectic feel on a fast break. You won't see a ridiculous amount of dunking in this game, and with the new Shot Stick, you'll need to be very skilled with the sticks if you plan to rain three-pointers on your opponents all day long.

The game offers a better out-of-the-box sports experience than any I've played, but with a few tweaks of the many slider options available in the game, any player of any skill can create the ultimate challenge, whether realistic or insanely difficult (or easy). While the computer opponent makes some silly errors at times, overall the intelligence is very adequate; the CPU will take advantage of player mismatches and fast breaks so regularly that you'll kick yourself for not realizing your own mistakes sooner. Stars play like stars, scrubs like scrubs, and pitting one against the other is a sure-fire way to find yourself racking up a big L.

Presentation: 10/10 - 2K Sports has always had a leg up when it comes to presentation, and this game is no exception. The announcers are lively and entertaining despite becoming redundant (as all game announcing does after a while); the pre-game introductions are nice, but the halftime highlights and post-game wrapups really give you the sensation of being immersed in the world of college basketball--although poor Greg Gumbel's digital self needs a serious graphical upgrade. All in all, this is the closest I've ever come to feeling like I was a part of the game, rather than just a bystander.

Sounds: 7/10 - A big part of the college basketball atmosphere has only come down to two things: the bands and the crowds. CH 2K6 does a nice job of representing both in this game, and while the barrage of college-band music can get old while flipping through menus, it gives you an adequate feel of being on a college hoops court while playing a game. The crowd's chants are a great addition as well, but the lack of consistent reaction to events in the game takes a bit from my score. I want the crowd to erupt when I nail a key three-pointer at home, not die, and while it sometimes worked the way I expected, the crowd's response was too inconsistent to earn a better score.

Career Mode: 10/10 - It's hard to say enough good things about the most in-depth career/dynasty mode of any sports game on the market. From the coaching staff to recruiting and weekly preparations, this mode will keep you busy for hours on end. Two modes are available to start your career: 'Open' mode, where you can choose from any school in the game to start your coaching career, or 'Career' mode, where you start with a small-time school and slowly work your way up to the big boys. No matter which you choose, you'll be floored by the amount of things there are to do during each week of your season. Your coaching staff is almost as important as you are; they must offset your weaknesses and complement your strengths, because you'll be sending them out to contact and scout recruits from freshmen to seniors and potential JUCO transfers. You'll learn quickly that succeeding requires a delicate balance of training, recruiting, and game preparation each week--your coaches can only do so much, so you have to juggle all three in order to maximize the benefits of each.

The games themselves can easily take a back seat to all the recruiting, coaching, training and planning that you do as a coach, and even if you simulate every game on your team's schedule, you'll still find the career mode to be a fulfilling experience from year to year.

Replay Value: 10/10 - If you love college hoops, this game will keep you entranced for ages. There's no other college game on the market for any console with as much variety and realism as this game. If you never really cared for college basketball, this game still deserves a rental, but if you're a fan of the game, it's a must-buy, period.

Overall: 8/10 - There's definitely a lot of room for 2K Sports to improve the College Hoops franchise, but with this game as a base on which to build, I think they'll have no trouble maintaining the best college basketball game on the market. March Madness might sell more, but this is the game that's really worth owning.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/16/06